(To install just drag First Things First into your System folder and reboot. See Feature Set & Command Summary Below)
••• How easily do you keep multiple priorities straight? First Things First not only lets you see in a split second what is urgent, but also what is important! It is a Priority Management/Reminder tool that you will use whenever you are at your Mac.
If you like the demo, we can upgrade it immediately by phone 800-877-1832 for our “diskless” price of only $39.95 which instantly gives you a full-featured version (or, you can order the regular full package with the box and manual for an introductory $10.00 off the $69.95 list price). All it takes is a unique serial number which we can deliver by phone to get you fully operational. No manual is needed beyond the summary below, because FTF has NO LEARNING CURVE! If, after using the Demo you agree that you don't need a manual for FTF then we encourage you ($30 worth!) to go “diskless” and reduce the drain on our environment. With this “diskless” purchase you become a registered Visionary customer with all the the benefits of special upgrade offers and new product sneak-previews.
Yes, you can get the FTF File Utility™ even if you order the no manual package -- for $44.95 we'll give you a serial number over the phone and we'll send you a master disk which will contain the most recent version of FTF and the FTF File Utility. You only really need the FTF File Utility if you want to do one of the following:
1) Export or Import items to/from text-only files -- this can be useful for making an archive of your completed items so you can purge them from FTF to keep your memory usage down, or to write up a report in a word processor.
2) You own SmartAlarms or Alarming Events and you want to move items entered in those programs to FTF without having to type them all in; the FTF File Utility can import items from the current versions of each of these programs directly without you even needing to export them!
3) You want to merge things from one FTF file into another -- for example if you have a company agenda file which people can put items into and then get items out of; or if you have a portable and a desk machine and want to easily move items between their agenda files.
Most people will probably not need the FTF File Utility, but for those of you who do, you can get it without the packaging, or with the full package as described above.
The MUG News Service picked First Things First as the Mac “Utility of the Year!”
Using a revolutionary technology called a Floating Icon, FTF is fast and convenient. Try this demo. Even before you order the real thing, you’ll derive value from a Floating Clock that stays on top of any application or window or menubar -- wherever you choose to put it.
Easily keeping track of projects and events, with the help of reminders that are just intrusive enough, is central to effective time-management. Most programs are too weak, too intrusive, too hard to use and too slow. And most of them are way too hard to learn. Not FTF! This one is designed for immediate gratification!
First Things First™ helps you keep abreast of a busy schedule with the ultimate ease. The Floating Clock-Icon™ and information-rich views make it by far the fastest and easiest personal projects and reminder utility. Use the built-in Hot Key for the ultimate in streamlined efficiency -- you never have to use a mouse!
It’s never been easier to instantly schedule tasks, appointments and reminders – to more easily manage a very busy schedule. At $69.95, this useful tool is underpriced. Check it out for yourself. You’ll wonder how you've managed without it!
Try some of the shortcuts listed below and you will become addicted to the fastest priority manager available on any platform.
••••• First Things First™ Feature Set & Command Summary
FTF is always at your fingertips and easy to use – just click on the Floating Icon™ or use the Hot Key of your choice (default is Shift-Cmd-F).
To fully exercise FTF, browse through the following list of features, hints, tips and shortcuts (they're simple and logical):
••• Clock in reduced form (digital, menubar height so it fits in menubar):
- Option-click brings up todays #1 priority items for viewing;
- Single click toggles date/time;
- Shift-click zooms clock into expanded form (using last type of expanded display you set, analog or digital).
- Click-drag changes position (NOTE: any overlap with menubar will snap to full menubar overlap unless you are holding the shift key down when you release the mouse);
- Double-Click or your designated HotKey opens main editing window;
••• Clock in expanded form (digital or analog):
- Option-click brings up todays #1 priority items for viewing;
- Cmd-click changes between digital and analog displays;
- Shift-click zooms clock to back to its last reduced location;
- Click-drag changes position (NOTE: Exception: if the position of the clock when you release the mouse button has any overlap with the menubar and you are NOT holding down the shift key, the clock will be reduced and the reduced position will become the horizontal point of drag but snapped into the menubar);
- Double-click or HotKey (Shift-Cmd-F) opens main editing window.
••• Main Editing Window:
- Option-click on the small digital clock in the upper right corner brings up todays #1 priority items for viewing;
- Cmd-R (when new button is enabled) is same as clicking on New button and selecting Reminder type to create;
- Cmd-T (when new button is enabled) is same as clicking on New button and then selecting a ToDo type as the type to create;
- Clicking on clock and date icon (lower right) brings up Settings dialog;
- Cmd-1 to Cmd-4 activates the priority menu settings 1 through 4 respectively.
- Cmd-A selects all items;
- Clicking on the balloon icon (lower left) brings up About… dialog;
- Cmd-S saves changes to the reminders list, same as Save button but leaves dialog open;
- Return/Enter equals Save button;
- Escape key equals Cancel button;
- Double-clicking on a list item is equivalent to clicking once to select and item and then clicking on the Edit button;
- Cmd-P for print...;
- Cmd-C copies the selected item;
- Cmd-V pastes the clipboard to an item IF you are not currently in the All Categories view (we can't here because which category to put it in is ambiguous and everything MUST be in a category). It always adds the item to the currently viewed category with following behavior for different clipboard contents:
a) Just text in clipboard:
- will create a new ToDo item containing the text and with no time specified.
b) A ToDo or Reminder in clipboard (really in a private clipboard, only the text is exported to global clipboard):
- will add the item to the current category, leaving it marked
done if it was previously marked done.
c) picture etc...
-will tell you that there is nothing to paste.
- Cmd-X cuts (copy and delete) an item;
- Delete key deletes and item (same as Remove button);
- Option-Delete deletes item without warning dialog;
- Option-Remove button also deletes item without warning dialog.
>> Note that the Remove button becomes Completed when any of the items selected are scheduled to be saved when marked done as indicated by the Save Completed Items setting in the Settings/Preferences dialog box.
- Holding the option key down changes the Save button to Save As..., clicking the button opens a Save as dialog which prompts you to save the file to disk and allows you to change the name; this is handy for making backups, which we encourage you to do.
When Save Done Items is enabled then you can hold the Cmd key down to change the Completed button to a Remove button (so selectively not save a particular item). You can also hold down the option key to avoid delete dialog (i.e., Option-Cmd + click on button changes it to Remove and avoids warning dialog for delete). You can also set FTF to Skip Delete Warnings in the Settings dialog.
••• Edit ToDo item dialog (dbl-clicking on a ToDo item, Cmd-T etc.):
- Return/Enter maps to the OK button;
- Escape maps to the Cancel button;
- Cmd-R maps to Remind Me button;
- Tab cycles through the fields of the dialog in a forward direction.
- Shift-Tab cycles through the fields of the dialog in a backwards direction.
- up/down arrow on the keyboard controls the arrows for setting the time.
- Typing number keys (0-9) will enter that number into a date or time field if one is selected.
- Typing A or P will set the AM/PM field if it is currently selected.
- Cmd-1 to Cmd-4 activates the priority settings 1 through 4 respectively.
••• Edit Reminder dialog
- Return/Enter maps to the OK button;
- Escape maps to the Cancel button.
- Tab cycles through the fields of the dialog in a forward direction.
- Shift-Tab cycles through the fields of the dialog in a backwards direction.
- up/down arrow on the keyboard controls the arrows for setting the time.
- Typing number keys (0-9) will enter that number into a date or time field if one is selected.
- Typing A or P will set the AM/PM field if it is currently selected.
••• Save Changes dialog (comes up when you hit cancel and have made changes):
- Return/Enter and Cmd-Y map to the Yes button;
- Escape and Cmd-C map to the Cancel button;
- Cmd-N maps to the No button.
••• In most other alerts/dialogs
- Return/Enter keys map to OK or default button;
- Escape maps to Cancel button ( not all dialogs, but most ).
••• Holding down the Shift key during boot-up aborts load of
