Chip 1999 December/Chip_1999-12_cd.bin/zkuste/Svet_OS2/WARPNOTE/WNOTE185.ZIP/warpnote.INF

OS/2 Help File | 1999-07-31 | 48.3 KB | 1,005 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. General Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Program Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

I'm one of the guys who use those yellow sticky notes to write down more or
less important stuff and put them somewhere around my desk. However, I
discovered a few disadvantages of the "hardware solution": The wall behind my
desk was quickly littered with notes, and stupidly they didn't want to stick on
my monitor.

So I started looking for a "software solution". I found only one program for
OS/2 that did the job, but it had some design flaws and heavy bugs. After I
didn't hear from the author for a few weeks, I started writing my own sticky
notes program for OS/2.

My aim was to create a program with the following characteristics:

     small, fast and not consuming more memory as necessary

     easy to use, without any unneccessary buttons, menus, bells or whistles

 The result is WarpNote, a program that uses as little memory as possible and
 at the same time gives you the easiest possible access to sticky notes on the
 OS/2 desktop.

 WarpNote is the ideal companion that should be placed in the Startup folder.
 This gives you access to a sticky note whenever you need it. WarpNote will not
 delay shutdown in any way, so you won't even notice that WarpNote is present.

 WarpNote also features an interface to use Blowfish encryption. This allows
 you to store confidential information, such as IDs and passwords, in the notes
 protected by a password.

 To run WarpNote, you need an IBM compatible PC with the operating system OS/2
 Warp V3 or higher. Earlier versions of OS/2, even the 32bit versions, will not
 work as a compression technique has been used which has been introduced in
 OS/2 Warp V3. If you require WarpNote on a machine running OS/2 2.x, please
 contact the author.

 WarpNote ist a true 32 bit application that has been developed using Virtual
 Pascal.

 If you have any questions, wishes, suggestions or if you have found a bug in
 the software, please contact the author:

                                  Uwe Schlenther
                                 Bebelstrasse 30
                                D-70193 Stuttgart
                                     Germany
                               Fax: [phone]
                          E-Mail: [e-mail]


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. License Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

WarpNote is not free software. You may use the evaluation version for a period
of 30 days to find out whether it meets your needs. If you want to continue
using the program after your evaluation, you must acquire a license by
registering with the author. This requires the payment of a license fee.

After the license fee has been paid, you will receive a registration key that
will enable WarpNote as a full licensed version.

If after the evaluation period you think that WarpNote is not the software you
need and that you don't want to register the program, you may not continue
using it. In that case you must deinstall the software from your hard disk. Any
use of the evaluation version beyond the evaluation period is considered
software piracy and can be pursued by legal action. However, you may still
distribute the software after the evaluation, if you adhere to the following
terms.

The evaluation is limited to using 4 notes at a time. This limit does not exist
in the registered version of WarpNote.

The evaluation version of WarpNote may only be distributed free of charge. It
is explicitly forbidden to ask for any kind of fee for copying the software.
You are encouraged and given the right to distribute the software on CD-ROM, as
long as there are no other objections. In any case, you may only distribute the
complete and unchanged package. An exception to these terms are shareware
vendors that are meber of DS - Deutschsprachige Shareware or ASP - Association
of Shareware Professionals: Such vendors may charge a nominal copying fee for
WarpNote, as long as the package is distributed in complete and unchanged form.

The following terms apply to both, evaluation version and licensed version: The
software is protected by international law. It is not allowed to use the
software or parts of the software for any purpose other than the one it has
been designed for. You may not disassemble, reverse engineer or change the
software.

In no event shall Uwe Schlenther Software be liable for any damage that has
been caused, directly or indirectly, by the software. There is no warranty that
the software will be usable on any special computer configuration. It's the
sole responsibility of the user to verify that the software is appropriate for
a certain purpose and that it is error free.

These terms of license can be changed, extended, restricted or retracted at any
time and to any extent without prior notice.

Stuttgart, January 15th 1998


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Trade Marks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Names of brands and products used in this documentation may be trade marks
registered by their respective owners.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Using WarpNote ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. General Hints ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

WarpNote can handle up to 9999 notes (4 notes in the unregistered version),
although there is a practical limit in the range between 500 and 1000 notes
(the OS/2 window list can only handle some 500 entries).

The notes are numbered from 1 and a note will always keep the same number thus
making it easier to remember. Additionally, the first ca. 40 characters of the
note text are displayed in the titlebar and the window list.

There is no menu bar. As any window, WarpNote note windows have a system menu
and a popup menu (single-click the right mouse button in the yellow area). This
is the place where all the functions of WarpNote have been put. Some of the
more frequently used entries have been connected to hotkeys to make life even
easier.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Note Handling ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can place the notes anywhere on your desktop and size them as you want.
Each size and position is saved automatically. A special resizing function has
been implemented in addition to the traditional Minimize and Maximize
functions: The Best Size function makes the window fit just around the
contained text. This function can be called from each note's system menu or
with the hotkey Alt+F9.

As always in OS/2 editing fields, you can use the standard keys to access the
clipboard (CTRL+Ins to copy, SHIFT+Del to cut, SHIFT+Ins to paste). I can also
recomment the use of the XIT system extension which adds a copy button and a
paste button to each window. XIT is a shareware program and available from the
usual sources.

To change the font or background color, open the settings dialog from any
note's system menu, drag your preferred font or color from the font or color
palette and drop it on the appropriate field in the dialog box. To change the
text color, drag the desired color to the note color setting field while
holding down the CTRL key.

The standard background color has an RGB value of Blue: 140, Green: 255, Red:
255.

You can also change font or background color of each one note by dropping the
desired font or color on that single note. To change the text color for a
specific note, drag the desired color to that note while holding down the CTRL
key.

Note: In OS/2 versions prior to OS/2 Warp V4, the MLE control can't use certain
colors.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Creating New Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

New notes can be created in several ways. Usually, new notes are created from
any other note or the WarpNote notes list by pressing the F2 function key or
selecting New Note from the system or popup menu. If all notes are hidden,
double click the New Note entry in the window list or the WarpCenter window
list. Another way ist to double click the WarpNote program object, if you have
your program object set up to Create another in the Window-section of its
properties notebook.

A common task is to create a new note and paste the contents of the OS/2
clipboard to this newly created note. Because this is quite common, there is a
special way to do the two tasks in one: From any other note or from the
WarpNote notes list, press Alt+F2 or select Clipboard from the conditional
cascaded menu named New Note in either a note's system or popup menu.

Less common but still supported by WarpNote is creating a new note from an
existing text file. All you need to do is press Ctrl+F2 or select File from the
conditional cascaded menu named New Note in either a note's system or popup
menu. You will then be prompted to enter a file name or select a file from the
well-known OS/2 file dialog. The contents of the file you specified (which
should, of course, be a text file) will then appear in a new note window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. Deleting Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To delete a note, simply close the note window using the close button or the
Alt+F4 key. You may also select Close & Delete Note from the popup menu or
Close from the system menu. When the note is not empty, WarpNote will ask you
for confirmation (this default behavior can be changed in the settings). Empty
notes will automatically be deleted when you exit WarpNote.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. Hiding Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can hide or show all notes at the same time from the menus. When your
program object is set up to Show existing window, you can also double click the
program object to show all notes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6. Word Wrapping and Titlebar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

In some cases, you might desire word wrapping. The menus and F4 will enable or
disable word wrapping for each note. In the WarpNotesettings dialog you can
adjust if you want new notes to use word wrapping or not.

If you want to save desktop space, you can hide the titlebar of a note by
pressing F5. You can also select Titlebar from the system or popup menu. If the
titlebar is hidden, you cannot move the note. To make the titlebar reappear,
press F5 again or select Titlebar from the popup menu. When the titlebar is not
visible, a Move Window entry appears in popup menus of such notes and you can
use Alt+F7 to move that note as usual. Additionally, you can place the mouse
pointer on the note window, hold mouse button 2 and drag the window around.

The settings dialog allows you to select whether new notes will use word
wrapping and if new notes have a titlebar.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.7. The WarpNote Notes List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Some people don't like all those note entries in the OS/2 tasklist. There is a
setting in the WarpNote settings dialog to get rid of all those lines in the
window list. To make it easier to access the notes, you can use the WarpNote
notes list which can be activated in the settings dialog. You can consider the
WarpNotenotes list as a kind of navigation center: All functions can be
accessed via a popup menu available on each entry in the WarpNote notes list.

The WarpNote notes list has another key function: You can drag notes from the
notes list to the OS/2 desktop and you can drop text file objects onto the
notes list. The drag&drop capability has been implemented with simplicity in
mind, so if you require additional drag&drop functionality, I recommend that
you have a look at the DragText desktop extension by R. L. Walsh
([e-mail]).

Note: Encrypted notes cannot be dragged from the notes list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8. The ControlCenter ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are three common tasks which you will find yourself using over and over
again:

     creating a blank note

     creating a note from the clipboard's contents

     switching to the notes list.

 The WarpNote ControlCenter is a tiny window that gives you easy access to all
 of these functions. The ControlCenter contains the following three buttons:

 Create a new note which is empty.

 Create a new note which contains the clipboard's contents.

 Switch to the WarpNote notes list.

 The WarpNote settings notebook contains a page which is dedicated to the
 ControlCenter window. You can select whether you want to use the ControlCenter
 window or not. A future enhancement will be a "float on top" functionality,
 i.e. the ControlCenter window will come to the top of all windows
 automatically within each few seconds.

 The ControlCenter window can be dragged around with the right mouse button
 pressed. WarpNote will automatically remember where you put the ControlCenter
 and restore the position the next time you start the program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.9. The Settings Notebook ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The settings notebook can be activated from each popup menu and from the system
menu of each note. The Settings... entry in the menu is located in the WarpNote
submenu.

The following items are inside the settings notebook:

Color and Font

Drop note & text color here

This is the place to change the color that WarpNote uses by default in new
notes. You can change the background color setting by opening one of the Color
Palettes from the System Configuration folder on your OS/2 desktop and dragging
the desired color to the colored field in the settings dialog. The default text
color setting can be changed by dragging the desired color to the colored field
while holding down the CTRL key.

You can still change the color mix of each single note by dragging the desired
color onto that note (hold down the CTRL key to change the text color rather
than the background color). Please be aware that depending on your operating
system version and your graphics driver certain colors can't be used as a
background color.

Drop your preferred border color here

This is the place to change the color that WarpNote uses by default for the
border of notes. You can change this setting by opening one of the Color
Palettes from the System Configuration folder on your OS/2 desktop and dragging
the desired color to the colored field in the settings dialog. To activate the
new border color setting, you have to check the Use this color checkmark and
restart WarpNote.

Closing Notes

Closing Notes Confirmation

This set of radio buttons determines WarpNote's behavior when closing notes.
When Always is selected, you will be asked for confirmation each time you close
a note. When you select When note is not empty, you need not confirm closing
notes that don't contain any text (this is the default setting). Select Never
when you don't want any confirmation on closing notes (With this setting,
you're in danger of losing the contents of each note with a single click.).

Closing Last Note Behavior

WarpNote ist designed to have at least one note open at any time. So you need
to select WarpNote's behaviour in case the last note is closed. When you select
Close WarpNote the whole application will be closed, when you select Create one
empty note, a new, empty note will be created automatically. The default
behavior is Ask user which opens a message box asking you whether you want to
close the application.

Mouse

Move notes without titlebar - Mouse button 2

Use this setting to change the way notes are moved when they have no titlebar.
When you check this setting, you can move any note by placing the mouse pointer
on the window interior, holding down mouse button 2 and dragging the mouse;
release mouse button 2 when the note has reached its destination. This way of
moving notes is very convenient, but it does interfere with a program called
DragText. If you are using DragText or any similar system enhancement, I
recommend that you leave this setting unchecked.

Move notes without titlebar - Mouse button 2 on frame

Use this setting to change the way notes are moved when they have no titlebar.
When you check this setting, you can move any note by placing the mouse pointer
on the window border, holding down mouse button 2 and dragging the mouse;
release mouse button 2 when the note has reached its destination. This way of
moving notes is less convenient than Mouse Button 2, but it does not interfere
with any other programs to my knowledge.

More Settings

Word wrapping is default

This setting controls the word wrapping state in which you will find newly
created notes. You can change this state for each note from its system or popup
menu.

New notes have no titlebar

This setting controls whether new notes have a titlebar or not. You can change
this state for each note from its system or popup menu.

Notes have a scrollbar

Check this setting if you want a vertical scrollbar available in each note.

This setting will be disabled if there are encrypted notes and you have not
logged on to the encryption engine. Go through the logon process if you want to
change this setting.

Use WarpNote Notes List

Check this to activate the WarpNote notes list. This list is an alternative to
placing the note entries in the OS/2 window list and works like some kind of
control center for WarpNote.

Show notes in OS/2 Window List

Like almost any other window, WarpNote note windows will show up in the OS/2
window list. If this confuses you too much, uncheck this setting to remove the
note entries. Be sure to check the  Use WarpNote Notes List if you have this
unchecked. Otherwise you won't have any access to note windows that are hidden.

This setting will be disabled if there are encrypted notes and you have not
logged on to the encryption engine. Go through the logon process if you want to
change this setting.

Change titlebar text

WarpNote will normally change the titlebar text to give you an impression of a
note's contents when you look it up in the OS/2 window list. However, some WPS
enhancers get confused when the titlebar text of a window changes over and over
again. So, if any of your programs can't track your WarpNote note windows, try
to uncheck this setting.

This setting will be disabled if there are encrypted notes and you have not
logged on to the encryption engine. Go through the logon process if you want to
change this setting.

First line is headline

To make it easier to identify each note, the first 50 characters are displayed
in both the WarpNote notes list and the OS/2 window list. This looks a bit ugly
in many cases, and if you're used to reading headlines you might want to change
this behavior. When you check this setting, only the first line will be
displayed in the WarpNote notes list and the OS/2 window list.

This setting will be disabled if there are encrypted notes and you have not
logged on to the encryption engine. Go through the logon process if you want to
change this setting.

Store notes text in INI file

Normally, each note corresponds to a text file in the WarpNote directory. If
this is too many files for you (e.g. if you want to easily synchronize two
installations of WarpNote), check this setting and all the contents of your
notes will be stored in the application's INI file WARPNOTE.INI. Please note
that checking this setting will limit you to 32767 characters per note (this is
a limitation in the OS/2 profile API).

This setting will be disabled if there are encrypted notes and you have not
logged on to the encryption engine. Go through the logon process if you want to
change this setting.

ControlCenter

Use ControlCenter

Check this if you want to use the ControlCenter window.

ControlCenter floats on top

This functionality is not yet implemented. Therefore the setting is disabled.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.10. Finding Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

It is quite easy to find a note within WarpNote, even when you only know a
single keyword or part of a keyword that is contained in the note text. You can
invoke the Find dialog from any note or the Notes List from the popup or system
menu where it is located in the WarpNote submenu. You can also use the keyboard
shortcut Ctrl-F.

Enter the text you want to find to the entry field in the Find dialog. The
following options are also available:

     Search all Notes: When checked, the search is performed on all available
      notes rather than on the note where the Find dialog has been called from.

     Ignore Case: When checked, the search will find any case combination of
      the search text.

 Press the Find button to start the search from the beginning of the note text.
 The Find Next button will continue the search at the current cursor position.
 Notes will show up automatically when the search text has been found.

 Press the Dismiss button to close the Find dialog (Note: Position and options
 settings will be saved).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.11. Printing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

WarpNote comes with a simple printout feature. The printing dialog can be
invoked from the popup or system menu of each note. The Print... menu entry is
located in the WarpNote submenu.

In the printing dialog you will see a listing of all notes available just as
they appear in the WarpNote notes list. You can then select any number of notes
that you wish to print. The pushbuttons All and None are an easy way to select
or deselect all entries.

The entry field in the lower right corner of the dialog box contains the
destination file name. This is initially set to PRN which is the standard
printer. You can set any other printer file name, such as LPT2 or LPT3, or set
a completely different filename, such as TEXT.DAT to write the selected notes
to a disk file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.12. Technical Stuff ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Naming Convention

To keep it all transparent and safe, the text of each note is saved in a file
named "NOTE####" where "####" represents the note's number. Those files are
normally located in the same directory as the main program. So, if for some
reason a note is gone, you can recover it as a plain text file in the directory
you used to install WarpNote (e.g. using the UNDELETE command).

Data Directory

In some cases, you might want WarpNote to use a different directory than the
one where the EXE file has been placed. You can specify which directory
WarpNote shall use by adding the following command line switch to the
Parameters field in WarpNote's properties notebook:

                                 -D x:\directory

This parameter forces WarpNote to use \directory on drive X: as its data
directory (i.e. where the notes files and the INI file are stored).

Note: Make sure that the directory you specify with the -D switch actually
exists. If it doesn't, WarpNote will use the directory where the EXE file has
been placed.

Note: If you change the data directory, the files that have to be moved are the
notes files NOTE#### (in case you don't use the Saving to INI feature) and the
file WARPNOTE.INI.

Note: If you use the -D switch, make sure that two or more running instances of
WarpNote will not use the same set of data files. Also, WarpNote is not network
aware.

Saving to INI File

As an alternative, you can set up WarpNoteto hold all notes' contents in its
own INI file. This makes it easier to synchronize WarpNote from one computer to
another: All you need to take with you is the INI file. Please note that this
setting will limit you to a maximum contents of 32767 characters per note!

Starting WarpNote Twice

It is not possible to start WarpNote more than once from one directory. If you
try to do so, a new note will be opened in the first instance of the program or
the existing notes will be made visible - depending on how your program object
is set up on the Window page.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Language Support ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

WarpNote comes with the ability to support your national language. Changing the
language is quite simple:

WarpNote will be in english language when freshly installed. All the english
language  text is put in the executable file itself. Upon startup, WarpNote
will look for a dynamic link library (DLL) file called WARPNOTE.DLL. If a file
with this name is present, WarpNote expects this to be a language module.

Currently, there is only one language module, German, included in the WarpNote
archive. All language modules are named WNOTExxx.DLL, where "xxx" is an
abbreviation for the language it contains. The German module is named
WNOTEGER.DLL. To make WarpNote speak German (or whatever language there is),
all you have to do is rename this DLL file to WARPNOTE.DLL and restart
WarpNote.

The language support mechanism in WarpNote is designed to be user-supported.
So, if you would like to create a language module in your own language, just go
ahead and do so. I recommend Prominaire's Universal Resource Editor to edit the
contents of the language DLL. The program is available through IBM's Developer
Connection.

To coordinate the translation efforts, contact me by e-mail at
[e-mail]. I will give out an original english DLL (not included in
the WarpNote package) to everyone who wants to create a new language module.
Please be aware that you should be able to support and update the module for
quite some time.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Encryption ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

WarpNote features an interface that enables the user to use Blowfish
encryption, a strong cryptographic algorithm that ensures that nobody except
you can access private information. The actual encryption engine is a separate
product which has been developed by Matthew Spencer ([e-mail]). This
product is available as freeware and can be downloaded from the WarpNote
website (http://www.geocities.com/rodeodrive/2048/eindex.html). For more
information on the Blowfish encryption algorithm, have a look at the Blowfish
homepage (http://www.counterpane.com/blowfish.html).

To enable the encryption interface, you must copy the file ENCRYPT.DLL to your
WarpNote directory and restart WarpNote. If ENCRYPT.DLL is not present,
WarpNote will function as usual with the encryption features disabled. In that
case, the encryption interface will not need additional system resources.

The logon/logoff process

Before you can actually encrypt your notes, you must log on to the encryption
engine. This requires a password, which will be defined the first time you log
on. To log on, select Encryption Logon... from the WarpNote submenu which is
located in the system menu and popup menu of any note.

When the password is entered for the first time, you will be asked to enter the
same password again. If the two entries don't match, the password will not be
defined. Note that passwords are case sensitive.

After you have logged on to the encryption engine, you have normal access to
all notes. You can also encrypt or decrypt each note by using the Encrypt menu
entry in the system menu or popup menu of a note. This menu entry will be
checked for encrypted notes.

Select the Encryption Logoff menu entry from the WarpNote submenu in the system
menu or popup menu of any note to log off from the encryption engine. All notes
that have been marked encrypted will disappear from the screen, and the entry
in the notes list will turn to Note ## = Encrypted.

Changing the password

If you want to change your password, you must first logon to the encryption
engine. Then, select the Change Password menu entry from the WarpNote submenu
in the system menu or popup menu of any note. You will then be asked to enter
the new password. Again, you must enter the new password twice to ensure that
there are no typing errors. WarpNote will then go through the encrypted notes
and encrypt them with the new password.

Hints and Tips

     There's an easy way to distinguish encrypted and unencrypted notes in the
      WarpNote notes list and in the OS/2 window list: Encrypted notes have an
      "equals" sign ("=") instead of a dash ("-") next to the note number in
      the notes listing. When not logged on, "Encrypted" will appear in the
      notes listing instead of the beginning of the note text.

     Some of the items in the settings dialog require that you have logged on
      to the encryption engine before (if there are notes that are encrypted).

     Encrypted notes cannot be dragged from the WarpNote notes list.

     The encryption interface has been implemented for purposes of higher
      convenience, e.g. to be able to note down IDs and passwords and have them
      available on your desktop. It is not recommended to encrypt important
      data using WarpNote without having a backup copy of the same data. In
      case you lose or forget your password, there is no possibility to decrypt
      your notes!

     Change your password regularly to ensure highest possible security.

     If you decide to encrypt a note that has been saved unencrypted before,
      be aware that fragments of the note file might remain on the harddrive of
      your computer.

     WarpNote saves a so called digest of your password in the WARPNOTE.INI
      file. This digest is used to check if you entered the correct password.
      You might as well use any password, and only the correct one would
      successfully decrypt encrypted notes. The check has been implemented to
      prevent you from unwanted results when you accidentally enter a wrong
      password. There is no possibility to find the password from the password
      digest only, so this does not compromise WarpNote's security.

     The encryption interface has been developed with flexibility in mind. If
      Blowfish encryption one day turns out to be not strong enough, it will be
      quite easy to use a different engine instead.

 Disclaimer

 The encryption interface together with the encryption engine has been tested
 thoroughly and has been found functional. However, there is no guarantee that
 the software works properly in each and any case. By using the encryption
 interface, you agree that you do it at your own risk, and that the author of
 the WarpNote software or the author of the Blowfish encryption engine will not
 be responsible for any damage you might have from using this software.

 It is also your own responsibility to ensure that you are allowed to use
 strong cryptography in your country. Although considered a basic human right,
 some countries still restrict or even completely ban the use of cryptographic
 products. WarpNote itself is not at all a cryptographic piece of software.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Remote Control - WarpNote Command ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. The Idea ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Since I started my WarpNote project, people who use the program came up with
lots of brilliant ideas. The result of one of these ideas is this tiny program,
WarpNote Command. Think of it as a kind of automatic remote control, allowing
you to change or delete each note, create new notes and so on. You can use
WarpNote Command in a simple batch file, or write real programs using OS/2
Warp's built-in REXX programming language.

The syntax is the following:

WNCOMM <Command Name> [Note Number] [Additional Parameters]

The parameters depend on what you intend to do. The first parameter is always a
command name that tells WarpNote Command what to do. The second parameter is
the number of the note you want to manipulate. Some commands will not require a
note number, some will expect even more parameters. A complete listing of all
available commands will follow at the end of this document.

When you tell WarpNote Command to do something, it responds to your request by
setting the result code to an appropriate value. The result code should be
examined especially when WarpNote Command is used in REXX scripts. When an
error occurs during execution, the result code is usually set to 0. Any other
result code will represent the number of a note. Example: When you create a new
note via WarpNote Command, the result code represents the number of the newly
created note window. You will need this number to access the note you just
created.

Please not that you are not allowed to access encrypted notes!

If WarpNote Command itself fails for some reason, a result code of 10000 or
above will be set. Remember that WarpNote allows no more than 9999 notes, so a
result code above this number suggests a problem with the WarpNote Command
program itself.

There are various tasks one could do with WarpNote Command. These include:

     A reminder script that is connected with a scheduler program could bring
      up new notes each time there is something important to tell.

     A simple REXX script could remind you of birthdays in the next few days
      each time you boot your system.

     You could create a "motto of the day" script that randomly selects a
      quote out of a large collection and displays it after bootup.

 If you created a nice program and you would like to share it with other users
 of WarpNote, send it to me and I will make it available on the WarpNote
 homepage http://www.geocities.com/rodeodrive/2048/warpnote.html.

 Send program scripts and suggestions to [e-mail].


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.2. Command Reference ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Parameters in square brackets "[...]" are optional, parameters in angular
brackets "<...>" are required.

CREATE [Note Number]

Example: WNCOMM CREATE 5

This command creates a new note with the given number. If no number is given,
the program automatically selects the first one available. If successful, the
program returns the number of the note that has been created. Otherwise, the
result code is 0 (e.g. the note with the given number already exists or the
maximum number of notes is exceeded). Please note that the note is created
invisible, thus making it possible to customize (e.g. size) it before it can be
seen on the screen. To make the note visible, the SHOW command must be issued
with the same note number as a parameter. If the corresponding file named
NOTE#### (where #### is the note number) exists before the CREATE command is
executed, the contents of the NOTE#### file will be displayed in the note
window.

A common technique would be creating notes for a special purpose with a
constant number that lies well above the number of notes you're creating
manually. Please take care that you don't unnecessarily use large numbers such
as 1000 or above. This might decrease WarpNote's responsiveness. You should
rather use numbers around 50 or 100 or so.

CLIPBOARD

Example: WNCOMM CLIPBOARD

This command creates a new note, inserts the contents of the clipboard and
immediately makes the newly created note visible. This is useful if you require
an easy means to create new notes from text that you have copied to the
clipboard. You can easily create a program object that enables you to create
such a note with only one click on your mouse. You can also use this feature
together with other utilities, e.g. Xit which allows you to create buttons with
user defined actions on the titlebar of each window.

DELETE <Note Number>

Example: WNCOMM DELETE 5

This command deletes the note with the given number. If successful, the program
returns the note number. Otherwise (e.g. if the note does not exist) the result
code is 0. Please note that the note will be deleted without any confirmation;
so be careful!

EXIST <Note Number>

Example: WNCOMM EXIST 5

The result code of this command will be either 0 if the note with the given
number does not exist or the note number if the corresponding note does exist.

SHOW <Note Number>
HIDE <Note Number>

Example:

WNCOMM SHOW 5
WNCOMM HIDE 5

These two commands change the visibility state of the given note. If
successful, the program returns the note number. Otherwise (e.g. if the note
does not exist) the result code is 0.

DISPLAY <Note Number>

Example: WNCOMM DISPLAY 5

This command makes the given note show up on the screen. Unlike the SHOW
command, the DISPLAY command makes the note visible in the background so that
the current focus is preserved. SHOW would bring the note in the foreground,
thus moving focus away from any other window. If successful, the program
returns the note number. Otherwise (e.g. if the note does not exist) the result
code is 0.

EMPTY <Note Number>

Example: WNCOMM EMPTY 5

This command clears the contents of the given note.

LOAD <Note Number> <File Name>

Example: WNCOMM LOAD 5 NEWTEXT.TXT

This command appends the contents of the specified file in the given note. The
previous contents of the note remains where it is.

APPENDTEXT <Note Number> <Text>

Example: WNCOMM APPENDTEXT 5 "This is a test"

This command appends text specified on the command line to the given note. The
previous contents of the note remains where it is. If you want to append
multiple words separated by spaces, the string must be enclosed in quotes.

CENTER <Note Number>

Example: WNCOMM CENTER 5

This command changes the position of the given note so that it appears centered
on the desktop. This does not change the note's visibility state. If
successful, the program returns the note number. Otherwise (e.g. if the note
does not exist) the result code is 0.

SETSIZEX <Note Number> <New Horizontal Size>
SETSIZEY <Note Number> <New Vertical Size>
SETSIZEXY <Note Number> <New Horizontal Size> <New Vertical Size>

Example: WNCOMM SETSIZEXY 5 300 100

These commands allow changing the size of a note window in horizontal or
vertical or both directions. This does not change the note's visibility state.
If successful, the program returns the note number. Otherwise (e.g. if the note
does not exist) the result code is 0.

SETPOSX <Note Number> <New Horizontal Position>
SETPOSY <Note Number> <New Vertical Position>
SETPOSXY<Note Number> <New Horizontal Position> <New Vertical Position>

Example: WNCOMM SETPOSXY 5 400 120

These commands allow changing the position of a note window in horizontal or
vertical or both directions. This does not change the note's visibility state.
If successful, the program returns the note number. Otherwise (e.g. if the note
does not exist) the result code is 0.

GETSIZEX <Note Number>
GETSIZEY <Note Number>

Example: WNCOMM GETSIZEX 5

These commands allow you to get the size of a note window in horizontal or
vertical direction. The result code is the requested size in screen pixels or 0
if the note does not exist.

GETPOSX <Note Number>
GETPOSY <Note Number>

Example: WNCOMM GETPOSY 5

These commands allow you to get the position of a note window in horizontal or
vertical direction. The result code is the requested size in screen pixels or 0
if the note does not exist.

GETDESKTOPX
GETDESKTOPY

Example: WNCOMM GETDESKTOPX

These commands complete the set of commands that give back window sizes: The
result code is the horizontal or vertical size of the desktop in screen pixels.
This allows you to prevent a window from moving out of the visible range.

EXIT

Example: WNCOMM EXIT

This command will close the corresponding instance of WarpNote.

NOOP

Example: WNCOMM NOOP

This command does exactly nothing. It might be useful to check if the version
of WarpNote Command is compatible with the running version of WarpNote or if
both programs run in the same directory.

WAIT

Example: WNCOMM WAIT

This command causes WarpNote Command to pause until an instance of WarpNote is
running in the current directory so that commands can be passed to that
instance. WarpNote Command will return immediately if WarpNote is already
running. The return code is always 0, as WarpNote Command does not return in
any other event (except you interrupt the program by pressing CRTL-BREAK).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Purchasing WarpNote ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. How Much It Is ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Please keep in mind that WarpNote had to be designed, developed and tested and
that these steps cost me quite some time. The result is a small, fast, robust,
reliable and easy-to-use program. I offer this program to you at a small fee of
US$ 14. You may try the demo version for a period of 30 days. After that time
you must either remove the program from your harddrive or register the program
by paying the registration fee. Use of the unregistered version beyond the
trial period of 30 days offends my legal rights.

Until registration information has been entered, WarpNote is limited to 4 notes
open at a time. The registered version can handle up to 9999 notes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. How To Order ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Payments can be sent directly to me (address as stated above) in cash. I can
also accept VISA or Diners Club credit cards. International customers can
register at the BMT Micro registration site:

                  Mail Orders To: BMT Micro
                                  PO Box 15016
                                  Wilmington, NC 28408
                                  U.S.A.

                    Voice Orders: 8:00am - 7:00pm EST (-5 GMT)
                                  [phone] (orders only)
                                  [phone]

                      Fax Orders: [phone]  24 hours / 7 Days
                                  [phone]  24 hours / 7 Days

         Online Orders via modem: [phone]  10 lines, all 14.4K
                                  [phone]  Direct 28.8K line

     Ordering and general ordering questions:
                         Via AOL: bmtmicro
                         via MSN: bmtmicro
                     Via Prodigy: HNGP66D
                  via Compuserve: 74031,307


                    via Internet: [e-mail]
                                  [e-mail]
                                  http://www.bmtmicro.com

Upon registration, you will be mailed or preferrably e-mailed a registration
code that changes the unregistered demo version into a registered version
without the limitations of the test version. Registration codes will remain
valid for at least all 1.x versions of WarpNote.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. Germany, Austria, Switzerland ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Residents of Germany, Austria or Switzerland may send 20 DM/140 ЩS/20 SFR to
register WarpNote.

Wenn Sie in Deutschland, Щsterreich oder der Schweiz wohnen, kФnnen Sie mir 20
DM/140 ЩS/20 SFR zusenden, um WarpNote zu registrieren. Auf DM ausgestellte
Euroschecks sowie Verrechnungsschecks deutscher Banken werden gerne angenommen,
ebenso VISA und Diners Club Kreditkarten. Nach Beginn der EuropДischen
WДhrungsunion kФnnen Sie wahlweise in Euro oder Ihrer nationalen WДhrung
bezahlen.

Adresse fБr Registrierungen:

                                 Uwe Schlenther
                                 Bebelstraсe 30
                                D-70193 Stuttgart
                                   Deutschland


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.4. Getting The Latest Version ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

New versions will appear first on

http://www.geocities.com/rodeodrive/2048/warpnote.html

and second at BMT Micro. Have a look at

http://www.geocities.com/rodeodrive/2048/eindex.html

for more OS/2 programs.

If you have any questions, bug reports or whatever, you may contact me at the
address on top of this document or by e-mail ([e-mail]).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Thanks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Thanks to Weifu Lin from Taiwan who designed the icon for WarpNote.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. A Personal Note ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Everybody comes to the point where he or she must convince people of one's
reliability and creativity. There is a quite good way to do this: Show them a
note from someone who has had the experience of satisfaction with ones work.

So I would like to ask you for such a note, preferrably on some kind of
"official" paper from your company or so. Please include anything you think you
should say about your experience with my work, and also include a note that I
may use your letter for reference purposes.

If you want to help me with this, send your note to the following address:

Uwe Schlenther
Bebelstrasse 30
D-70193 Stuttgart
Germany

Thanks for your support!