Tech Multimedia News 4/Tech Multimedia News #4 (1994).iso/share/windows/clocker/clocker.txt

Text File | 1993-09-19 | 26.1 KB | 678 lines

(This is a text-only version of the Clocker user manual.)


                 Clocker

               version 2.2


                WinnoVation
                    Innovation through Windows...


           (C) Copyright 1993
               Winnovation
              PO Box 271071
       Ft. Collins, CO  80527-1071
                   USA

       Telephone:  [phone]

       E-mail:   CompuServe: 71774,605
                 Internet: [e-mail]


Introduction
------------

Clocker  is  an event-scheduler program, which will  execute
pre-determined  events  at  a  specific  time.   Clocker  is
extremely  useful  for running unattended  backups,  running
after-hours processes such as faxing or file transfers while
telephone rates are lower, and many other things --  limited
only  by  your imagination!  Clocker can also pop  up  user-
defined reminder messages, so it also functions as an  alarm
clock.

Clocker   also  has  the  powerful  capability   for   group
scheduling on a network.  The system administrator can place
a  group schedule on a shared disk, and each machine running
Clocker  on the network will optionally read this  file,  in
addition  to its private schedule file.  This group schedule
is  also  automatically refreshed, so the administrator  can
make  a  change  once  and every machine  using  that  group
schedule  will  be  automatically  updated  to  reflect  the
changes.

Clocker  will  also not clutter your desktop.   Many  people
already  run  the  Windows Clock,  and  Clocker  looks  very
similar  to  the Windows Clock when iconized.  Clocker  also
includes  an  Always On Top feature for those  who  wish  to
always    have   a   visible   clock   on   their   desktop.
Alternatively,  Clocker can run completely hidden  from  the
user.

Note that Clocker requires Windows 3.1.


Packing List
------------

Your package should include the following:

     This manual
     Distribution disk
     License statement

The  following  files should be present on the  distribution
disk:

     CLOCKER.EXE    Clocker executable file
     CLOCKER.HLP    Clocker Help file
     CLOCKER.TXT    Documentation text file
     CTL3D.DLL      Library for 3D controls
     EXAMPLES.TXT   Description of examples
     EXAMPLE*.*     Examples to use with Clocker

If any files are missing, please contact Winnovation.


Upgrading from a Previous Version
---------------------------------

Clocker 2.2 is downward-compatible with versions 2.0 and 2.1
of  Clocker.   It  can  read .CLK files created  with  these
previous versions without any problems.  Note, however, that
files  saved  with  version 2.2 cannot be read  by  previous
versions.


Installation
------------
If  your  disk came with a SETUP or INSTALL program,  simply
run  that program.  To do this, select Run... from the  File
menu  in  Program Manager, and type a:\setup  or  a:\install
(change the drive letter if necessary).

If  you  did not receive an installation program  with  your
copy  of  Clocker,  you can install it using  the  following
instructions.   First, make sure that  no  other  copies  of
Clocker are currently running.  Then simply copy all of  the
files  from  the  distribution disk to a directory  such  as
C:\CLOCKER.  Note that Clocker does not need to have its own
directory.    Also   move  the  file   CTL3D.DLL   to   your
WINDOWS\SYSTEM  directory.  You  may  need  to  close  other
applications to perform this copy, if the file is in use.

After the files are copied, add Clocker to a Program Manager
group.   To  run Clocker every time you start Windows,  find
CLOCKER.EXE with the File Manager and drag it to the Startup
group  in  the Program Manager.  See your Windows manual  if
you are unsure how to do this.


Registration
------------

When  Clocker  is first started, you will see a registration
reminder screen.  Click the Register... button and you  will
see the following registration screen:



Enter  your name exactly as shown on your license statement,
and your serial number and registration code (also found  on
the license statement).


Getting Started
---------------

After starting Clocker, you will see a screen similar to the
following:



The current time is shown on the status bar at the bottom of
the  screen,  along  with the date.  The  remainder  of  the
status  bar will give information about group and supervisor
modes,  as  well  as information about menu options  as  you
select   them.   "UNREGISTERED  EVALUATION  COPY"  will   be
displayed  if  your copy is not yet registered.   The  large
empty  area  in the center is where the list of events  will
be.

Each item that you enter into the Clocker schedule is called
an  event.  A reminder of an important meeting or  a  backup
program  running are both examples of events you might  want
to  schedule.   To add an event, select Add  Item  from  the
Options  pull-down menu, or click the Add button.  You  will
then be prompted with the following screen:



By  filling  in the various fields of this box, you  specify
the  event you wish to schedule.  For a full description  of
the  fields  in  this form, please refer  to  the  reference
section of this manual.

The date field is the date that the event is to be executed,
and the time is the time of day it will be executed.  If the
Repeat box is checked, the event will execute repeatedly  at
the specified interval, until the specified end time.

The  second  section are the repeat options.  One  Day  Only
means  exactly  that - the event will only  execute  on  the
specified  date.   Daily/Weekly means that  the  event  will
execute  on each of the selected days.  Monthly will execute
the  event every month, on the day specified by the date  at
the top.

The  next  section is the event to be executed.   There  are
three  categories of events: a command line, a  message,  or
other.   If a program is to be run, the Command Line  button
should  be selected.  If a reminder message should  pop  up,
the Message button should be selected.  If the system should
be rebooted or Windows restarted, the Other button should be
selected.   The  area below the buttons is  for  the  actual
command  line  or  message,  if  one  of  these  options  is
selected.

If a Command Line has been selected, a working directory can
also  be specified for the program.  In many cases this will
not  be  necessary, but some programs require that they  are
executed from a specific directory.

The last section is the display options, which are available
only  for  Command  Lines.  You can choose  to  display  the
program you are running either in a normal window, iconized,
or hidden.

Pressing the Test button will execute the event immediately.
This  is  useful  to  verify  that  the  event  was  set  up
correctly.   Note that testing is not available for  "Other"
options.

After the event has been set up and OK is pressed, the event
is entered and will execute at the specified time.

To  edit  an item after it has been entered, you can  select
Edit  Item  from  the Options Menu, you can click  the  Edit
button, or you can simply double-click the item in the list.
Similarly,  to delete an item, simply select it  and  choose
Delete Item from the Options menu or click the Delete button
(or press the delete key).

In  the  Settings menu, you can select the font to be  used,
toggle  display  of  the date in the  icon  caption,  toggle
display  of  the  icon, and a few other  options.   See  the
reference section of this manual for further details.

The Help menu provides on-line help for Clocker.


Private and Group Scheduling
----------------------------

Clocker  supports two different kinds of schedules:  private
schedules  and  group  schedules.   Private  schedules   are
schedules which are unique to one machine or user, and  they
run  only  on that one machine.  Group schedules are  shared
between many users.  Note that Clocker can use both kinds of
schedules simultaneously.


Private Schedules
-----------------

Private  schedules  are schedules which are  unique  to  one
machine.   Private schedules will usually be the  only  ones
used by a stand-alone machine.


Group Schedules
---------------

Group  schedules  are  designed to be  shared  between  many
users.   These  schedules are usually  placed  on  a  shared
network disk, and all of the machines on the network running
Clocker  will  share  this common schedule.   Normally,  the
system administrator will set up the group schedule.   These
group  schedules are also password protected,  for  security
reasons  --  notably, so only the system  administrator  can
change the group schedule.

Group  schedules  can  be used for anything  from  broadcast
meeting   reminders   to   sophisticated   network    backup
management.   If  Clocker is combined with a  Windows  batch
language,  such  as  WinBatch from  Wilson  WindowWare,  the
flexibility is endless.


---------
Reference
---------

Command Line
------------

The command line for Clocker is:

    clocker [privatefile] [groupfile]

where privatefile is the name of a private schedule file and
groupfile  is a group schedule file.  One or both  of  these
options  can be specified.  If both are specified, order  is
not  important -- Clocker will auto-detect the  file  types.
Note   that  private  and  group  schedule  files  are   not
interchangeable.


Creating an Event
-----------------

To create a new event, choose Add Item from the Options menu
or  click the Add button.  The following is a description of
the fields within the Edit Schedule Item dialog:

Date  -  this  is  the date when the event is  scheduled  to
occur.  The date must be specified in MM/DD/YY format.

Time  -  this is the time of day when the event is scheduled
to  happen.  The date may be specified in 12- or 24-hr time.
For 24-hr time, specify the time in the form HH:MM.  For 12-
hr,  use  the  form  HH:MMa or HH:MMp.   The  following  are
examples of how to correctly specify the time:

       8:00, 8:00a, 1:45p, 17:12.

If  the time is edited later, it will be displayed in either
12- or 24-hr format, depending on what the setting is in the
International  section of the Windows  control  panel.   The
default is 12-hr time.

Repeat - this flag causes the event to repeat multiple times
on  the day(s) it runs.  To use the repeat option, check the
Repeat  box, and then fill in the interval and the end  time
in the boxes to the right of the Repeat box.  The event will
then  execute  every [interval] minutes  from  [start  time]
until  [end  time], where start time is the time entered  at
the top of the form.

For  example, if you wanted an event to execute  every  hour
from  9:00am to 5:00pm, you would enter 9:00a as  the  start
time, 60 as the interval, and 5:00p as the end time.

One  Day  Only - this means that the event will only execute
on  the  specified date.  This selection,  as  well  as  the
repeat  daily/weekly and repeat monthly selections,  can  be
combined with the Repeat option described above.

Repeat Daily/Weekly - When this option is selected, the days
of  the week section is enabled.  By selecting certain  days
of the week, you specify which days the event should execute
on.

Repeat  Monthly - This option executes the event each  month
on  the specified date.  For example, if the date is set  to
3/12/92,  then the event will execute on the  12th  of  each
month.   Note  that no warning is given if the date  is  not
valid  for every month - for example, if the specified  date
is  3/31/92,  then the event will never execute in  February
since February only has 28 (or 29) days.

Command  Line  - If this option is selected, then  the  text
entry  field below it will hold the command line to be  run.
Include  any  command line options for the program  you  are
executing.   Note  that file associations set  up  with  the
Windows File Manager are fully supported.

Message  -  If this option is selected, then the text  entry
field  below it will contain a message to be printed to  the
screen at the specified time.  There will also be a beep  to
accompany this message.

Other - If you select the Other option, you will be able  to
choose between several special actions available in Clocker.
Note  that  the 'Test' function is not available  for  these
options.  The following functions are available:

  Restart  Windows:  This option will cause  Windows  to  be
  restarted.   Note that this is a "friendly" restart  -  if
  any  applications have unsaved data, Windows will  not  be
  restarted until the user is prompted to save the data.

  Reboot  System: This option will cause the  system  to  be
  rebooted.  Note that this is a "friendly" reboot - if  any
  applications  have unsaved data, the system  will  not  be
  rebooted until the user is prompted to save the data.

Browse  -  If the Command Line option is selected,  pressing
this button will allow you to browse through files to select
the one you want.

Specify  Working  Directory  - This  option  allows  you  to
specify  the working directory for the program you  wish  to
run.  In many cases this is not necessary, but some programs
require  that  they are run from a certain directory.   This
option  is  only  available  if  a  command  line  has  been
specified.

Normal  - This option causes the program to run in a  normal
window.  This option is only available if a command line  is
specified.

Iconized - This option causes the program to run as an icon.
Be  sure to have a valid .PIF file with Background Execution
enabled  to run DOS programs iconized.  This option is  only
available for command lines.

Hidden  -  Select this option if you want to run  a  program
hidden.   Be  careful with this option, as you will  not  be
able  to  give user input to the program.  Also be  sure  to
have a valid .PIF file with Background Execution enabled  to
run DOS programs hidden.  This option is also only available
for command lines.

Test  -  This button will execute the event you have entered
immediately.  This is useful to verify that it  was  entered
correctly.   Note that testing is not available  for  events
selected with the "Other" option.


Editing an Event
----------------

To  edit  an event, select Edit Item from the Options  menu,
click  the Edit button, or simply double-click on  the  item
you  wish to edit.  The fields for editing are the  same  as
those used for adding a new item.


Deleting an Event
-----------------

To  delete  an event, select it and choose Delete Item  from
the  Options menu, or click the Delete button.  If  you  are
deleting  a  private schedule item, you can just  press  the
delete key.


Group Scheduling
----------------

Group  scheduling works in the following way.  Clocker  will
read  a group file, and store the events just like a private
schedule.   The difference is that the group  file  will  be
refreshed at regular intervals (default is 15 minutes).   If
the  system administrator wants each machine to run a backup
at a given time, he/she should create a group file with this
event in it, and configure all of the machines to read  this
file.   After  they are configured, the group  file  can  be
modified   and  the  machines  will  automatically   refresh
themselves to read the new data.


Creating and Editing Group Files
--------------------------------

This  section  is  intended for network  administrators,  or
anyone  who  needs  to  make  a central  schedule  for  many
computers.  Group files are password protected, as  unwanted
changes  to  them  could  have significant  effects  on  the
network.

To  create a new group file, simply close any existing group
files  and  select  Add Group Item from  the  Options  menu.
Clocker will prompt for a password for this new group  file.
This password will be stored with the file when it is saved,
and  the  password will be necessary to edit the file  at  a
later  date.  When the password has been entered, the status
line will display "SUPERVISOR" to indicate Supervisor mode.

You must be in supervisor mode to edit a group file, and you
must know the password to get into supervisor mode.  To exit
supervisor  mode,  you must save or close  the  group  file.
Also,  be  aware that the group file will not  be  refreshed
from disk on the machine you are working on while you are in
supervisor mode.

After a password is entered, the standard add schedule  item
dialog  will be displayed.  All of the fields are  identical
to that of the private files.  The entire group schedule can
be entered at this point.

After  creating  the  schedule, save the  group  file  in  a
directory to which all Clocker users have read permission.

To  edit  a group file, load the group file and select  Edit
Group  Item  from the Options menu (or double-click  on  the
item  you  wish  to  edit).  You will be  prompted  for  the
password,  and  if you enter it correctly,  you  will  enter
supervisor  mode and can edit the schedule.   Remember,  you
will be in supervisor mode until the group file is saved  or
closed.


Using a Group File
------------------

This  section  assumes that a group file  has  already  been
created, and is on a readable drive.

To  open a group file, choose Open Group from the File menu,
and  select the group file you wish to use.  When this  file
is  opened, Clocker will split its display into two lists  -
the  top  will  be  the standard private schedule,  and  the
bottom will be the group schedule, as shown below:



The status line will also indicate "GROUP" to indicate Group
mode.   When group mode is enabled, all of the group  events
are active and will execute at their event time.

To  close  a  group file, choose Close Group from  the  File
menu.   This will erase all of the group events from memory.
To  use the group schedule after this, you must re-open  the
file.

If  you  do not wish to see the group events, but you  still
want  them to be active, toggle the Display Group option  in
the Settings menu or click the Display Group Schedule button
at  the top of the window.  If the option is off, the  group
schedule will not be displayed, but it will still be  active
- "GROUP" will still be on the status line.


Settings Menu
-------------

Icon  Font - Selecting this option will allow you to  change
the font used to display the time in the icon.  Note that it
is  possible to select a font too large to fit in the  given
space.  The font will be saved for future sessions.

Hide Icon - If this option is checked, then Clocker will  be
hidden  when  iconized.  This option is  convenient  if  you
already  have a clock on your desktop, but you want  to  use
Clocker's scheduling features.

To  make  Clocker visible again, simply run  Clocker  again.
Two ways to do this are to double-click on Clocker's icon in
Program  Manager  (if there is one), or to  double-click  on
Clocker from the File Manager.  Doing this will activate the
copy of Clocker which is currently running.

Note:  due  to  this  feature, it is not  possible  to  have
multiple instances of Clocker running.

Delete  After  Execute - this option is under  the  Settings
menu.   If you select this item, any event which is One  Day
Only  and does not repeat will be deleted after it executes.
Note  that this will modify the data file, and when you exit
Clocker  you  will be prompted to save the  file.   This  is
normal - the file really did change.

Note   that  this  option  is  only  available  for  private
schedules - it is not valid for group schedules.

Print  Log - this option causes Clocker to print a log file,
which will be called CLOCKER.LOG and will be placed in  your
Windows directory.  The log will contain an entry for  every
program which is executed, and will have the date, time, and
command  line  for  the program.  If the program  launch  is
unsuccessful, an error code will be displayed.

No log entry is printed for messages displayed by Clocker.

Display  Date  -  this option is under  the  Settings  menu.
Selecting it will make Clocker display the current  date  as
part of the icon title when iconized.  This setting will  be
saved for future sessions.

Display  Group  -  if  group mode is  enabled,  this  option
toggles  the  display of the group schedule.  Note  that  if
group  mode  is enabled, then the group schedule  is  active
regardless of the Display Group setting.  You can also click
the Display Group Schedule button to toggle this option.

Load  Files on Startup - If this option is selected, Clocker
will  start  up with whatever files were open  in  the  last
Clocker session.  Both private and group files, if they were
previously  open, will automatically open  when  Clocker  is
started.  Note that this option is on by default.


Miscellaneous Options
---------------------

Icon  Always  On  Top  - this option is available  from  the
system  menu of Clocker.  Selecting this option  will  cause
Clocker to remain on top of all other windows.  This setting
will be saved for future sessions.

12  and  24  hr Time Display - the time format is  retrieved
from  the  Windows system settings.  To change this setting,
look in the Windows control panel under International.

3D  Controls - To use 3D controls, Clocker requires  version
2.01 or later of ctl3d.dll.  Clocker's distribution includes
version  2.01,  and should work correctly.   However,  other
applications  may install an older version.  If  you  get  a
warning message from Clocker about an old version, copy  the
ctl3d.dll   from  Clocker's  distribution   disk   to   your
WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.  Also ensure that no other  copies
of  ctl3d.dll  are  present on your disk you  can  use  File
Manager to find all instances of the file).

Note  that you may have to close other applications in order
to   be  able  to  copy  ctl3d.dll  to  your  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directory   if  these  other  applications  are  using   the
ctl3d.dll that is currently there.


To Disable 3d Controls:
----------------------

To  disable the 3D controls, create a [Settings] section  in
the  CLOCKER.INI  file  (which should  be  in  your  Windows
directory),  if there is not one already. Add the  following
line, under this section header:

     Controls3D=NO

Note  that ctl3d.dll is still required for running  Clocker,
even  if the 3d controls are disabled.  However, any version
of ctl3d.dll will work in this case.


Advanced Options
----------------

The  following settings should not be necessary  for  normal
use  of  Clocker  --  the  defaults are  adequate  for  most
purposes.   Nevertheless,  this information  is  being  made
available  for system administrators and advanced users  who
want more flexible control over their Clocker system.

Time Update Interval

This option changes the frequency with which Clocker updates
its internal time. The default is 5 seconds, which should be
adequate for most uses.  However, with this default,  events
executed and the time displayed by Clocker could be up to  5
seconds  late.   To change this value, create  a  [Settings]
section  in  the CLOCKER.INI file (which should be  in  your
Windows  directory), if there is not one  already.  Add  the
following line, under this section header:

TimeUpdateInterval=5

Instead of 5, enter the interval in seconds you want.   Note
that the interval must be between 1 and 59 seconds.  Smaller
numbers  will  slightly increase overhead, but  this  effect
will probably not be noticeable.

Group Refresh Rate

This   option  changes  the  frequency  with  which  Clocker
refreshes  the group file. The default is every 15  minutes,
which  should  be adequate for most uses.   To  change  this
value,  create a [Settings] section in the CLOCKER.INI  file
(which should be in your Windows directory), if there is not
one  already.  Add  the following line, under  this  section
header:

GroupRefreshRate=15

Instead of 15, enter the refresh rate (in minutes) that  you
want.   The  actual refresh times will be when (minutes  MOD
interval) is zero -- for example, if the GroupRefreshRate is
15 minutes, then refreshes will take place at 0, 15, 30, and
45  minutes past the hour.  Note that smaller intervals  can
increase  overhead, both within Clocker and on  the  network
(since all of the machines will probably be hitting the file
server simultaneously).


Registration and Support Information
------------------------------------

Single  copy Clocker registration is $24.95, payable  in  US
dollars.  If used on a network, Clocker requires one license
for  each machine it is running on.  Site license rates  are
as follows:

     5 users        $ 109.95
     10 users       $ 199.95
     20 users       $ 349.95
     50 users       $ 699.95
     100 users      $ 999.95

For  over 100 users, please contact Winnovation for  pricing
information.

To  register  additional copies, print out ORDERFRM.TXT  and
mail the completed form along with payment to:

     Winnovation
     Dept. C22
     PO Box 271071
     Ft. Collins, CO  80527-1071
     USA

After  your  registration is processed, you will  receive  a
serial number/registration code combination, a manual, and a
disk  for each copy you ordered.  Site licenses will receive
only  one  code,  manual, and disk, with  additional  manual
copies  available  for a nominal charge.   Registered  users
will  be entitled to unlimited support and free upgrades  as
they  become  available.  Support will be via telephone,  E-
mail and US mail.  Winnovation can be reached at:

     Telephone:  [phone]

     E-mail:   CompuServe: 71774,605
          Internet: [e-mail]