Overview

AnnuMate is a tool for announcing upcoming birthdays and anniversaries.  It also provides date-related statistical information.

The program differs from other scheduler type programs by providing capabilities specific to annual events such as notifying the user of upcoming events a number of days in advance and only on certain days of the week.

It also supplies trivia type information such as the day of the week of an event, and the exact number of days since the event occurred.  So, for instance, you can surprise a friend by wishing her a happy birthday, telling her exactly how many days old she is, what her astrological sign is, and what day of the week she was born on.

All statistical calculation functions work between the years 4000 B.C. and 4000 A.D.  Up to 64 event (birthday or anniversary) entries may be kept.

There are four principle dialog windows in AnnuMate:

-	Main Window -- Displays the list of entries and provides access to the various functions.

-	Configuration Window -- Allows the user to configure the general reminder settings and statistical lookup information.

-	Edit Window -- Used when adding or modifying an entry.

-	Reminder/Statistical Information Window -- Displays statistical information about the date related to the entry.


Main Window

The main window provides you with the following functions:

File Functions

-	New -- Clear all entries and start with a new entry file.

-	Open -- Open an existing .anu file.

-	Save -- Save the current .anu file

-	SaveAs -- Save the current .anu under another name.

-	Exit -- Quit the program.  A Quit button in the Main Window also offers the same function.

Configuration Functions

-	Configure -- Calls up the Configuration Window.

Edit Functions

-	Edit -- Call up the Edit Window for the currently highlited entry.  An entry must be selected before using this function.  This function is also accessible by double-clicking on an entry in the list box.

-	Add -- Call up an Edit Window so that a new entry may be entered.

-	Delete -- Delete the currently highlited entry.

-	Statistics -- Display statistical information on the date related to the highlited entry.


Configuration Window

Notifications

Each entry in AnnuMate is classified as either Current Person, Historical Person, or Anniversary.  The notifications box allow you to specify which, if any, events you wish to be notified of.  By checking the appropriate item, you will be notified of that type of event:

-	Notify Current

-	Notify Historical

-	Notify Anniversary

Notify Me...

These parameters affect when you will be notified of upcoming events.  They are intended to give you sufficient warning so you may prepare for the event (e.g. send a birthday card).

-	Days In Advance -- Specify how many days in advance of the event you wish to be notified.

-	At (time of day) -- Specify what time of day you like to be notified.

-	Only On... -- Specify the days of the week that you wish to be notified on.

For example, let's say that Sue works only on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays and wishes to be notified two days in advance.  Suppose her friend Mike's birthday is on the coming Sunday.  Assuming Sue has checked off only Monday through Wednesday, she will be notified on Wednesday since this is the last day that she can be notified that will give her at least two days notice.

Life Expectancy

-	Females/Males at age... -- Provide information upon which to base estimates on the remaining life of a Current Person.

-	Source -- Cite the source of the life expectancy information.


Edit Window

Entries are created as one of three types of event:  Current Persons, Historical Persons, or Anniversaries.  The difference between each of these types is the information that is displayed in the Reminder/Statistical Information Window.  Also, in the Configuration Window, it is possible to turn on or off event notification for each entry type.

Depending on how the type is set, the fields take on different but similar meaning:

Current Persons and Historical Persons

-	Name -- Enter the person's first and last names.

-	Birth Date -- Enter the person's date of birth.

-	Yearly Notes -- Enter information about the person.  His or her favorite restaurant, perhaps.  You can insert line feeds by pressing <Ctrl-Enter>.

Anniversaries

-	Anniversary -- Enter the description of the anniversary.  Two fields are provided:  Specific and General.  The General field can be used to identify the type of anniversary.  Examples are Wedding, History, Life Events.  The Specific field can be used to identify the exact anniversary.  For instance, if the anniversary is a Wedding then, the Specific field might say Mary and Mike.

-	Anniversary Date -- Enter the date on which the event occurred.

-	Yearly Notes -- Enter information about the event.  You can insert line feeds by pressing <Ctrl-Enter>.


Reminder/Statistical Information Window

This window appears in two ways:  when the user selects Statistics from the Main Window;  when an event notification for the entry is generated.

Depending on the entry type, slightly different information appears in each of the display boxes:

-	Information -- This is where standard information about the event is displayed.  Of interest are the day of the week on which the event occured.  For birthdays, the persons astrological sign is shown.

-	Today... -- This is where information relative to today is displayed.

-	Next Birthday.../Next Anniversary... -- This is where information relative to the next birthday or anniversary is displayed.

When displaying the Statistical information, the Yearly Notes dialog box is displayed.  This gives you a chance to update notes on the person or event.  For instance, if its someones birthday, you can make a note of what gift you buy the person each year.