Contents
NoteZ v3.23

Introduction

The Main Window

Note Windows

The Diary Window

The Calendar Window

How NoteZ Stores Data

Using the Keyboard

Registration


Introduction
1. Introduction

NoteZ is a program I wrote to help me organise my life.  At first I only used it myself, but then friends began to take copies, and their suggestions have helped smooth the rough edges and develop it to the point where I now find it an essential part of my work.  This version, NoteZ 3.23, is definitely the best yet, and it is available both for Windows 95 and for Windows NT on Intel.  It would also be available for NT on MIPS and Alphas if I had a suitable machine to compile it on (any offers gratefully received).

Whats new?

Installing NoteZ

Notes

Times/Dates and Alarms

Storing Data

NoteZ Windows

Using This File


Whats new
Whats new?

Version 3.23 is a relatively minor upgrade over the previous version 3.22.  Ive fixed a few bugs and finally written a proper setup program.  If you are happily using v3.22 there is little to be gained from upgrading.

Version 3.23 is 32 bit only and will not run on Windows for Workgroups or earlier versions of Windows.


Installing NoteZ
1.1 Installing NoteZ

To install NoteZ simply run setup.exe.  You will be asked for the directory where NoteZ should be installed.  You can use an existing directory or setup can create a new directory for you.  If you already have NoteZ installed the setup program will by default upgrade your existing installation.  The setup program is designed to leave your current notes intact, but as always, if you have important data then back it up first before you install.

If youre using NT v3.51 then setup will create a group and icon for NoteZ in Program Manager.  On NT v3.52 or later or Windows 95 setup will add an entry for NoteZ to the Start menu.


Introduction to notes
1.2 Note Windows

The basic element of NoteZ is the note.  This is a direct rip-off of the 3M Post-It concept, and by default notes even share the same yellow colour as Post-Its.  You can create notes, type some text into them and then leave them lying around on your Windows desktop just as you would with Post-Its.

Unlike Post-Its NoteZ notes can have alarms, so if the note is for an appointment you can have your favourite .wav file sound when the appointment is due.

Each note can store a large amount of text, so you can use them for substantial documents.  Folders of notes can be searched by note title or note contents, so notes can be used as a simple database system.


Introduction to times, dates and alarms
1.3 Times/Dates and Alarms

Where NoteZ scores over Post-Its is that you can attach a time and date to a note, and the note then behaves like an entry in a diary.  Unlike a diary you can make an alarm sound when the note is due, and you can set a warning, for example to have the alarm go 15 minutes before the appointment time.  You can make notes repeat, for example every week, for regular appointments.


Storing data with NoteZ
1.4 Storing Data with NoteZ

You can also use notes as a scrapbook by typing useful bits of information into them.  Notes can be organised into folders, so you might keep telephone numbers in one folder and your favourite recipes in another.  Each note can hold a large amount of text, so a lot of data can be stored.  To find a telephone number or recipe or whatever you can search the note titles or the note text or both.


Introduction to the three NoteZ windows
1.5 NoteZ Windows

There are three windows you can use to handle notes.  The Main window shows you the current folder, the current time and a list of all the notes in the current folder.  This has a menu bar you can use to create notes, delete notes, change the note appearance and so on.  It also has the obligatory button bar.  NoteZ also has a Diary window which shows you seven days at a glance, and it has a Calendar window which marks with a red dot days which have a note set.  These two windows can also be used to create and delete notes.


Using the Keyboard

NoteZ does not make extensive use of the keyboard, but does use the following keys:

Ctrl+PageDown, Ctrl+Tab, Ctrl+F6 - These all jump between the windows NoteZ displays.  Pressing these keys repeatedly will cycle around the main NoteZ window, the Diary and Calendar, if they are visible, and any visible notes.

Ctrl+PageUp, Ctrl+Shift+Tab, Ctrl+Shift+F6 - As above, but these keys move between windows in the reverse order to the keys above.

In Note windows the following keys are used:

Ctrl-S - Save changes to the note text

Escape - Abandon changes to the note text

Ctrl-B - Make text bold

Ctrl-I - Make text italic

Ctrl-F - Change the text font


Using the help file
1.6 Using This Help File

I have laid out the help file as if it is a manual, so you can read it thoroughly by going through page by page, or if you are just browsing then you can use the hyperlink structure to wander through it.  If you are looking for a specific piece of information the quickest way to find it is probably using the Search button.  I have tried to provide a comprehensive list of keywords.


The NoteZ Main Window
2. The NoteZ Main Window

The main window is the central control point for NoteZ, but most simple things like creating and displaying notes can be done from the other windows or when the main window is iconised.  It is normally only necessary to use the main window for things like searching notes, creating new folders or customising NoteZ, for example by changing fonts.

Creating Notes

Editting Notes

Copying and Pasting Notes

Moving Notes between folders

Deleting Notes

Displaying and Hiding Notes

Printing Notes

Selecting Notes byTime

Selecting Notes by Contents

Changing the Current Folder

Changing the Alarm

Changing Note Colours

Changing Fonts

Sorting Notes

Displaying the Diary and Calendar

The Button Bar

The Note List


Creating notes from the main window
2.1 Creating Notes

There are four ways to create a new note from the Main window.

1.	Choose the Create note command from the Note menu.  This will display the Edit note dialog and you can choose the note title, alarm, size and if you wish import a file.

2.	Click the Create note button on the Button Bar.  This will display the Edit note dialog and you can choose the note title, alarm, size and if you wish import a file.

3.	Drag a file from File Manager and drop it on the note.  This will create a new note containing the file and using the default note size.  The file name will be used as the note title.  You can edit the note to change the title and size.

4.	Paste a note that has previously been copied.


Editting notes from the main window
2.2 Editting Notes

To edit a note from the Main window click on the note title in the Note List to select it and then choose the Edit note command from the Edit menu.  If more than one note is selected then only the first in the list will be editted.  This command is disabled if there are no notes selected in the Note List.

You can also edit notes from the note windows.


Copying and pasting notes from the main window
2.3 Copying and Pasting Notes

Copying and pasting notes is used for moving whole notes between folders; to copy and paste note text simply display the note and then perform the clipboard operation from the note window.

To cut, copy or paste a note or notes from the Main window click on the note title(s) in the Note List to select it and then choose the Cut note, Copy note or Paste note command from the Edit menu. This command is disabled if there are no notes selected in the Note List.


Deleting notes from the main window
2.4 Deleting Notes

To delete a note or notes from the Main window click on the note title in the Note List to select it and then choose the Delete note command from the Note menu.  If more than one note is selected then all the selected notes will be deleted.  This command is disabled if there are no notes selected.

You can also delete notes from the note windows.


Displaying and hiding notes from the main window
2.5 Displaying and Hiding Notes

To quickly display a single note from the Main window double left-click on its title in the Note List.  Alternatively, click on the note title in the Note List to select it and then choose the Show note command from the Note menu.  If more than one note is selected then all the selected notes will be displayed.  This command is disabled if there are no notes selected.

To hide a note from the Main window click on the note title in the Note List to select it and then choose the Hide note command from the Note menu.  If more than one note is selected then all the selected notes will be hidden.  This command is disabled if there are no notes selected.

There are Show and Hide buttons on the Button Bar to act as shortcuts for the menu commands.

You can also display notes from the Diary and Calendar windows, and hide them from note windows.


Printing notes from the main window
2.6 Printing Notes

To print a note or notes from the Main window click on the note title in the Note List to select it and then choose the Print note command from the Note menu.  If more than one note is selected then all the selected notes will be printed.  This command is disabled if there are no notes selected.

There is a Print button on the Button Bar to act as shortcut for the Print note menu command.

You can print the list of note titles by selecting the Print list command from the Note menu.

You can also print notes from the note windows.


Selecting notes by time
2.7 Selecting Notes by Time

You can sort the notes in the Note List by time, and this may be sufficient to give you an idea of when notes are scheduled.  If you need more information there are two commands on the Select menu you can use.

The Overdue notes command on the Select menu selects all notes whose alarm time is earlier than the current time.  There is an Overdue notes button on the Button Bar to act as a shortcut for this command.

To select all the notes whose alarms are due within a given period use the Due by.. notes command from the Select menu to display the View Notes Due Within dialog box.

If you enter the time within which you want to select notes and click OK then all the notes due within the time will be selected.  You can then display them with the Show note command from the Note menu, or by clicking the Show note button from the Button Bar.


Selecting Notes by Contents
2.8 Selecting Notes by Contents

You can search through the notes in folder to look for some text.  To do this choose the Search notes command from the Select menu.  This will display the Search Notes dialog box.

In this box you enter the text you want to search for, and you can make the search sensitive or insensitive to case.  When you click OK NoteZ will search the notes and then it will select the notes that contain the text in the Note List, but it will not immediately display them.  To display the found notes use the Show note command from the Note menu or click the Show note button on the Button Bar.

The reason for doing the search this way is that suppose the first search finds too many notes, and you want to narrow them down.  If you leave the notes selected from the first search and then search again, you can check the Search selected notes radio button to specify that only the notes selected will be searched this time.  This allows you to do repeated searching on a subset of the notes until you find the one you want.  If you want to search all the notes again then just click the Search all notes radio button.


Changing the current folder
2.9 Changing the Current Folder

At the top left of the Main window is a drop down list containing the names of the NoteZ folders.  You can change to a different folder simply by choosing the folder name from this list.  Alternatively you can change folder by selecting the Change folder command from the Select menu.  This will display the Change Folder dialog box.

At the top of the dialog box is an edit control showing the directory where the folders are kept.  This is normally the same as the directory where you installed NoteZ.  For example, suppose you installed NoteZ in a directory called c:\notez.  The installation process will have created two subdirectories, diary and recipes, containing the two example folders.  The edit control shows c:\notez and the list of folders shows diary and recipes.

To change folder just click on the folder name in the Select folder list to highlight it and click OK.  As is usual in Windows double clicking on the folder name jumps straight to that folder without you having to click the OK button.

You can use this dialog to create a new folder simply by clicking the New button.  You will be asked for the folder name and you can type the new name and click OK, or click Cancel to abort.  The folder name must follow the same rules as a filename.  Normally this means it must be eight characters or less and must not contain any spaces or special characters, but if you are using NTFS on Windows NT you have more freedom with filenames.

Finally, there are times when you might want to change the Path to NoteZ folders field.  You might want to keep two entirely different sets of folders in two different directories, and if so you will need to change the field to change to the other set of folders.  Alternatively you might have moved the folders so that they are no longer in c:\notez.  For example suppose you moved them to a directory called c:\windows\notez, in that case you need to enter c:\windows\notez in the Path to NoteZ folders field.


Changing the alarm sound
2.10 Changing the Alarm Sound

To change the alarm used in NoteZ use the Change Alarm command from the Select menu in the Main window.  Any Windows .wav format file can be used as an alarm.


Changing note colours from the main window
2.11 Changing Note Colours

You use the Change colours command from the Select menu to change the default note colours for the currently open folder.  You can also choose to change all existing notes to the new colours by checking the Change all existing notes box.

This is a different effect to changing the note colour from a note system menu.  When you change colour from a note you are changing just that notes colours.  When you change colour from the Main window you are changing the default colours that will be used for any new notes.

Colours are stored on a folder by folder basis, so you can use different colours for different folders.


Changing fonts
2.12 Changing Fonts

You can change the fonts that NoteZ uses for the Main window, the notes, and the Diary using the Change font command from the Select menu.  This has a sub-menu with commands to change the note, Main and Diary font.  Any font can be used, and the chosen font will also be used when printing.

Note that the font is stored on a folder by folder basis, so different fonts can be used for different folders.  Note also that changing the note font affects all notes, you cannot change the font in just one note in a folder.


Sorting notes
2.13 Sorting Notes

The note titles in the Note List can be sorted either alphabetically or chronologically.  To sort them alphabetically choose the Sort by title command from the View menu or click the Sort by title button on the Button Bar.  To sort them chronologically choose the Sort by time command from the View menu or click the Sort by time  button on the Button Bar.

The sort type is remembered on a folder by folder basis.  For example, you would probably want to sort a telephone list folder alphabetically and a diary folder chronologically.


Displaying the Diary and Calendar
2.14 Displaying the Diary and Calendar

If the Diary or Calendar are hidden, or if they just happen to be obscured by other windows then you can display them from the Main window by choosing the Show Diary and Show Calendar commands respectively from the View menu.


The Button Bar
2.15 The Button Bar

The Button Bar provides a shortcut to the most common menu commands.

On the far left is a drop down list showing the current folder.  You can change folder simply by selecting a folder name from this list.

Next along is a static display that shows the current time.

To the right of the time are a series of buttons.  From left to right these buttons are:

Create a new notes

Display a note or notes

Hide a note or notes

Print a note or notes

Select all overdue notes

Search notes for text

Sort notes alphabetically by title

Sort notes chronologically by alarm

In this release of NoteZ the button bar is not customisable.


The Note List
2.16 The Note List

The note list displays the alarms and titles of the notes in the current folder.  These can be sorted either alphabetically by title or chronologically by alarm.  For many of the Main window menu commands you have to select the notes you want the command to apply to.  For example to print some notes click on the titles you want to select them and then choose Print note from the Note menu.

Double clicking on a note title is a quick way to display that note.


Note Windows
3. Note Windows

The note is the basic object that NoteZ handles.  A note has a title, some text and optionally a time/date and an alarm.  This section describes how to these parts of a note can be used.

The Right-click Menu

The Note Title

The Note Text

The Alarm button

The Note Size and Border

The Note Font

Printing Notes

Saving data from Notes

Moving Notes between Folders

Editting the Note Style

Changing the Note Colour

Deleting Notes

Hiding Notes


The Note right-click menu
3.1 The Right-click Menu

Hide Note

Cut, copy and paste text

Copy note

Cut note

Save changes

Save as

Print Note

Edit the note title

Hide note

Note colour

Cancel changes

Delete Note


The Note window title
3.2 The Note Title

The title is the basic label for a note.  The title appears in the note list in the main window, and also in the Diary, so it is normally a brief summary of the note contents.  Using the main window you can sort notes by their titles, and you can search the titles for text.

The title is set when the note is first created, or you can change the title either by selecting the Edit command from the right-click menu or by double left-clicking the title bar.  Both of these bring up the Edit Note dialog.  This also allows you to change the note style and make it always on top.


The Note window text
3.3 The Note Text

Notes can hold a very large amount of text, limited only by the available memory.  The text in notes can be formatted to change the font and colour just like a mini word processor.  Use the right-click menu or the shortcut keys control-B and control-I for bold and italic and control-F to change the font.

When you change the text in a note the note title will change to indicate that the contents are unsaved.  At any time you can select Save changes from the right-click menu or the shortcut key control-S to save the changes.  The changes are saved automatically when the note is hidden or when NoteZ exits so you wont lose any work even if you forget to save the changes.


The note window alarm button
3.4 The Alarm Button

The alarm button shows the note time/date and whether the alarm is on or off.  To change the note time click the alarm button and the Edit Note Time dialog will be displayed.

In this dialog box you enter the date and time you want the alarm set to.  If you leave the Alarm On box unchecked then the alarm will be attached to the note, but it will not be active.  If you want the alarm to be active then check the box.  If the alarm is active then the current alarm file will be played when the PC time matches the note time.  If the alarm is active and the alarm time is older than the PC time then the note will automatically be displayed when NoteZ is started.

It can be useful to have an alarm set but not active because you can use the alarm time to sort notes into chronological order.  Having the alarm off means you don't get all the outdated notes springing up each time you run NoteZ.

There is more to setting alarms than just a simple time.  For example if you have an appointment at 10.00am you probably want a few minutes warning to get ready.  If you click the Warning button then the Give Warning of Alarm dialog appears.

With this box you can choose what warning you want.  If you enter a warning period and check the Set as default box before clicking OK then the value you enter will be remembered and restored the next time the Warning dialog box is opened.  If you tend to use the same warning period for all notes this saves retyping the warning each time.

As well as having a warning on a note alarm you can specify a duration.  For example if you are away on holiday for a week you can specify a duration of 7 days.  This means that in the Calendar the next 7 days from the start of the note will be marked red.

You can also make an alarm repeat by clicking the Repeat button.  For example to avoid forgetting your wedding anniversary you can make a note repeat every year.  A more prosaic use might be to make a note repeat every 7 days for a regular weekly appointment.  You can choose how many repeats you want;  leaving the number of repeats set to 0 means repeat indefinitely.

Finally, if you want to postpone an alarm you can click the Defer button and choose how long you want to postpone it for.


The note size and border
3.5 The Note Size and Border

There are four sizes of note, small, medium, large and sizeable.  The first three of these are fixed sizes and are set when the note is created, although you can change the size by editting the note.  Sizeable notes are initially the same size as a medium note, but you can resize them simply by dragging the border of the note.

Resizeable notes are more flexible, but I think they look ugly compared to the fixed size notes.  However both are provided, so just choose whatever suits your own taste.  When you choose a size in the Edit Note dialog you can check the Set as default box to make your choice the default for all future notes in the folder.

You can change the fixed sizes by making the entries listed below in notez30.ini in the [NoteZ] section.  The sizes are in eighths of an inch; on a usual display one eighth of an inch is 12 pixels.  The numbers below show the default values.

[NoteZ]

SmallWidth = 12

SmallDepth = 12

MediumWidth = 16

MediumDepth = 16

LargeWidth = 32

LargeDepth = 20

ResizeWidth = 16

ResizeDepth = 16


Changing the note font
3.6 The Note Font

By default notes will use the smallest size of the MS Sans Serif font.  You can change the default font by choosing the Change font/Note font from the Select menu in the Main window.

You can also format the text within notes to different fonts by selecting the text and choosing Font from the right-click menu, or using the shortcut keys control-B and control-I for bold and italic and control-F to change the font.

If you use the Font command when no text is selected then you change the default font and colour for that note.


Printing notes from a note window
3.7 Printing Notes

You can print a note by selecting the Print command from the right-click menu.  You can also print a note or notes from the main window.


Saving Data from Notes
3.8 Saving Data from Notes

If you have data in a note then you can cut and paste it into other applications, but it can sometimes be useful to save the note data as a file.  To do this simply select the Save as command from the right-click menu which displays the Save Note As dialog box.  You can save the note data as rich text format, which preserves the formatting, or as simple text.


Moving notes between folders
3.9 Moving Notes Between Folders

To move notes between folders you have to copy or cut the note from the current folder, change folders and then paste the note into the new folder.  You can copy or cut notes either by selecting the Copy note or Cut note command from the note right-click menu , or by selecting the note titles in the main window and choosing Cut note from the Edit menu.  To paste the note back into a folder move to the main window, change to the folder you want the note in and then choose Paste note from the Edit menu.


Editting notes from a note window
3.10 Editting Notes

To edit a note either select the Edit title command from the right-click menu or double click on the note title bar.  You can also edit notes from the main window.

In the dialog box you can type a title for the note, click the alarm button to set or change the note alarm, and check one of the radio buttons to change the size and border of the note.  You can also set the note to be always on top.

You can import a file into the note by typing the file name into the import box.  If you cannot remember the file name you can click the Browse button to search for it.  If you do import a file then any text currently in the note will be overwritten by the new file and lost.


Changing note colours from a note window
3.11 Changing Note Colours

You can change a note background colour by choosing the Note colour command from the right-click menu.  You can also change the default colour from the main window.

This will only change the background colour.  If you want to change the text colour then use the Font command from the right-click menu.


Deleting notes from a note window
3.12 Deleting Notes

You can delete a note by selecting the Delete noe command from the right-click menu.  The deletion is permanent, and deleted notes cannot be recovered except with considerable effort.

You can also delete notes from the main window.


Hiding a note window
3.13 Hiding and Displaying Notes

Notes are either visible, which means they are somewhere on the desktop, or they can be hidden, which means they are invisible.  For an application like a diary most notes would normally be hidden, and only the ones for today would be visible.  You can hide a note by clicking on its minimise button or selecting Hide from the right-click menu, or you can get the same effect by double left-clicking the system menu, or by choosing the Minimise or Close commands from the system menu.

Hidden notes can be redisplayed from the main window or from the Diary and Calendar.


Saving changes to the note text
3.14 Saving changes to the note text

When you change the text in a note the note title will change to indicate that the contents are unsaved.  At any time you can select Save changes from the right-click menu or the shortcut key control-S to save the changes.  The changes are saved automatically when the note is hidden or when NoteZ exits so you wont lose any work even if you forget to save the changes.


Cancelling changes to the note text
3.15 Cancelling changes to the note text

I found while developing NoteZ that sometimes when a note alarm went off the note would pop up in front of the word processor I was typing into, and the next few words would go into the note before I could react.  To undo unwelcome overwriting of the note select the Cancel changes command from the right-click menu.

This is also useful if you have been editting a note and decided to abandon the changes you have made.  For local undo you can also use the standard Windows shortcut key alt-backspace.

Note that the Cancel changes only applies to note text and will not undo changes to the alarm or note title.


Always on top notes
3.16 Always on top notes

It can sometimes be useful to have a note which always remains on top of other windows even when it doesnt have the focus.  To do this either select Edit title from the right-click menu or double-click the note title bar to display the Edit Note dialog box, and check the Always on top box.  To stop the note from remaining on top simply repeat the process and uncheck the box.


Cut, copy and paste
3.17 Cut, Copy and Paste

The cut, copy and paste commands on the the right-click menu simply perform cut, copy and paste operations on the note text.  You can also use the shortcut keys control X, C and V, or for traditionalists control-Insert, shift-Insert and shift-Delete.


The Diary window
4. The Diary Window

The diary allows you to quickly review your notes.  It shows up to seven days with the titles and timings of any notes on those days.  If there is more than one note on a day then the notes are sorted in chronological order.  You can scroll through the diary by using the scroll bar, or if the calendar window is visible you can jump to a particular day by right clicking on that day in the Calendar.

Displaying Notes from the Diary

Creating Notes from the Diary

Changing the Diary Date

Printing the Diary

The Diary Font

Hiding the Diary


Displaying notes from the Diary
4.1 Displaying Notes from the Diary

The Diary can be used to display notes which are hidden.  If you see a note in the diary which you want to display then double left-click over the note title to display it.

Double left clicking will display a note in the Main and Calendar windows as well.


Creating notes from the Diary
4.2 Creating Notes from the Diary

The Diary can be used to create new notes.  This can be done either by double right-clicking on the Diary or by drag-dropping a file on the Diary from the File Manager.

Double right-clicking

To create a new empty note on a day in the Diary just double right-click over that day, and this will bring up the Edit Note dialog box.   The note time will be set to the day you clicked over, and the note alarm will be on.  You can use the Edit Note dialog box to set the note title, alarm and size.

Drag-Dropping

If you drag a file from File Manager (or another application that allows drag-dropping) onto the Diary then a note will automatically be created containing the dropped file.  The note time will be set to the day the file was dropped on, and the note alarm will be on.  The note will be created with the current default size.


Changing the diary date
4.3 Changing the Diary Date

When NoteZ is started the Diary shows todays date (that is the PCs date) at the top, and below this the next seven days.  To change one day at a time left-click the arrows at the top or bottom of the scroll bar.  To change one week at a time left-click just above or just below the scroll bar thumb.  Dragging the scroll bar thumb does not have any effect.

If you want to jump to a date the easiest way is to right-click once on that day in the Calendar, and the Diary will immediately change to show that day.


Printing the Diary
4.4 Printing the Diary

The Diary can be printed by left-clicking on the system menu at the extreme top left of the Diary window, and then choosing the Print command.  A dialog box will be displayed to allow you to specify what period to print.  Note that the printout of the Diary always starts at the first date shown in the Diary window.


Changing the diary font
4.5 The Diary Font

By default the Diary will use the smallest size of the MS Sans Serif font.  You can change the font used in the Diary by choosing the Change font/Diary font from the Select menu in the Main window.

The Diary font is remembered on a folder by folder basis.


Hiding the Diary
4.6 Hiding the Diary

If you do not want to display the Diary then left-click the minimise button at the extreme top right of the Diary window, and the Diary will disappear.  If you want to display the Diary again then go to the Main window and choose the Show diary command from the View menu.

NoteZ remembers whether the Diary is visible or not on a folder by folder basis.  For example, for a folder you use as a telephone list the Diary can be hidden and will stay hidden.  For a folder used as a diary the Diary can be left visible.  When you switch between the folders the Diary will be hidden and redisplayed as required.


The Calendar window
5. The Calendar Window

The Calendar shows the whole of the current year.  Todays date is marked with a green dot, and any days that have notes are marked in red.  The Calendar is too small to list the titles of notes, but you can find out what notes lie under a red marker by left double-clicking to display them or by using the Diary.

Displaying Notes from the Calendar

Creating Notes from the Calendar

Changing the Calendar Year

Hiding the Calendar


Displaying notes from the Calendar
5.1 Displaying Notes from the Calendar

The Calendar can be used to display notes which are hidden.  For example, suppose 25th December has a red mark to indicate there is a note there, then double left-click on 25/12 in the Calendar and all notes on that day will be displayed.

Double left clicking will display a note in the Main and Diary windows as well.


Creating notes from the Calendar
5.2 Creating Notes from the Calendar

The Calendar can be used to create new notes.  This can be done either by double right-clicking on the day you want the note or by drag-dropping a file on the Calendar from the File Manager.

Double right-clicking

To create a new empty note on a day in the Calendar just double right-click over that day, and this will bring up the Edit Note dialog box.   The note time will be set to the day you clicked over, and the note alarm will be on.  You can use the Edit Note dialog box to set the note title, alarm and size.

Drag-Dropping

If you drag a file from File Manager (or another application that allows drag-dropping) onto the Calendar then a note will automatically be created containing the dropped file.  The note time will be set to the day the file was dropped on, and the note alarm will be on.  The note will be created with the current default size.


Changing the date in the Calendar
5.3 Changing the Calendar Year

At the right end of the Calendar are three buttons labelled "Next", "Goto" and "Last".  Left-clicking on the Next and Last buttons moves to next and last year respectively.

Clicking the Goto button brings up a dialog box which allows you to choose any year.  You can also left-click the system menu at the extreme top left of the Calendar window and choose the Change year command.


Hiding the Calendar
5.4 Hiding the Calendar

If you do not want to display the Calendar then left-click the minimise button at the extreme top right of the Calendar window, and the Calendar will disappear.  If you want to display the Calendar again then go to the Main window and choose the Show calendar command from the View menu.

NoteZ remembers whether the Diary is visible or not on a folder by folder basis.  For example, for a folder you use as a telephone list the Diary can be hidden and will stay hidden.  For a folder used as a diary the Diary can be left visible.  When you switch between the folders the Diary will be hidden and redisplayed as required.


How NoteZ stores data
6. How NoteZ Stores Data

You need to know a little bit about how NoteZ stores its data so you can back up the data to protect against hardware failures or virus attacks.  On the other hand, the exact details of how data is stored should not be important unless there is some catastrophe and your data is mangled.  The next section gives a basic description of the data format, and the subsequent sections give the sort of detailed information you might need as a last resort.

Format of NoteZ Data

The NoteZ Header File Format

Moving NoteZ Folders

If Disaster Stikes


Format of NoteZ Data
6.1 Format of Stored Data

NoteZ stores its data in folders.  Each folder is held in a separate directory, and within this directory is a header file called header.txt, and several note files called noteXXXX.txt.  These files hold the note contents in rich text format.

To back up data you simply need to archive all the directories that contain NoteZ data.  This job is made easier because all the directories are usually kept together.

In the ini file notez30.ini in the windows directory there is an entry

FolderPath=<a directory>

that tells NoteZ where the directories that contain its folders are kept.  You can change this entry by using the Change folder command from the Select menu in the Main window.


The NoteZ header file format
6.2 The Header File Format

The NoteZ header files start with the line

NoteZ30

NoteZ uses this to check that the directory does contain a NoteZ folder.  Following this there are 10 lines for each note as illustrated below

Note	(each new note starts with the word Note)

Meeting on Thursday	(the title)

note0001.txt	(the note contents file)

0,0,4,192,192	(the note position, size id, width and height)

1,1	(the visible and alarm on flags)

0,0,0	(the note text colour RGB format)

ff,ff,0	(the note background colour RGB format)

93,8,23,9,30,0	(the note date ie 9:30:00 am 23/8/93)

15,0,-2	(the warning time)

-1,-1,-3	(the duration time)

-1,-1,0	(the repeat interval)

The size id is 0 for default size, 1 for small, 2 for medium, 3 for large and 4 for sizeable.  This note is sizeable.

The format for the last three entries is the number of intervals first then an interval type which is 0 for a minute, 1 for an hour, 2 for a day, 3 for a month and 4 for a year.  The third number is an interval type flag, 0 means repeat, -2 means warning and -3 means duration.  -1 means the value is unset.


Moving NoteZ folders
6.3 Moving NoteZ Folders

NoteZ keeps its data organised into folders, and each folder is kept in a separate directory.  For example, the two example folders are kept in the directories diary and recipes.  If in the course of reorganising your files you wish to move these directories you can move them with File Manager like any other directory, but you must inform NoteZ where you have moved them to.  To do this use the Change folder command from the Select menu in the Main window.

It is a very bad idea to have NoteZ running when you pull its directories out from under its feet.  This stands an excellent chance of corrupting your data.  You should make sure NoteZ is closed before moving any of its files around.


Recovering from disaster
6.4 Recovering from Disaster

Page 1 in this section describes the format that NoteZ uses to store data, and in principle you can use this information to rebuild a corrupted folder from scratch.  In practise there will be few reasons to want to do this, the most common one being that you accidently delete a note or notes and do not have a recent backup.

When you delete a note this does two things.  It deletes the noteXXXX.txt file that holds the note contents and it modifies header.txt to remove the reference to the note.  If something awful happens:

i)	quit NoteZ immediately before any more damage is done.

ii)	use a suitable undelete program to restore any noteXXXX.txt files that were accidently deleted.

iii)	if you were quick you will find header.bak contains the previous version of header.txt, so you may be able to simply copy header.bak to header.txt to recreate the folder.

iv)	if header.bak is no good then you can copy the undeleted noteXXXX.txt files somewhere else, restart notes and then drag-drop the files onto NoteZ to create new notes.  This will lose your titles alarms etc, but there really is no way to recover these.


Registration

NoteZ is shareware, if you like it enough to use it please do the decent thing and register it.

You can register on Compuserve by typing GO SWREG and choosing reference number 3053, or you can send 10 pounds sterling or 15 US dollars to me.  I cannot take credit cards, but cheques in sterling or US dollars or indeed cash are welcome and should be sent to:

John Rennie.

18 Shaftesbury Avenue,

Vicars Cross,

Chester.  CH3 5LQ

United Kingdom

jrennie@cix.compulink.co.uk

10027.2376@compuserve.com