Main Help Screen
Quickdex for Windows

Click on a portion of the graphic or one of the subject areas below for help.

Basics	File Handling

Quickdex Keys	Searching for Text

Changing Sounds	Miscellaneous


 Finding Text

Cards can be found by typing a string in the Find edit box and pressing <Enter>.

Repeatedly pressing <Enter> will find each subsequent occurrence of your string.  Pressing <Enter> searches forward, and pressing <Shift-Enter> searches backward.  If you do not enter a search string, then you will simply jump to the next (or previous) card.  You may also press the scroll buttons [image] [image] to the right of the Find edit box to search forward or backward.

If the search string is not found, the application will beep.

Forward Searches

Forward searches are much faster than backward searches (essentially 'X' times as fast, where 'X' is the number of characters in the search string).  If you skip past a card when searching forward, use Alt-B to go 'Back' to the previously found card.  Alt-B only goes back one card.

Wild Card Searches

You may use wild cards in your search by prefacing your search string with a tilde, '~'.  Wild cards only work with a forward search and slow your search down considerably.  Wild cards include '?' to match any character, '*' to match any number of characters (including none), and '[x-y]' to match any character in the range x through y.  For example:

    ~2[0-9][0-9]9  matches 2349 and 2569, but not 28G9.

    ~a*b  matches ab, Albert, and Crandallberg, but not ball.

    ~a??c  matches ACDC, a3!c, and acac, but not abca.

As with other searches, wild card searches are not case-sensitive.


File Handling

When you first run Quickdex, it prompts you for the name of a card file.  If you are creating a new file, simply type a file name.  Once you have specified the file name, it is remembered in the file QDW.INI when you start Quickdex again.

Saving Files

To save changes to your current file, click on the save button, or press<Alt-S>.  Saving is disabled until you change the file.

Changing Files

To change to a different file, select a file using the 'Open/Create data file...' option from the Quickdex system menu.

The four most recently used data files are remembered by Quickdex and appear in the system menu. You may switch between your currently open file and an older one either through the system menu, or by pressing <Alt-2>, <Alt-3>. or <Alt-4> (to get to the second, third or fourth file on the list).

Macintosh Files

Quickdex for Windows recognizes Macintosh format Quickdex files (version 1.4) and asks if you want to convert them.  If you choose to convert, the file will be overwritten with the Windows format when you save the file.

You may save your file in Quickdex for Macintosh format by holding down the CTRL key when you click on the Save button.  You will be requested to verify that you want to write in Macintosh format.

Note that to use the file on the Macintosh, it will need to be 'stamped' with a creator of QDEX and a type of TEXT (case-sensitive).  If this doesn't make any sense,  you need to find a Mac expert to help you.


Changing and Using Sounds

Clicking on 'the mouth' [image] tells Quickdex to look in the current card for a phone number and read it out.

Quickdex uses sound files that come with the application, but you may specify your own sounds.

To use your own sounds, you must record WAV files for each digit and place them somewhere in the path where Quickdex can find them.  Wave files are named yyyyyyx.WAV where x is a digit from 0-9, and yyyyyy is a prefix of your choice.  You tell Quickdex to use your wave files by specifying QDSND=yyyyyy (your choice of prefix) in the QDW.INI file.  If no QDSND keyword is found in the INI file, Quickdex assumes a prefix of QDSND.

For example, if you wished to have Quickdex speak in French, you would record ten wave files named FRENCH0.WAV through FRENCH9.WAV.  Then edit QDW.INI and add the line:

qdsnd=french

(case doesn't matter).  After making this change, Quickdex will use your sounds when speaking a phone number.


 Quickdex Keys

The following Alt-key combinations are supported:

<Alt-A>	Same as <Alt-N>, adds a new card.

<Alt-B>	Displays the last card viewed before the current card.  <Alt-B> will only work if you have not changed the current card.

<Alt-D>	Deletes the current card.  You will be requested to verify the deletion.

<Alt-N>	Creates a new, empty card.

<Alt-P>	Reads the highlighted (selected) number in the current card.  If you press <Shift-Alt-P>, Quickdex will find a phone number on the current card and read it (same as clicking on 'the mouth'.

<Alt-Q>	Same as <Alt-X>, exits (quits) the application.

<Alt-S>	Saves any changes made to the file.

<Alt-X>	Exits the application.

<Alt-Z>	Undoes all changes to a card -- up to the last time the you cursor was moved out of the text edit box.

<Alt-2>	Toggles (switches) between the last two files you have been using.  Similarly, <Alt-3> and <Alt-4> cycle through the last three or four files you have been using.

Except for <Alt-P>, all Alt key combinations are not case (or CAPS LOCK) sensitive.


Exit

Clicking on this button will quit (exit) the application.  If you have not saved your file, you will be prompted to do so.


The System Menu

The System Menu (also called the Control Menu) appears in the upper left hand corner of the application, and look like this: .


Find Area

Enter the text you wish to find in this box and press <Enter>.  For more information see Finding Text.

Pressing the right mouse button in this box brings up an Edit menu.


 The Mouth

Clicking on this button will find a phone number on the displayed card and read it out.  For more information see Changing and Using Sounds.


New

Clicking on this button adds a new, blank card to your file.  The cursor is automatically positioned inside the text box.


Save

Clicking on this button saves your file.  This button is disabled until you make a change.  See File Handling for other file options.


Help

Clicking on this button brings up this WinHelp file.  If this file cannot be found, a 'minimal' help dialog is displayed.


Previous Card

Clicking on this button displays the previous card that matches the search criteria specified in the Find text box.  If there are no matches, a "beep" will sound.


Next Card

Clicking on this button displays the next card that matches the search criteria specified in the Find text box.  If there are no matches, a "beep" will sound.


Delete Card

Clicking on this button will delete the card displayed.  You will be requested to confirm the delete before the card is actually deleted.  Deletions can be "Undone" only by exiting the application without saving.


Text Area

Type anything you want in this area.  Click on other buttons to find data or create new cards.  If you press the right mouse button in this area, an Edit menu will be displayed.


 Miscellaneous Information

You can disable the 'vanity' dialog that's displayed when Quickdex starts by adding the line 'LG=0' to QDW.INI.  The value for LG specifies how long (in seconds) the dialog will appear.  Clicking on the dialog when it is displayed makes it go away.

Within a Quickdex file, card records are strung end-to-end, delimited by ASCII 127 (Ox7F) characters.  To merge two files, use the DOS copy command (copy file1+file2 file3).

File size is limited by available RAM, as the entire file is loaded into memory for use.  Individual cards are limited to 30,000 characters.

If you find any bugs or other undesirable 'features', please contact the author at (403) 237-3804 or through Compuserve 70444,127.

- SCS -


Basics
 Quickdex Basics

Quickdex is a freeform database you can use as a place to put names and phone numbers, 'sticky' notes and various other miscellaneous pieces of information.

Quickdex replaces the Cardfile program that comes with Windows.  Unlike Cardfile, Quickdex allows you to search forward and backward, allows a regular expression search, and allows (essentially) unlimited file and card sizes.

Within the text area of a Quickdex card, you may use the standard cursor movement keys, as well as <Enter>, <Insert>, <Delete> and <Backspace> with the expected results.  The <Tab> key switches your cursor between the text edit area and the find edit area.

An 'Edit Menu' appears if you press the Right mouse button within the text area, or either mouse button anywhere else (anywhere that isn't a button or edit control).  The standard keyboard accelerators for editing also work (i.e.  <Ctrl-X>, <Ctrl-Ins>, etc.  depending on whether you are using Windows 3.0 or 3.1).  'Undo' on the edit menu undoes very little.  If it doesn't work try <Alt-Z> .