Contents
Contents.

What OutBoard is and does

The main window

The detail window

The Administrator


What OutBoard is and does
What OutBoard is and does.

OutBoard can replace the traditional board at your reception desk that shows who's IN, who's OUT, where, until when, and how you may contact them.  It operates via a shared file on a LAN, and each 'Member of the Board' may update his or her own information, and view that of any member, from his or her own desk.

The shared file is updated when any member makes a change.

The main window display is updated (refreshed):

when it's restored to normal from an icon

when the refresh 'Now' button is clicked,

optionally, at intervals under the member's control.

Inside the program, members are uniquely identified by their LAN LoginID, which is  displayed in some windows. Generally, proper full names are used.

Further information is provided in explanations of the windows and controls.


Member of the Board
Member of the Board.

Members are all those people who have joined a particular Board, and hence have a record in the shared file.  The file name is used as the Board name in the main window title.


Main window
The Main window.

This window provides the overall view, and allows a particular member to be selected for a more detailed view.  You may also rapidly locate your own information for update, by clicking the 'Me' button.  Click on different areas of the window for more information.


Member ListBox
The Member ListBox.

This shows the selected members, alphabetically by Last Name and First Name.  'X's following the name indicates that the member is OUT.

Double-clicking a name will display further details for that member.  When the selected member is yourself, or if you are an Administrator, you may change most of the details.


Name Finder
The Name Finder.

As you type the characters of someone's Last Name, the Member ListBox positions itself to display that name.  When a member is selected, hitting the Enter key will display the details for that Member.


Select display Group
Group Selection.

This ComboBox allows you to select a specific group, or ALL groups to be listed.


Show Out only CheckBox
Show Out Only.

When this is CHECKED, only those Members marked as being OUT will be displayed.


Refresh
Refresh.

The display is not always current.  It may be refreshed NOW by clicking the button.

If the main windows was iconized, it is refreshed automatically when restored to normal size.

It may also be refreshed automatically at intervals of 1 to 30 minutes; the interval is changed by using the scroll buttons.  This could be useful for Administration people who need to keep continuous watch on the status.  However, this may prevent a Screen Saver from activating.  If the Refresh time is set to 0 then no periodic refresh occurs, and your Screen Saver will act normally.


'Me' button
The 'Me' Button.

Clicking here provides a quick way to locate and display your own information.


File Name display
The FileName display area.

Details of the OutBoard file name are shown here.  You should not normally be concerned with this, it is provided primarily for troubleshooting purposes.


Detail window
The Detail window, large version.

This window shows all your details, and allows you to change most of them.  The input areas' background will change to yellow when only five more characters may be entered, and to red when no more may be entered.  You must click the 'Update" button to update the file.  There is a smaller version of this window, which hides the infrequently-changed details.  Click the "Less <<" button for the small version.

Click on different areas for more information.


Belong-to-Group ComboBox
Group.

Each Member of a Board is also a member of a group within the Board.

When a new Member joins, he or she should also select a group to join.  If that group appears in the list.then click it to select.  Otherwise, a new group may be defined by entering its name in the text area. and hitting the "Enter" key.


'Out' CheckBox
The 'Out' CheckBox.

Click this to 'Checked' to show that you are out, or to 'UnChecked' when you return.  When 'checking out', you may wish to indicate where, until when, and how you may be contacted, by entering appropriate data in those areas.  The main file is updated when you click the 'Update' button.

When this box changes to UnChecked, i.e. you have presumably returned and are 'checking in', the Where, Until and Contact details may optionally be cleared.  These actions are controlled by items in the 'Options' pull-down Menu.


'More' button
The 'More/Less' Button.

When this button reads "More >>" it may be clicked to show the additional information which rarely changes.

The button changes to  "Less <<". Clicking it again hides the lower part of the window, to minimize the screen area used.


'Cancel' button
The 'Cancel' Button.

This makes the window go away, without doing any updates.


'Update' button
The 'Update' Button.

This updates your record in the file, so that others may see your changed status, and makes the window go away.

Note that though the file is updated instantly, other members' displays  are not. Display update is under Member's control.


Belong-to-Group ComboBox
The Group selection ComboBox.

Each OutBoard member also belongs to a Group.  This is where you select which group you belong to.  If your group is identified there, then select it.  ONLY if it isn't, then type an identifier for your group.  THIS DEFINES A NEW GROUP, and should be done only by the first member of a group to join the Board.


This area shows the LAN LoginID of the displayed member.  This is used by OutBoard to identify your record in the OutBoard file.  It cannot be changed.


This shows the Group that the displayed member belongs to.


'UID' display
'UID' display.

This area shows the LAN LoginID of the owner of the displayed information. It cannot be changed.


'Last Change' display

This shows who last changed this record, and when.


'Show' button
The 'Show' button

This is enabled only when a name is selected in the main ListBox.  Clicking this displays that person's details.  This is the same action as double-clicking the name.  The button is provided primarily for anyone using the keyboard only (no mouse).


Out 'Until' area
The 'Until' area

Enter here the date, time or other appropriate information concerning when this person is expected to return.


'Where' area
The 'Where' area

Enter here the whereabouts or other appropriate information concerning where this person is.


'Contact' area
The 'Contact' area

Enter here information concerning how this person may be contacted, e.g. hotel, pager # etc.


Last & First names
Last Name & First Name

These provide the usual name for this person, who is identified within the program solely by his or her LAN LoginID.


Work Hours

Generally useful information.


'options' menu
The Options menu pull-down

The top three items are toggles. If checked, the corresponding detail area will be blanked when you 'check-in'.

The "Colours" item presents four choices:- "Classic", "Background", "Desktop" & "Workspace".  "Classic" is the original OutBoard colour.  The others select one of the Windows system colours for the OutBoard window backgrounds.  What these colours are is controlled by the  Windows Control Panel | Colors  settings.


Adminstrator
The Administrator

At least one Member of the Board should become an Administrator, by pulling down the Admin menu.  A dialog box will request entry of a password, and if the correct password is entered, that member is designated as an Administrator 'for ever'.  The 'Admin' menu item 'Become Administrator' is no longer required, and will no longer be displayed.  A 'Create User Record' item then becomes available.

An Administrator may change any member's details, which is often necessary for receptionists, secretaries, admin assistants etc.

An Administrator may also delete a member record.  To do this, select (single-click) the member in the main window ListBox, hit the 'Delete' key, and confirm the delete in the dialog box.

To provide for some work-group members who do not have a LAN connection, an Administrator may create a user record, using a pseudo LAN-ID, which should follow the general format of real LAN-IDs.


Menu | Options

The menu Options pull-down accesses options for selecting colours, and resetting detail fields at check-in.


Menu | File

File | Open allows the user to select an OutBoard file, which must currently exist.  For most users this will not be necessary, as their regular file is determined by other means.  However, it can be useful if a user is a member of more than one OutBoard, when it can provide a quick way to switch between them.


Menu | Admin

Menu | Admin provides a way for a User to become an Administrator, and to subsequently create a record for a user who has no LAN connection.


Menu | Help

The way into the Help system.

It also accesses the Help About box- be sure to try Help About | Go Away.