VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS Document is NOT spaced for printing ! <> This is a chopped-up version of the documenation. The electronic document is (c) 1994 BASE 12, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This software is copyrighted. If you decide to use it, you must pay for its' usage. DISCLAIMER Base 12 does not guarentee that this program will function with your specific system to your exact needs. Every effort has been made to assure program is functionable for it's designed purpose. We strongly recommend you test this program for any Viruses if you downloaded it from a BBS system. Base 12 has the right to make any changes or modifications to this software without notification to you. Base 12 or any related entity will not be responsible for the misuse of this program. If you prefer, you may obtain a verified clean copy direct from Base 12 by writing to: BASE 12, P.O. BOX 7119, EAST LOS ANGELES, CA 90022-1118 - request BASE 12 PAGER ASSISTANT (Send $3.00 for shipping and handling) ALL REGISTERED TRADEMARKS MENTIONED ARE MANUFACTURES' TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS AND ARE USED ONLY FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES. This program was designed to help you be more efficient and bring you more business by assisting you in contacting clients on time. You have a 60 day trial period after which you must decide whether you would like to register the program and recieve version 3.0 or not. TO ORDER C.O.D. : 1-800-9-BASE-12 Price: $24.50 Outside Local Toll: 1-213-269-5150 BASE 12 PAGER ASSISTANT TM Version 2.1s or 2.01s 1993/94 Base 12, East Los Angeles, CA A Base 12 / T & H Communications Project Programmer & Documentation by Jose Jimenez Jr. Designer: Tammy Nga Tran Thank you for selecting the Base 12 Pager Assistant program. This program is designed to be used in conjunction with a numeric pager. This software requires that your computer have a modem of 1200 bps of greater. This software was developed in conjunction with T & H COMMUNICATIONS (R). (You can reach T & H COMMUNICATIONS by calling Base 12 and accessing Mail-Box number 46.) We decided to develop a software program that would be beneficial to pager users, easy to use, flexible and very affordable to any person. USAGE The Base 12 Pager Assistant software can remind you of important calls you must make. As date and time criteria are met in the database, the computer dials your pager and sends you a predefined number of the person you must call. The Base 12 Pager Assistant program can be used in conjunction with your personal appointment book. When you get a page and are reminded that it is time to make a call, you can look up in appointment book to get the details. If you leave your computer on overnight, you can take advantage of the "Wake-up Call" service. This service will call you everyday at the specified time. Every user can have their own unique "Wake-up" time for every day of the week. You can leave your computer on and simply turn the monitor off. The system contains a database that can be filled with an unlimited amount of pager owners. Each pager owner can have as much as nine (9) scheduled calls per record. If a pager owner requires more than nine scheduled calls, the Base 12 Pager Assistant operator can add the pager owner into another record. Once added the another record, the pager owner will have a total of 18 scheduled pages. Unlimited additions into the Base 12 Pager Assistant database means the scheduled pages are also unlimited. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS The modem required for use with this program is a Hayes(R) Compatible modem that runs at a minimum of 1200 bps (bauds per seconds). OPTIONAL PARAMETERS: C:\B12PAGER> B12PAGER READ - Allows you to read documentation C:\B12PAGER> B12PAGER MODIFY - Allows you to modify ASCII files C:\B12PAGER> B12PAGER NON-STOP Place this in AUTOEXEC.BAT and if your computer ever reboots, the program will load automatically and bypass the Main Menu and go straight into the Pager Service to continue where it left off. See End of Documentation for more..... HOT KEYS -------- F1 = Help ALT-C = Pop-up Calendar ALT-T = Time ALT-S = Screen sleeper ALT-G = Quick Program Lock In pager database: ALT-O = Printer output ALT-H = Quick Hangup ALT-A = Auto paging on/off THE MAIN MENU The main menu has the following selections available to you: Begin Service Pager Database Setup Data Files Tag Groups Exit To Dos BEGIN SERVICE - Automatic Dialer **Exiting the Automatic Service You can exit this part of the program by pressing any key on the keyboard. If you have set the Delay Processing to a large number like 6000, you will notice the program will not stop as soon as you press a key. Sometimes, you may need to press the keys a couple of times to stop the program. If the Delay Process is set to a low number under 2000, the program responds quicker. It is strongly advised that you keep the processing speed to 0 to assure the fastest possible processing your machine can handle. The Delay Process function is located in the "Setup" selection at the main menu. Please Note: Once a dial begins execution, it can not be stopped. PAGER DATABASE Now for some details on using the largest part of the system. This section is the Pager Database. Let's start off with the menu selections found at the bottom of the screen. Remember, you select your choices by either pressing the First letter in the command or using the arrow keys on your keyboard. To actually execute the command, you press the ENTER or RETURN key. Please be aware: The maximum number of characters that can be dialed is 36. This includes the pager number and the return number (together). Every 3 seconds of delay specified for an entry occupies 1 character space. Example: If you were to have a pager number as 12139990000 (11 characters), a return number as 1*818*999*9999*911 (18 characters) and a delay time of 15 seconds (15/3 = 5 characters) Your total would be: 11+18+5=34 characters If your total is greater than 36, the program will truncate the excess. So be aware and exclude any unrequired characters (especially the dash "*" character). PAGE Select this to page the person identified on the screen. You can select the entry to use (1 - 9). For example: Assume that you are away from the office and person XYZ calls. They ask your secretary to page you and to call them. If XYZ's telephone number happens to be at entry five (5), your secretary can select PAGE entry 5. The program will dial your pager and send the return number located at entry 5. You will then receive XYZ's phone number on your pager. If the number does not exist in any of the entries, you can select MANUAL dialing. Note: During a Page, you can press any key to stop the call and hang-up the telephone line. Hang-up can also be performed ay any time by pressing Alt-H STATUS PAGE The status_page is used to change the status of the entries 1 - 9. You can specify which of the nine entries you would like changed. Any entry with a check mark next to it represents a one "1" in that field. No check-mark means it contains a zero. The purpose of the check mark: The check mark identifies any record entries that are to be included in the PAGER SERVICE section of the program and are also to be tested if you have AUTO PAGING activated (Alt-A, see Hot Keys). If an entry is to be tested for a date and time match, it must have a check-mark next to it. By having the check-mark, the program will test the entry and dial it as required. If you remove the check-mark, the PAGER SERVICE and AUTO PAGING will ignore the entry as if it did not exist. WAKE-UP The Wake-Up call function allows the program to dial the pager number any day of the week at a specific time. Every user can specify wake-up calls in any combination. The calls can be performed any day of the week in any combination and each day having a unique wake-up time. When you select this option, the computer will display some instructions. You will also be asked to specify a date on which the wake-up calls will begin. You may have a friend that wishes to receive a wake-up call every Wednesday at 5:30am beginning 1 month from today. So, if today is June 1, 1994, you would enter 07/01/1993 as the start date for the wake-up calls. This process helps you in the following ways: WARNING: Remember, the program will perform only as requested. If your system date is not correct or the time is off by 15 minutes, you may end up with some unhappy friends. Use wisely. As mentioned, date & time are the most critical in this software. Another factor to consider is power supply. If your part of the city has a power-outage, your computer is shutting down which means no dialing from the computer. Even a simple voltage spike can sometimes reboot your computer. Also, we recommend that you turn the computer monitor off when you plan to leave your computer on during the night. This will save you money on electricity. Next, you will asked to enter a return number. If the number you are dialing is a pager, you can send a number like 11111 which can be used as a code for WAKE-UP! Even if you are dialing a home telephone, you can still specify the return number, though it has no effect on calls to voice phones. When the seven days of the week are displayed, they will have a "No" or a "Yes" displayed below each day. The days with a "Yes" below represent days that wake-up calls will be performed. To change the setting on any given day, use the arrow keys to highlight the day, then press the ENTER key to toggle On or Off. When you are finished, select Done and press ENTER. Depending on the days you have selected, you will asked to enter the wake-up time for each day. Please remember that Base 12 Pager Assistant is based on Military 24 hour format. 1:30am equals 00:30 and 1:30pm equals 13:30. If you need to know the current date and time, press ALT-T During an actual wake-up call (which is performed by the PAGER SERVICE section of the program) the computer will dial wake-up calls for a period of 1 minute. Depending on how many people are being called, the program may dial the same pager up to three times during a wake-up call. If you are going to wake-up 30 people at 8:30am, you must spread the calls depending on their DELAY time. If you have two people with a delay of 14 seconds, you can only perform two calls in one minute (14+14x2= 56 seconds). Always multiply the delay time times two. According to the example, the remaining 28 people will never get a wake-up call even though you specified them to get one. In order to avoid this type of mess, specify wake-up times by groups, for example: If 20 people have delay times of 12 seconds, you can group 2 of them to wake-up at 8:20, then another 2 at 8:21, and another 2 at 8:22, and another 2 at 8:23, etc... If six people have times of 4 seconds, you can group 4 call at 8:24 and another 2 at 8:24, and so on. In summary, avoid mass wake-up calls at the same time. Don't promise the whole office calls at an exact time. Be realistic and calculating in your setup. You can send a number or the system date and time. Picture this: You are going on a trip that takes you to remote areas where you may not have access to alarm clocks. You put your pager on SOUND mode and place it next to your bed-side (car seat, sleeping bag, chair, bed-post, etc...) and go to sleep. At exactly 5:05am your pager starts sounding. You wake-up and look at your pager: It displays: 08-22-05-05 These numbers represent: August 22, 05:05am That is what system date and time represent. The computer takes the system date and time and sends it to you! GROUPS It is possible for Base 12 Pager Assistant to perform batch phone calls. Presently, there are 18 available. A batch phone example: Let's pretend that you own a delivery service and have 30 employees. If you required that all 30 employees listen to a very important message as soon as possible, how would do it? Dial all 30 pagers by hand? That can get expensive if you have a secretary perform the task. Your best choice would be to use the Tag option. CALLS When you select CALLS from the bottom menu, the program will ask you which group or group(s) you would you like to dial. You may select one, two, or all 18 groups if you wish. Press ESC when you are done. A window will fall from the top of the screen and ask CONTINUE? select Yes to dial the groups, or select No to cancel the operation. Setting up the Tag groups From the Main Menu, select "Tag Groups" MANUAL If you ever need to dial a pager that is not in the database, you select this choice. You can specify a return number (special character codes allowed) TEL-BUG (TELEPHONE BUG!) How many times have you ever paged someone and they do not call back? It can be frustrating! This little function should make things easier for you. It will dial the current pager number every 2 minutes up to 9 times (18 minutes worth!) If this doesn't get the person to call you back, then their pager is probably off. THE 9 ENTRIES Pagable Flag The value contained in this field is either a "1" or a "0". A "1" in this field tells the computer that if the date and time criteria are meet, the entry is "pagable". A "1" in this field displays a check-mark. A "0" in this field tells the computer that it is not to be paged. Even if the data and time criteria are met, the computer will not page the entry. It can be considered as an "over-ride". Date Criteria This is the date that the pager must be paged. Time Criteria This is the time that the pager must be paged. The time criteria is dependent on the date criteria. If the date matches, the program will not dial until the time has been met. Please note that the latest time allowed 23:59 (11:59pm) and inter-range numbers can have a maximum of "59" minutes. Number To Send This is the number that will appear at your pager when you are paged. You can also add some special control characters in your return number field. PAGER DELAY TIME IN SECONDS All pager services are not created equal. All pagers answer differently. When you call a pager you do the following: Instructions on checking the delay time: You will need a watch or timer that is capable of displaying the seconds. Note: If you are using the same carrier service, all pagers should have the same delay values. Make a list of all the pager owners and their pager numbers. Begin at the top of the list and call the first pager. Look at your timer and begin to count the number of seconds as soon as you hear the phone ring through the handset. Listen carefully and as soon as you are allowed to enter a return phone number, STOP! Look at the watch and count the number of seconds elapsed. Write down the seconds next to the entry on your list. Continue with the next entry until all are completed. When you begin to add the pager owners to the database, you will be asked for the seconds delay. Enter the number of seconds that you have on your list next to the pager owner you are adding to the database. You may need to round up your results to the closest seconds (2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18) SETUP Setup is the section where you define some very important information regarding the modem. The first is the COM port location of your modem. You can enter a number from 1 to 9. If your modem is internal, it is probably going to be COM 3 or 4. If your modem is an external model, it might be COM 1 or 2. If you just do not know, start at number 1, dial a number from the database and test it, if that does not work, come back to setup and select 2 and so on. The default is 3. TAG GROUPS There may be a time when you would like to dial a group of people and send them the same return phone number. You can define up to 18 groups and each with its own unique return phone number and optional automatic date & time paging. COMMAND LINE A command line parameter is a number or word you enter following the program name. In our case, the program name is B12PAGES The following is a list of parameters: The Base 12 Pager Assistant program is capable of dialing pagers from the DOS command line without loading the program. This can be very useful if you create batch commands and would like the ability of dialing. The parameters are: 1. Number to dial DIAL= 2. Delay mode of pager DELAY= 3. Return number to send RETURN= To actually perform the process: (below are examples) B12PAGES DIAL=12139990000 DELAY=15 RETURN=1*714*000*9999 B12PAGES DIAL=999-8888 DELAY=12 RETURN=101 etc...... Using in batch commands: Here is an example of a simple batch command that can be used: Create a file called: DIAL.BAT ECHO OFF CLS IF "%1"=="" GOTO HELP IF "%2"=="" GOTO HELP GOTO DIAL :HELP ECHO Dialer ECHO Enter: DIAL name return_number ECHO Example: DIAL JOSE 999*0000 ECHO Names: CHAGO, JOSE, TAMMY GOTO END :DIAL IF "%1"=="CHAGO" B12PAGES DIAL=1234567 DELAY=15 RETURN=%2 IF "%1"=="JOSE" B12PAGES DIAL=7654321 DELAY=12 RETURN=%2 IF "%1"=="TAMMY" B12PAGES DIAL=0987654 DELAY=17 RETURN=%2 :END ********************* USING THE PROGRAM TO DIAL YOUR PAGER WHEN SOMEONE TURNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AND YOU ARE NOT AROUND! It is a very simple process that can be accomplished by placing the dialing command in your computer's AUTOEXEC.BAT file. To make sure that everything will function as planned, you must make sure the following: 1. If your modem needs it, make sure the DOS MODE.COM file is located at the root directory (C:\) It assures the program dials without any problems. 2. Keep your pager on 24 hours a day while you are away from home or the office. Note: You can press Cntrl-C during the boot-up process to bypass the dialing if you ever wish to remove this feature. Now, for an example of an AUTOEXEC.BAT: File: AUTOEXEC.BAT (located at C:\ ) ECHO OFF CLS PROMPT JOSE $p$g PATH=C:\DOS;C:\UTIL;C:\NETBOOT C: CD\B12PAGER B12PAGER DIAL=12130009999 DELAY=15 RETURN=1000*911 CD\ *********** INDEXING If your program ever acts funny or it will not load because index files are missing, you can create new index files by typing: B12EPAG2 INDEX If you need any other items such as computers, parts, music items, pagers and/or service, call Base 12: (213) 269-5150 VOICE MAIL MENU: Ext 10 Base 12 Software