Copyright: Visual Help Copyright ® 1993-1994 Firas Bushnaq


Contents
ON-LINE INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Introduction

NOTEBOOK I  is a full featured Personal Information Manager.  This on-line manual should help you achieve the maximum benefit of Notebook's tools.

MAIN WINDOW

NOTEBOOKS

Reference

Menus

Index

Glossary

ABOUT


Main Menu

The Main Menu Bar provides the path to many features of Notebook.  From this Menu you can select the desired Operations

FILES

CALENDAR

NOTEBOOKS

QUERIES

REPORTS

MAINTENANCE

HELP

Paragraph


Files

The Files selection on the Menu provides the means to exit the Program and to Select the Current Notebook Database.


CALENDAR

The Calendar Window is a Utility Window.  In this version of Notebook the Calendar Window contains two working Tabs.  They are the Day At A Glance and the Month At A Glance views.  The Calendar Buttons at the top of the Window allow you to select the appropriate month, Minimize or Maximize the Window, or Exit back to the Main Window.

DAY AT A GLANCE

MONTH AT A GLANCE


DAY AT A GLANCE

The main feature of the Day at a Glance view is the Schedule Grid.  This grid displays the days planned activities.  There are three types of items displayed here:

1 	FIXED TIME APPOINTMENTS: These are appointments with People for fixed times.

2 	FIXED TIME TASKS: These are tasks/jobs that must be done at Fixed Times

3 	FLOATING TASKS: These are tasks/jobs that have a general time span

The scheduler automatically handles the disposition of Floating Tasks, moving them along the schedule until they are finally marked finished by you.  Imagine that!, A floating tasks manager that keeps tasks on the schedule moving them along as the time and/or day changes.

The Personal Appointments section of the Day At A Glance view provides quick access to the Appointments View window and the Add/Reschedule window.  The number of appointments for the currently selected day is displayed in a window.  By selecting either of the buttons in this section, you will be presented with their respective windows and returned to the Calendar View when done.

The Tasks Area of the Day At A Glance view provides the Task Manager Window in a Variety of  Notebook configurations based on Priority Status

The Windows next to each category button show the number of active tasks for each.  If there are no active tasks in that category then the button is disabled.  Selecting one of the buttons will bring up the Task Manager with a Record Set limited to the category selected.


MONTH AT A GLANCE

The Month At A Glance view shows a standard type of calendar for the month.  In the present version of Notebook, each day square shows the number of Fixed Appointments and Fixed Tasks for the day.  By double clicking on any day square the view will automatically change to the Day At A Glance view for that particular day.


NOTEBOOKS

The Notebook concept is the heart of this program.  A Notebook is a Window into a Record Set based on a Structured Query.  There are Queries that are already built into Notebook, and there are the Queries that you design using the Query Generator.  What this means is that you can arrange Record Sets according to groupings that are relevant to your needs.  Have you ever been frustrated at not being able to extract the information you wanted in the way you wanted out of a database that you knew contained that information?  Well hopefully Notebook will ease some of that frustration.  There are four types of Notebooks in this version of the Program. they are:

PEOPLE

COMPANIES

APPOINTMENTS

TASKS/JOBS

Each of these Notebooks can provide their respective information aligned into Record Sets that you define.  These Record Sets can become Persistant Notebooks or Session Notebooks dependant on your needs.


PEOPLE

As the name suggests, People is the Notebook that contains the information on the various people that you need to keep tract of.  Besides the usual Name, Addresss, and Phone Number type of info, People also tracts the Company or Organization they are associated with, and a Memo field that can contain any other type of information you would like to maintain about each particular person.  The People Notebook has three major areas of activity. They are:

Notebook Action Area

Data Manipulation Area

Data Entry Area

When entering data for each person, make sure that you fill in each field as completely as possible.  The First Name, Last Name, and Zip fields must contain valid data or the record entry will be rejected.  The NOTES field, if used properly, can become a very powerful tool.  The ability of Notebook to do searches based on SQL structures allows you to make Notebooks based on almost any criteria you specify.


NOTEBOOK ACTION AREA

These selections are common to all the People and Company Notebooks.  They provide actions that do not change or alter the database in any way, but rather provide services that are related to the Notebook or Record Set as a whole.

Under certain circumstances this group of options are disabled.  Those circumstances are:

When  Appointments Reschedule/Add Called the Notebook

When The  Add New or Edit Mode is in effect


Appointments Edit
Appointments Edit/Add & Reschedule

The Edit/Add button becomes active when you have selected a Personality and an open time slot in the case where you are adding a new appointment, or it becomes active when you select an existing Appointment for Editing.  Clicking on this button saves the information displayed at the time.

The Reschedule Button becomes active when you have an Appointment selected.  When you click this button, the Rescheduleing Process is initiated.

Same Day Reschedule

Another Day Reschedule

The Delete Button becomes active when you have a selected appointment.  By clicking this button, you will bring up a dialog asking you to confirm or cancel the delete.  If you confirm then the appointment will be removed from the Database.


Same Day Reschedule

If the rescheduleing is for a different time on the same day, then you press the Reschedule Button.  You select the Same Day from the dialog window.  The Reschedule Button turns red.  You then select the time slot for the appointment and click the Red Reschedule Button.  The Appointment is moved to the new time slot.


anotherday
Reschedule to Another Day

From this window you select the time slot to move the appointment to then select the button with the appropriate time.  You can also cancel the entire operation with the Cancel Button


DATA EDIT
DATA ADD NEW & EDIT CONTROLS

Initiates a New Record for data entry.  Select this button when adding a new record to the database

Opens the current record for changing or editing existing information or adding new information to the record.

Use this selection to remove records that are no longer needed.  You will always be prompted for confirmation before any deletes.

This button calls or returns to the Add/Reschedule Appointment window.

This Button stores either the new record or the Edits to an existing record when selected.

The Add New and Edit functions can be retracted by selecting this button if the Commit Button hasn't already been selected.


Data Manipulation

It is easy to move around the Notebook databases.  The ability to create Record Sets using the Query Generator facilitates easy data searches and manipulations.  By creating Notebooks based on SQL queries your data becomes easily managed.  Once you have the Notebook opened, you have other tools to help find particular records.  Once Found it is easy to Edit those records using the Data Edit tools made available to each Notebook.


DATA ENTRY

Entering data is usually initiated by an ADD NEW button.  An empty record is created in the database and  waiting for you to enter data.  The {TAB} key will move you from field to field whlie entering data.  All records have a Key field or fields that must contain valid data.

Once the data has been entered, you can select either the Commit or Cancel buttons depending on whether you wish to store the record or abort the entry.

Editing existing records is accomplished with the EDIT button, which opens the data fields to modification.  Again, you must select either the Commit or the Cancel keys to save or abort your edits.


COMPANIES

The Companies Notebook keeps tract of the Businesses and Organizations that have relevancy to your purposes.  One of the major tools of the Companies Notebook is the PBPAC classification field.  It helps to group certain types of businesses into logical groups.  Companies also includes a NOTES memo field where you can keep information on a Company not categorized in the other Data Fields.  Used Properly, the Notes field can help you arrange Companies Notebooks into relevant Record Sets that suit your purposes.  The Companies Notebook is divided into three areas of activity:

Notebook Action Area

Data Manipulation Area

Data Entry Area

When entering data for each Company, make sure that you fill in each field completely as possible.  The Company Name and Zip Fields must contain valid data or the record entry will be rejected.  The ability of Notebook to do searches based on SQL structures allows you to make Notebooks based on almost any criteria you specify.


APPOINTMENTS VIEW
APPOINTMENTS VIEW WINDOW

The Appointments Add/Reschedule Window is where all Appointments are originated.  The Add/Reschedule window is available from the People and Tasks/Jobs Notebooks, The Main Menu, and from the Calandar.

ADD/RESCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS


TASKS
TASKS/JOBS MANAGEMENT NOTEBOOK

The Tasks Manager has four major divisions as illustrated above.  The Tab control is used to separate the divisions for easier to understand organization.  The purpose of the Task Manager is to aid in the organizing and scheduleing those jobs, meetings and  small activities.

Tasks Manager has several memo fields to provide adequate space to store information that just wouldn't fit anywhere else.  There is a Task Log that provides facilities for keeping timed & dated entries on a task, a Task Description Field for entering a complete description of a task including all the details you care to enter.

The Tasks Manager allows the creation of Fixed Time and Floating Tasks depending on your particular needs.

The Tasks Manager also provides Multiple Task Generation for those tasks that must be repeated every so often.


QUERY GENERATOR

The above illustration shows the main part of the Query Generator.  The central area where the Query Statement can be seen is the Query Edit Box.  You can type in almost any valid Query Construct and execute it by selecting the Test Query.  The results of the query are displayed  in the bottom label.  If the query is successful then the Assemble Notebook and Add Notebook to Permanent List buttons become enabled.


REPORTS
REPORTS PROVIDED BY NOTEBOOK

Notebook & The Crystal Reports Print Engine.

NOTEBOOK uses the CRYSTAL REPORTS print engine to assemble and print reports.  At present, there are three areas that have reporting facilities, these are the Tasks Manager, The Main Menu, and Appointments.  In addition there is the comprehensive Label & Index card printing functions attached to the People and Companies notebooks.  Notebook is designed in a way that you can easily add new reports that you design yourself if you have the Crystal Reports Writer, a separate program you can purchase from Crystal.  If you do not wish to purchase Crystal Reports, we will design Custom Reports for you and include them in your copy of Notebook.  Please call us for details about this service.

APPOINTMENT REPORTS

TASK MANAGER REPORTS

LABEL PRINTING


Appointment Reports

Depending on where you call this routine from, the Appointments Report will print a listing of Appointments that match the current Appointments Record Set.

EXAMPLE:  Main Menu, Today's Appointments will use a Record Set that includes all scheduled appointments for that day.  The Appointments Report will include the following Data:

•	Name, Address, & Phone Numbers

•	Type of Appointment Action

•	Preparations Field full text

•	Comments Field full text

•	Results Field full text

Each Appointment will be separated by an obvious line accross the page.  See the Printed Manual for a facsimile.


TASKS REPORTS MENU

The Task Manager supplies several reports related to Tasks management.These reports are accessed through the Tasks Report Menu which is a Popup Menu.  Click with the right mousebutton on any Tab and the Menu will popup.  From there you have the following options:

•	PRINT LISTS

Print Lists opens a sub-menu with the choice of several simple task lists based on task priority and one report titled Current Task.  The list reports are simple reports that provides Title, Start & Completion dates.  The Current Task Report on the other hand provides a comprehensive report on the task including all the fields in the task record, a complete list of Task Contacts including all vital information regarding those contacts.

•	PRINT CONTACTS

There are two reports under this selection.  A Task Contact List, that provides a comprehensive list of contacts involved with a task including all information available on those contacts.  The other report is a Contact Report that provides the personal information on the currently selected contact along with a list of all tasks that the contact is associated with.

•	MINIMIZE

NO, IT IS NOT A REPORT!  This selection will Minimize the Tasks Manager window.


LABELS
LABEL PRINTING OPERATIONS

Notebook provides a wide range of Label and Index/Rotary Card printing options.  You just select the type of Label/Card you wish to print and the Crystal Reports Print Engine  does the rest.  When calling the Label Printing Routine, Make sure that you have the desired Record Set already selected from the Notebook that you called the Label Routine From.  The Label/Card Types Avaialble are:

•	5X60 Avery Style Laser Mail Labels 1" x 2-5/8" 30 per Sheet

•	5X61 Avery Style Laser Mail Labels 1" x 4 " 20 per sheet

•	5X62 Avery Style Laser Mail Labels 1-1/3" x 4" 14 per sheet

•	5X63 Avery Style Laser Shipping Labels 2" x 4" 10 per sheet

•	5X64 Avery Style Laser Shipping Labels 3-1/3" x 4" 6 per sheet

•	5X66 Avery Style Laser File Folder Labels 2/3" x 3-7/16" 30 per sheet

•	5385 Avery Style Laser Rotary Index Cards

•	5386 Avery Style Laser Rotary Index Cards

•	5388 Avery Style Index Cards

•	5389 Avery Style Index/Post Card

•	5395 Avery Style Laser Name Tags w/Adhesive Backs

•	5895 Avery Style Laser Name Tags w/Adhesive Backs


MAINTENANCE
NOTEBOOK  MAINTENANCE

This Menu selection provides four operations.

SELECT COMM PORT

PACK DATABASE

PURGE OLD TASKS

PURGE OLD APPOINTMENTS

Seletcing the Comm Port only needs to be done once and the program will remember the port selected.  If your Comm Port changes then you will need to reselect it.  The other operations are periodic maintnenance Items that should be attended to with regularity.


COMM PORT

In order to use the Dialer, you must tell Notebook which port your Modem is connected to.  There are four possible ports, COMM 1, 2, 3, 4.  Notebook defaults to Comm 2.  Once you have selected the port, Notebook will remember the setting.


Pack Database

The Pack Database command brings up this window.  You can just leave the default settings as they are or you can elect to change the format to either the 1.0 or 1.1 version of the Database.

The reason for this option is that some of you might own one or the other and want to import or attach Notebooks Tables to another Database you have designed.  If you do so be aware that you can effect the performance of Notebook with injudicious modifications.  If you are going to mess with it, MAKE A  BACK UP COPY FIRST!.  If you need too,  you can also encrypt your database.  Again, always make a backup before you make any alterations.

Why Pack A Database?  The ACCESS database engine does not actually erase records when you delete them.  Instead it just marks them as deleted.  Also, Data  can become disorganized after a period of usage affecting the speed performance of the Database.  When you Pack the Databas, The ACCESS Engine removes all unneeded Data Items  and reorganizes things in a more compact and efficient method including all the Indexes.  As a side benefit, a back up Database File with the extension .BAK is created.  Just copy this file to a safe storage medium after each pack.  If something should happen to your data, all you would need to do is change the .BAK extension to .MDB and you have your database back as it was just before that Last Pack operation.


PURGE OLD DATA

As Appointment and Tasks data ages, it becomes no longer necessary to keep them in the Active Database.  To remove these items Notebook provides  functions to remove old Appointments and Tasks.  The steps for purging these records are:

1 	Select either the Purge Old Tasks or Purge Old Appointments from the menu

2 	Select the Date to Purge up to from the Calendar Popup

3 	A Dialog Window will appear requesting you to Confirm or Cancel the Purge.

At that point you can elect to purge or cancel the operation.  If you Confirm the operation all records dated prior and up to the date displayed will be deleted.


Helpfile
Calls this Help File


Menus
NOTEBOOK SYSTEM MENUS

NOTEBOOK employs two types of menus, Dropdown and Popup.  The one dropdown menu in Notebook is on the Main (MDI) Window.  It is the hub of all activity in Notebook.  The other menus are Popup Menus available from many different parts of the Program.

Main Menu

Tasks Reports Menu

Memo Edit Menu


MEMO EDIT MENU

Whenever you are in a Memo Text Box (Notes, Comments, Results, etc) you can bring up this Popup Menu by clicking on the right mouse button.  You will be offered the standart Editing options:

•	CUT: This option removes the selected text from the Memo Text Field and places it in the Windows Clipboard

•	COPY:  This Option copies the selected text into the Windows Clipboard.

•	PASTE  This option inserts whatever text is in the Windows Clipboard into the Memo field at the selected insertion point.


Index

A

ABOUT MCS

Another Day

Appointment Reports

Appointment Setup

Appointments Edit

APPOINTMENTS VIEW

ASSEMBLE NOTEBOOK

ASSEMBLE QUERY

C

CALENDAR

Clipboard

COMM PORT

COMPANIES

CONTACT ADD

Contents

D

DATA EDIT

DATA ENTRY

Data Manipulation

DAY AT A GLANCE

Dialer

E

EDIT QUERY

EditCancel

EditCommit

EditMemo

Exit

F

FILES

G

Glossary

H

Helpfile

I

Index

L

LABELS

M

Main Menu

MAINTENANCE

Manipulative Statement

MEMO EDIT MENU

Menus

Minimize

MONTH AT A GLANCE

N

NOTEBOOK ACTION AREA

NOTEBOOK LICENSE

NOTEBOOK SHAREWARE

NOTEBOOK WARRANTEE

Notebook

NOTEBOOKS

P

Pack Database

Parametor Declaration

PEOPLE

PERMANANT NOTEBOOK

PURGE OLD DATA

Q

QUERIES

Query Edit Box

QUERY GENERATOR

R

REPORTS

S

Same Day Reschedule

SQL Syntax

T

TASK CONTACTS

TASK DESCRIPTION

TASK LOG

TASK OPTIONS

TASKS REPORTS MENU

TASKS

TEST QUERY

TIME OPTIONS

V

Viewgrid

VIEWNOTES


Glossary

A

ACCESS 1.1

Action

ADD NEW

ADD

Add/Reschedule

APPOINTMENT

C

Calendar

CANCEL

charange

charlist

COMMIT

CRYSTAL REPORTS

D

DELETE

Dropdown

E

EDIT

H

Help

M

MDI

O

Option-Declaration

P

Persistant Notebooks

PIM

Popup

Q

Query Statment

Quit

R

Record Set

S

selected

Session Notebooks

SQL

T

Tab

Test Query

Time Option

V

View

W

WHO?


ABOUT MCS
ABOUT MALLUF CONSULTING SERVICES

WE ARE A SMALL CONSULTING FIRM IN MORIARTY, NEW MEXICO.  WE SPECIALIZE IN WINDOWS DEVELOPMENT AND VERTICAL APPLICATIONS.  IF YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT NEEDS DOING, GIVE US A CALL..

P.O.BOX 251, MORIARTY, NEW MEXICO 87035

PHONE 505-832-6187     FAX 505-832-0234

NOTEBOOK SHAREWARE


NOTEBOOK SHAREWARE
NOTEBOOK SHAREWARE V 1.0

Thankyou for evaluating Notebook.  This version has most of the features of the registered version.  The MAPI Network mailer will only be available in the Network version of Notebook which is not yet complete.  The Fax system (Registered Version Only)reqires that you have fax software in place that acts like a printer on your Windows system.

WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU REGISTER:

•	Two 3.5 Disks containing the Complete version of NoteBook

•	Complete Documentation, including extensive online help file

•	Free Notebook V1.0 Updates for One Year for those registering before January 1st, 1995

•	FREE INDIVIDUAL ONLINE SUPPORT for 90 days after registering through Compuserve.  Further Individual support offered on a contract basis.

•	FREE INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT for 90 days by fax after registering.  Further Individual Support offered on a contract basis

•	Ability to create Multible Notebook Databases

•	Create Multible Notebook Sets through Queries

•	Latest version of Notebook

•	Discounts on other Software products by Malluf Consulting Services.

Warrantee on Registered Version

Software License


NOTEBOOK WARRANTEE
WARRANTY ON NOTEBOOK 1.0

LIMITED WARRANTY.  Malluf Consulting Services (MCS) warrants that (a) the SOFTWARE will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying documentation for a period of 90 Days from the date of purchase.

CUSTOMER REMEDIES.  MCS's entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at MCS's option, either return of the purchase price paid, or replacement of the software that does not meet MCS's LIMITED WARRANTY and the entire package is returned with a copy of your receipt.  This warranty is void if failure of the software has resulted from accident, abuse or misapplication.  Any replacement software will be warrented for the remainder of the original warranty period or 30 Days, whichever is longer.  These Remedies are not available outside the United States of America

NO OTHER WARRANTIES.  MCS disclaims all other warranties, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to the SOFTWARE or the accompanying written materials.  This limited warranty gives you specific legal rights.  You may have others, which vary from state to state

NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.  In no event shall MCS or its suppliers be liable for any consequential damage whatsoever (Including without limitation damages for loss of business profits, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use or the inability to use this MCS Product, even if MCS has been advised of the possibility of such damages.  Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.

U.S.GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. The SOFTWARE and documentation are provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS.  Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph(c)(1)(ii) of The Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 or subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of Commercial VCVomputer Software-Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52.227-19, as applicable.

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico


NOTEBOOK LICENSE
MCS Software License

1 	Grant of License.  Malluf Consulting Services grants you the right to evaluate this Software for 30 days.  If you continue to use it after this period then you must register it with the specified fees.  Furthermore, you are granted the right to distribute the UNREGISTERED SHAREWARE VERSION without charge, except for a minimal copying charge not to exceed $5.00 US., providing you distribute it complete with all the files provided in the original distribution file without any alteration whatsoever.

2 	COPYRIGHT. The SOFTWARE is owned by MALLUF CONSULTING SERVICES and is protected by UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAWS and International treaty provisions.  Therefore you must treat the SOFTWARE like any other copyrighted material.

3 	TO REGISTER:  Send A CHECK FOR $35.00 plus $5.00 Shipping and Handling to:
MALLUF CONSULTING SERVICES
P.O.BOX 251
MORIARTY, NEW MEXICO 87035-0251
Or register through COMPUSERVE in the SWREG forum.
Type GO SWREG
Select Registration # 2382


Topic1
Title


Appointment Setup
Appointment Entry & Reschedule

Keeping tract of your appointments starts here in the Appointments Entry and Rescheduleing Notebook.  It is not an MDA Child window, thus you can only have one open at a time, but you can still create many different Record Sets using  SQL constructs when using the Appointments View Notebook.  When you access this Notebook from the Main Window, People,Tasks or Companies Notebooks you are first presented with a Small Calendar from which you choose the Date of the Appointment.  If you select the Appointments Entry Notebook from the Calendar View you will go directly to this Notebook with the Date already selected by the Day At A Glance View.

This section of the Notebook shows the following features:
1. Person Selected Windows
2. Appointment Duration
3. Report Printer
4. The WHO? Button
5. The Quit Button
6. The Help Button
7. The Action to take Dropdown
The Set Duration window is fixed at 15 Minutes in this version.  Future upgrades will allow the setting of the Duration of appointments.  The Person Selected window displays the Information on the particular
appointment personality.

The WHO? button is active only if you Selected this Notebook from the Main Menu or from the Calendar.  If you Selected this Notebook from the Tasks or People Notebooks then the Person Associated with the Appointment is already selected.  When you Select the 'WHO?' button it brings up a Popup Menu from which the available People Notebooks are offered for selection.  Once you select the Notebook, you can select the Person for the Appointment by making them the current record and selecting the Appointment Button on the Notebook.  If the person does not exist in the database, you can enter them at that time.


ASSEMBLE NOTEBOOK

After you have successfully assembled, edited, and tested a Query, this Function Button becomes enabled.  Clicking on it will cause the Query to be generated into the appropriate Notebook.  This will be a Session Notebook.  If you want the query to be a Persistant Notebook then you must select the Add Notebook To Permanant List button.  After the Notebook is assembled, you must exit to the Main Menu and select it from the Notebooks menu


ASSEMBLE QUERY

After you have selected the Query's outline in the list-boxes you can select this function and the query will be assembled in the Query Edit Box.  From here you can edit the query to suit your needs.  The Assembled Query is almost always in need of final editing by you, the user.  Usually what is needed is the final criteria such as ( ='87035' ) to complete it.  On more complex queries you have to develop the query beyond the "WHERE" statment yourself.


Clipboard

This Button will send the current Name and address information to the Clipboard in Comma Delimited format.  You can then pass the information to where you need it.


CONTACT ADD

This Utility Window appears with a Record Set limited to the Notebook Group you selected from the Popup Menu.  Use the Data Control and the Index Buttons to select the contact you are looking for.  Once found choose the SELECT button to add this person to the Task's Contact List, or choose CANCEL to abort the selection.


Dialer
The Phone Dialer

The Dialer only requires that you select the Home or Work phone and then brings up this window.  You select the appropriate prefix type and then wait for the phone to ring.  Once the phone is ringing, a popup tells you to pick up the reciever and Click the OK Button or press return.  The Modem will then disonnect leaving you to continue your call.


EDIT QUERY

After assembleing the Query, you select this function to Edit it into a usable SQL statement.  When you are done you click on the same button (the caption now shows "Save Edit") to save the edit.  Then Click the Test Query to see if your query is valid.

Query Examples


QUERIES
QUERIES & RELATIONAL DATABASES

At the heart of Notebook is a fully relational database that uses the ACCESS 1.1 database engine.  What does this mean?.  It means that different sets of data can be related to each other in complex formulas providing extremely potent Record Sets for the database user.  These Record Sets are derived using SQL constructs to create those relationships.  Notebook provides a limited ability for the User to create Record Sets using relationships written in SQL.  The tool provided for this is called the Query Generator.

Constructing Queries

Queries are much like English Language sentences with certain limitations.  SQL statements are used to query, update and manage relational databases.

When you submit a select query through the Query Generator, the database produces a Record Set that contains all those records that match your criteria.

Basically, a query contains three parts:

Parametor-Declaration

Manipulative Statement

Option-Declaration

For the present, only the Manipulative Statement is relevant to Notebook.

SQL Syntax


Parametor Declaration

Parametor Queries require the Parametor-Declaration.  A parametor Query expects one or more values to be passed to it during execution.  The syntax of a
paramtor-declaration is:

•	Parametor Name, Data Type I.E. [State Wanted], Text

Parametor Queries are not implimented in this version of Notebook


Manipulative Statement

The Manipulative Statement performs a manipulative action on a Recordset.  Those statements include the following:

•	Delete From .................Where.............

•	Insert Into.......................

•	Select.........From.................Where ..........like,=,<,>

•	Update..................

Three of the above statements are part of Action Queries that perform some sort of alteration on the Record Sets.  We will not go into the use of them here, but rather suggest that you get a good reference on MS-ACCESS SQL before trying to use them. The SELECT statement is the one we used to create the different Notebooks, and subsequently, is the one used for the Query Example.  You cannot harm the database in any way using the Select Queries and they are a good way for you to learn how the Query system works.  Follow the example provided and then experiment using different options-declarations to become familiar in extracting the data the way you want it presented.


SQL Syntax
SQL SYNTAX EXAMPLE

SELECT * FROM [Table Name] WHERE [Field Name] (Criteria)

The syntax for a Notebook SQL statement is relatively simple.  In the above syntax example [Table Name] is the name of the Data Table you wish to select Records from.  In Notebook this could be People, Companies, Appointments and Tasks. For Example, to extract records from the People Database we would write:

SELECT * FROM PEOPLE...................

That would be the Select part of the Manipulative Statement.  Now we need to decide on what criteria we are going to select.

SELECT * FROM PEOPLE WHERE ZIP = '87035'

This would select all the fields from People where the Zip code was equal to 87035.  You could have used > for Zips that are greater than 87035 or < for less than,  >=, or <= respectively.  Text fields must have their criteria inside of single quotes.  Dates must be surrounded by # and numeric data is without either. These are the simple criteria.  You coud also say:

............WHERE ZIP >'87000 'AND < '88000'

This would return all the records whose zip is between the two limits.  You can do the same with Alpha charactors as well > A and <G would return B,C,D,E,F.  There are still more operators that you can use.  lets say you want all the Zips in the 87000 area.  You can use:

............WHERE ZIP LIKE '870**'

The LIKE operator allows the use of pattern matching and for selecting strings inside of strings.  The above example would select all zips from 87000 to 87099.  Perhaps you read elsewhere in the manual or in this help file where we stressed the importance of consistant uses of the Memo Field?  This is where it can pay off.  The LIKE operator accepts the following parametors:

•	The '?' matches any single character

•	The '#' matches any single digit (0-9)

•	The asterix matches any sequence of zero or more characters

•	[charlist] matches any single character in charlist

•	[charange] matches any single charater in charange

•	[!charlist] matches any single charater not in charlist

•	[!charange] matches any single character not in charange

Now here is a search.  suppose you want to find all contacts that were married and have children.  You could be putting these types of sentence anywhere in the NOTES field of the People records:

Ann is Married and has 3 children

Barbara is Married and has no children

To extract Ann out of the People table and leave Barabara out we would use a criteria construct like:

WHERE NOTES LIKE '*Married and [!n]*children*'

This would select Ann's record and not Barbara's.  The leading and trailing asterixes are neccessary for searching anywhere in a text string.  The possibilities are endless.  Just think out the kind of information you wish to search on and use a consistant system of entry in the Memo fields.


editcancel
Cancel The Memo Edit

Clicking on this button will cancel the current changes or additions to the Memo in Edit Mode


EditCommit
Commit Changes to Memo

Selecting this button will cause the changes and additions to the currently active memo to be commited to the Database


EditMemo
Editing The Appointment Memos

By Selecting the memo to edit then by clicking this button, you can open up the appropriate memo for editing


Exit

Closes the current Notebook or Window.


Minimize

Reduces the Notebook or Window to Icon form


Notebook
NOTEBOOK I : FEATURES & CONCEPTS

Notebook is a PIM with several features that will help make the maintenance of your daily schedule easier.  Based on Microsoft's ACCESS 1.1 Database Engine, Notebook is a Relational SQL Database incorporating all the benefits of this technology.  Also included in this version is the CRYSTAL REPORTS print engine.  Reports based on the database are easily designed and incorporated into Notebook through the use of CRYSTAL REPORTS WRITER (a separately purchased product).  The Notebook Program is broken down into five areas that emanate from the Main Window.They Are:

FILES

CALENDAR

NOTEBOOKS

QUERY ENGINE

MAINTENANCE

HELP

The Main Window is a MDI window that acts as the central hub to all other activities within the program.  From the Main Menu Bar you can select the area that you need to work in, returning to the Main Window when done.  Some of the Notebooks are child windows and some are independant windows depending on their functionality.  There are also sveral other windows that are strictly utlility windows.


PERMANANT NOTEBOOK

A Permanant (or persistant notebook) Notebook is a Notebook that is added to the Notebooks Menu on a persistant basis.  This means that the Notebook based on this query will remain on the Menu until you physically remove it.  It is best to make only those queries that are consistantly used into Persistant Notebooks.


Query Edit Box

This is a multiline text box that is used for constructing SQL statements.  by selecting the EDIT QUERY button, the text in this box turns red, indicating edit mode.  You can use the Listboxes and ASSEMBLE QUERY buttons to build your basic query, or you can build it from scratch if you understand things enough to do so. Select Queries do not alter the data in a database, so do not be afraid to experiment with different Select statements.  !DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY ACTION QUERIES UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.!  In any event, if you are going to do any queries other than Select Queries, !BACK UP THE DATABASE FIRST!


TASK CONTACTS

One of the Features of the Tasks Manager is the ability to associate people to particular tasks.  By selecting the ADD button you are presented with a Popup Menu giving you a choice of the current People Notebooks from which to select your Contacts From.  You can also arrange Appointments from here and view existing ones as well.  Need to make Contact??, click the Dialer and you can dial out to the current contact.  There is also a Memo Text Box available for you to keep notes on the current contact.  Of course you can also View or Make Appointments with the displayed contact


Task Description

The Task Management process starts with the ADD NEW button.  This brings up a prompt for the Task's start date.  Then you are prompted for the Task's completion date.  If the task is to be a Fixed Time task, Both the Start and Completion Date should be the same day.  If it is a Floating Time Task then the dates can be as separated as you like.
Next you should enter a name for the Task.  Try to use names that have a descriptive title.
Then  you should enter in a complete description in the Description Text Box.  Be as long winded as you like, using this area to describe expectations, parameters, projected costs, Step by step Processes etc.
The next step is to click on the Options Tab and set the type, Fixed or Float.  Once this has been done then click the COMMIT button to save the record or the CANCEL button to abort.
Task Manager will automatically set the Priority based on an internal formula.
Subsequent EDITS to the Description Text field are done with the Edit and Commit Buttons


TASK LOG

The Task Log's purpose is to keep tract of activity associated with the Task.  Task Manager will automaticall tract when the Task Was Created, When you Generat repetitive tasks, and when you add or remove Contacts.

In addition, you can enter your own log entries by first clicking the EDIT button then clicking one of the buttons you see here to the right.

The LOG ENTRY button will place a time and date stamp into the log and place your point of entry reight after it.

The EDIT LOG button just opens the log for editing without the Log Stamp.

The CLEAR LOG simply erases everything in the Log should you ever need to do so.

The PRINT LOG prints out the entire log to the Windows Printer.


TASK OPTIONS

The Options Tab brings up the area with the Frequency Option and the Time Option area.

The Frequency Option provides the means to create repetitive tasks from one original entry.
The only time this Option is available is immediately after Commiting a new Task.

In fact, You will be brought here automatically after Commiting a new Task to the Database.  The Frequency Options are as follows:

1 	Non-Repeating Task.  This is the Default Setting

2 	Same Day Every Week.  This will generate the task for the same day every week for as many weeks as you specify.

3 	Same Day Every Month.  This will generate the Task for the same day every month for as many months as you specify

4 	Once Every Quarter.  This will generate the Task at the end of each Quarter for as many quarters as you specify.

5 	Same Day Every Year. This will generate the Task the same day every year for as many years as you specify.

6 	Every 'N' Days.  You specify the rate of repitition in days and the number of repititions.


TEST QUERY

When the query is finaly edited to your satisfaction you must select this function to test it.  You will not be able to assemble a Notebook based on the query until it has been successfully run by the Query Generator.  If the query fails, the reason for the failure will be displayed in a Dialog Box.  If the Query Works, then you will see the results described in the bottom label of the Generator.


TIME OPTIONS

Before commiting a new task, you should set the Time Option if needed.  The default is a floating time task.  If you wish to have a fixed time task, you should select the Fixed Time Option and then enter the time for the task in the format:HH:MM AM/PM.

When setting a fixed time task, the Task Manager will search the schedule to ensure there is an empty time slot there.  If there is not, then the task will not be saved and you will be prompted for another time.

You can also set the Duration time for a task from one minute to 24 hours.  Depending on this setting (1 hour is the default), a floating task will move along the schedule looking for empty time slots it can fit into.  In other words, if the task duration is 15 Minutes, it will look for the first open time slot that is 15 minutes or greater in length and move into it.  If the task duration is too long to fit into the slot it will move on looking for one that it can fit into.


Viewgrid
Appointment View Grid

Select the desired appointment by scrolling through the grid and clicking on the   appointment when found.


VIEWNOTES
Appointment Memo Fields

The Appointment records in Notebook provide three Memo Fields to enhance your management goals.

•	PREPARATIONS

The Preparations Field is where you can enter notation on the type of preparations needed for the appointment.  This could range from research and study prerequisites to the gathering of Items and materials needed for the Appointment.  Develop a consistant method of notation and you can use this and other Memo fields for powerful SQL searches and associations.

•	COMMENTS

Use this field to record immediate notes prior to, during and after the Appointment as appropiate.  You can use the notes later to summerize later in the Results Field.

•	RESULTS

Managing your appointments includes establishing a method of summarizing your efforts and accomplishments after each appointment.  Depending on exactly what you are doing, you can keep an accurate record of the important issues related to each appointment.  These Results could later be utilized with SQL Searches on various issues.


ACCESS 1.1

Microsotf's ACCESS 1.1.  A fully relational Database with extensive SQL and Multiuser capabilities.


Action

What you plan to do at this appointment.  The list is alterable in the Initialization File


ADD NEW

<DATA EDIT>


ADD

<CONTACT ADD>


Add/Reschedule

<Appointments Edit>


APPOINTMENT

<APPOINTMENTS VIEW>


Calendar

<CALENDAR>


CANCEL

Cancels any action initiated by an Add New or Edit


charange

charange is any range of characters i.e: [a-f] or [k-m]


charlist

charlist is any sequence of charaters.  i.e: [abcd] or [fgklnm]


COMMIT


CRYSTAL REPORTS

CRYSTAL REPORTS is a powerful program for creating custom reports, lists, and form letters using data from an existing database.  It is the Cpyrighted property of Crystal Reports, Suite 2200-1050 West Pender Steet, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6E 3S7.  (604) 681-3435


DELETE

<DATA EDIT>


Dropdown

Dropdown Menus are aligned along the top of the Window Form and dropdown a selection list when clicked on.


EDIT

<DATA EDIT>


Help

Brings up the Context Sensitive Help File (You are reading it now!)


MDI

Multiple Document Interface.  A type of window that manages several Child Windows.


Option-Declaration

Syntax: WITH OWNER ACCESS.  Not used by Notebook


Persistant Notebooks

Notebooks that become a semi permanant part of the program.  They persist from session to session.  They are removable by user decision to remove.


PIM

Personal Information Manager.  A program whose primary purpose is to manage Contacts, Appointments, and Tasks.


Popup

Popup Menus are independant menus that Popup when you click the Right Mouse Button.  Their appearence depends on the mouse context at the time of the click


Query Statment

<QUERIES>


Quit

Closes the current Notebook or Window and returns to the calling Notebook or Window


Record Set

A group of records that are part of a Table, Dynaset, or Snap Shot.  Dynasets and Snap Shots are recorsets based on a SQL statement.


selected

<Appointment Setup>


Session Notebooks

Unlike Persistant Notebooks, Session Notebooks have a lifetime limited to the Current Session that they are created in.  When you exit the program, the Session Notebook is discarded


SQL

Structured Query Language, is used to query, update, and manage relational databases.


Tab

In Notebook, these are simulated NotebookTabs, that when selected change whatever is contained in the Tab Control.


Test Query

<TEST QUERY>


Time Option

<TIME OPTIONS>


View

<APPOINTMENTS VIEW>


WHO?

When Active, initiates the Selection process for the appointment personality