 


                    README.SD for SPECIAL DAYS   (Version 2.0)
                    ------------------------------------------


                      A RECAP OF WHAT IS NEW IN VERSION 2.0:


     1.  New data has been added to the databases.  You can now create
         a TimeScript for any date from 1/1/1850 through 12/31/89.


     2.  The User Options Menu now gives you two additional options:

                       BORDER               On       Off
                       ASCII FILE           On       Off

         You can now turn the border on or off before printing.  This
         feature will let you print TimeScripts on forms with a preprinted
         border.  Prior to Version 2.0, the only way to eliminate the
         border was to print the TimeScript out to a disk file called
         LASTDAY.ASC, and then to manually erase the border using your word
         processing or desktop publishing package.

         You can now also turn the ASCII file, LASTDAY.ASC, on or off from
         the User Options Menu.  Once turned on, all TimeScripts that you
         generate on the screen (irrespective of whether or not you print
         them on your printer) are written out to LASTDAY.ASC, one right
         after the other.  This feature lets you save TimeScripts on disk
         without having to print them on your printer.  You can then port
         this file into your word processor or desktop publishing package
         for final formatting and printing at a more convenient time.


      3. The characters used for printing the border have been moved to an
         ASCII disk file called SETINFO.SDR.  You can edit this file with
         most word processing packages, substituting sets of border
         characters that you or your printer prefer for the default sets
         already provided.  THIS FEATURE IS TO BE USED WITH CAUTION AND BY
         ADVANCED PC USERS ONLY.


      4. The Anniversary Report now calculates the anniversary date
         independent of the current month and day (using strictly the
         year).  This allows you to run Anniversary TimeScripts prior to
         the actual Anniversary date without having to worry about an
         incorrect number of years calculation.


      5. You may notice a variety of minor formatting changes (e.g. the day
         of the week - Monday, Tuesday, etc. now prints next to the date
         you've entered in the title of each TimeScript) ...  made as a
         direct result of comments and suggestions from many of you.



                SOME IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT VERSION 2.0 FEATURES


      6. Here is some more information on BORDERS and the SETINFO.SDR File:

         The User Option Menu allows you to turn on or off the border (used
         for the screen display, for the printout and for the LASTDAY.ASC
         file).  This feature was added to accommodate those users that
         wanted to print TimeScripts on forms with preprinted borders, or
         to help those users that wanted to add their own borders with a
         word processing or desktop publishing package.

         In addition to now having this on/off switch, you also have the
         ability to substitute a different set of border characters (using
         your word processing package) for each of the three character sets
         provided by SALINON.

         IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU ARE NEW TO COMPUTERS, IF YOU DON'T KNOW
         WHAT GRAPHIC CHARACTERS YOUR PRINTER SUPPORTS, OR IF YOU ARE NOT
         FAMILIAR WITH HOW TO MODIFY ASCII FILES, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND
         THAT YOU DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE SETINFO.SDR FILE.  SALINON
         TECHNICAL SUPPORT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU IF YOU'VE CORRUPTED
         THIS FILE.

         The border characters are stored in this ASCII SETINFO.SDR File on
         your Database Diskette.  The format of the file is as follows:

            Row 1:  2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1   (User Option parameters)

                                        OUTER BORDER CHARACTERS:
            Row 2:  "I","*"," "        (upper left-hand corner)
            Row 3:  ";","*"," "        (upper right-hand corner)
            Row 4:  "H","*"," "        (lower left-hand corner)
            Row 5:  "<","*"," "        (lower right-hand corner)
            Row 6:  ":","*"," "        (vertical border)
            Row 7:  "M","*"," "        (horizontal border)

                                         INNER BOX CHARACTERS:
            Row 8:  "Z","+"," "        (upper left-hand corner)
            Row 9:  "?","+"," "        (upper right-hand corner)
            Row 10: "@","+"," "        (lower left-hand corner)
            Row 11: "Y","+"," "        (lower right-hand corner)
            Row 12: "3","|"," "        (vertical border)
            Row 13: "D","-"," "        (horizontal border)

         Before making any changes to this file, be sure and make a backup
         copy.  If you inadvertently make an error and then run SPECIAL
         DAYS, the program may freeze or produce some very unusual print-
         outs.  If this happens, recopy your backup SETINFO.SDR file on top
         of the one you modified.

         Here are a few hints for how to modify the SETINFO.SDR file:

           a. Don't change any of the values in Row 1.  They are the
              parameters from the User Options Screen (Printer Type, Sound
              On/Off, Etc.) and should only be changed directly from the
              User Options Menu.

           b. Rows 2 through 7 contain the border characters used for the
              outer border around the edge of your TimeScript.  Rows 8
              through 13 contain the border characters used for the inner
              box around the title.

           c. The first column of characters in Rows 2 through 13 is
              used when you select the Proprinter or HP Laser printer
              option on the User Options Menu.  The second column of
              characters is used when you select the Other printer option.
              The third column of characters is used when you turn the
              border off (that is why this column contains all blanks).

              You can place any alternative set of characters in any of
              these three columns as long as each character is surrounded
              by quotes, and separated from the other two columns with a
              comma.  In other words, the file format needs to be kept
              intact or SPECIAL DAYS may bomb when you try to run it.

              Note that the first column of border characters may appear as
              "I ; H <" in your SETINFO.SDR file, but will actually print
              differently on your printer.  These characters are extended
              ASCII characters created by holding down the "Alt" key while
              entering in a number from your numeric keypad (For example,
              pressing the "Alt" key while entering "2 0 1" from the
              numeric keypad generates the letter "I" on your screen, but
              this character will print as an upper left-hand corner on IBM
              Proprinters and compatibles) .  If you don't know how to
              enter extended ASCII codes, just stick with the standard
              typewriter keyset (what is shown on your keyboard) when
              experimenting with different character sets.


     7.  Here are a few cautions about using the ASCII File On/Off feature;

           a. Once you turn the ASCII File option on from the User
              Options Menu, it stays on until you turn it off or until you
              run out of disk space.  Every TimeScript you generate on the
              screen will also be written to disk.  This can fill up the
              available space on a floppy disk quickly.  If you run out of
              disk space SPECIAL DAYS will print a warning message and
              automatically turn the ASCII File option off for you.

              If you get this warning message, you can keep running SPECIAL
              DAYS, but you will not be able to write any more TimeScripts
              to disk until you exit the program.  Once you exit the
              program, you can print your LASTDAY.ASC file or copy it to
              another disk.  You can then restart SPECIAL DAYS, which
              automatically erases your old LASTDAY.ASC file and frees up
              the disk space it used for a new set of TimeScripts.

              Each TimeScript takes approximately 5,000 bytes of disk
              space.  This means that if you are running off of floppy 5
              1/4" disks, you have room for no more than four TimeScripts
              on the SPECIAL DAYS Database Diskette.  Check and make sure
              that you have adequate space on whatever disk you are using
              before turning the ASCII File option on.

           b. SPECIAL DAYS remembers your Options setting between sessions.
              This means that if you exit SPECIAL DAYS with ASCII = "On"
              the next time you start SPECIAL DAYS ASCII will still be on.

           c. At the start of each SPECIAL DAYS session, a new LASTDAY.ASC
              file is created and the old one, if it exists, is erased
              (regardless of whether the ASCII File Option is on or off).
              If you need to save what is in your LASTDAY.ASC file for
              future use, be sure and rename the file before starting
              SPECIAL DAYS again.

           d. When editing LASTDAY.ASC with your word processor, you may
              find that each line on a TimeScript takes two lines on your
              screen.  To solve this problem, reset your word processor's
              left margin to 1 and right margin to 80.

              You may also find that the right-hand border doesn't always
              line up properly on your screen, even after you have changed
              the margin settings.  This is because some lines of a
              TimeScript printed with the Printer Type = Other will contain
              null characters (which have a length of zero) but which some
              word processors display as having a length of one.  To solve
              this problem, you can print the TimeScripts out with Printer
              Type = Proprinter, with Border = Off, or use your word
              processor do delete all the null characters.  NOTE: even
              though the right-hand border may appear jagged on your
              screen, when you print LASTDAY.ASC from DOS using the "Print"
              or "Copy" commands, the left margin is printed properly.


     8.  The date calculation in the Anniversary TimeScript Report used to
         look at the current year, month and day.  This caused a problem
         for users who wanted to print a report prior to the actual
         Anniversary.  For example, let's say you want to give an
         Anniversary TimeScript to your parents whose 25th wedding
         anniversary is next week.  If you run the report today, the
         heading will read that they have been married for over 24 (not 25)
         years, since their 25th anniversary hasn't yet arrived.  To
         correct this, Version 2.0 only looks at the current year when
         calculating the number of years since the original event.

         If you are running some Anniversary TimeScripts in December for
         January anniversaries, the number of years calculation will still
         be one year off.  To solve this problem, temporarily reset your
         system date to the upcoming year with the DOS "Date" command.



                   SOME COMMENTS ABOUT PRINTERS (All Versions)

     9.  If you have an EPSON or compatible printer, try the Proprinter
         Print Option first.  If you get funny characters for the borders
         instead of lines, switch to the Other Print Option (by pressing U
         from the Main Menu).  Selecting Other will allow you to print a
         Timescript report using asterisks for the borders instead of
         lines.

    10.  If you have one of the old HP LaserJet printers that doesn't
         support downloadable soft fonts, you will not be able to use the
         font we've included on the Program Disk.  You will still be able
         to use this printer, but will have to load one of your cartridge
         fonts that supports the IBM graphics characters to get a nice
         looking border (e.g. the PRESENTATION 1 cartridge, #92286R, is one
         to try if you have it).

         You will be able to use the downloadable soft font on the newer HP
         Laser printers (and compatibles) such as the LaserJet+ or the
         LaserJet Series II.  For more information on downloading this
         font, refer to Chapter 5 in your User's Guide, the Printer Type
         Section.

          THE END OF README.SD - NOW GO HAVE SOME FUN WITH SPECIAL DAYS!