Alarm Enhancer, Version 6.39

Copyright Alan H. Clifford, 1997-99.

Enhancer is a program for the Psion 3A, 3C and Siena


CONTENTS

1.  What it does.
2.  Quickstart for new users.
3.  Using Enhancer.
3.1 Rescheduling Alarms.
3.2 New Alarms.
3.3 Setting the Silent Alarm Beep.
3.4 Using Alarm Killer
3.5 Overriding Alarm Killer
3.6 Cycling the display of alarms set at the same time.
3.7 Cycling the display of unattended alarms.
3.8 Switching the dual display.
4.  Installing Enhancer.
4.1 New installation.
4.2 Upgrading from version 6.11 - 6.37
4.3 Upgrading from version 5.11 - 6.01
4.4 Upgrading from version 5.01.
4.5 Upgrading from version 5.0.
4.6 Upgrading from version 4.
4.7 Upgrading from version 3.3.
5.  The Configuration file.
6.  Intercepting the Off key.
7.  Alarm Killer.
8.  Caveat.
9.  The Configuration Program.
9.1 Installing the configuration program.
9.2 Using the configuration program.
10. Files.
11. Freeware/shareware.
12. Registration.
13. Trial registration.
14. Thanks.
15. Contacting the author.
16. Latest version.
17. Disclaimer.



1.  WHAT IT DOES

You're working on, for example, a spreadsheet and an alarm goes off.
Normally, if you snooze the alarm, you cannot continue working.  With
Alarm Enhancer, you press Esc to cancel the alarm and you are presented
with the Enhancer dialog screen. Here, with just one extra key press,
you can reschedule an alarm for 5 minutes time (configurable), or
reschedule for other durations or for a specific time and date. You are
then back in your application and can continue working.

Psion alarms repeat for a considerable length of time if left
unattended.  Enhancer's Alarm Killer can be configured to switch off
the alarm sounds at a specified interval after an alarm has gone off. 
Alternatively, Enhancer has an option to sound a single beep when a
silent alarm goes off.



2.  QUICKSTART FOR NEW USERS

- Copy Enhancer.opa to the \app directory
- Install Enhancer.opa using the System Screen install menu
- Run Enhancer
- In the dialog, select the entry for your machine - 3A, 3C or Siena - and
  select 'Yes' for "Intercept off key?"
- Press enter.  Enhancer is now running.
- Press the System key to put Enhancer into background
- When the alarm goes off, press Esc to "Clear Alarm"
- The Enhancer dialog is now displayed.  Press Enter to reschedule the
  alarm for 5 minutes. Or press Esc to abandon the alarm.



3.  USING ENHANCER

3.1 Rescheduling Alarms

After an alarm goes off, press the ESC key.  You are presented with the
Enhancer dialog.  There are three defaults set up:  5 minutes, 10
minutes and a date and time intially set up for half an hour in the
future. Press ENTER to reschedule the alarm for 5 minutes.  Or choose
one of the other options or edit one of the options and press ENTER.

ESC will abandon the alarm.

Diamond key puts Enhancer into the background (registered version only).

An alarm created by Enhancer may be cancelled via the "View next
alarms" option in the Time application.

Enhancer remembers alarms that have not been attended to or abandoned. 
The default is 4 (configurable).


3.2 New Alarms

When a new alarm is set, for instance in Time or in Agenda, this alarm
has to be picked up by Enhancer.  This will occur before the Psion
switches itself off or when the off key is pressed.  If autooff is
disabled, the check for new alarms occurs every 59 seconds
(configurable).


3.3 Setting the Silent Alarm Beep

The Silent Alarm Beep is invoked by prefixing the alarm message text
with the "beep character" (the default beep character is #) and
setting the alarm sound to "Silent". For example, in your Agenda you
may have an entry entitled:

#Strategy meeting

with the alarm set to Silent.

When this silent alarm goes off, Enhancer will beep just once.


3.4 Using Alarm Killer

If the Alarm Killer is switched on, the alarm sounds will be switched
off after the period specified.  Alarm Killer can be configured use up
to 3 periods during the day or "Always" (registered version only).


3.5 Overriding Alarm Killer

Alarm Killer can be overridden by prefixing the alarm message text with
the "don't kill character" (the default "don't kill character" is @)
For example, in your Agenda you may have an entry entitled:

@Wake up now

When this alarm goes off, the alarm sounds will not be killed
(registered version only).


3.6 Cycling the display of alarms set at the same time.

If more than one alarm for the same time has been detected, pressing the
TAB key will cycle the display (registered version only).


3.7 Cycling the display of unattended alarms.

If more than one alarm has been left unattended, pressing the TAB key will
cycle the display (registered version only).


3.8 Switching the dual display.

When the dialog window is active, the display can be switched between
the single and double window by pressing ctrl...Z (registered version
only)



4.  INSTALLING ENHANCER

4.1 New installation.

Copy Enhancer.opa to the APP directory (or a directory of your choice)
and install using the system screen install option.

Optionally, copy the configuration program, Enhancfg.opo, to the same
directory (see below for more information about the configuration
program).

The first time Enhancer is run, a dialog allows you to specify the
machine as 3A, 3C, or Siena and whether or not to intercept the OFF key
(see below). Press ENTER and a small configuration file (Enhancer.6AA)
is created in the directory where Enhancer.opa is located. Enhancer is
now running.  Press the System key or an application key to leave
Enhancer running in background.

If Enhancer is closed down, for instance, after a backup, when Enhancer
is restarted it reads the configuration file and starts running.


4.2 Upgrading from version 6.11 - 6.37

- Copy Enhancer.opa and Enhancfg.opo to the APP directory (or to your
  chosen directory) and run Enhancer.
- If you want to keep the conversion program (Enhanupd.opo) on your
  Psion, copy the new version to the APP directory.  Otherwise, ensure that
  the old version of Enhanupd.opo has been deleted.


4.3 Upgrading from version 5.11 - 6.01

- Copy Enhancer.opa, Enhancfg.opo and Enhanupd.opo to the APP directory
  (or to your chosen directory) and run Enhancer.  The configuration data,
  including registration details, in the old configuration file (Enhancer.50B)
  will be copied automatically to the new configuration file (Enhancer.6AA).
- Enhancer.50B can be deleted.
- The old configuration program, Enhancfg.511, Enhancfg.512, Enhancfg.513
  or Enhancfg.520 can be deleted.
- The conversion program (Enhanupd.opo) can be deleted.


4.4 Upgrading from version 5.01

- copy Enhancer.opa, Enhancfg.opo and Enhanupd.opo to the APP directory (or
  to your chosen directory) and run Enhancer.  The configuration data,
  including registration details, in the old configuration file (Enhancer.50A)
  will be copied automatically to the new configuration file (Enhancer.6AA).
- Enhancer.50A can be deleted.
- The old configuration program, Enhancfg.501 can be deleted.
- The conversion program (Enhanupd.opo) can be deleted.


4.5 Upgrading from version 5.0

- copy Enhancer.opa, Enhancfg.opo and Enhanupd.opo to the APP directory (or
  to your chosen directory) and run Enhancer.  The configuration data,
  including registration details, in the old configuration file
  (Enhancer.005) will be copied automatically to the new configuration
  file (Enhancer.6AA). 
- Enhancer.005 can be deleted.
- The conversion program (Enhanupd.opo) can be deleted.


4.6 Upgrading from version 4

If version 4.X has been installed previously, the configuration file
Enhancer.004 can be deleted.  Copy Enhancer.opa and Enhancfg.opo to the
APP directory (or to your chosen directory).


4.7 Upgrading from version 3.3

If version 3.3 has been installed previously, copy Enhancer.opa and
Enhancfg.opo to the APP directory (or to your chosen directory) and,
on the System screen, uninstall and reinstall in order to pick up new icon.



5.  CONFIGURATION FILE

The configuration file, Enhancer.6AA, is normally created in the same
directory as Enhancer.opa.  However, if Enhancer.opa is on a flash
disk, the configuration file will be stored in loc::m:\enhancer\enhancer.6AA.



6.  INTERCEPTING THE OFF KEY

This means that the OFF key no longer directly turns off the Psion. 
Instead, when the OFF key is pressed, Enhancer checks the alarm data
and then Enhancer turns off the Psion.



7. ALARM KILLER

If the Alarm Killer is switched on, the alarm sounds will be switched
off after the period specified.  The sounds will be re-activated before
the next alarm goes off or, if an alarm has been snoozed in the Time
application itself, before the snoozed alarm goes off again.

Please note that the alarm sound currently playing will continue playing
until it finishes.  Alarm sounds are typically 15 seconds in length so,
for example, if alarm sounds are set to be killed at 25 seconds, the
alarm will continue to play until 30 seconds after the alarm.

In order to obtain a very short alarm, record or use a .wve file with a
short duration and do NOT adjust repeats for alarms.  Set the Alarm
Killer to kill at about 10 seconds.



8.  CAVEAT

In practical use, the following limitations should not cause any
problems.  But please be aware of them.

If several alarms are set for the same time in applications such as
Agenda, Enhancer will only pick up one of them.

Enhancer functions by reading the next alarm from the Time
application's memory space and sets a timer to go off 9 seconds before
the alarm.  This reading occurs on switch on, when Enhancer comes to
the foreground or background, on a (check) timer and, if the OFF key is
intercepted, when the Psion is switched off.  The (check) timer
re-reads the alarm data 10 seconds before the auto-off time or at user
configured shorter intervals or, if auto-off is not active, every 59
(or as user configured) seconds.  Consequently, if the auto-off is set
to, for instance, 10 minutes and a new alarm is set for 5 minutes,
Enhancer may not pick it up.

If the OFF key is not intercepted and an alarm is set in, say, the Time
application and the Psion is immediately switched off, Enhancer will
not pick up the alarm.

Only one application can intercept the OFF key.  If another application
has already intercepted the OFF key, Enhancer will not be able to do
so.

Alarms set in the Agenda application can take several seconds to reach
the Time application's list.  If the Psion is switched off immediately
after setting an alarm in Agenda, neither Time nor Enhancer may pick it
up.

When the Time applications's alarm screen is active, the alarm killer
function polls the Time application's memory every 4 minutes .  If an
alarm is snoozed, this poll allows Enhancer to switch the alarm sounds
back on in time for the snoozed alarm to sound.

The day and time of the next alarm is displayed underneath the Enhancer
icon on the System screen.  This updates when the System screen updates
its lists.  Pressing the System key will force an update.

Enhancer uses the date format set on your Psion - DDMMYY, MMDDYY or
YYMMDD.  If this is changed whilst Enhancer is running, Enhancer must be
stopped and restarted to use the new format.

Although an entry in Agenda can be 254 characters in length, only 160 are
passed to the Time application.  Consequently, when checking this text for
changes, Enhancer can use only 160 characters.

Alarm sounds can be re-activated by other programs.  Enhancer will
recognize this and, if applicable, will eventually kill the current
alarm again.

Alarm Enhancer may prevent the Pason program from turning the Psion
off.  The Psion will turn off when the auto-off time has expired.

Enhancer reads directly from the Time application's memory space and
the locations of data are different on the different Psions.  The
locations of the data may be different on other Psions so it is
unlikely that Enhancer will be able to find the data on Psions other
than the 3A, 3C or Siena.  Also, I have encountered two versions of the
3C in respect of the data locations so there may be other versions
incompatable with Alarm Enhancer.



9.  THE CONFIGURATION PROGRAM

Press the Menu key in Enhancer and the configuration program will run
(or will come to the foreground if it is already running).  Use the
menus (see below) to register and configure Enhancer.  Once configured,
the configuration program (Enhancfg.opo) may be deleted if desired. 
Please note that the configuration options only work if Enhancer is
registered so, if you do not register Enhancer, you should delete
Enhancfg.opo to save disk space.

Instead of using the Menu key, the configuration menu hot keys can be
used to run the configuration program (except Psion...X which terminates
Enhancer).

If Enhancer (Enhancer.opa) is terminated whilst the configuration
program (Enhancfg.opo) is running, the configuration program will be
closed down automatically.


9.1 INSTALLING THE CONFIGURATION PROGRAM

Copy Enhancfg.opo to the same directory as Enhancer.opa

Please note Enhancfg.opo is not required for Enhancer to run and is
only useful if the program is registered.


9.2 USING THE CONFIGURATION PROGRAM 

Press the Menu key (or a hot key) while Enhancer is in the foreground.
This will display the various configuration options in a menu
structure, as described below.

9.2.1 Configure, Snoozes (Psion...S)

This option displays a dialog allowing you to set the default snooze
periods to your chosen values. The standard (unregistered) defaults are
5 minutes, 10 minutes and half an hour. The first two snooze values can
be set to a number of minutes, the third can be set to a number of
days, hours and minutes in the future.

Additionally, each of the three snooze times can be set as Default or
Sticky. If set to Default then this value will always be shown in the
Enhancer dialog when an alarm is to be rescheduled. If set to Sticky
then any value you type in (in the reschedule dialog) will be
remembered for the next reschedule event. The values set to Sticky in
Configure, Snoozes become the starting values when Enhancer is run.

9.2.2 Configure, Silent Alarm Beeper (Psion...B)

This option displays a dialog allowing you to set the Silent Alarm beep
character, the beep duration and the beep pitch.  A button is available
to test the sound.

9.2.3 Alarm Killer (Psion...K)

Alarm Killer can be configured as "Always", "Periods" or "Off".

The menu key shows a dialog to set the start and end times of up to 3
periods during which Alarm Killer is active.  Setting the start time
and the end time to the same value, for example from 01:00 to 01:00
indicates a zero length period and Alarm Killer will not be activated.

Kill periods can overlap and can span midnight.

The delay before the alarm sounds are killed after an alarm goes off
can be set.

The "Don't kill character" can be set.

9.2.3 Configure, Check Timers (Psion...C)

These options allow you to set the Check Timer to your chosen
intervals. The default (unregistered) value is 59 seconds when auto
switch off is disabled.  If auto switch off is enabled, checking takes
place before the Psion switches itself off. A shorter interval can be
set.

9.2.4 Configure, Progress Information (Psion...P)

On the 3A and 3C, the information window can be displayed to the right
of the dialog window. This can be set to on or off.

When Enhancer detects that the first alarm scheduled has changed, by
default it sounds a two tone beep.  This can be disabled.

Enhancer displays the alarm time on the System screen instead of a file
name.  This can be disabled if required.

The display of the progress information text messages can be suppressed

9.2.5 Configure, Unnattended Alarms (Psion...U)

If alarms have gone off and are not rescheduled or abandoned, by
default, the last 4 are retained.  The number retained can be
configured.

9.2.6 Setup, Machine (Psion...M)

This option allows you to select the machine on which Enhancer is
running.  Options are 3a, 3c and Siena. This is the similar to the
dialog presented when Enhancer is run for the first time.  The machine
types that appear in brackets are still functional but should not be
used.

9.2.7 Setup, Off Key (Psion...O)

This enables or disables Enhancer's ability to intercept the  Off Key.
Options are Yes or No.

9.2.8 Setup, Program Lock Key (Psion...L)

Set this option to "Yes" to prevent Alarm Enhancer from being shut down
during backups.

9.2.9 Special, About (Psion...A)

Displays Enhancer version details, registered status, email and website
information.

9.2.10 Special, Register (Psion...R)

Allows the input of your Registration Name and Registration Code.  Both
must be entered as supplied as the code is an encrypted version of the
name.  Please see REGISTRATION (below) for details of how to obtain
your code.

9.2.11 Special, Exit Configuration

Exits the configuration program and returns to Enhancer. If changes 
have been made to any configuration option(s) it will prompt the user
to save the configuration. Pressing Enter will save the configuration
changes. Pressing Esc will discard the changes.



10.  FILES

Enhancer.opa   The Alarm Enhancer program.
Enhancfg.opo   The configuration program.
Enhanupd.opo   The program to convert configuration data files from previous
               versions.  This is used by Enhancer.opa and cannot be run by
               itself.
Enhancer.6AA   The configuration data file (created by Enhancer).
Enhancer.txt   Documentation (this file).
History.txt    Alarm Enhancer's development history.
File_id.diz    Short description for BBS file lists.



11. FREEWARE/SHAREWARE

Enhancer is functional and can be used without payment.

Registation of Enhancer adds the following:

- Alarm Killer which silences an alarm after a specified period after it
  has gone off, together with a method of overriding the alarm sound
  switch-off for individual alarms.
- The time and date of the original event are displayed in the Enhancer
  dialog.
- More of the message text is shown.
- On the 3A and 3C, the Enhancer dialog expands to show even more of the
  message text.
- On the 3A and 3C, the Information window can be displayed on the right
  hand side of the screen when the dialog window is displayed.
- The default times can be set to other than 5, 10 and 30 minutes.
- "Sticky" times can be used instead of the default times. For
  instance, if you chose to reschedule an alarm for 15 minutes, the next
  time Enhancer is used, 15 minutes will be displayed as the inital
  choice.
- The Silent Alarm beep character, duration and tone can be changed
  from #, quarter second and 500.
- The "check" timer used when auto-off is inactive can be set to other
  than 59 seconds.
- The "check" timer used when auto-off is active can be set to a
  shorter time than the remaining auto-off period.
- If more than one alarm is scheduled for the same time, this is indicated
  in the information window and the display can be cycled to show each
  alarm (but note that only one alarm from the Agenda application is
  detected).
- If more than one alarm has gone off, this is indicated in the dialog
  window and the display can be cycled to show each entry.
- The display of progress messages can be suppressed.
- The display of the alarm time on the System screen can be suppressed.
- The program can be "locked" to prevent it from being shut down during
  backups


12. REGISTRATION

The registration price is 5 UK pounds. Sterling cheques or equivalent
value in cash in any convertible currency are accepted.  Please enclose
your name and address (or preferably, your email address) and send to: 
Alan Clifford, 7 Broke Court, Merrow Park, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7HQ,
United Kingdom. You will receive a registration code by email or
postcard.



13. TRIAL REGISTRATION.

This version of Alarm Enhancer can be registered on a trial basis
during the first seven days of each month and on Sundays, with the
following code:

Name:  Unregistered
Code:  123456789



14. THANKS

Thanks are due to Clive D. W. Feather for the Psionics files, and to
Dirk Straka, Mark Smalley, Zhava Glaser and Michael Wild for
suggestions, testing and assistance with the documentation.



15. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR

The author can be contacted at:

Email: enhancer@coprolite.prestel.co.uk
       alan@donor2.mail-only.com

Fido: 2:440/4.6

Mail: 7 Broke Court, Merrow Park, Guildford, Surrrey, GU4 7HQ,
      United Kingdom.



16. LATEST VERSION.

The latest version of Alarm Enhancer can be obtained from:

Internet:  http://www2.prestel.co.uk/coprolite/
Fido:      Download or freq from Donor/2, 2:440/4, 01483 717905
           (international:  +44 1483 717905).



17. DISCLAIMER

Alan H. Clifford provides this program "as is" and makes no
representation or warranty that this software is fit for any particular
purpose.


