A small program to make quick diaries of sequential values triggered by time/date, based on the Palm's internal MemoPad application. Written by: Jens Albrecht (j.albr@web.de), 07/2000..01/2003 (documentation is currently available in English only) |
Ein kleines Programm zur schnellen Erstellung von chronologischen Werteprotokollen, basierend auf dem Palm-internen Merkzettel-Programm (MemoPad). Geschrieben von: Jens Albrecht (j.albr@web.de), 07/2000.. 01/2003 (Dokumentation zur Zeit nur in Englisch) |
Simply install the file "qdiary.prc". It is recommended but not necessary to uninstall a previous version before doing so. Uninstallation can always be done by "delete" from the Palm lauchner menu.
For installation you must fullfil the following requirements:
By updating from very old versions you may lose the preferences. The memos themselves remain unchanged, of course. You will only need to select the memos and set their options again (there are only four settings for each diary).
If you are updating from 1.0.4 or below, it will be necessary to change the first line of all diaries using MemoPad (field labels are now separated by "," and all are braced by "[]"). Check the settings of all diaries for the new 'field separator' option.
The distribution of QDiary includes the following files, some of them are optional:
QDiary is a utility that creates and modifies text memos from the Palm's internal MemoPad application in order to establish a quick way to create protocols of values (e.g. diaries, lists, ...). An entry in a protocol always is a single line of text that may include date, time and other user defined fields with values to be entered manually. The advantage is that you only have to enter the values; date and time are filled in automatically and the entry is inserted into the memo either at the top or at the bottom without the need to place the cursor. Because QDiary uses the memo application database, no own database is required and the diaries can easily be modified and exported.
A sample diary to store the measurements of temperature and wind speed
can look like this (title "QDiary Demo", checked "enumerate", selection
"[date] [time]", not checked "bottom up", selection " The file "demo.gif" demonstrates the steps how to create a new diary (see quick start).
The final content of the memo will be similar to the following:
Why and what for should I use QDiary? Here are some reasons and
advantages:
"This is a great little program for keeping track of measurements or other
bits of data over long periods of time. The UI is clean and fast, the
database is plain text stored in a Memo in an easy-to-use format, and the
application has endless numbers of uses.I currently have three QDiaries
defined. One tracks my sleep and work cycles. Tap QDiary, pull down "event"
menu to "wake" or "work" or "sleep", tap add, done. Timestamped record goes
into the database. Another tracks my car's fuel efficiency. After getting
gas, tap QDiary, tap "Gallons", enter a number, tap "Miles", enter another
number, done. Another tracks my blood pressure measurements. I'm going to
create another to keep exercise records. It's wonderfully flexible. And it's
free!"
"What a great program! QDiary is one of those creations that sounds
unappealing, but once you load it up (it's simple to do) you'll be amazed
at how much it delivers. Jens' program allows me to track all kinds of
information--the time between doses of antibiotics, sleep and wake up times,
etc. The beauty is--no new databases have to be built because the info is
automatically stored in the MemoPad app. QDiary is small, fast, and stable.
Very much worth a download!"
"QDiary Is Excellent!!!! Thank you."
Please refer to the file 'fields.gif' for an explanation of the different
fields in the main form of QDiary:
A diary always is a single memo within the MemoPad's application database.
A line in a diary is terminated by carriage return (if a line is too long
to be displayed in MemoPad it is wrapped). A diary stores a title and some
other parameters in the first line. The title is limited to 16 characters
and may NOT include "[". Only this title is used to refer a memo, therefor
it must be unique. "[" in line 1 starts the definition of names for the
fields, "]" terminates it. Names for fields may NOT include "," and "]",
they are separated by ",". If a name starts with a number, this character
defines the format for that field and will not be shown in the label. Any
character of the first line behind "]" (and all characters after the 16th)
are preserved as extra information. Up to 6 fields are possible.
Each entry in a diary is a single line below the first line. Diaries can
be organised "bottom up" (the last entry is written on top) or "top down"
(the last entry is written on bottom). The position and content of the
first line is always preserved, the other lines can be overwritten if the
size of the diary (memo) becomes TOO large. An entry in a diary usually
contains different fields. All fields are separated by a character,
usually by a tabulator. The first fields (the prefix) are normally
generated automatically according to the settings you have made. They
are followed by user fields, up to six can be used in a diary. The
content of a user field must be entered into the edit fields of QDiary,
is limited to 16 characters (enough for numbers) and may be empty.
Below you find a brief description of some additional features of QDiary.
It is possible to select the title directly from an existing memo in the
memo database (menu). Note that memos already in use will not be listed
again in the menu. Memos are identified as diaries if their first line
contains a "[". You can also input the title of an existing memo (edit
field on top and tap in any different field to update) directly. Up to 8
different sets of settings (diaries) can be used at the same time. Use
the numbered page selector on top to select one out of 8 sets to be the
active one. You can easily re-order the sets by drag-and-drop between the
page selectors.
The following internal fields to be inserted at the beginning of each line
(named "prefix") are currently available:
The time used to calculate the prefix string (e.g. time and time) is the
system time. You may define an offset to this time by using the list on
the right side of the prefix. In any case you can edit the prefix (by
clicking on the string the field becomes editable).
Fields (up to 6 user fields are possible) may be separated by either:
Changes will only apply to new entries (be aware that many functions such
as storing histories depend on the correct settings).
You can assign a special format to each user field. This is defined by the
first character of the label of that field ("type", not shown as part of
the labels):
Other numbers (2..8) will probably have a meaning in furture versions. In
all other cases (and without number) the field is a standard text field.
Type "9" is a special format: the next 8 characters (fixed length) define
the custom field format that matches "char by char" to the field content.
Possible values for each character of the format are:
You may enter the content of each field (except for type "9") by
None to 6 user fields may be used for each diary. If more than 3 are used,
the fields 4 to 6 are shown separately (you need to toggle between the 1st
and the last fields using the single scroll arrow on the bottom line).
The button "Edit" opens the diary in "MemoPad". In case "CryptoPad" (by
Maxime Labelle & Jean-Baptiste Labelle) is installed CryptoPad is used for
viewing instead of "MemoPad" (the default memo application, you need to
install a different version of QDiary to you this feature). This is the
only way to edit or delete a diary or to change the field labels. There is
no direct way to return to "QDiary" later on (so use the application
launcher or perhaps assign "QDiary" to a hardkey).
QDiary refers to memos mainly by their index in the memo database. If that
memo has a different title than expected, QDiary searches the database for
the expected title. This search is necessary each time you sort the memos
or insert a new memo on top of the list. If found, this memo will be used,
otherwise you are asked to accept the memo referred by index or create a
new memo with the different title. The title of the memo together with the
index is stored in QDiary's preferences. Further settings of QDiary (as
the options) are saved there as well.
To reset ALL preferences and internal variables, select the corresponding
menu item in QDiary. The counter of a single diary can be reset using the
corresponding menu item or set to the number currently displayed in the
echo line (menu item "guess counter").
If the size of a memo reaches 4k QDiary asks you how to proceed. If you
"ignore", the oldest data in the diary may be overwritten. If you "abort"
the diary remains unchanged (you may decide to edit it by hand). If you
"split" the following will happen: The memo remains unchanged but in the
title "[]" are replaced by "{}" (so it will not be identified as a diary
again). The new entry is written to a new memo with the same title and
field definitions instead. The category of the new memo is the same (!) as
of the memo used before.
You can import the user fields from an old entry of that diary: Simply
scroll to the entry of the diary with the fields you want to import (scroll
buttons on the bottom at the right or hardkeys) and click on the echo line.
This import will only work if you have set the options ("enumerate",
"internal fields") accordingly.
QDiary supports color and grey modes (you may use the "Toggle" application
to change to grey modes even on devices with Palm OS less than 3.5).
Background colors require Palm OS 3.5+ (even on non-color devices, use
"Toggle" to set color depth). "Toggle" is freely available in the internet.
QDiary does NOT change the color depth for itself!
QDiary is freeware, it may be distributed freely, but may not be sold or
included in for-profit collections without written permission from the
author.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENCED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR
THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN
OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE
ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH
YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL
NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
It is not allowed to distribute parts or single files of the QDiary zip
package "QDiary???.zip", to distribute modified files out of the package
or even modified packages. QDiary is copyright by Jens Albrecht. All
rights on the program are hold by the auther.
Modifications & additions to QDiary in brief (*:change, +:new, -:bugfix):
Go to http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?prodID=8967
to find the latest version available in the internet. Newer versions not
already released in the internet can only be requested by email, if they
do exist.
Comments and bug reports are always welcome by email to j.albr@web.de.
If you use QDiary and it matches your needs please report it to me too.
Please always include the following information:
If anyone is interested in doing localisations of this program please
contact me. The resource file is included in this distribution for your
translation. I will not do the translation for myself.
$Id: readme.html,v 1.7 2003/02/02 14:09:08 ja Exp ja $
QDiary Demo[Temp.,Windsp.]
1 12.07.02 14:03 15 0
2 12.07.02 15:16 13 3
3 13.07.02 4:00 7 2
...
Instead, the labels may be defined so that only numbers may be entered
(a 3rd field is added for free text notes):
QDiary Demo[0Temp.,0Windsp.,Notes]
1 12.07.02 14:03 15 0 test
2 12.07.02 15:16 13 3 test
3 13.07.02 4:00 7 2 real
...
An improved version of this diary may have the following field labels that
make use of the custom field format definitions (the temperature must be
entered in the range -59.9 .. +59.9, the unit "C" is attached; the wind
speed must be given with three digits in the range 000 .. 199, the unit
"km/h" is attached; a 4th field is added for additional binary information
/ two binary flags that toggle between 0 and 1):
QDiary Demo[9+59.9 C~Temp.,9199 km/hWindsp.,Notes,91 1~~~~~Status]
1 12.07.02 14:03 +15.0 C 000 km/h test 0 1
2 12.07.02 15:16 +13.0 C 003 km/h test 0 1
3 13.07.02 4:00 +07.0 C 002 km/h real 1 0
...
Advantages
What users say
Usage guide
User interface
Quick start
The following steps show how to use QDiary in practice:
Important principles
Features in detail
Licence
History
- duplicate speedbar icons, fixed
- refresh problem with button frames, fixed
* refresh speed for buttons and labels improved
- field content was formated automatically on button display, fixed
- last field label separator could be missed, fixed
- custom format could not use field separator character ","
+ Optional digit buttons according to custom field format definition
* minor UI changes
+ new date and time picker for prefix ("select" in list)
- wrong form redraw when showing active menu fixed (OS 3.5+ only)
+ basic MenuCmdBar support (OS 3.5+ only)
- history missed last entry in "bottom-up" mode, fixed
* new "About" form
- refresh problems (after displaying "About") solved
+ drag-and-drop on page selector to re-arrange sets (exchange / insert)
- minor layout problems fixed
+ selection of diary from memo database excludes already used diaries
- inverted selection of labels corrected
+ menu item "split diary"
- missing refreshs/updates added, single click for direct prefix edit
+ greyscale and color bitmaps/icons
+ color support (grey separation line, line background if color dev.)
+ Field labels highlighted, select labels to set focus on edit fields
+ new menu-item "clear fields" to delete all inputs
+ display of diary's category in memo database
+ change definition by calling application via hardkey
* per default QDiary now calls "MemoPad" instead of "CryptoPad"
+ new menu-item "clear entries" to delete all entries in a diary
+ new list to define a time-offset for the prefix calculation
* minor UI changes
+ guess of counter from current echo line (new menu option)
* minor UI changes
+ new prefix settings (":", differences of time/date to last entry)
* minor and cosmetic changes of main form layout
- bug fixed that caused a crash on extra-long lines in a diary/memo
* documentation (readme and bitmaps) updated
* field separaters changed
+ field formats used now (0=numeric, 1=autoshift, else=free text)
+ copy/paste menu items
* menu order changed
+ option to split a diary if memo size limit 4k reached
+ pushbuttons show, if a diary is linked to a memo (dot at the end)
- minor cosmetic bugs fixed
+ import fields from echo line (click on line sets fields)
+ page-up/-down hardkeys scroll in diary
* reset all preferences on new versions
* icons corrected, all dialogs improved
+ field contents are restored
+ improved echo line on bottom with size indicator
+ new status/scroll position indicator
* references to memos made by index (1st) and title (2nd) in parallel
* most parts of the code rewritten and optimised, significant speed-up
especially for databases with many memos
+ functional scroll-buttons
* listbox to select field separator
* checkboxes and buttons renamed
+ display of the last entry in a diary (not only if just made)
+ setup of field names for new diaries
* changed internal preferences
* code optimised and other minor changes
* field lengths increased to 10 characters
+ new label in display: current prefix string (above field one)
+ improvements (changed format of 24h-time with fixed length)
+ improvements (button to view the memo directly from QDiary, menu item
to reset counter of active diary)
Notes
Important warnings
Development environment
Known problems and bugs
Possible improvements and suggestions
FAQs
Contact information