PSI-TACT

PSIon-ConTACT


Categories:

Here is a complete list of categories in the following file. I have
put this in because if you are anything like me you will hate reading
large word files and just wish to do a find on the part that you want
to know about. When doing a find include the quotes around the word.


 "Installation"
 "Getting Started"
 "Overview"
 "Menu's"
 "Moving Files"
 "Registration"
 "Tab"
 "Extra's"
 "Warning"
 "Mail Me"
 "Credits"
 
All of the Menu functions have been explained. If you wish to find out
about a particular function then do a find on what ever the menu title
says in the Psi-Tact screen.

"Installation"
For manual installation place the following into their
appropriate directories on any drive. (If any of the following files
are missing,
then please report it to me stating when and where you got the zip
file from.)



Psitact.opa into \app 
JbSortB.img into \app
Agend.dbf into \ctc\dat
Default.dbf into \ctc\dat
Psitact.rsc into \opd (Non-Essential Help File)

For Automatic installation using PsiZip just unzip the complete zip
file into the Root
Directory on your Psion. 

For installation through PsiWIn using Epocinstall or Psi-SetUp (Psion's own installation program),
or any similar program i.e iWizard unzip all of the files enclosed in the zip file into any directory on your PC or Psion, then just run the Install.ctl file.


"Getting Started"

Return to the system screen and install Psitact.opa, in the usual
manner. (Psion I and left or right arrow till you find Psitact.opa,
and then press enter.)
Once installed enter Psitact. You will be presented with a dialog to
complete, it is essential for you to select the Agenda file that you
wish Psitact to work from. Once completed Press Enter.
You are now in PSI-TACT. 
You can press Help at any stage for full in depth help files.
My advice now, is to press Menu and just scan through the menu options
familiarising yourself with all of the options.

"Overview"
Psi-Tact was initially designed with two ideas in mind. Firstly a
Psion Management program and secondly a Contact Management program. 
It was never meant to be one or the other, it has and always will be
my opinion that the software already on the Psion is the very best
available. The only thing missing was some way to tie them altogether.
This is where Psi-Tact comes in. I have taken this theory one step
further by creating links to some of the very best Psion Shareware,
plus not forgetting of course the Psion add on programs such as
Psi-Mail Internet & Psi-Fax. Psi-Tact enables users to create
databases of contacts and at a touch create an Agenda entry
pertaining to a contact, it can search Agenda or Data for contacts or
entries. It is Agenda that controls the Contact Management part
however it is Psi-Tact which searches your Agenda.
There are many other functions that Psi-Tact does including linking
contacts directly to Multiple Word files plus Spreadsheet files. 

If you have any ideas for improvements or enhancements please mail me
at one of the addresses below. I am always willing to make
improvements.


"Views:"

Psi-Tact has two main views, Normal and List view, these are toggled
by the diamond button. 
In Normal view, using the down arrow key you can scroll down the
contacts fields of information. As soon as you press the down arrow
key a small arrow will appear, this arrow represents the cursor
position. Whilst visible this field position will be "Active". This
means that when the arrow appears, if you select an option that brings
contact information into a dialog it will bring the information that
is next to the "Active" cursor. This also applies to the "Edit Entry",
therefore by positioning the cursor next to a field it is possible to
edit just that field.
In List view, pressing the down arrow key will scroll down the list of
Contacts in the database. The current contact will be the contact next
to the active cursor. If there is no cursor shown the current contact
will be the contact at the top of the list.

"Menu's"

Files Menu:

þ New:
Psi-Tact is a type three application, it uses different configuration
files, you have already inadvertently created one as soon as you
entered the program. Psi-Tact supports multiple files, which means
you can have more than one open at any time. Each differently named
database creates  matching configuration files in the \opd and the
\ctc\set. The first menu option is New File, this will create and open
a new database file, closing down the one you were just using.

þ Open:
Opens other database files, closing down the existing file.

þ Merge:
This option will allow you to merge in existing databases into
Psi-Tact files. Unfortunately at this stage there is no way for
Psi-Tact to read the labels of any databases that you are merging
from. 
(P.S Anybody who shows me how to do read the labels and bring them
into this dialog will qualify for a free registration of Psi-Tact)

þ Sort:
This procedure is supplied freely by John Boyce. Many thanks go to
John for all his help. 
The Sort procedure uses the file JBsortB.img which should be kept in
the app directory on any drive. 
 
þ Print:
Prints Contacts to Word Files or Parallel and Serial printers.
Options include:
Print all Contacts, Current Contact or Tagged Contacts. Plus the ability to select which fields to print.

To tag a
contact press "+" when the contact you wish to tag is visible. You can
also choose which fields you wish to export.
This function can be used if you wish to copy your Psi-Tact databases
into the Data application. 
However to do this you must first export to Word and then go into Data
and use "Merge" to merge the word file into the Data file.

þ Open Expansion:
Each Contact can be expanded, therefore attaching another database to
a contact. Expanded files are not visible from the system screen.

þ Upper Level:
You can return from an Expanded file to it's parent file by selecting
this. The first time you use this function you will be presented with
a dialog asking you to select the Upper File. From then on the process
will be automatic. 

Edit Menu:
These options should all be self explanatory.

þ Add:
Adds a Contact to the file. For entries that are likely to have the same text you can now set up default entries. See "Default Entry Database"

þ Edit:
Updates a Contact

þ Delete:
Deletes a Contact or Tagged contacts

þ Copy:
Lets you copy the current entry to another file of your choice.
Including copying to the expanded files.

þ Expand:
Each Contact is expandable into another file, this will offer a dialog
to create the expanded file. Use "Open Expansion" to run the expanded
file. 

þ Edit Expansion:
This option will allow you to alter the file that has been selected as
an expanded file for a certain contact.

þ Edit Upper Level:
Allows you to change the Upper Level file.


Find Menu

þ Find:
Enter search string to find, if not found Psi-Tact will automatically
start to search the expanded files.

þ Next:
Finds the next contact from the given search string.

þ Previous:
Finds the previous contact from the search string.

þ By Field:
Finding is limited to certain fields and can be case dependent. Handy
for quicker searching. Using the preferences option it is possible to
set which fields you would like this function to work from. This
function is restricted to searching only 14 fields. Unfortunately
there is no way this can be changed. 

þ In Data:
This presents a dialog for you to insert some text to find in any Data
file. By default the dialog brings the current Contacts  name or the
information that is next to the "Active" cursor, but you can write
over it if you wish. It is important to make sure that the "Sort
dialog" on the Psion 3c (in the Data Application) is dis-abled before
using this function.

þ In Agenda:
This option has four basic find options.
1. Search for the text that you have entered in the first field of the
database. Which was initially the "Name" of the contact.
2.  Search for the text that you have entered in the second field of
the database. Which was initially the "Company" for the contact.
3. Check for a Psi-Tact created appointment
Psi-Tact appointments have the symbol ~ in front of them.
4. Check for your own text.
If you opt for "Edit own"  a further dialog will appear where you can 
enter some text to find. You have the option whether to search the
whole agenda or from the current day, plus you can search in different
views. This procedure is much faster if you leave your Agenda file
open.

None of the above four options will be available if the cursor is
"Active" on the screen whilst in the Normal View. Instead you will see
the information that is displayed next to the cursor. 

þ Jump to entry:
Each Contact is numbered, this will jump to a certain number if you so
wish.


Create Menu

Each of the options under the Create menu have an option send details to a Contact history file. A contact history file records all of the actions that you do for a certain contact. To set up a history file choose "History" under the View menu.

þ E-Mail:
This function is compatible with the main three Psion E-Mail programs.
These (if you didn't know) are:
1. Psi-Mail Internet
2. ReadCiS
3. ReadCiX
A dialog will pop up with the following options.

Name: The name of the Contact. This can be edited if you wish.
Address: Brings the Contacts email address. (Or the information next
to the "Active" cursor when in Normal View)
Subject: Fill in a subject.
Autosig: Yes or No. (This will add a signature to your mail for
ReadCiX and ReadCiS only.)
Edit Sig: Edits Auto Signature
Use: ReadCiS, ReadCiX, Psi-mail Internet. 
Choose which program to write the e-mail to, if you choose Psi-Mail
internet it will be automatically launched and the relevant
information will be written to the "New email message". 
When using either ReadCiX or ReadCiS a blank word file will be created
so that you can write your message. All of the necessary dialog
information will be
inserted once you have finished writing your email message. (Please
Note you will not see this happen!)
When you have finished just exit in the usual way (Psion x) and you
will be returned to Psi-Tact, the mail will be ready to be sent next
time you go on line.
For the ReadCiS option Readcis.opa must be in \app\readcis. Also a
point to note, remember only one outgoing mail can be sent with the
unregistered version of ReadCiS. This program does not overcome or
does not attempt to overcome this situation. Please register ReadCiS
to receive the full benefit of this function.
(Many thanks goes to John Boyce, once again, for the code necessary to
convert the written mail into the correct format.)

þ Letter:
This function allows you to create Letters and attach them to
contacts, Psi-Tact needs to store the names of these letters in a
separate database. The naming of these databases can be set to
automatic throught the "Default" option in the Preferences menu,
however if you have it set to "No" (i.e Not to create files
automatically) you will be presented with a dialog for the name of the
file where you wish to store the filenames of the letters for a
contact. This will obviously only happen the first time for each
contact. Please note if the option to create files automaticallly is
set to "Yes" they will be created on your default drive however
manually you can place them where you please. 
Once completed another dialog
will appear with some options that are available for the letter
itself.
These options are:
Letter Name: i.e File name
Name & Address: This option will let you choose whether to insert the
current contacts name and address into the letter.
Start with: This is a choice of how you want the letter to start. i.e
With Dear Sir,
Dear Sir or Madam, Dear Mrs etc...
Addressed to:  This is the name to insert after the Dear Sir. By
default the current contacts name is
brought into the dialog but this is fully editable.
Include Signed by: This option is a choice whether or not to include
the "Yours faithfully" or "Yours sincerely" plus your name at the foot
of the letter.
Use Template: If "Yes" is chosen, another dialog will prompt you for
the template name, when the letter is created it will
use the template that you selected. 
When using the Template option it will NOT bring any of the current
contacts address information.
On pressing enter the letter will be created. Each Contact can have up
to 21 letters attached.

þ Note:
Enables you to create Notes for a certain Contact. (Uses Word
application.) 
As with the letters procedure this function allows you to create Notes
and attach them to contacts, Psi-Tact needs to store the names of
these notes in a separate database. The naming of these databases can
be set to automatic throught the "Default" option in the Preferences
menu, however if you have it set to "No" (i.e Not to create files
automatically) you will be presented with a dialog for the name of the
file where you wish to store names of the contacts notes. This will
obviously only happen the first time for each contact. Please note if
the option to create files automaticallly is set to "Yes" they will be
created on your default drive however manually you can place them
where you please. 

Once completed another dialog will
appear with several options. These options allow you to copy different
files around your Psion into the Note.
You can select from four "Bring File" choices. 
1. A word file. 
Opens a note bringing the text from a current word file.
2. A template file.
This copies any templates that you have in the \wdr.
3. ReadCiS incoming mail file.
This will open a note bringing the file Mail!.cis from the \cis. This
is so that you can record received email from a certain contact.
4. ReadCiX Archive File.
This will bring the file archive.txt. Again this is so that you keep
any email from a contact. When in ReadCiX just archive the mail in the
usual manor.
If you choose not to bring a file, a Word file will be created, the
file will automatically have the date and the current time inserted.
The first four notes for the Contact will be recorded and can easily
be viewed from the View Note menu option. Once you have created your
first note for that Contact, you will see that there is on screen
reminder of the note. 
There are other menu options to view and delete old Notes.

þ Fax:
This option will present a dialog to insert a name and fax number, by
default the name of the current contact and fax number will be brought
into the dialog but this can be edited, on pressing enter it will then
open Psion 3 Fax or Psi-Fax files and create the fax inserting the
necessary information. This option will not be seen if you do not have
the correct software.

þ Agenda Entry:
Creates an entry in your chosen Agenda file. Here are the options:
View:- You can select which Agenda view you would like to write to.
Timed Entry:- You have a choice of timed or an untimed entry.
A timed entry will stop in Agenda and allow you to insert the time, an
un-timed entry will open your Agenda and insert the text. If the
Agenda file was open Psi-Tact will stop and stay in your Agenda file,
if not Psi-Tact will close the Agenda file and return.
Choose Text:- Here you can select a small piece of text to write to
the Agenda file.
The file "Loc::x:\ctc\dat\Agend.dbf" (where "x" is the drive you
placed the file) is the file that holds the text on
the "Choose Text"  line, therefore if you want to alter the text you
can edit this file. The database (agend.dbf) must only hold 1 record,
but Psi-Tact will read the first twenty fields of this record.
This file can be edited from the "Set Preferences" menu option.
Edit Text:- Here you will see the name of the current contact. If you
have the cursor "Active" on the normal view when this option is chosen
it will bring the field that relates to the cursor position. You may
edit this if you wish.

þ Link Spreadsheet:
This will allow you to actually link a spreadsheet file to a certain
contact. Use "Spreadsheet" to run the linked spreadsheet.

View Menu

þ Agenda:
This will open or run your Agenda file.

þ Note: 
Select a Note file for viewing and editing.

þ Letter:
Opens Letters for viewing and editing.

þ History:
Sets up an individual Contact History file for recording actions in the "Create" menu options.

þ Database: 
Opens any Psion standard database.

þ Spreadsheet:
Each Contact within each file can be linked to a spreadsheet file,
using the "Link Spreadsheet" option. This option will open the linked
spreadsheet file.

Special Menu

þ User:
Edit your personal information, also allows you to change your Agenda
file.

þ Toggle Zoom:
Swaps between ten available font levels.

þ Set Preferences:
This option pops up another menu with several options.
1. Defaults:
Firstly this lets you set a modem initialisation string thus letting
you choose either pulse or tone dialling.
Modem Delay, this lets you delay the switching off of the modem. It
seems that some modems take longer to respond than others and Psi-Tact
had a tendency to switch the modem off before any numbers had been
dialled.
There are also two start up
defaults. These are Labels Hide or Show plus initial Normal or List
View.
You will also see the option "Create Files". This is talking about the
storage files for the Notes and Letters for each contact. If set to
"Yes" the files will be created automatically on the default drive, if
set to "No" you will be promted for a filename. The advantage to
having it set to "No" is that you can place the files on any drive.
There is also an "Appointment Check" switch in these options. If set
to
"On", once a day when your Psi-Tact database is opened it will look
for appointments for that day. If set to "Off", no search will take
place. 

2. Preferences
This will allow you to set a font via its name and set a Status window
setting. Also in this dialog is the Sound dialling configuration. Use
this to alter the dial tone, delay and pause time.
(Please note Status Window will default back to on if you are not a
Registered User when you exit the program.)
3. Find by Field:
This will allow you to choose which fields you wish Psi-Tact to search
in when using the "Find by Field" main menu option. This is restricted
to 14 fields.
4. Sort Set UP:
Lets you choose which fields to sort the database by and whether you wish to sort the entries on exit.
5. Auto Text:
This option lets you add the text that you want automatically inserted into a contacts history file when carrying out actions under the Create Menu.
6. Agenda Database:
This option will open the Agenda Database. This database holds the
text that is seen on the "Choose Text" line when creating an Agenda
entry.
7. Labels:
This option will allow you to edit the two labels that Psi-Tact does
not use in screen one, plus the two in screen two plus all of the
labels in screen 3. 
The other labels can not be edited as they are used by Psi-Tacts
functions.
8. Dial Settings:
This function has several options. 
Firstly you can enter your telephone area dialling code. If an area
code is entered when Psi-Tact dials out it will omit the area code
should the Contact be in the same area as your code.
Secondly you can choose whether to use a dial out code. 
Thirdly you can select Credit or Charge card dialling. If you wish to
use this option then it should be quite self-explanatory.
Fourthly there is an option to "Auto add 1" to the dialling. This has
only been included for U.S users who need to add the number "1" when
dialling out of area code numbers. The "1" will only be added if you
are dialling a number that does not have the same area code as
yourself.
9. Address Labels: This will let you swap the Town, County & Postcode
labels to City, State & Zip or Ort, Region & PLZ
10. Default Entry Database:
When entering entries into Psi-Tacts file there are many times that entries will have the same information as other entries. To save re-typing these entries you can set up default entries. When entering information if you leave a field blank the default entry database will be read and allow you to automatically insert pieces of text.

þ Set Reminder:
This will allow you to set an alarm to remind you of a certain event.
User's of Pelican's Alarm Server will not see this function.

þ Alarm:
This option will only be seen if Psi-Tact finds the Pelican Alarm
Server. (Server.opa)
It allows you to write alarms directly to the Server. (Many thanks to
Mark Esposito of Pelican Software for the code for this function).

þ Jump to Server: 
This option will Jump to the Alarm Server, unfortunately there is no
way to jump back from the Alarm Server.
(Feel free to mail Pelican Software to see if they can incorporate a
jump back.)

þ Run Macro:
This option will allow you to run selected macro's. It will NOT run
macro's that require dialogs to pop up. I have created special plug in
macro's that work perfectly with this option. The macro's are
available from my web site
"http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/psitact/" or you can contact
me and I'l send them to you via Mime, Uuencode or Binary mail. Please
state which format you can receive and whether you wish to receive the
English, French, German or US versions.
Here is a list of these macro's and an explanation of their function.

A: Fillagn.mco. This macro is used for writing messages to Agenda. It
basically does the same as the "Create Agenda Entry" but it has little
more functionality.

B: Sendcon.mco:  Sends the current contact to a database of your
choice.

C: Route.mco: Searches Autoroute for the current contacts town.

D: Agnrun.mco Jumps to a specific date in your Agenda file.

For further information on Macro's and how to use Macsys you will have
to download the full Macsys.zip program from the usual sources or
contact me by email (tsteven@cix.co.uk) or contact Tom Dolbilin
(72730.1176@compuserve.com) the author of Macsys.

þ Exit:
Exits program.

System Menu

þ Delete Note:
Delete's any of the Notes that have been created.

þ Delete Letter:
As for Notes above, except uses Letter files.

þ Delete Sheet Link:
This will remove any spreadsheet link. It will NOT delete the actual
spreadsheet.

þ Delete Reminder:
Deletes Reminders

þ Register:
I was originally going to make several options restricted to
unregistered users. But (on advice) decided against the idea and
therefore just made two restrictions. These are removal of the Status
Window and nag screens on entry and exit.
Please Register to remove the nag screens.
Registering promotes shareware and will encourage me to update this
program. All updates will be free of charge to registered users.
(N.B I do not guarantee to update this program at all, but crossing my
palm with silver will help :-))  )
Once you have registered I will send you the two codes necessary to
remove the nag screens and the Status Window.
Please do a find on the word "Registration" for further details of
registration.


"Extra's"

þ Psion-Help:
Brings Contacts phones numbers for dialling. Will dial through the
modem. On the Psion 3c this option will cause an error if the modem is
not present. I will endeavour to overcome this problem as soon as
possible. The options were to put up with it or leave out 3c dialling.
If you wish to use Sound dialling on the 3c then just turn the Link On
and this will enable Psi-Tact to dial out by the Sound.
Offers a Call List on completion. Call List has three options:
1. Note: On selection the Note dialog will appear, enabling you to log
details of the call to a note.
2. Time Call: Will time the call for you. If chosen a further dialog
will appear. Press Escape or Enter to start the timer. On finishing
the call, press S to stop the timer, you will then be able to log the
call to the Note's if you wish. (The duration of the call is not
logged to the new Note.)
Pressing P while the timer is running will pause the timer. Once
pressed you can re-start the timer or re-set it.
3. Re-Dial: This will re-dial the number for you.

þ Control-Menu:
Remove or return the status window.
(Registered Users Only)

þ Help:
Full in depth Psion Help file.

þ Pressing the number 1 will create an automatic note. i.e A Word file
will automatically be opened  and attached to that contact. For this
to work you must have already created a storage file for that
contact's notes. (See "Create Note")

þ "Tab":
Pops up a complete information dialog. This new dialog is an
information screen in itself. Some of Psi-Tacts function will still
work whilst this screen is displayed. However it is not necessary to
press the Psion or Shift keys to activate the functions. These actions
and keys are as follows:
J- Brings up the Jump to dialog.
F- Brings up the Find Dialog.
G- Finds the Next string.
P- Finds the previous search string.
D- Pops up the dialling dialog.
Space Bar- Also pops up the Find Dialog.
Left and Right arrow keys- Scrolls through Database.

The following actions are shown via buttons on this screen.

A- Create an Agenda entry.   
N- Create a Note. 
S- Run any attached Spreadsheet. 
L- Select from the Contacts Letters. 
E- Edit an information quick Log.

Other information shown on this new screen are as follows:

-The Contacts first two fields.
-The Contacts Work and Fax numbers.
-The small log note.
-The current Date and Time. (3c only)

þ Space bar:
Brings up the "Find" dialog.

þ Enter:
Scrolls through Contacts.

þ Shift-Enter:
Scrolls backwards.

þ Right Arrow key.
Overlays the Expanded records.

þ Find as you type:
Once in Psi-Tact, just write the name of the contact and press "Enter"
and Psi-Tact will search for that text.

þ "Moving Files":
All files in the main zip file are now drive compatible. The only
files that must stay put are the default files that Psi-Tact creates.

þ Diamond key toggles between the Normal view and the List view.

"Registration"

There are several ways to register Psi-Tact. The standard price is
œ15. However some payment methods are more expensive than others.
These increases are due to costs that I will be charged.

þ By Sterling cash or cheque:

Please send œ15.00 :
(Cheques Made payable) To: Tony Crocker at the following address:
10, Doyle Close
Drummond Park
Erith
Kent
DA8 3QT
England

þ By U.S.A Cheque:

Please send $25.00 :
Made payable to: "American Express" to the following address:
10, Doyle Close
Drummond Park
Erith
Kent
DA8 3QT
England

þ Alternatively this program can be registered by RegNet. The
Registration Network. RegNet can be reached on the WWW at the
following URL:
http://swregnet.com  or by calling
1 800 WWW2REG (1 800 999-2734) or (805) 288-1827
The specific page for Psi-Tact registration is:
http://swregnet.com/957p.htm

This method will cost you $30.00
(This is for credit card payments only)

"Mail Me"
Please report any bugs or comments to:
tsteven@cix.co.uk


Thanks again.
Tony Crocker

"WARNING"!!
Psi-Tact now uses system calls for controlling Agenda and Data. 
Please make sure the "Sort" is disabled in Data on the 3c. 
Also as PSI-TACT uses standard database files it is possible to open
data files in the \dat, by using TAB from the Open File menu option.
My advice is to merge in the data file that is in the \dat into the
\ctc that PSI-TACT uses,  that way you will not corrupt or alter your
existing data files. If you do open the data files that are in \dat,
BE WARNED if you try to link or expand the contacts, the data record
will be written to. PSI-TACT will overwrite any information that is
currently held in the 14th to 30th fields. 
        *************************
I take no RESPONSIBILITY for LOSS of DATA or malfunction caused whilst
using PSI-TACT, whether registered or not. 
!!USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

"CREDITS":
Thanks to Chris Farrow (cxf@cix) for all his help, no doubt I have
tried his patience once or twice.
Thanks to John Boyce (Jbsoft) for the code for converting word files
to a format suitable for ReadCiX and ReadCiS as well as the code for
the sort routine.
Thanks to Tom Dolbilin (72730.1176@compuserve.com) for the most
excellent Macsys. 
Thanks to Mark Esposito of Pelican Software for the code to access the
Alarm Server plus other snippets of code.
Thanks to David Keppler for allowing me to use some of his work for
the E-Mail procedure.
Thanks to my ALPHA TESTER: David Griffiths (dagriffiths@cix). Whose
help was invaluable in the shaping of Psi-Tact into the program it is.
(Blame him, not me!)
Thanks to Erik Von Schonheyder for his continuing efforts in
encouraging me to develop Psi-Tact even further.
Thanks to Michael Holstein for the all German translations.
And finally thanks to my BETA TESTER Ted Jones
(tj@cix)