Commonly Asked Schedule+ Questions & Answers

• Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11
• Microsoft Schedule+ for Windows, version 1.0

SUMMARY

This article provides answers to commonly asked questions about Windows for Workgroups Schedule+. The following topics are covered:

• Customizing Display



• Managing Tasks



• Modifying Other Calendars



• MS-DOS, Macintosh, and Connectivity



• OLE and Attachments



• Printing



• Reminders Application



• Remote Usage



• Scheduling Meetings



• Scheduling Resources



• Time and Date Issues

MORE INFORMATION

Customizing Display

1. Q. Can the display be customized to show different colors?
   
   A. Yes. This can be done by choosing Display from the Options menu and adjusting the settings.



2. Q. Can you customize the display of time intervals in the daily calendar (for example, to display the day in 15-minute intervals)?
   
   A. It is not possible to customize the view; however, you can schedule appointments to start or end at any time. To alter a start or end time to something other than :00 or :30, double-click the appointment and use the Start or End controls to change the time. The start time is displayed in the appointment description and is used to set off the reminder at the appropriate time.

Managing Tasks

1. Q. Do tasks "roll over" from one day to the next if they are not completed? A. Schedule+ has a model for tasks that is different from most programs of this type. Tasks are not associated with a particular day (however, you can assign a due date). You enter and view tasks in Tasks mode, which is completely different from Appointment Book mode. By the nature of this model, tasks are always present until you complete them or delete them from the list.
   
   The Show Active Tasks command allows you to view current tasks (those without a due date or with a due date or start work date prior to today) only. By contrast, other scheduling programs follow a model in which tasks are created on a particular day. Using that model, tasks may not appear until that day and then "roll over" to following days until they are completed.



2. Q. Is there any interaction between Microsoft Project and Schedule+ so that tasks assigned to me in Project can be put in my task list? A. In the version of Schedule+ that ships with Windows for Workgroups 3.1, other applications cannot make calls to Schedule+. This feature is under review and will be considered for inclusion in a future release.

Modifying Other Calendars

1. Q. Are meetings entered by someone other than myself distinguished in any way?
   
   A. Yes. If you double-click an appointment created by someone else, the name of the person who created it is displayed at the bottom of the appointment details. However, the appointment is not identified by an icon or special color in the appointment book.



2. Q. How do you sign in as another user in order to view or modify that person's calendar?
   
   A. You do not need to sign in as another user to open that person's calendar. Schedule+ allows you to grant access privileges to other users with the Options/Set Access Privileges command. Once you have assigned privileges to another user, that person can view your calendar while signed in under his or her own account by choosing Open Other's Appointment Book from the File menu.



3. Q. If I have an assistant, do we both receive meeting messages for my meetings or does only my assistant receive them?
   
   A. You can specify either of the above. If you choose General Options from the Options menu, a check box that specifies Send Meeting Messages Only to My Assistant is displayed.

MS-DOS, Macintosh, and Connectivity

1. Q. Can you participate in a Schedule+ account if you are running the Macintosh Client of Microsoft Mail for PC Networks?
   
   A. No. To run Schedule+, one of the following conditions must exist:
   
   
   • You are running a Mail 3.0 Windows client against a Microsoft Mail Post Office (or another transport with a messaging driver transport).
   
   
   
   • You are running Mail for AppleTalk Networks. In this case, you can run Schedule+ for AppleTalk networks.
   
   
   



2. Q. Why is there no bridge between Schedule+ for Windows and Schedule+ for AppleTalk networks so that users on the two platforms can share free/busy information and send meeting requests to each other?
   
   A. Currently there are no plans for future development of Schedule+ for AppleTalk networks. Microsoft's development resources on the Macintosh platform are limited; the highest priority is to develop new versions of Mail for AppleTalk networks. A new calendar and scheduling solution for the Macintosh would need to be developed to achieve transport independence.



3. Q. What is the Schedule+ connectivity format?
   
   A. It is a specification of a file format that allows third-party MS-DOS-based and Windows-based scheduling applications to share free/busy information and exchange meeting requests with Schedule+. This format allows Microsoft to point a customer to a third-party vendor for an MS-DOS scheduling solution that works with Schedule+.
   
   The format was designed to support the use of group scheduling applications from different vendors on a network. The specification describes an interchange format that scheduling applications can read and write so that users of third-party products can see free/busy data of a Schedule+ user and vice versa. It also describes how, using FFAPI (Mail File Format API), these applications can send meeting requests and responses to Schedule+, and interpret meeting requests received from Schedule+.
   
   Note that any product can share free/busy information with Schedule+, but only products using Microsoft Mail as the transport (or in the future any application that supports MAPI) can exchange native meeting requests. A copy of the specification can be found in the Sourcebook.

OLE and Attachments

1. Q. Does Schedule+ support OLE?
   
   A. Schedule+ does not support OLE in any way. You cannot embed objects in appointments, in the notepad, or in the meeting request messages. This may be confusing because a meeting request message is a specialized Microsoft Mail message, and Mail supports OLE. However, Schedule+ does not support this feature.



2. Q. Does Schedule+ support attachments so that I can attach an agenda to my meeting request or attach a note to an appointment in my daily calendar?
   
   A. Schedule+ does not have an actual attachment feature. However, you can type an unlimited quantity of text into the appointment description. You can even scroll through the appointment entry using the cursor key. To see the entire note text in your calendar printout, you must print using the Text View format.

Printing

1. Q. Can you customize print views in Schedule+?
   
   A. There are no printing customization capabilities built into Schedule+. However, you can export your appointments into Schedule+ (either ASCII text or text format) and then use a standard text editor to customize the information.



2. Q. When printing from Schedule+, there are three different print sizes. What are the dimensions of these print sizes?
   
   A. The formats are designed to match the most popular appointment book sizes:

   Standard = 8.5 x 11-inches
   Junior = 5.5 x 8.5-inches
   Pocket = 3.75 x 6.75-inches

Reminders Application

1. Q. Does Schedule+ support customized reminder sounds?
   
   A. Yes. If you are running Windows 3.1, you can modify the sound that is assigned to the Schedule+ Reminders in the Sound Control Panel.
   
   NOTE: A sound driver must first be installed in the Control Panel Drivers dialog box.



2. Q. How does the Reminders application work?
   
   A. The Reminders application is a separate application from Schedule+. The default installation (that is, Express Setup) installs Reminders into the Windows Startup group. This explains why you are asked to sign in when you start Windows, but after you sign in, no application seems to be started. In actuality, Reminders has started, but because it is a hidden application, this is not apparent. Reminders continues to run until you exit Windows or choose Turn Off Reminders from the File menu in Schedule+. You will be reminded of upcoming appointments while you are running Windows.

Remote Usage

1. Q. How do you take Schedule+ "on the road"?
   
   A. If you want to take your calendar with you to another machine (for example, a portable for travel), use the Move Local File command on the File menu to copy the calendar to a floppy disk.
   
   Then load Schedule+ on the destination computer. Use the Move Local File command to move it back. The command moves the calendar file to the location you specify and changes the SCHDPLUS.INI file so it searches for your calendar in the new location. This command might also be used if you decide you want to keep your calendar in the directory where you store data instead of in the Schedule+ program directory.



2. Q. Does Schedule+ have a "dial-in" capability?
   
   A. No. You can use Schedule+ offline (as described above) to view your local calendar or use LAN Manager RAS to access your calendar at the office, view other people's calendars, and schedule meetings. However, you cannot dial in, as you can with the MS-DOS Mail remote client. Also note that when you use Schedule+ offline, you cannot use any of the group-related capabilities. You cannot generate meeting requests and leave them in your outbox (as you can do when you are using the Windows Mail client).

Scheduling Meetings

1. Q. Does Schedule+ include all hours of each day as valid meeting times when the Auto-Pick command is used to search for a meeting time?
   
   A. To determine a meeting time, Auto-Pick looks only at weekdays (Monday-Friday) within the time defined by the Day Starts At and Day Ends At settings in the General Options dialog box. Schedule + looks only at the meeting initiator's settings to determine the valid times. Schedule+ does not recognize the nonworking hours of other users and you cannot define days other than Saturday or Sunday as nonworking days.



2. Q. Does Schedule+ support recurring meetings? For example, can I request a weekly staff meeting with my group so that when those people accept the meeting, it is automatically entered into their calendars for each week?
   
   A. Schedule+ supports recurring APPOINTMENTS, but not recurring MEETINGS. Schedule+ does not allow a you to request a recurring meeting with other people. This means you must request the meeting for a single occurrence and then remind the attendees to use the recurring appointment command to enter it for each week.

Scheduling Resources

1. Q. How do you set up a resource, such as a conference room?
   
   A. Schedule+ makes it easy to set up shared resources (such as conference rooms and audio/visual equipment) so that they can be reserved over Schedule+. The network administrator creates an account for the resource using the Mail Admin program. Then he/she logs into Schedule+ under that account and selects the This Account Is For A Resource check box in the General Options dialog box (accessed by choosing General Options from the Options menu).
   
   This automatically changes the default access privilege to "Create Appts and Tasks." That means that people can book the resource by selecting it from the address book while they select attendees for a meeting. You can also use the File, Open Other's Appt Book command to look at the calendar for the resource and book time in it directly. It is also possible to assign an assistant to a resource and alter the default privilege to View Free and Busy Times if the administrator wants somebody to be in control of allocating the resource.



2. Q. Because each resource requires a user account, does this mean that each resource requires a user license?
   
   A. No. Microsoft licensing requires a license per workstation that runs the software, not per user account.

Time and Date Issues

1. Q. Are there options for altering the time and date displays (for example, to use a 24-hour or a European date format)?
   
   A. Yes. From the Windows Control Panel, choose the International icon. Here you can specify the format used for the date and the time. This change is reflected in Schedule+ also.



2. Q. Does Schedule+ account for time zone changes when a you request a meeting with someone in another time zone?
   
   A. No. However, if you have upgraded to Microsoft PC Mail version 3.0, you can modify the template files (using TEMPLATE.EXE) to include a field for time zones. This way, you can at least find out what time zone somebody is in by selecting Details.

Additional query words: 3.1 3.10 3.11 1.0 1.00 plus video color component non-working interoperation interoperability sched program included with

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:1.0,3.1,3.11
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :