TASK-PRO

by

Business Technologies



LIMITED LISCENSE
----------------
TASK-PRO is user-supported shareware, and depends on user registration
for its continued existance. This product is liscensed for personal use
only and not for use in a professional or business environment. To
register TASK-PRO for use in a business or professional environment
simply follow the directions supplied through the INFO option of the
TASK-PRO main menu option.

Registered users will receive a copy of our professional version of TASK-
PRO, along with a user's guide, one free product upgrade and notices of
all future product upgrades.


INTRODUCTION
------------
TASK-PRO is a program for the IBM-PC and compatibles which allows
a manager to maintain a well organized database of tasks and troubles.
TASK-PRO allows related tasks to be grouped into files which
can be manipulated independently. This provides the end user with the
flexibility of grouping tasks associated with specific projects or
individuals together. Tasks can be added, modified, deleted, sorted,
prioritized and/or reported on with ease. TASK-PRO produces a visual
signal to indicate tasks which have exceeded their deadline without
resolution. The user is provided with a means of maintaining an edit
file for each task which is also available at a keystroke.

In short, TASK-PRO is designed to maximize the efficiency of any business
operation which is task- or trouble- driven. If your business fits this
description, then you should find TASK-PRO an indispensable tool.

This file is organized chronologically in the order that a beginner
should read to install and beginning running TASK-PRO. TASK-PRO
is simple and consistent to operate with extensive context-sensitive
help (described later).


INSTALLING TASK-PRO
-------------------
TASK-PRO consists of four files. These files are as follows:

o TASK.EXE - the TASK-PRO program.
o TSK.CTL - a control file required by TASK-PRO to assure
that all task id's are unique.
o SAMPLE.TSK - a sample task database file to assist the new
user in training.
o TSK.HLP - an encrypted text file containing help information
used by TASK-PRO.

Installing TASK-PRO on your system is a simple two-step process. The
first step is to create a directory in which TASK-PRO is to reside. The
second step is to copy the TASK-PRO files into this directory. After
this process is complete TASK-PRO is installed on your system.


RUNNING TASK-PRO
----------------
To execute TASK-PRO the user should be in the TASK-PRO directory and
enter 'TASK' from the DOS prompt.

On executing TASK-PRO the user will first be presented with the main
menu, which appears on a bar across the top of the display. Within
this menu the left and right arrow keys of the numeric keypad allow
the user to highlight the various menu options. If a pull-down menu
of sub-options is defined for a main menu option then it too will be
displayed immediately below the associated main menu option. In the
case of such a pull-down submenu these options may be alternately
highlighted with the up and down arrow keys of the numeric keypad.

Depressing the ENTER key will cause the currently highlighted menu
option to be executed. The TASK-PRO menu options are described in
following sections.


GETTING ON-LINE HELP
--------------------
TASK-PRO features extensive context-sensitive help. 'Context sensitive'
means that when you ask for help you get information specific to the
operation you are about to perform. For example, if you have highlighted
the 'DEFAULTS' option of the main menu and ask for help you'll get a help
window describing what DEFAULTS does and how it is used. You may ask for
help by hitting the F1 key at any time. Help screens may be up to 9 pages
in length, and may contain embedded keywords which allow the user to jump
to other related help topics. To jump to another help topic the user
simply uses the left and right arrow keys to move between the selectable
keywords and, when the desired keyword is highlighted, selects it by
depressing the ENTER key. The PgUp and PgDn keys allow the user to page
up and down between help screens. The user can exit help at any time by
depressing the ESC key.

All help screens have 'INDEX' as a selectable keyword on the upper right
corner of the first screen. By selecting this keyword within help the
user can bring up an index of general help topics and select from among
them.


MAIN MENU OPTIONS
-----------------
The TASK-PRO main menu provides the user with the options FILES, EDIT,
DEFAULTS, REPORTS, and INFO.

The FILES option allows the user to open new and/or existing task files,
to pick a task file from a set of existing task files, or to quit the
program.

The EDIT option brings up the TASK-PRO task edit window, as described in
the following section.

The DEFAULTS option brings up a data entry window which allows the user
to pre-fill default information to be automatically inserted into tasks
whenever a new task is being added.

The REPORTS options allows the user to produce a printed list of tasks
in either a BRIEF, an ABBREVIATED or a FULL format.

The INFO option produces a pop-up window of information about TASK-PRO.


THE EDIT WINDOW
---------------
Selecting the 'EDIT' option from the TASK-PRO main menu causes the
edit window to appear in the lower portion of the display, with one
line appearing for each displayed task. The currently selected task
appears highlighted. This window provides the user with a scrolling
sorted list of tasks defined within the currently opened task file
and allows the user to view, modify, or delete information associated
with each task.

The following command keystrokes are valid within the edit window:

'R' - Re-Sort tasks
'T' - Tag/Untag tasks
'S' - Switch Display Format
'+' - Add a New Task
'-' - Delete the Highlighted Task
Up Arrow - Highlight Next Task Line
Down Arrow - Highlight Prev Task Line
PgUp - Scroll Up One Page
PgDn - Scroll Down One Page
Home - Go to First Task In List
End - Go to End of List
F10 - Edit Memo File for Highlighted Task
Enter - View and Edit the Highlighted Task
ESC - Return to Task-Pro Main Menu


DATA ENTRY
----------
Entering data into the data entry windows of TASK-PRO is quite intuitive.
The normal alphanumeric keys of the keyboard result in the corresponding
characters appearing at the cursor position and the cursor being advanced.
The INS key toggles the cursor between insert mode and overstrike mode.
The DEL key deletes the character under the cursor. The Backspace key
backs the cursor up a single character. The Home and End keys of the
numeric keypad move the input cursor to the beginning and end of the
data entry line respectively. The ENTER key causes the data entry window
to disappear and all changes to be made. The ESC key cancels the data
entry for the window. Additionally, the up and down arrow keys move the
cursor up and down between fields, and the left and right arrow keys move
the cursor left and right respectively within the data entry field without
affecting the content of the field. The TAB key, like the down arrow
key, advances the input cursor to the next field in the data entry window.

Editing of memo files within TASK-PRO is quite similar to the editing
of individual data fields. The primary difference is that the up and down
arrows of the numeric keypad now move the input cursor between lines, and
the ESC key terminates the edit session with any changes being saved.


BECOMING A REGISTERED TASK-PRO USER
-----------------------------------
To become a registered TASK-PRO user please follow the directions that
appear when the INFO option of the TASK-PRO main menu is selected.