Our convenient Week-at-a-Glance program is designed to operate on two different kinds of source files that you will create according to your preferences. This manual will walk you through the creation of both different types of files, and you will be able to customize your own weekly calendar according to your preference. At any time during the operation of this software, feel free to call our hotline for technical support at (919) 613-1799. PLEASE REGISTER AS A USER (see end of document), so that we may offer you Week-at-a-Glance upgrades as they become available.

In order to operate Week-at-a-Glance, you must first create source files that describe your schedule during the week you wish the program to display. Then, you will run Week-at-a-Glance, and the program will prompt you for any file you have created to date and display it on your screen in tabular HTML format. A seven-day calendar might look something like this:

Each appointment in wagalang consists of one line of text, laid out as follows:

#sample schedule

m     8,10  sleep
mwf  10,12  CPS 108
th   12,14  CPS 104
th   19,21  Chorale
mf   17,23  Work
w    19,21  film
h    16,18  film
thf  14,16  PS 198
    

*Note: Any comments you wish to make within the wagalang file should be preceded by a # character. They are used as personal comments to the user and will not appear on the HTML display.

You may create these files on any simple text editor; name your files whatever you like and save them as ASCII text with a .wag file extension.

Days of the Week:

Begin each appointment line as shown above and are abbreviated as follows:

Monday         m
Tuesday        t
Wednesday      w
Thursday       h
Friday         f
Saturday       s
Sunday         n

If you have a recurring appointment, for example, a class meeting three times a week at 10 o'clock, place the m, w, and f together as shown above (no space between them).

Appointment Times:

Each appointment is listed in wagalang in military time (24 hour). So, an appointment at 1 o'clock in the afternoon would be represented by the number 13:

 8:00 am --  8                       2:00 pm -- 14
 9:00 am --  9                       3:00 pm -- 15
10:00 am -- 10                       4:00 pm -- 16
11:00 am -- 11                       5:00 pm -- 17
    noon -- 12                       6:00 pm -- 18
 1:00 pm -- 13                       7:00 pm -- 19

Appointment times are listed in wagalang separated by a comma, as shown in the sample file above.

Appointment Descriptions

Each appointment is given the name of your choice. We recommend that you keep these names as brief as possible in order that they will fit inside the Week-at-a-Glance chart that the program will generate for you. In beta testing, we found it more convenient if a week's chart could fit on one screen.

AT LEAST ONE SPACE IS REQUIRED BETWEEN DAYS AND APPOINTMENT TIMES, AND BETWEEN APPOINTMENT TIMES AND APPOINTMENT DESCRIPTIONS.

While we value wagalang files because they tend to take less time to create, we also offer the option for you to create your source files in YAWL. An appointment in YAWL is spread over several lines instead of just one. For example:

#sample YAWL file
monday
8-10
sleep(zzzz)
%%END-YAWL%%
tuesday
12-14
cps 104
homework due
%%END-YAWL%%
wednesday
19-21
film class
screening
quiz next week
%%END-YAWL%%
wednesday
10-12
cps108
manual for project due
%%END-YAWL%%
    

*Note : It is important that you leave no white space characters after the daynames or times. We are not responsible for what may occur.

As you can see, days of the week, appointment times, and appointment descriptions are on separate lines. Days of the week in YAWL are spelled out completely, but the program is not case-sensitive, so you may spell Monday as 'monday' or 'MONDAY' (or any combination thereof). Appointments in YAWL are also in military time (as described previously in wagalang) but are on a separate line and separated by a hyphen, as shown above.

The chief advantage to choosing YAWL over wagalang is the availability of lengthier appointment descriptions. After the appointment times, you may enter as many appointment descriptions as you like. However, YAWL requires a termination string (your signal to the program that the description is finished); this string is '%%END-YAWL%%'. It must be typed EXACTLY as shown (two percentage characters, END-YAWL in all capital letters, followed by two percentage characters, with no spaces between any of the characters)..

YAWL files may also be created on any simple text editor you prefer. Save them as ASCII text with a .yawl file extension.

The steps to using Week-at-a-Glance are simple and easy:

a) First, install the executable file in the directory in which your .wag or .yawl files are stored.

b) Then run the executable program. When it is run, our product will automatically search your directory for readable files. It will then display a listing of possible choices.

c) Enter in the number of the file that you want to be converted into HTML.

d) After a brief second, Week-at-a-Glance will then prompt you to name your HTML file. While it is suggested that you use the extension ".html" when making your decision, we at LSL software feel that you, the user, should have the ultimate say in this choice.

e) And finally, sit back and let Week-at-a-Glance do the rest. In no time at all, you will be provided with an HTML file of your weekly calendar, which can be viewed with the browser of your choice!

When buying new software, a consumer might wonder why they should buy a particular product. We at LSL Software have therefore done many strenuous hours of research and testing to ensure that we have the most easy-to-use and adaptable product available. To this end, we have included the following features:

• Automatic File Directory - Our Week-at-a-Glance program will automatically search your current directory and produce a listing of likely wagalang and yawl files to convert to HTML. As one of our company mottos goes, "We did it, so you don't have to!"
  
• Auto-configuring Tables - The Week-at-a-Glance program also allows you to choose the range of your schedule in hourly segments. You can have a 9-to-5 hour day, a 24-hour day, or any other length of day you like. In addition, the there can never be an appointment description too long for our Week-at-a-Glance program. The table will automatically lengthen itself to accommodate the most detailed of descriptions.

If you, the consumer, can think of any other ways that we can make our product the best there is on the market, please contact us and let us know!

Q: Uh oh, I goofed when writing my Week-at-a-Glance source file and now I have overlapping appointment times! Is my computer going to explode?

A: Although the Week-at-a-Glance program depends on correctly written source files to operate, we at LSL Software have provided for this unfortunate occurrence. Instead of outputting an HTML file, our Week-at-a-Glance program will inform you of your error in scheduling by telling you which appointments are in conflict. You may then fix your source file and re-run the program.

Q: I want a five-day weekly calendar! Why doesn't Week-at-a-Glance produce one for me?

A: If you wanted a five-day calendar, you should have bought something called Five-Days-at-a-Glance. Since we try to avoid any confusion here at LSL Software, we name our products according to what you would normally expect them to do. A Week-at-a-Glance program from LSL Software will provide one with a week of seven days, since a week (in the Julian calendar) is seven days long.

Q: I don't like the color scheme in your Week-at-a-Glance tables. Is there some way I can change them?

A: Yes there is, but that option is only available in our registered version. We have done extensive research regarding all aspects of the Week-at-a-Glance software and have even delayed the release of our product (not once, but twice!). We believe that we have the best default color scheme for the common consumer. If you do not like the colors, please send your $9.95 registration fee (cash, check, or money orders accepted to the LSL corporate address and we will promptly send you the registered version of our software which has many more advanced options.

Q: I love Week-at-a-Glance! I have it in my UNIX directory at school, but I want to take it home with me. Will it will run on my PC at home?

A: Yes, if you have are running a UNIX environment on your PC. If not, do not be disappointed. Versions for Win95, WinNT, and the Macintosh are currently in the works and will be available sometime in the future.

Q: How can I find out about new features in upcoming versions of Week-at-a-Glance?

A: If you have sent in your $9.95 registration fee (cash, check, or money orders accepted), you will receive upgrades and product information in the mail.

Q: What other products does LSL Software have?

A: If you are a registered user, you will also receive a product catalog in the mail. If you are NOT a registered user, please send $9.95 in to our corporate address, and we will promptly send you our product catalog. Act now and get the Week-at-a-Glance Uninstaller for free! (retail value $49.95) With features like "rm *.*", it is a real steal!

Thank you for buying our product.