Commonly Asked Schedule+ Questions & Answers

Last reviewed: November 23, 1994
Article ID: Q92642
The information in this article applies to:
  • 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

The following text provides answers to common questions regarding customizing the display of Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about managing tasks using Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to common questions regarding creating appointments in another person's schedule using Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about MS-DOS and Macintosh connectivity with Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about OLE or attachment usage with Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about printing from Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about the Reminders application that is included with Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about moving your copy of Windows for Workgroups Schedule+ from one machine to another, as well as accessing your copy from another machine.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about scheduling meetings with Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about setting up and scheduling resources with Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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

The following text provides answers to commonly asked questions about the time and date features in Windows for Workgroups Schedule+.

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.


KBCategory: kbother kbdisplay kbsoundkbtool
KBSubcategory: wfw wfwg
Additional reference words: 3.1 3.10 3.11 1.0 1.00 plus video color
component non-working interoperation interoperability sched program
included with


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Last reviewed: November 23, 1994
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