MEMO & NAG by Arnold Wilkins INTRODUCTION Memo and Nag are programs to help you remember to do something. They run on the Psion 3a and are usually used together. It is often at the most awkward of times that you think of things that you should have done and need to be reminded to do. With Memo you can hit two easy-to-reach keys, and record a few words as a reminder. Your message will be repeated to reassure you that it has been recorded. Nag will subsequently nag you with the message whenever you turn your Psion on. You can record up to four messages. The four most recent messages are retained on disk: older ones are deleted when a new message is recorded. USAGE When Memo is installed appropriately, you need only hit two keys in sequence to begin the recording, even if the Psion is initially turned off. The first key is a key on the hinge of the Psion and the second key is Enter. The simplicity of operation is useful if you happen to be driving a car when an important thought occurs to you and you want to be sure to remember it. When Memo is run, the Psion will beep once to indicate it is ready for you to start talking. It will record for four seconds, and then will immediately play back the recording you have just made. The program will then cease running, and the Psion will be able to turn itself off automatically in the usual way. The next time you turn the Psion on you will hear your message once, provided Nag is running. No matter how many messages you record, only four messages remain on the disk, the last four you recorded. The most recent message can be read by turning the computer off then on. Older messages can be read with the standard "Sound Recorder" application that comes with your Psion. You have to wait until Nag has finished playing your last message before you can record a new one with Memo. So if you press the button key and you hear a message, wait before pressing Enter. If you do not wait you may lose an old message, although you will be able to record a new one but pressing Enter again when the message has finished. Nag is designed to run in the background continuously, whereas Memo runs only when it is needed. The advantages of this arrangement are that (1) Memo is always available to you with only two keystrokes, no matter what processes you left running (provided there are not too many!) and (2) you can stop Nag running when you don't want to be nagged, without affecting your ability to record new messages. Nag will only work if you have the Sound turned on, and if no other program such as a music processor is running and using the sound channel. If the batteries are low, Memo and Nag will operate erratically, or not at all. INSTALLATION 1. Copy Memo.opa into the \APP directory on the internal drive M:. 2. Copy Memo.pic into the \PIC directory on the internal drive M:. 3 .Copy Nag.opo into the \OPO directory on the internal drive M:. 4. Start Nag running by navigating to the name from the System screen and hitting Return. You will get a prompt to tell you Nag is running. Nag creates a subdirectory of \WVE called \WVE\MEM which is needed by Memo, so it is important to run Nag first. 5. Install Memo in the usual way from the system screen using Psion-I or the Apps menu. 6. Assign one of the button keys to Memo. The button keys are the keys on the hinge of the Psion. Use the Apps menu on the System screen. You may wish to use the Sheet button because it is easy to reach in the dark, and it is close to the Enter key. It is useful to be able to use a single keystroke for Memo rather than having to hold down a shift key. You can assign Control-Sheet to the standard spreadsheet application (i.e. use the Control modifier with the Sheet button to obtain the spreadsheet). Once the button is assigned, three things happen when you press the button: (1) the Psion turns on (if it is off), (2) the System screen is displayed and (3) the cursor is positioned on the Memo icon. Pressing Enter then starts Memo running. 7. If you want to be able to hear the old messages easily, you may find it helpful to create a list for the standard Sound Recorder application that comes with the Psion (see pp 256-258 of the User Guide). You will then be able to reach the files from the System screen. To do this, go to the System screen and install the Sound Recorder, if you have not already done so. Position the cursor on the Record icon and select New List on the Special menu. _At the "directory for files" prompt, type_Mem,_and at the "Save list as: Name" prompt, type_Mem_This should create an alias in the \APP directory called \APP\MEM.ALS which can be installed. The four Memo files (see below) will be listed on the System screen and can be read by the Sound Recorder application in the usual way. TECHNICAL INFORMATION All the messages, new and old, are held as .wve files on the internal disk in a subdirectory of the \WVE directory, called \MEM. When you run Nag it creates this subdirectory if it is not already present. When you use Memo (NB the program name ends with the letter "o"), it creates the following files: - \WVE\MEM\Mem0.wve; (NB the file name ends in zero) \WVE\MEM\Mem1.wve; \WVE\MEM\Mem2.wve; \WVE\MEM\Mem3.wve; Each file takes 3.8k of disk space. Mem0.wve is the most recent message. Each time Memo is run, Mem3.wve is deleted, Mem2.wve is renamed as Mem3.wve and so on, and a new Mem0.wve is created. YOUR OBLIGATION This is a charity-ware application created by_ arnold.wilkins@MRC-APU.CAM.AC.UK If you use it, you are honour-bound to make a donation to the British Epilepsy Association, 40 Hanover Square, Leeds LS3 1BE. DISCLAIMER The author accepts no responsibility for any mishaps etc. that may or may not be occasioned by the use of this software. POSTSCRIPT This is my first program for the Psion, and is a tribute to the people who wrote the Programming Manual. If you like it, e-mail me to say so, and I'll then be encouraged to add belts and whistles. Enjoy! Bottisham, 10 Jan. 1996