path: root/calendar/doc/C/gnomecal.sgml

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<book id="gnomecal">
  <bookinfo>
    <title>GNOME calendar user's manual</title>
    <authorgroup>
      <author>
    <firstname>Dave</firstname> <surname>Mason</surname>
    <affiliation>
      <address>
        <email>dcm@redhat.com</email>
      </address>
    </affiliation>
      </author>
      <author>
    <firstname>Miguel</firstname> <surname>de Icaza
      Amozurrutia</surname>
    <affiliation>
      <address>
        <email>miguel@gnu.org</email>
      </address>
    </affiliation>
      </author>
    </authorgroup>
    <copyright>
      <year>1998, 1999</year> <holder>Miguel de Icaza</holder>
    </copyright>
    <legalnotice>
      <para>This documentation is free software; you can redistribute
    it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
    License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
    version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
    version.</para>
      
      <para>This program is distributed in the hope that it will be
    useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
    warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
    See the GNU General Public License for more details.</para>
      
      <para>You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
    License along with this program; if not, write to the Free
    Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston,
    MA 02111-1307 USA</para>
      
      <para>For more details see the file COPYING in the source
    distribution of GNOME.</para>
    </legalnotice>
  </bookinfo>

  <toc></toc>

  <chapter id="cmdline">
    <title>Command line options</title>

    <para>
      The following command line options are recognized by the
      <filename>gnomecal</filename> program.  You can use these
      options to alter the behaviour of the program or to quickly
      query the program for appointments, and to do items from the
      command line without requiring an X display.  These are useful
      for example to include in scripts.
    </para>

    <para>
      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--events</emphasis>.  Displays the events for the
        date specified (or today, if no date is specified).
      </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--from DATE</emphasis>.  Define the beginning of
        the range for the event display, or the startup day on the
        calenday views.  By default, the event will span the whole
        day specified in DATE.
          </para>
        </listitem>

    <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--to DATE</emphasis>.  Define the range end for
        the event display.  If this is not specified, it will
        default to the end of the day specified by the
        <emphasis>--from</emphasis> option.
          </para>
        </listitem>

    <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--file FILE</emphasis>.  Set the calendar to the
        <emphasis>FILE</emphasis> specified on the command line.
          </para>
        </listitem>

    <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--todo</emphasis>.  Dumps the to-do values to
        standard output.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--userfile</emphasis>.  Use this if you want to
            force the file to be loaded to be the default user's
            calendar (this is the default, only used to override the
            --file if you have some sort of macro.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--geometry</emphasis>.  Used to specity the
            startup geometry of the application (location and size).
          </para>
        </listitem>
        
        <listitem>
          <para>
            <emphasis>--view VIEWMODE</emphasis>.  Use this to specify
            the startup view that should be used.
            <emphasis>VIEWMODE</emphasis> is one of: dayview,
            weekview, monthview, yearview.
          </para>
        </listitem>
     
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>

    <para>
      <emphasis>DATE</emphasis> is interpreted as being in the local
      time-zone, unless a specific timezone is specified.  Examples
      of valid date specifications include: "1 month ago", "2 hours
      ago", "400000 seconds ago", "last year", "last Monday",
      "yesterday", "a fortnight ago", "3/31/92 10:00:07 PST", "January
      23, 1987 10:05pm", "22:00 GMT".  
    </para>
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="tech.html">
    <title>Technical information about the GNOME calendar</title>

    <para>
      Currently, the GNOME calendar uses the vCal file format standard 
      for storing and loading its appointment and todo database.  This
      standard is widely used in various other calendar applications,
      so it provides a good mechanism for exchanging appointments.
    </para>
    <para>
      In the future the GNOME calendar will support the upcoming
      iCalendar specification as well.
    </para>
    <para>
      If you want to know more about the vCal specification, you can
      check the <ulink url="http://www.imc.org" type=http>Internet
      Mail Consortium (http://www.imc.org)</ulink> for the details.
    </para>
  </chapter>

 <chapter id="gcal">
  <title>The GNOME Calendar</title>
  <sect1>
   <title>Introduction</title>
   <para>
   <indexterm>
    <primary>
     GNOME Calendar
    </primary>
   </indexterm>
   <indexterm>
    <primary>
     Calendar
    </primary>
   </indexterm>
    The GNOME Calendar is a  simple calendar applications which can be
    quite useful  in your  daily work. The  Calendar, like the  rest of
    GNOME, is in its infancy and while it is a very useful application,
    there will  be some very  impressive functionality that  will come
    like network  shared calendar  usage, and syncing  capability with
    Palm Pilots and other hand held PDAs.
   </para>
   <para>
    The Calendar is  broken up into four main  tabs: Day, Week, Month,
    and Year. Each view allows  you to view the respective time period
    but will also  allow you to schedule appointments  from any one of
    the tabs.
   </para>
   <figure>
     <title>The GNOME Calendar</title>
    <screenshot>
     <screeninfo>The GNOME Calendar</screeninfo>
      <Graphic Format="gif" Fileref="images/calday" srccredit="dcm">
      </graphic>
    </screenshot>
    </figure>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="calsetup" <title>Setting Up the GNOME Calendar</title>
   <para>
     The GNOME Calendar  can be used in the state  which it is shipped
     but there are  some tools available to make sure  it is setup the
     way you would like it to be. The first place you should go is the
     GNOME Calendar  Preferences. You can find  the Preferences dialog
     by selecting the <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem> menu item
     from the <guimenu> File</guimenu> menu.
   <figure>
    <title>The GNOME Calendar Preferences</title>
   <screenshot>
    <screeninfo>The GNOME Calendar Preferences.</screeninfo>
    <Graphic Format="gif" Fileref="images/cal-props" srccredit="dcm">
    </graphic>
   </screenshot>
   </figure>
   </para>
   <para>
    The Calendar Preferences  dialog is broken up into  two tabs, Time
    display and Colors.
   </para> 
   <para>
   Time - This tab is broken up into three main sections: Time format,
   Weeks start on, and Day range.
   </para>  
   <para>
      Time format - This allows you  to choose between a 12 or 24 hour
      format clock.
   </para>
   <para>
      Weeks start  on - This allows  you to define what  day your week
      will  start on,  Sunday  or  Monday. This  will  affect how  the
      calendar is laid out in the Day and Week views.
   </para>
   <para>
      Day range  - This  section lets you  choose what time  your days
      will start  and end. Any  hours outside the range  selected will
      not be displayed on your Day view.
   </para>
   <para>
    Colors - This tab allows you  to change the default colors used in
    the  Calendar. There are  seven color  choices you  can customize:
    Outline, Headings, Empty  days, Appointments, Highlighted day, Day
    numbers, and Current  day's number. Each choice has  a small color
    selector box next to it. When you press this box you will be given
    a  color selector dialog  in which  you can  choose the  color you
    want. Once you have selected  a color the small sample calendar on
    the right side of the tab will preview your choice.
   </para>
   <para>
    Once you have made the changes to the Calendar Preferences you may
    press the <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> button to apply them.
   </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="caluse">
   <title>Using the GNOME Calendar</title>
   <para>
    Using the  GNOME Calendar  is quite simple  and most tasks  can be
    performed  from  any of  the  major  views,  Day, Week,  Month  or
    Year. Probably one  of the most important features  to remember is
    that at any time you may right mouse click on a particular day and
    add a new appointment. There are many other features which will be
    described below in each of the major views.
   </para>
     <sect2 id="calday">
    <title>The Day View</title>
    <para>
     The  Day  tab is  probably  the most  useful  view  in the  GNOME
     Calendar as it acts just as a day timer would. On the left of the
     tab  is the  hour listing  for the  current day.  The  light grey
     coloring  in the  hour list  separates  the work  hours from  the
     non-work hours. If  you  would  like  to change  the  work  hours
     displayed   in   light   grey    you   can   do   so   in   <xref
     LinkEnd="calsetup">.
    </para>
    <figure>
     <title>The Day View</title>
      <screenshot>
       <screeninfo>The Day View</screeninfo>
       <Graphic Format="gif" Fileref="images/calday" srccredit="dcm">
       </graphic>
      </screenshot>
    </figure>
    <tip>
     <title>TIP</title>
     <para>
      One  tip for  adding a  new appointment  in the  Day View  is to
      select a  few hours in the  hours list by  clicking and dragging
      your mouse down  the hours list. Once the  correct range of time
      has  been  selected  you  may   press  Enter  and  type  in  the
      appointment.  This  will  allow  you  to  skip  the  Create  New
      Appointment dialog.
     </para>
    </tip> 
    <para>
     Next to  the hours listing  in the right  hand corner is  a small
     full  month calendar. You  may change  the month  or year  of the
     small month calendar by  pressing the forward and backward arrows
     on the top. You may use  the small month calendar to navigate the
     days  as well.  Double clicking  on any  day in  the  small month
     calendar will move the current day view to that particular day.
    </para>
    <para>
     Below the small month calendar is your To-do list. The To-do list
     is a  simple list where you can  keep all your tasks  on hand. To
     add    an     item    to    the    To-do     list    press    the
     <guibutton>Add</guibutton>  button.  This  will  launch  a  small
     editing box where you can type in the item. Once you have entered
     an    item   in    the    To-do   list    you    may   use    the
     <guibutton>Edit</guibutton>  and <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> to
     manage you items.  The To-do items are available  no matter which
     days are displayed  in the Day View and can  only be deleted with
     the <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> button.
    </para>
   </sect2>
   <sect2 id="calweek">
    <title>The Week View</title>
    <para>
     The Week View shows the current week with detailed descriptions of
     your appointments. If you would like to add an appointment any of
     the days  in the week view you  may right mouse click  on the day
     and  select the  <guimenuitem>New  appointment</guimenuitem> menu
     item from  the <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu>  menu. You may  also use
     the  week  view  to  navigate  to  particular  days  in  the  Day
     View. Double-click on any day in the Week View and you will go to
     that day in the Day View.
    </para>
    <figure>
     <title>The Week View</title>
      <screenshot>
       <screeninfo>The Week View</screeninfo>
       <Graphic Format="gif" Fileref="images/calweek" srccredit="dcm">
       </graphic>
      </screenshot>
    </figure>
    <para>
     In the lower left corner of  the Week View there is a small month
     calendar. You  may change  the month or  year of the  small month
     calendar  by pressing  the  forward and  backward  arrows on  the
     top. You may use the small month calendar to navigate the days as
     well. Double clicking on any day in the small month calendar will
     move the current week view to that particular week.
    </para>
   </sect2>
   <sect2 id="calmonth">
    <title>The Month View</title>
    <para>
     The  Month  View  shows  the  entire month  with  brief  detailed
     descriptions of  your appointments. The  Month View makes  use of
     the  customized colors available  in the  Calendar. You  may read
     about    how    to    set    these   colors    in     <xref
     Linkend="calsetup">. For  any day with  a brief description  of an
     appointment  you may  click  on  the day  to  display a  detailed
     description of the  appointment in a pop-up window.  If you would
     like to  add an appointment  to a day  in the Month View  you may
     right  mouse click  on any  day and  select  the <guimenuitem>New
     Appointment   in    this   day</guimenuitem>   item    from   the
     <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu>  menu. You  may  use the  items in  the
     <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu to navigate  in the Day, Week, and
     Year  views   by  selecting  either   <guimenuitem>Jump  to  this
     day</guimenuitem>, <guimenuitem>Jump  to this week</guimenuitem>,
     or <guimenuitem>Jump to this Year</guimenuitem>.
    </para>
    <figure>
     <title>The Month View</title>
      <screenshot>
       <screeninfo>The Month View</screeninfo>
       <Graphic Format="gif" Fileref="images/calmonth" srccredit="dcm">
       </graphic>
      </screenshot>
    </figure>
   </sect2>
   <sect2 id="calyear">
    <title>The Year View</title>
    <para>
     The Year View  shows you the entire year  with no descriptions of
     appointments. Like the Month View, the Year View makes use of the
     customized colors  available in the Calendar. You  may read about
     how to set these colors in <xref Linkend="calsetup">. If you have
     an  appointment  on  a day  you  may  click  on  that day  and  a
     description of  the appointment will  be displayed in  the pop-up
     window. If you  would like to add an appointment to  a day in the
     Year View  you may right  mouse click on  any day and  select the
     <guimenuitem>New Appointment in  this day</guimenuitem> item from
     the <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu. You  may use the items in the
     <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu to navigate  in the Day, Week, and
     Month  views  by   selecting  either  <guimenuitem>Jump  to  this
     day</guimenuitem>, <guimenuitem>Jump  to this week</guimenuitem>,
     or <guimenuitem>Jump to this Month</guimenuitem>.
    </para>
    <figure>
     <title>The Year View</title>
      <screenshot>
       <screeninfo>The Year View</screeninfo>
       <Graphic Format="gif" Fileref="images/calyear" srccredit="dcm">
       </graphic>
      </screenshot>
    </figure>
   </sect2>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="calappoint">
    <title>Making a New Appointment</title>
    <para>
     There are many methods for  making a new appointment in the GNOME
     Calendar, the easiest  by pressing the <guibutton>New</guibutton>
     button on the button bar. Whenever you make a new appointment you
     will launch the Create New  Appointment dialog that allows you to
     set  the   properties  of   that  appointment.  The   Create  New
     Appointment dialog is broken into two different tabs, the General
     and the Recurrence tabs.
    </para>
    <para>
     General -  The General tab is  the area in which  you define when
     the appointment is and set reminders for yourself. There are four
     different areas  on the General  tab: Summary, Time,  Alarms, and
     Classification.
     <ITEMIZEDLIST MARK="bullet">
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Summary - The Summary box  allows you to type a description of
        the  appointment. Keep  in mind  that  only a  portion of  this
        description will be available in the Week and Month Views.
       </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Time - The Time area allows  you to set the time range for the
        appointment by selecting the date and hours. Beside each start
        and   end  days  there   is  a   small  selection   box  named
        Calendar.   This  will   bring  up   a  small   Calendar  when
        pressed. You  may select the start  and end date  in the small
        calendar.  Beside the  start and  end hours  there is  a small
        button  which   will  display  the  hours  of   the  day  when
        pressed. Each hour in the list will have a sub menu displaying
        each quarter hour so you may select them.
       </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Alarms -  The Alarms  area allows  you to set  up an  alarm to
        remind you  of an appointment. There are  four different types
        of  alarms you  may use  to remind  yourself  of appointments:
        Display,  Audio, Program,  and  Mail. The  Display alarm  will
        display a message on your screen in the time you set. The Audio
        alarm will play an audio file in the time you set. The Program
        alarm will run a program you  specify in the time you set. The
        Mail alarm will  send email to the user  specified in the time
        you set.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     <!-- <listitem>
       <para>
        Classification - TO BE DONE
       </para>
      </listitem> -->
     </itemizedlist>
    </para>
    <para>
     Recurrence - The  Recurrence tab allows you to  specify how often
     an appointment  should recur, if  at all. The first  property you
     should set if you want  a recurring appointment is the Recurrence
     rule.  You may  choose among  None, Daily,  Weekly,  Monthly, and
     Yearly.  For  each  selection   you  may  adjust  the  recurrence
     properties for  your selection. In  the Ending date area  you may
     set a rule which will  stop the recurrence of your appointment or
     allow it to  repeat forever. In the Exceptions  area you may make
     exceptions to  the recurring appointment by selecting  the date a
     pressing the <guibutton>Add</guibutton> button.
    </para>
   </sect1>
 </chapter>
</book>