PawSoft Forums

cords · 2004-04-20 05:43:38

whoooohoo!! first post to the new forum!

first i'd like to say that Sandmalendar - while being a bit of a tongue-twister - is a well-written application. its interface is neat and well thought out, it's easy to use as well as being quick, and it does exactly what it says "on the tin". well done Paul and Donna!!

here are my thoughts on the current version (v0.3) and a small wishlist for future development:

feedback
* when adding a new appointment, the Start time defaults to the time that Sandmalendar was started (if it's the first time that an appointment is being added) or to the last Start time used (if an appointment has already been added). it would be more useful if the current time was used as the default Start time.
* multiple instances of Sandmalendar can be started. this doesn't seem to serve a purpose and can confuse the user when data is added to one instance and not reflected in the other. worse still is if data is added to instance A (the first copy), then to instance B (the second copy) and finally again to instance A, and then instance B is closed, anything added by instance B is lost. i know the example is contrived but since it can be done the possibility that a user will do it should not be ruled out.
* when the system-tray icon is right-clicked and then loses focus, it doesn't disappear. instead, it gets buried under the taskbar (mine is set to always on top) and right-clicking again on the icon does nothing. the only way to get back into Sandmalendar is to click on the edge of the menu sticking up above the taskbar assuming that your taskbar hasn't been made bigger than the default size.

wishlist
* priorities on the to-do items
* an option to sort by priority - this would be handy to order important tasks.
* a by-appointment settable pop-up and/or sound alert when an appointment is due. it's all fine and well setting an appointment but having to keep popping up Sandmalendar to check what's due when means one cannot set-and-forget.
* a by-appointment settable "warn x minutes before appointment". related to previous wish.

well, that about covers my first hour with Sandmalendar. i hope you find my comments useful and if you need anyone to help with beta-testing, gimme a yell.

kind regards
cord

Pab (PawSoft) · 2004-04-20 08:22:58

Wow, what a first post! Thanks for all that.

Feedback

Adding a new appointment - I'll do that. It should have been done already really, I must not have noticed.

Multiple instances - Funny coincidence, someone mentioned this to me last night and I fixed it in the code right away.

Systray icon - I see what you mean. I'm not sure how to fix that but I will take a look.

Wishlist

Priorities / sort by priorites - I'm planning to add the ability to move items on the to do list up and down. This could be used to show priority.

Appointment reminder / alarm - Probably the #1 requested feature so far. I agree it would be a major improvement. If I get the time to do it I will but I can't make any promises at this stage.

Thanks again for your great post!

cords · 2004-04-20 11:01:38

Wow, what a first post! Thanks for all that.

always a pleasure!

Systray icon - I see what you mean. I'm not sure how to fix that but I will take a look.

since Sandmalendar is written in VB, the default behaviour of the Systray icon might be a little more tricky to change. i recall that i had a Delphi component that did much the same thing but i didn't have time to fix it so i just found another one. if i get a chance, i'll compare the code and see if i can point you in any direction.

I'm planning to add the ability to move items on the to do list up and down. This could be used to show priority.

that would be perfect!! higher priority to-do's could then be moved to the top of the list.

Probably the #1 requested feature so far. I agree it would be a major improvement. If I get the time to do it I will but I can't make any promises at this stage.

no promises required ;-)

just thinking about it though, a simple timer (or thread) should do the trick. if the appointment is flagged for a pop-up and hasn't been popped up yet then a dialog box with the appointment details could be displayed. i'd imagine most users would be happy with something basic like that.. things like "remind me again in X minutes" can always be added later... ;-)

one final thought: i see the categories for the to-do are stored in a text file. another nice-to-have would be a dialog box to manage them. just full of bright ideas aren't i?

kind regards,
Cord

Pab (PawSoft) · 2004-04-20 11:11:34

I've just been working on Sandmalendar and I think you are going to like the change log so far because they are the three things from your "feedback" list.

v0.3.1
- Fixed systray pop-up menu not closing when clicking outside of the menu
- When creating new appointment the start and end time default to current time
- Sandmalendar will warn user and exit if a previous instance is detected

I'm tempted to put this version out ASAP just to address these little issues and then perhaps go for other things like to do priority and adding category editing to the preferences (another suggestion of yours that I was already planning!) in 0.4.

The systray icon problem did present a little challenge but I think I've got it worked out. I'll give these three fixes/changes a good testing to make sure they don't break anything.

cords · 2004-04-21 01:19:16

I've just been working on Sandmalendar and I think you are going to like the change log so far because they are the three things from your "feedback" list.

excellent!!

I'm tempted to put this version out ASAP just to address these little issues and then perhaps go for other things like to do priority and adding category editing to the preferences (another suggestion of yours that I was already planning!) in 0.4.

if you need any additional help beta-testing it, lemme know. i don't have anything mission-critical in my Sandmalendar to-do's or appointments (yet!) so if anything goes belly-up i don't mind...

Pab (PawSoft) · 2004-04-21 07:39:12

Thanks for the offer, I'll keep that in mind the next time I'm ready to release a big update.

PawSoft Forums

#1 2004-04-20 05:43:38

Sandmalendar feedback and wishlist

#2 2004-04-20 08:22:58

Re: Sandmalendar feedback and wishlist

#3 2004-04-20 11:01:38

Re: Sandmalendar feedback and wishlist

#4 2004-04-20 11:11:34

Re: Sandmalendar feedback and wishlist

#5 2004-04-21 01:19:16

Re: Sandmalendar feedback and wishlist

#6 2004-04-21 07:39:12

Re: Sandmalendar feedback and wishlist

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