Preceding sections of the requirements have described options for controlling various aspects of Calendar Tool operation. The scenarios in this section cover the complete details of all Calendar Tool options.

There are three options-setting dialogs -- two for the regular user of the Calendar Tool and one for the administrative user of the Calendar Tool Administration program. The regular user options are covered first, followed by options for the administrative user.

For both the regular and administration interfaces, the top group of items in the `Options' menu correspond one-for-one with tabs in an options dialog. When the user selects one of the menu items, the system displays the dialog with the corresponding tab selected. For example, when the regular user selects the `Times and Dates' item in the `Options' menu, the system displays the dialog shown in Figure 253.

At the bottom of the options dialog is a row of buttons that is common to all of the tabs, and the effect of the buttons applies to all tabs simultaneously. The `Apply' button is used to apply any option changes entered in any of the tabs. `Apply' is initially disabled, becoming enabled when the user changes the options settings in one or more data-entry fields in one or more tabs. When the user presses `Apply', the system applies the changed settings to the current calendar, updating all open display windows for the current calendar.

Since the command buttons apply across all dialog tabs, pressing `Apply' has the affect of applying all changes made in any of the tabs, whether or not a changed tab is currently visible. Furthermore, switching between tabs does not automatically apply the changes in a tab that was previously displayed. All option changes remain unapplied until the user presses the `Apply' button. As soon as the changed settings are applied, the `Apply' button is reset to the disabled state. The `Apply' button remains disabled until the user changes one or more settings.

The `Clear' button is used to clear any unapplied changes. When the user presses `Clear', the system restores all dialog settings in all tabs to their most recently-applied values. The enabled/disabled state of the `Clear' button coincides exactly with the `Apply' button. Executing `Clear' disables `Apply', and vice versa. Pressing `Cancel' in the option dialog clears all unapplied changes and removes the dialog from the screen, without applying any changes.

Most option settings for the regular user are calendar-specific. That is, each calendar has its own option settings. When more than one calendar is open, the system provides a separate options dialog for each calendar. Whenever the user executes the `Options' menu command, the system (re)displays an options dialog for the current calendar. Each calendar uses a single options dialog. This means that up to N options dialogs can be displayed at any time, for N equal to the number of open calendars. When more than one calendar is open, the calendar name appears by default in the banner of each options dialog. The appearance or non-appearance of the calendar name in window banners is controlled by an option setting, as described in Section 2.7.4.2.

For the regular user, there are four global option settings that are not calendar-specific, but instead apply to the Calendar Tool operating session as a whole. The dialog for these options is displayed using the `Global' command in the options menu. These global options are described in Section 2.7.6.

2.7.1. Times and Dates

The time and date options provide formating control for the times and dates that appear in various Calendar Tool displays. When the user selects the `Times and Dates' tab in the options dialog, the system updates the display to that shown in Figure 253. The `Time Format' settings allow the user to select between 12-hour and 24-hour time, whether to show the "AM" and/or "PM" suffix, and what separation if any goes between the time and AM/PM suffix. The user can also set whether or not a leading zero character appears in front of single-digit hours and if the suffix ":00" appears in on-the-hour times. The default values for these settings are: 12-hour time, show both "AM" and "PM" suffixes, one space of suffix separation, leading zero off, and ":00" suffix off. The `Separator' may be from zero to three characters. When the user selects 24-hour clock, the system disables the show AM, show PM, and AM/PM separator fields, but leaves the settings of these fields unchanged. If the user subsequently re-selects 12-hour clock, the AM/PM checkboxes and separator field are re-enabled, and retain the settings from when the 12-hour setting was last in effect.

The settings under `Date Display Format' specify the format and relative order of the components in the display of dates. A full date string consists of four components:

1. the day of the week, Sunday through Saturday

2. the month name, January through December

3. the date number, 1 through 28, 29, 30, or 31

4. the year number, in two or four digits

For date strings with fewer than four components, the date display settings specify the format and relative order of those components that are present.

All four date-display list boxes have the same list of items, which is shown in Figure 254.

In all cases, the day name is capitalized.

The fourth through sixth items specify the month name. The full name is the complete spelling of the month, capitalized. The short name is the first three letters of the month, capitalized. The month number is between 1 and 12.

The seventh list item is for the date number. It is an integer between 1 and 28 to 31, depending on the number of days in the selected month.

The last two date-display items specify the year as four or two digits. When the two-digit year format is selected, the two digits correspond to the current century or the previous century, which ever century contains the decade nearest the specified decade, where the decade is that specified by the first of the two digits.

Each of the four components of a date must specify exactly one of the day, month, date, and year. The values in the three boxes in the `Separator' column must be at least one character each. The separator defaults are ", ", " ", and ", ".

In some displays there are restrictions on date formats, such that the options apply only partially or not at all. The format restrictions are the following:

1. In list views, the month always appears in short form, either number or short name. If full-name format is selected for the month, the short name is used in list views.

2. In week and month views, the day-name column headings are always three characters, independent of the option setting for day name.

3. In year views, the date label at the top is always four digits, even if two- digit format is selected.

4. In year views, months always appear by name, never as a number. If number format is selected for the month, the short name is used in year views.

5. In meeting dialogs and item-level meeting displays, the time and date value in the `On' field is always formated as described in Section 2.4.1.1, independent of all time and date option settings.

The settings under `Date Input Format' specify the order and separation of date components when input by the user. Each of the three list boxes contains the list of `date #', `month', and `year'. Both separators must be the same single character, with the default a space character. The system provides the user a good deal of flexibility when inputting dates, in order to reduce the amount of typing the user must do. Once dates are input, they are confirmed for validity and converted to the format specified in the `Date Display Format' settings. Complete details of date input rules, including the precise interpretation of input format settings, are covered in Section .

Figure 255 shows the user having changed the time and date option settings.

The fonts options provide control over the text fonts used in all Calendar Tool windows. When the user selects the `Fonts' tab in the options dialog, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 257.

The same two data-entry fields are available for both forms of text. The `Name' and `Size' menus are platform-specific lists of available fonts and their sizes. With only a few exceptions, the same relative font size is used throughout all Calendar Tool display windows. The exceptions are the following:

1. The font of the `Today' button is two sizes smaller than other text.

2. The font of secondary labels appearing above text-entry fields is two sizes smaller than other text, for example, the secondary hour and minute labels for the `Duration' field in scheduling dialogs.

3. The pulldown menu names in the custom filter dialog are two sizes smaller.

The font options tab provides no control of font style or color. The normal, boldface, or italic style of text is controlled entirely by the system. The user can change the text color of scheduled items using the category editing features described in Section 2.5.5. No other control of text coloring is available, the coloring being black except for the coloring defined by categories, as defined in Section 2.5.5.

The font options settings do not apply to the text in the banners of display windows. The format of banner text is considered to be under the control of the underlying operating environment, and is therefore not settable from within the Calendar Tool.

Figure 258 shows the user having changed font option settings.

The scheduling options provide control over the commands in the `Schedule' menu. When the user selects the `Scheduling' tab in the options dialog, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 260.

The `Defaults' tab allows the user to control the default values that appear in scheduling dialogs when they are initially displayed and when the user presses `Clear'. To set the default values for a scheduling dialog, the user presses one of the four dialog-type buttons to bring the dialog up. When the user does so, the system displays a normal scheduling dialog that is augmented for the purposes of setting default values. For example, when the user presses the `Appointments ...' default-setting button, the system displays the dialog shown in Figure 261.

Operationally, the regular scheduling dialog and defaults-setting dialog differ as follows:

1. The word "today" can appear in date fields of a default-setting dialog, meaning the default value is dynamically replaced with the current date whenever the scheduling dialog is opened.

2. Date fields in the defaults-setting dialog may have a suffix of the form "+ n", indicating a date increment in days.

3. Data-entry fields are never disabled in a defaults-setting dialog.

When the user presses `OK' in Figure 262, the system records the entered values and removes the default-setting dialog from the screen; the options dialog remains on the screen. The recorded default values become part of the changed option settings that the user can apply by pressing the `Apply' button in the options dialog. When the user executes `Apply', the default settings come into effect for all subsequent scheduling operations. For example, Figure 263 shows the default state of the appointments dialog after the user has applied the settings in Figure 262.

The built-in default values for all scheduling dialogs are defined when the calendar tool is configured for installation (see Section ). Table 13 shows the initial default values for all fields in all four types of scheduled item.

Figures 5, 83, 123, and 127 illustrate the initial default settings for each type of scheduled item.

The two radio buttons in the scheduling defaults tab ( Figure 260 ) are used to select the values that appear in scheduling dialogs when they are reopened after having been opened one or more times previously. The first selection specifies that values in reopened dialogs are those that were entered by the user the last time the dialog was open. The second radio button selection specifies that values in reopened dialogs are the dialog defaults, independent of the most-recently entered values. A scheduling dialog is considered to be "re"opened when the user re-executes a scheduling command after having executed `Cancel' or `Close' in the previously- open dialog. Deiconifying or moving an already open dialog to the front on the screen does not constitute reopening in this context.

2.7.3.2. Scheduling Overlaps Options

When the user selects the `Overlaps' tab, the system updates the options dialog as shown in Figure 264.

If `disallow' is selected for overlapping items, then the system treats the scheduling of such items as an error. The details of scheduling error messages are covered in Section Complete details on the effects of allowing overlapping items are covered in Sections 2.3.1. and

The overlap option applies only to items scheduled by the current user, not to meetings scheduled by another user. Details of overlaps in meeting scheduling are covered in Sections 2.4.1 and Section 2.5.2.2.3.

2.7.3.3. Scheduling Meetings Options

When the user selects the `Meetings' tab, the system updates the options dialog as shown in Figure 266.

The third and fourth meeting-scheduling options control from whom penciled-in meetings and notifications are accepted. Both fields contain comma-separated lists of user IDs, per the syntax described in Section . If both ID lists are empty, then penciled-in meetings, and the accompanying notifications, are accepted from all users, except as excluded by a `never' setting in the previous two meeting-scheduling options. If one or more user IDs are specified under `Accept pencil-in from these users only', then penciled-in meetings are accepted only from those listed users and from no others. If one or more user IDs are specified under `Do not accept pencil-in from these users', then meetings are not accepted from those listed users, but from all other users not otherwise excluded by the other option settings. The contents of the `Accept ... and `Do not accept ID lists must be mutually exclusive, that is the same ID may not appear in both lists. The effect of excluding a user with these settings means that any meetings scheduled by those users are automatically declined, without ever appearing on central host or local calendars.

These options apply only to notifications for scheduled meetings, not for the administrative notifications discussed in Section 2.6. Administrative notifications are sent unconditionally; the user cannot choose to decline administrative notifications.

The option to `Automatically remove expired meeting notifications' controls whether meeting notifications are retained after the time for a meeting has past, as explained in Section 2.4.1.6.8. The last meeting-scheduling option specifies the maximum number of entries in a possible meeting times list, as described in Section 2.4.1.1.

2.7.3.4. Scheduling Reminders Options

When the user selects the `Reminders' tab, the system updates the options dialog as shown in Figure 267.

The `Reminder Window Placement' option controls where on the screen the reminder window appears. Details of screen positioning are covered in Sections 2.7.4.2 and The `Default Redisplay Settings' in this options tab apply to the pop- up reminder dialog that appears when the time for the reminder has come. Default settings for the time the reminder dialog appears initially are defined in the scheduling defaults options, described in Section 2.7.3.1.

2.7.4. Viewing Options

The viewing options provide control over the commands in the `View' menu. When the user selects the `Viewing' tab in the options dialog, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 268.

The viewing options for the day through year levels are described and illustrated fully in Sections 2.3.1.1 through 2.3.1.4, respectively. Figures 269 through 272 show the presentation of these settings in the the options dialog.

Details of list, window, and miscellaneous options follow in the next three subsections.

2.7.4.1. Viewing Lists Options

Viewing lists options provide control over the commands in the `View Lists' submenu. When the user selects the `lists' tab within the `Viewing' tab, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 273.

Figures 274 through 277 show the other four subtabs for viewing lists options.

When the user selects the `Windows' tab within the `Viewing' tab, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 278.

The `Initial Windowing Mode' specifies the default setting for the window modes described in Section 2.3.6.2. The items in the windowing-mode option menu are the same as in the windowing- mode submenu shown in Figure 71 -- Two-Window, Per-Level, and Multi-Window. The default is Per-Level. The effect of each of these settings is described fully in Section 2.3.6.2.

The `Magnetization' option specifies the default proximity and spacing for the magnetization features described in Section 2.3.6.3.

The `Window Positioning' radio buttons specify the way successive display windows appear on the screen. When the `Calendar Tool policy' is on, the window placement is as follows:

1. After the menubar, the next display window is placed with its top border ten pixels below the bottom of the menubar, and with its left border aligned with the left border of the menubar.

2. Thereafter, the top left corner of each successive display window appears down and to the right of the most recently displayed previous window. The downward and rightward spacing is two times the height of the display window banner, which value is dependent on the operating environment in which the Calendar Tool is running.

3. Whenever the downward and/or rightward displacement would cause the top left corner of the window to be off the screen, the window is placed so that its top left corner is at the top left corner of the screen. Successive windows thereafter are placed down and to the right.

When the `OS Policy' radio button is on, successive display windows are placed per the placement policy of the window manager of the underlying operating system. Specific control options for this placement policy must be set at the operating system level, if possible.

The three radio buttons under `Show current calendar name in window banners' specify when the name of the current calendar appears in display window banners. Placement of the calendar name within the banner is described in Section 2.3.6.5. The `in menubar banner only' setting does not apply to view windows for other-user and group calendars, since the banners of these windows unconditionally contain the user or group name.

The two radio buttons under `Show active filter name in window banners' specify in which display window banners the currently active filter name appears, if a filter is active. Placement of the filter name within the banner is described in Section 2.3.6.5.

2.7.4.3. Viewing Miscellaneous Options

When the user selects the `Miscellaneous' tab within the `Viewing' tab, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 279.

Typically, when the user selects `per most recently saved settings', the initial view for the calendar is the same as when the user last closed the calendar or last exited the Calendar Tool. This is the case because it is presumably typical that the user saves the calendar before closing it or exiting.

When the user invokes the Calendar Tool with one or more calendar files as arguments, the effects of the initial view settings at start-up time are as shown in Table 14.

Section covers details of invoking the Calendar Tool with calendar file arguments.

The radio buttons for `System-Defined Events' specify whether to show or hide such events in all calendar and list views. System-defined events are holidays and other pre-defined calendar dates, as defined in Section .

2.7.5. Administrative Options, for the Regular User

When the user selects the `Administrative' tab in the options dialog, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 280.

For a regular user running the Calendar Tool, there are no options for the administrative database commands, since these commands operate in read-only mode in the regular-user Calendar Tool. For administrative users running the Calendar Tool Administration program, there are additional administrative options, as described in Section 2.7.7.

2.7.6. Global Session-Wide Options

When the regular user selects the `Global' command in the `Options' menu, the system displays the dialog shown in Figure 281.

`Initial View for New Calendars' specifies the initial view when the user creates a calendar with the `File->New' command, or when the system creates a new calendar after having been invoked from the operating environment with no file argument(s). If `Day' is selected, a new calendar is opened with the daily view of today's date. If any of the other three radio buttons is selected, the new calendar is opened at that level, with today's date highlighted.

The option for `External email program' allows the user to select the application program to be used by the Calendar Tool for the purposes of electronic mail communication. The only circumstance in which an external email program is launched from the Calendar Tool is when the user executes the `Contact Admin' command, as described in Section 2.6.6.5. When possible, the Calendar Tool queries the underlying operating environment to determine the identity of the user's preferred email program. When such determination is made, the system inserts the name of the program as the default value in the `External Email Program' field. If the user's preferred email program cannot be determined, the field is blank.

The option for `External Web Browser' allows the user to select the application program to be used by the Calendar Tool for the purposes of web browsing. The only circumstance in which an external web browser is launched from the Calendar Tool is when the user chooses to view the minutes associated with a meeting, as described in Section 2.5.1.2. When possible, the Calendar Tool queries the underlying operating environment to determine the identity of the user's preferred web browser. When such determination is made, the system inserts the name of the web browser as the default value in the `External Web Browser' field. If the user's preferred web browser cannot be determined, the field is blank.

The option for `Location of Calendar Tool user directory' allows the user to change the location of that directory. As explained in Section 2.8.1, the default location is ".CalendarTool" under the user's home directory. This default location appears as the initial setting in the options dialog. Once applied, a change in directory location takes effect after the user exits and restarts the Calendar Tool. This is the only option that requires a restart.

A change of directory location does does not change the location of files in the original user directory. The files must be moved or copied as desired, using the normal file management commands of the underlying operating environment. The system does not validate the directory until the restart is performed. If the changed-to directory is invalid or contains invalid files, the system responds as described Section 2.8.12.

The `Apply', `Clear', and `Cancel' buttons in the global options dialog behave the same as in the multi-tab option dialog described in the preceding sections. The `Save' button becomes enabled when the user edits one or more dialog fields. For example, Figure 282 shows the user having entered values for the email program, web browser, and location of the user directory.

When the user presses the enabled `Save' button, the system saves the contents of the dialog into the Calendar Tool Settings file. Only the global settings portion of `Settings' is affected by this save, with all other portions of the settings file left unchanged. Details of Settings file contents and related commands are covered in Sections 2.8.1 and 2.8.5. Unsaved changes can also be saved using the `Save Settings' command in the `File' menu, also described in Section 2.8.5. The `Save' button is disabled when the user has made no edits, or changed edited fields back to their most recently-saved values.

When the user applies or saves the global options, the system validates that the `Location of Calendar Tool user directory' is an existing directory that is readable and writable by the user. If this validation fails, the system displays an appropriate error message, as described in Section . The system performs no validation of the email program or external web browser when options are applied or saved. If these are not valid executable programs, the error condition will arise when the user attempts to invoke the programs in the contexts of their use, which are, respectively, contacting a Calendar Tool administrator ( Section 2.6.6.5 ) and viewing the minutes for a meeting ( Section 2.4.1.1 ). If an execution error arises in those contexts, the system displays an appropriate error, as described in Sections and

2.7.7. Options in the Calendar Tool Administration Program

When the administrative user of Calendar Tool Administration selects the `Times and Dates' item in the administrative `Options' menu, the system displays the dialog shown in Figure 283.

The content of the `Times and Dates' tab in the administrative options is identical with that tab in the regular-user options. These options also have exactly the same functional effect as in the regular-user interface. The appearance of times and dates in the Calendar Tool Administration program is more limited than in the regular-user Calendar Tool. In particular, the only place that times and dates appear in the administrative interface is in the location bookings, described in Section 2.6.4. This means that the time and date option settings are less significant for the administrative user, though again, their effect where visible is the same as for the regular user.

When the administrator selects the `Fonts' tab in the administrative options dialog, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 284.

When the administrator selects the `Administrative' tab in the options dialog, the system updates the display as shown in Figure 285.

The `Default calendar size limit' specifies the default maximum size of all user and group calendars on the central host. The default can be overridden for individual users or groups by changing the size limit for those individuals, as explained in Section 2.6.5.5.

The option for `Time to complete meeting scheduling while other users waiting' is explained in Section 2.4.1.6.9. The administrator can change the time from the default of 2 minutes, if desired. The value must be between 1 and 15 minutes, inclusive.

The option for `Location of host repository directory' allows the administrator to change the repository location. Details of the central host repository and its location are covered in Sections 2.6 2.8.8. Figure 285 show a typical default value for the repository location.

Once applied, a change in directory location takes effect after the administrator exits and restarts the Calendar Tool Administration program. This is the only administrative option that requires a restart.

Changing the location of the repository does not change the location of the repository files and subdirectories. The files and subdirectories must be moved or copied as desired, using the normal file-management commands of the underlying operating environment. The system does not validate the directory until the restart is performed. If the changed-to directory is invalid or contains invalid files, the system responds as described Section 2.8.12.

The default setting buttons under `Click on a button to set defaults for that admin dialog' operate in the same manner as the default-setting dialogs described in Section 2.7.3.1. That is, when the administrator selects one of the default-dialog buttons, the system displays a normal administrative dialog that is augmented for the purposes of setting default values, as described in Section 2.7.3.1. The two radio buttons under `Displayed values when dialogs are reopened' have the same function as for regular-users, explained after Figure 260.

The built-in default values for all administrative dialogs are defined when the calendar tool is configured for installation (see Section ). These values are illustrated in the figures of Sections 2.6.2 through 2.6.5 that show the initial state of each administrative dialog.

2.7.8. Restoring Built-In Default Settings

When the Calendar Tool and Calendar Tool Administration program are initially installed, they have built-in default settings for all options. The values for these built-in defaults are those that appear in each of the preceding figures that show the initial state of the option tabs, and the global options dialog.

The built-in settings are overridden by any applied changes in the options dialogs. The user (regular or administrator) can restore the built-in defaults with the `Restore Defaults' command at the bottom of the `Options' menu (both regular-user and administrative). When the user executes this command, the system restores all options to their built-in settings and applies the changes. In the case of the global options, the system both applies and saves the changes. The result is that all tabs are restored to their default states.

If the user wants to retain changed option settings before restoring defaults, the user must execute a `Save' or `Save Settings' command in the `File' menu. These commands save applied option settings in the current calendar or a settings file, as described in Sections 2.8.4 , 2.8.5 , and 2.8.9. Restored defaults are not automatically saved. To do so, the user must execute a save command.

2.7.9. Operating Environment Conventions

Some operating environments may have specific conventions for the organization of the functionality described in this Section (2.7) of the requirements. For example, this functionality is classified as "Preferences" in some environments, with conventions for the placement and layout of the Preferences user interface. Implementors of the Calendar Tool may follow such conventions, as long as the hierarchical organization and content of the options functionality is maintained as described here.