10 Minute Guide to Schedule+ for Windows 95
- Lesson 20 -
Importing and Exporting Files
In this lesson, you will learn how to export from and import data to your Schedule+
program.
Exporting Data
By now, you know how to compile lists and databases of information, such as task lists and contacts lists. As with most computer programs, you can export your Schedule+ data so that others can use it, or so you can work with it on another computer.
If youíre using Schedule+ on a network, you can share your data through e-mail. But what if youíre not using Schedule+ on a network, and you need to share information with others? You can easily copy or export your data onto floppy disks or into other locations on your hard drive. You can also convert your data into a format that you can use with other scheduling programs, or you can convert the data into text format. For example, you can export portions of your schedule to use with other scheduling applications, such as Lotus Organizer, PackRat, and ACT! for Windows.
With Schedule+, you can choose to export your entire schedule, your appointments,
the To Do list, the Contacts list, and the Events list. You can even designate which
dates of your schedule to export.
Exporting Your Data onto a Disk
When you export your data onto a floppy disk or any other drive or folder on your computer, you need to type a specific path in the Export Schedule+ Interchange dialog box. For example, to export a schedule onto a disk in your A: drive, you type the path statement A:\schedulename.SC2 into the File name text box.
The first part of the path indicates which drive you are copying to, and the second part is the name and file extension of your file. All schedule files use the .SC2 file extension.
To export your own data into a Schedule+ file to use with another computerís Schedule+ program, use these steps:
- 1. Pull down the File menu, select Export, and choose Schedule+ Interchange.
2. The Export Schedule+ Interchange dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 20.1. Type the path and file name to export to into the File name text box.
Figure 20.1 The Export Schedule+ Interchange dialog box.
- 3. In the Export area of the dialog box, select the type of data you want
to export.
4. In the Export range area of the dialog box, specify which dates you want to export. For example, if you want to export your entire schedule, click on the All dates option. If you only want to export a certain range of dates, specify the range in the From and To boxes.
Exporting Contacts If you export the Contacts list, the Export range options in the dialog do not apply and appear dimmed.
5. Click OK to exit the dialog box. You see a progress indicator box, similar to Figure 20.2, that tracks the exporting until itís complete.
Figure 20.2 The progress indicator box shows you how far along you are
in the export process.
Exporting Data as Text
Schedule+ has a helpful Text Export Wizard to assist you with exporting your schedule into a text format file format. When you convert your schedule data into text data, youíre taking all the various fields in your database and giving the fields a text structure that resembles a table. Text format is a readily recognized format to many programs, which makes it an ideal format to use when you need data from two distinctly different applications. For example, you can export your Schedule+ data into a Microsoft Word document.
To export a schedule as a text file, follow these steps:
- 1. Open the File menu, select
Export, and select Text.
2. The Text Export Wizard opens on-screen, as shown in Figure 20.3. Select the part of your schedule you want to export and click on the Next button.
Figure 20.3 The Text Export Wizard.
- 3. Depending on the data type you select, the Text Export Wizard presents
you with a series of dialog boxes that help you determine how the data should conform
into a text mode. Choose from the options in the dialog boxes and click on the Next button to continue.
4. One of the dialog boxes you encounter prompts you to decide how the schedule fields appear as text data (see Figure 20.4). By default, the Text Export Wizard separates the fields by commas and surrounds text with quotation marks.
Figure 20.4 This Export Wizard dialog box enables you to decide how to
displau the database in text form.
- 5. Another dialog box you see (Figure 20.5) enables you to decide exactly which fields to export. Select the fields to export from the Available event fields list and click the Add button. Schedule+ places the fields in the Export Fields list.
Figure 20.5 Choose which fields you want to export from the Available event
fields list.
- 6. The final dialog box, shown in Figure 20.6, prompts you to select a location and name for the data youíre exporting. Type the location and name (path) in the File name text box, and click on the Finish button. Schedule + exports your data.
Figure 20.6 The final dialog box enables you to determine a location
for the exported text.
Exporting to Other Scheduling Systems
Schedule+ can also help you export your data into other scheduling systems, such as other personal information managers (PIMs) or personal digital assistants (PDAs). For example, if you own a Sharp electronic organizer, such as a Sharp Wizard, you can download information from your Schedule+ program onto the pocket computer to take it with you everywhere you go. To follow this export route, open the File menu and select Export, Other Systems. You must select a target system to export to. Then select specific portions of your schedule to export.
To learn more about exporting your schedule information onto specific systems
that support Schedule+ data, click on the Help button
in the Select Target System dialog box. This opens the Select Systems information
in the online help documentation so you can read more about system compatibility
and transfer.
Importing Data
Just as you can export your Schedule+ data to other files or computers, you can also import data into your schedule. For example, if you need to coordinate an upcoming seminar with a colleague from another company, you can import your colleagueís schedule onto your Schedule+ program. You can import data from other Schedule+ programs, backup schedules, and data from network usersí schedules. You can also import schedule information from other scheduling programs such as ACT!, PackRat, and Lotus Organizer.
Something interesting happens when you import appointments into your schedule. Any conflicting time slot assignments appear side by side with your appointments in the Appointment Book.
To import data from another Schedule+ program into your schedule, use these steps:
- 1.Open the File menu and select Import.
In the submenu, choose Schedule+ Interchange.
2. The Import Schedule+ Interchange dialog box appears (see Figure 20.7). In the Look in drop-down list box, select the file or folder you want to import.
Figure 20.7 The Import Schedule+ Interchange dialog box.
- 3. Type the name of the import file in the File
name text box, or select the file from the list of files.
4. Click on the Open button to start the importing procedure. A progress indicator marks the completion progress of the task. When the import procedure is complete, your schedule contains the imported data.
Importing Data as Text
As mentioned earlier in this lesson, not all programs are compatible, and itís not always easy to exchange data. If you import data from a program that doesnít recognize the Schedule+ file format, you may have to convert data into a format with which Schedule+ can work. Text format (TXT file extension) is one of the most common formats you can use. If you import data as text, you use a series of wizard dialog boxes to help you convert the format for use in Schedule+ and choose a location for the data (such as your Appointment Book for appointments, or your To Do list for those tasks).
Follow these steps to use the Text Import Wizard:
- 1. Open the File menu and select Import, Text. This opens the Text Import Wizard dialog box, shown in Figure 20.8.
Figure 20.8 The first dialog box of the Text Import Wizard.
- 2. Type the path of the file youíre importing, or click on the Browse
button to locate the file. Click Next to continue to
another wizard dialog box.
3. In the next wizard dialog box, you can view the first several lines of text in the file. If the first line lists field names, select the Yes option. Click on Next to continue.
4. The third wizard dialog box prompts you to select how you want to separate the text fields. Select an option and click on the Next button.
5. Yet another wizard dialog box appears, this time prompting you to choose which data category you want to apply to the imported text, such as appointments or Contacts list. Select a data and click on Next.
6. The final wizard dialog box enables you to select a type for the text fields. Click on the field name, and then select a field category from the drop-down list at the right to assign the appropriate field that matches your Schedule+ format.
7. Click on the Finish button, and Schedule+ converts the data into your program.
If youíre importing data from a program with a format Schedule+ recognizes, you can use the Other Systems option. This option is similar to the option for exporting data to other systems. Open the File menu and select Import, Other Systems. You must select a source system from which to import. Then select a specific data type in your schedule to which you import the data.
In this lesson, you learned how to import and export Schedule+ data. In the next lesson, youíll learn how to export portions of your schedule onto a Timex Data Link watch.
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