Frequently Asked Questions about WiNTM
Are there any special considerations when running Windows Vista?
Yes. Although nothing special is needed to run WINTM with Vista, the help file included with WINTM depends on a Windows system file named WinHlp32.exe. With Vista, this file is no longer automatically included with Windows. To use the WINTM help system with Vista, you will need to download and install WinHlp32.exe. It is available free of charge from Microsoft at go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=82148.
How do I move the WINTM program with data to a new computer?
All that is necessary is to copy the entire WINTM folder onto the new computer. No installation routine is needed. Some possible methods are:
Zip up the WINTM folder on the original computer and attach the zip file to an email. Open the email on the new computer, detach and unzip the WINTM folder to drive C: Create a shortcut to WINTM.EXE inside the folder. Ideally the folder should be C:\WINTM.
Copy the entire WINTM folder to a floppy disk or USB device. On the destination computer, copy the WINTM folder to drive C: Create a shortcut to WINTM.EXE inside the folder.
Use your CD burning software to copy the WINTM folder to a CD. On the destination computer, copy the WINTM folder to drive C: Use Windows Explorer or the ATTRIB command to remove the Read-only attributes from the WINTM folder and all files inside. This step is usually necessary when a CD is involved. Finally, create a shortcut.
This will happen if the downloaded files are not installed in the same folder as your older files. To determine the correct location, before installing the update, right click your existing shortcut and examine the 'properties' tab. If for example the 'Target' reads C:\WINTM\WINTM.EXE the 'Start in' should be C:\WINTM and you can accept defaults when running the downloaded setup program. Otherwise you will need to enter the correct path when prompted. If you are upgrading to a new version, only the WINTM.EXE and WINTM.HLP files are replaced. This will not affect your data. If your old data is not visible when you execute the new version, then the new version was likely not installed in the same folder as your data files. In this case you may need to search your hard drive to find the original WINTM location. Once you have located your original files, follow the upgrade steps listed below.
Here is a step by step procedure to update WINTM:
1. Launch WINTM and verify your data is present. Click the yellow question mark. Examine the box marked Directory. If it contains C:\WINTM all is well and you can accept defaults when running the setup programs. Otherwise, make a note of the contents of the Directory box. Close WINTM.
2. Download the suwintm.exe and/or sm08e.exe files from this website. Save the files on your desktop.
3. Execute the suwintm.exe and/or sm08e.exe files from your desktop. If your directory location was determined to be other than C:\WINTM enter the correct location when prompted for the location of your WINTM files, otherwise accept all defaults.
4. Launch WINTM and verify all your files are present and updated. Delete the downloaded suwintm.exe and/or sm08e.exe from your desktop.
WINTM always expects to find data files in the same folder that contains WINTM.EXE. It is not a good idea to change the 'Start In' property to a folder other than the one containing WINTM.EXE.
No Song # or source material.
In the case of new users, this is usually because the current schedule is not for the current YEAR. Use the box at the lower left of the main panel to verify the year. Use the Edit..Source Material menu to verify that the proper source material files are present in the WINTM directory.
How can I e-mail worksheets or schedules?
A good way to e-mail anything you can print is to install a 'print to pdf' driver. This software acts like any other printer except that instead of printed output, it creates a pdf file containing the output. Thus, anything that can be printed in WINTM can be attached to an e-mail. The freeware PDFCreator available on the sourceforge.net website has been tested with WINTM and works very well. It also contains an option to e-mail the resulting pdf files, eliminating a step.
For help downloading and installing PDFCreator, consult the documentation on the sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator website and the help file included in the download.
Will the program choose brothers when suggested for #4 talks?
Yes. It is also necessary that the source material files are properly formatted. You can download the source material files from this site or format them yourself using the source material editor. Properly formatted files will have the source material surrounded by square braces [ ]. The theme should be surrounded by curly braces { }. The source material section should be kept as brief as possible abbreviating if necessary. If the first character of the theme is '*', a brother will be selected. For example {* This is the theme} will schedule a brother and {This is the theme} will schedule either a brother or sister. Currently the last option in the Scheduling Options dialog box should always be set to Option 1. Also the first option, 'Select Appropriate Material for New/Young Students' must be checked.
Unable to attach a counsel point.
This is frequently caused by changing the name of a student on the schedule or typing in a replacement name. If the name is not in the student list, a counsel point cannot be assigned. To avoid this problem, don’t type in names when editing the schedule. Use the pick list to replace students instead, adding them to the student list first if necessary.
In order to have counsel points printed on the current schedule, worksheets or assignment slips it is necessary to use the 'From Current Schedule' mode when attaching counsel points rather than the 'From Student File'. It is important to note that entering a 'Next' counsel point will not automatically attach it to the next schedule. After a schedule is created and modified, counsel points can be attached using the 'Edit Counsel Points' dialog in 'From Current Schedule' mode. If a 'Next' point was entered, all that is necessary to attach it is to highlight the speaker's name in the list. The box will be prefilled using the 'Next' point you entered earlier. This step provides verification that the point is suitable for the assignment and allows you to change it when necessary.
Student appears on schedule every week.
This is typically caused by having students whose last assignment date is later than the start of the next schedule to be created.
How can I send the schedule to a word processor?
Click 'File', 'Export Schedule' to export the schedule to a rich text format (RTF) file which can be imported into your word processor for further formatting. The file will be created in your WINTM folder. In the English version it is named SCHEDULE.RTF.
Householder’s name is on top of speaker’s name.
This is most often caused by entering your student’s names in all caps. Mixed case should be used.
Suggested schedule has blanks
This is usually because a student whose name is blank has been added. Go to Edit Studentfile and examine the listbox with students' names. If the top entry is blank, select it and delete it. If you haven't done extensive editing to the schedule or studentfile since creating the schedule, you may want to do a permanent rollback before deleting the blank entry, then recreate the schedule. Otherwise, use the schedule editor to replace the blanks with students.
Students are scheduled oddly
Most scheduling oddities are caused by conflicting scheduling options. If the suggested schedule looks odd, do a permanent rollback, turn off all scheduling options and recreate the schedule. If it looks OK, do a permanent rollback and turn on one scheduling option, then recreate the schedule. Repeat this process until you find the offending option. Common offenders are the Brothers in Front, Sisters in Back and Family Groups. Assign students to family groups sparingly. Generally it is necessary only with young ones. Also, as a rule, you should set all students' delays to 0 (the default). A delay would be appropriate in the following case: A student is assigned to give #1 and Highlights. Occasionally, you want him to give a #2 talk but not as often as other #2 speakers. In this case you could enable him for #2 talks with a delay. A delay of 3 would cause him to wait 3 months longer than other #2 speakers for a #2 assignment.
How to print properly on the assignment slips
First click the Adjust button in the Assignment Slip dialog, then select the appropriate slip from the drop down list. You will probably need to adjust the margin settings by trial and error. If the theme and source material print in very small type in the area designated for source material on the slip, the source material files are not properly formatted. You can download the source material files from this site or format them yourself using the source material editor. Properly formatted files will have the source material surrounded by square braces [ ]. The theme should be surrounded by curly braces { }. Also, the source material section should be kept as brief as possible abbreviating if necessary.
Tip: If your printer has a paper size selection, choose full pages (Letter). Some HP printers will fail to print the entire slip if a paper size smaller than full page is selected.
Can I remove older data files from my WINTM directory?
Yes, if you have been using the program for more than a year, you will see older data files that contain the date as part of the file name. Files more than 18 months older than the current date can be removed. These include CPyymmdd.CPT, HSyymmdd.HST, SCyymmdd.SCH, SFyymmdd.SDF and SMyymmdd.SMT. You may want to remove these files if you require the contents of your WINTM directory to fit on a single floppy disk. The program will check for obsolete files and offer to remove them if you click 'File', 'Remove Old Files'. If you have downloaded an updated WINTMX.EXE or SUWINTM.EXE file, you can remove it after executing it once to extract its contents.
How can I backup my WINTM files to a floppy disk or take them to another computer?
Use Windows Explorer or the copy command from an MS-DOS Prompt. Copy all the files in your WINTM directory to the diskette. WINTM stores all data and configuration information in the folder containing WINTM.EXE. Everything needed to run WINTM is in this folder. If you use Windows Explorer, be sure to COPY, NOT MOVE the files. To place the files on another computer, create a folder (preferably named WINTM) on the new computer and copy all the files from the diskette to the new folder. No installation is necessary on the new computer. If the contents of your WINTM folder will not fit on a diskette, you may remove some of the older data files as outlined above.
How can I eliminate the assignment slip for prayers?
Click 'Preferences', 'Printing' and remove the check from the 'Prayers' checkbox. If you want to include the prayer assignments on the printed schedule, put the check back before printing schedules.