Remind is the ultimate calendaring tool under *nix

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 15:05

Beginner help

Hi,
I did just setup some reminders:

REM 1 May                   MSG some text
REM 1                       MSG some text
REM 13 Nov                  MSG some text
REM 12 Oct                  MSG some text
REM 18 Sep                  MSG some text
REM 30 Jan                  MSG some text
REM 30 Jun                  MSG some text
REM 14 Jan                  MSG some text
REM 18 May                  MSG some text
REM 16 Dec                  MSG some text
REM 23 May                  MSG some text
REM 19 Jul                  MSG some text
REM 21 Oct                  MSG some text
REM 22 May                  MSG some text
REM 5 Jan                   MSG some text
REM 4 Mar                   MSG some text
REM Monday AT 17:30         MSG some text
REM Wed AT 16:00 +1140      MSG some text
REM 2013-02-02 +90          MSG some text
REM Sat 1 --9               MSG some text
REM Sat 1 --7 +7            MSG some text
REM 25 Jan +10              MSG some text
REM 25 Apr +10              MSG some text
REM 25 Jul +10              MSG some text
REM 25 Oct +10              MSG some text

Now, questions:

(Continue reading)

David F. Skoll | 29 Feb 2012 16:15

Re: Beginner help

Hi, Depesz,

> i know that these are very basic questions - i'm just starting to
> learn remind, and so far i like it a lot.

All of your questions are answered in the man page:  "man remind"

Regards,

David.

David Rogers | 29 Feb 2012 16:19

Picon

Re: Beginner help

hubert depesz lubaczewski <depesz@...> writes:

> Hi, I did just setup some reminders: ... 

> Now, questions: 1. last four reminders are about the same thing, 
> that happens every 
>    3 months. Can it be written in a smarter way? 
> 2. when I run: 
>    remind .reminders to see what's on todays reminders, a 
>    process is forked off to background.  I found out that if I 
>    did remind -f -q ... - there was no process left, but the 
>    question is: what is the point of this backend process.  what 
>    can it do, in what cases it is useful? 
> 3. I plan to setup running remind -z in background, with some 
> command to 
>    let me know about when timed events happen plus have a 
>    cronjob, that runs daily "remind -f -q .reminders" sending me 
>    the list for today.  is it sane? am i missing something? how 
>    do you run automatic reminders? 
> 4. There is this reminder +1140 - the idea is that it should 
> remind me 
>    about a thing that happens on wednesday at 4pm, and it should 
>    do so from 9pm on tuesdays. given the setup in #3 - when will 
>    be messages sent to me from "remind -z"? at tue/9pm and wed 
>    4pm only? can it be made to send the notifications more often 
>    (for example, every hour?) 
> 
> i know that these are very basic questions - i'm just starting 
> to learn remind, and so far i like it a lot.

(Continue reading)

Reid Thompson | 29 Feb 2012 16:25

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 15:05 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
note the section on popups here
http://www.roaringpenguin.com/wiki/index.php/Remind_use_case_1http://www.roaringpenguin.com/wiki/index.php/Remind_use_case_1

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 16:31

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 03:25:06PM +0000, Reid Thompson wrote:
> On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 15:05 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
> note the section on popups here
> http://www.roaringpenguin.com/wiki/index.php/Remind_use_case_1http://www.roaringpenguin.com/wiki/index.php/Remind_use_case_1

I'm not sure what section you're writing about. On linked page word
"popup" exists in two places, neither of which is section header:

1. "Aside from those popups, I interact with Remind primarily through
   Wyrd,"
2. In daemon mode, I'd like my Remind popups to contain text like "Go
   grocery shopping 30 minutes from now" or "Go grocery shopping now".

Second part doesn't seem related to any question I asked.
The first one taks about using gxmessage, and using remind -z
mode, which I wrote that I do use (-z mode, not gxmessage).

So I'm not sure what could I learn (regarding my questions) from the
linked page.

If you were referring to my 3rd question:

"3. I plan to setup running remind -z in background, with some command to let
me know about when timed events happen plus have a cronjob, that runs daily
"remind -f -q .reminders" sending me the list for today.  is it sane? am i
missing something? how do you run automatic reminders?"

I suspect that I got the wording wrong, because it would seem that you
understood the question like:
"how to setup automatic reminders."

(Continue reading)

Reid Thompson | 29 Feb 2012 17:11

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 16:31 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 03:25:06PM +0000, Reid Thompson wrote:
> > On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 15:05 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
> > note the section on popups here
> > http://www.roaringpenguin.com/wiki/index.php/Remind_use_case_1http://www.roaringpenguin.com/wiki/index.php/Remind_use_case_1
> 
> 
> I'm not sure what section you're writing about. On linked page word
> "popup" exists in two places, neither of which is section header:

2. when I run:
   remind .reminders
   to see what's on todays reminders, a process is forked off to
   background.
   I found out that if I did remind -f -q ... - there was no process
   left, but the question is: what is the point of this backend process.
   what can it do, in what cases it is useful?

I have this in my openbox autostart.sh for popup reminders
remind -z1  -k'zenity  --title "Reminder" --info --text="%s" 500x300  &' /home/rthompso/.reminders &

3. I plan to setup running remind -z in background, with some command to
   let me know about when timed events happen plus have a cronjob, that
   runs daily "remind -f -q .reminders" sending me the list for today.
   is it sane? am i missing something? how do you run automatic
   reminders?

and I have this cron'd daily for a popup of the days events
05   08  *   *   *  export DISPLAY=:0;/home/rthompso/bin/popupdailyreminders >/dev/null 2>&1
where

(Continue reading)

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 17:15

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 04:11:10PM +0000, Reid Thompson wrote:
> I have this in my openbox autostart.sh for popup reminders
> remind -z1  -k'zenity  --title "Reminder" --info --text="%s" 500x300  &' /home/rthompso/.reminders &
> 
> 
> and I have this cron'd daily for a popup of the days events
> 05   08  *   *   *  export DISPLAY=:0;/home/rthompso/bin/popupdailyreminders >/dev/null 2>&1
> where
> $ cat /home/rthompso/bin/popupdailyreminders
> #!/bin/bash
> zenity --info --title "today's reminders" --text="`remind -q -g ~/.reminders | sed 's/&/&amp;/g' | awk
'{if ( NF > 1 ) { if (NR == 1) { printf("%s\r%s\r%s\r\r", "", $0, "") } else { printf("%s\r%s\r%s\r\r",
"******************", $0, "******************") }}}'`"

OK, so the basic approach is the same - i.e. cronjob for daily
notification + background task with -k"..." to send notification about
timed events. Seems I do it using the good (or at least common)
approach.

I do use different means of delivery of the reminders (mail + xmpp), but
the general idea is the same.

That would solve question #3 :) only 3 more to go. (I am not pushing any
of you to answer, I really, without any kind of negativity, understand
that you might have better things to do).

Best regards,

depesz

(Continue reading)

Reid Thompson | 29 Feb 2012 16:21

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 15:05 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
> Hi,

> Now, questions:
> 1. last four reminders are about the same thing, that happens every
>    3 months. Can it be written in a smarter way?
> 2. when I run:
>    remind .reminders
>    to see what's on todays reminders, a process is forked off to
>    background.
>    I found out that if I did remind -f -q ... - there was no process
>    left, but the question is: what is the point of this backend process.
>    what can it do, in what cases it is useful?
> 3. I plan to setup running remind -z in background, with some command to
>    let me know about when timed events happen plus have a cronjob, that
>    runs daily "remind -f -q .reminders" sending me the list for today.
>    is it sane? am i missing something? how do you run automatic
>    reminders?
> 4. There is this reminder +1140 - the idea is that it should remind me
>    about a thing that happens on wednesday at 4pm, and it should do so
>    from 9pm on tuesdays. given the setup in #3 - when will be messages
>    sent to me from "remind -z"? at tue/9pm and wed 4pm only? can it be
>    made to send the notifications more often (for example, every hour?)
> 
> i know that these are very basic questions - i'm just starting to learn
> remind, and so far i like it a lot.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> depesz

(Continue reading)

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 16:23

Re: Beginner help

To all that responded.

While it might be suspicious, I actually *did* check man, faq, and wiki.
The trouble is thought, that I'm not a fan of starting using program by
first spending a week reading docs.

So, I was hoping for more direct pointer - even "man remind and search
for 'xxxx'" is good enough.

but ok, i understand that you have much more important tasks.

Best regards,

depesz

--

-- 
The best thing about modern society is how easy it is to avoid contact with it.
                                                             http://depesz.com/

David Rogers | 29 Feb 2012 16:52

Picon

Re: Beginner help

hubert depesz lubaczewski <depesz@...> writes:

> To all that responded. 
> 
> While it might be suspicious, I actually *did* check man, faq, 
> and wiki.  The trouble is thought, that I'm not a fan of 
> starting using program by first spending a week reading docs. 
> 
> So, I was hoping for more direct pointer - even "man remind and 
> search for 'xxxx'" is good enough. 
> 
> but ok, i understand that you have much more important tasks. 

It isn't that at all. Remind has documentation because you really 
need 
to read it. If you don't like reading documentation, use an 
application 
that works fine without reading a manual. There are several.

--

-- 
David Rogers

Greg Schneider | 29 Feb 2012 16:55

Picon

Re: Beginner help

I concur. In fact, half the joy of Remind is getting to grips with the
beauty and power of the program. Everything is boring in comparison.

--
Gregory J. Schneider
Assistant Professor
Department of Liberal Studies
Kettering University
gschneid@...
http://www.gregoryjschneider.net/ <http://www.gregoryjschneider.net/off_to/>

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 10:52 AM, David Rogers
<davidandrewrogers@...>wrote:

> hubert depesz lubaczewski <depesz@...> writes:
>
>  To all that responded.
>> While it might be suspicious, I actually *did* check man, faq, and wiki.
>>  The trouble is thought, that I'm not a fan of starting using program by
>> first spending a week reading docs.
>> So, I was hoping for more direct pointer - even "man remind and search
>> for 'xxxx'" is good enough.
>> but ok, i understand that you have much more important tasks.
>>
>
> It isn't that at all. Remind has documentation because you really need to
> read it. If you don't like reading documentation, use an application that
> works fine without reading a manual. There are several.
>
> --

(Continue reading)

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 17:11

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 10:55:41AM -0500, Greg Schneider wrote:
> I concur. In fact, half the joy of Remind is getting to grips with the
> beauty and power of the program. Everything is boring in comparison.

I see the power. I don't have usecase that I would use it, though. For
example the function/calculations - sure, they are nice. And powerful.
And make me go "WOW!". But I just don't need it now. Reading about
things that I so far never had a need for, could be interesting
intellectual excersise, but it doesn't help me with my day-to-day
activities.

Best regards,

depesz

--

-- 
The best thing about modern society is how easy it is to avoid contact with it.
                                                             http://depesz.com/

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 17:09

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 07:52:44AM -0800, David Rogers wrote:
> It isn't that at all. Remind has documentation because you really
> need to read it. If you don't like reading documentation, use an

So far I was able to setup everything I needed, with amount of docs
reading that was acceptable for me. I just asked for some directions
about styling/optimization/different approaches. But: current approach
works.

Best regards,

depesz

--

-- 
The best thing about modern society is how easy it is to avoid contact with it.
                                                             http://depesz.com/

David Rogers | 29 Feb 2012 16:23

Picon

Re: Beginner help

Even better & more up-to-date information here:

http://www.roaringpenguin.com/wiki/index.php/Remind

Reid Thompson | 29 Feb 2012 17:25

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 15:05 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
> Hi,

> 4. There is this reminder +1140 - the idea is that it should remind me
>    about a thing that happens on wednesday at 4pm, and it should do so
>    from 9pm on tuesdays. given the setup in #3 - when will be messages
>    sent to me from "remind -z"? at tue/9pm and wed 4pm only? can it be
>    made to send the notifications more often (for example, every hour?)
> 
> i know that these are very basic questions - i'm just starting to learn
> remind, and so far i like it a lot.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> depesz
> 
start reminder 15 mins before 14:00 and remind every 5 mins until 14:00
REM Feb 29 2012 AT 14:00 +15 *5 DURATION 1:0  MSG blah

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 17:45

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 04:25:10PM +0000, Reid Thompson wrote:
> start reminder 15 mins before 14:00 and remind every 5 mins until 14:00
> REM Feb 29 2012 AT 14:00 +15 *5 DURATION 1:0  MSG blah

*5 seems to be the key.
but what is the use of "DURATION" in here?

In man it seems to suggest it's not used currently.
so 
REM Feb 29 2012 AT 14:00 +15 *5 MSG blah
should do the same, right?

Best regards,

depesz

--

-- 
The best thing about modern society is how easy it is to avoid contact with it.
                                                             http://depesz.com/

Reid Thompson | 29 Feb 2012 18:04

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 17:45 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 04:25:10PM +0000, Reid Thompson wrote:
> > start reminder 15 mins before 14:00 and remind every 5 mins until 14:00
> > REM Feb 29 2012 AT 14:00 +15 *5 DURATION 1:0  MSG blah
> 
> *5 seems to be the key.
> but what is the use of "DURATION" in here?
> 
> In man it seems to suggest it's not used currently.
> so 
> REM Feb 29 2012 AT 14:00 +15 *5 MSG blah
> should do the same, right?
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> depesz
> 

Duration is for use with console/gui interfaces

screen highlight and paste from wyrd (also see attached png):


 |11:15                                                                                                                                                                                        |
M|11:30                                                                                                                                                                                        |              March 2012
a|11:45                                                                                                                                                                                        |         Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
r|12:00                                                                                                                                                                                        |                      1  2  3
 |12:15                                                                                                                                                                                        |          4  5  6  7  8  9 10
0|12:30                                                                                                                                                                                        |         11 12 13 14 15 16 17
1|12:45                                                                                                                                                                                        |         18 19 20 21 22 23 24

(Continue reading)

hubert depesz lubaczewski | 29 Feb 2012 18:57

Re: Beginner help

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 05:04:52PM +0000, Reid Thompson wrote:
> On Wed, 2012-02-29 at 17:45 +0100, hubert depesz lubaczewski wrote:
> Duration is for use with console/gui interfaces

ah. I'm just using "remind" itself, no other interfaces.

Best regards,

depesz

--

-- 
The best thing about modern society is how easy it is to avoid contact with it.
                                                             http://depesz.com/

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