Introduction
This User's Guide has been designed to explain how to use DiveBook. This guide has been organized so that the sections are in the order that you would most likely encounter the features. NOTE: Many tables have contextual menus that can be accessed by CTRL-clicking (or right-clicking on a multi-button mouse) in the table. These menus are a great way to edit the information in the tables.
The DiveBook
When you launch DiveBook, it automatically opens a new DiveBook File (DBF) also known as a "Book", or a default Book if one is set in the Application Preferences. The main window of a Book has three tabs: "Dives", "Preview", and "References". The "Dives" tab shows a table of the dives contained in this Book, with basic information about each dive. This table can be sorted by category by clicking on the column headers. Dives can be added or removed through the buttons at the bottom, or through the contextual menu. Specific dive information can be edited by opening a Dive window.
The "Preview" tab shows what the dives will look like when printed. This is also a good way to view all the information in a dive in one window. The buttons and boxes along the bottom are for navigating between dive previews.
The "References" tab shows information that is independent of the dives, or commonly used information. The equipment and buddy tables contain information that may be called for on via autofill during dive entry. The buttons across the bottom access websites with dive tables of various organizations. These links are provided for assistance, but I have not verified the validity of the information.
The Import Panel
The first time you launch DiveBook, it sets up its Plugin system at ~/Library/Application Support/DiveBook/Import Plugins/. When you select "Import..." from the File Menu, DiveBook looks for all the Import plugins and displays them in the Import Panel. When the "Import" button is pressed the plugin is called and imports the information into either a new Book, or the current Book, as set in the Application Preferences.
DiveBook's Preferences
DiveBook's preferences are separated in to two tabs, "General" and "Dive Settings". The "General" tab contains the preference sections, "Registration Information" and "Application Settings", and "Formatting". "Registration Information" is where you enter your name and registration code as provided to enable saving in DiveBook; it also has buttons under the text boxes to guide you to the Hawkwood software website to acquire a registration. The "Application Settings" are where you would set your default Book and import location. The "Formatting" section is where you set date style and units of measurement.
The "Dive Settings" tab has options that are more specific to the individual dives, "Window Settings" and "Chart Settings". "Window Settings" allow you to specify which tab will show when opening a dive, and also has an option to make all dive time count as bottom time. The "Chart Settings" section is where you can specify what colors you want your chart to be, if you want grid lines, and at what interval, and whether the chart will print in color or black and white.
Either button at the bottom of the Preferences window will apply the changes made.
A Book's Preferences (these have been removed in DiveBook 2.0)
The Dive Window
Each dive is opened in it's own window for editing the dive information. The window has three tabs, "Details", "Chart", and "Preview". The "Details" tab is where a majority of the information is entered, such as site, location, temperatures, equipment, etc. This tab also has a button next to the "Comments" field that opens a previously set iPhoto album. This album can be reset by CTRL-Clicking (or Right-Clicking) on the button.
The "Chart" tab is where depth information, along with a few other pieces, are entered. This can be done with either a "Basic" profile, where you enter the bottom time and depth and safety stop and depth, or with a "Detailed" profile. A "Detailed" profile contains a table of entries which can be read as "x minutes to get to y feet". These etries can be manually entered, entered through importing, or through clicking the "Import TDF" (Tab Delimited File). Importing a TDF replaces the current information in the depth table. The TDF must be in the format shown in the table (i.e. minutes then depth), and may have a header row. Another option with the "Detailed" profile is to set a fixed interval by checking the "Minutes per entry" box and entering a value. With this option, each entry happens after the set interval. The "Detailed" profile entry can also accept a text value for "feet/meters" if it starts with a "!". The text will not show up on the chart (a circle will), nor will it count towards a delay in time, but it is a useful way to add comments during the dive.
The "Preview" tab is similar to the "Preview" tab in the Book, but only shows this dive.
Printing
Printing dives is dependent on what window is at the front. When the Book window is as the front, the dives that are selected in the "Dives" tab will be printed. If no dives are selected, than all dives will be printed. When a Dive's window is at front, that dive is printed.
Further questions? Please view the DiveBook FAQs.