                     Diabetics Assistant
    For The One Touch II Blood Glucose Monitoring System


*Overview

Diabetics Assistant, as its name suggests, is an application that 
helps a person with diabetes manage blood glucose data 
obtained from routine sampling with a blood glucose meter.  While 
the program may be useful to anyone following such a regimen, 
Diabetics Assistant is particularly well suited to those that use the 
One Touch II Blood Glucose Monitoring System produced by 
LifeScan Inc.  The One Touch II meter contains special data 
management features that can be accessed via the built-in 
RS-232 communications port.  When the meter is properly connected 
to a serial port on the user's personal computer, Diabetics 
Assistant can retrieve test results from the meter's memory.  The 
data can then be stored in a database, viewed graphically, and 
printed in a logbook format.  The database can be queried in 
numerous ways, allowing for detailed analysis of trends or events.

Diabetics Assistant runs under the Microsoft Windows Operating 
System Version 3.1.  It has not been tested for use under previous 
versions of Windows, and will likely not function properly in such 
circumstances.  The program has been tested and found to work 
well under the Win/OS2 environment of IBM OS/2 2.1.  The 
program has also been tested under the Microsoft Windows NT 
Operating System Version 3.1.  There are known serial port 
anomalies apparently related to incompatibilities between the 
communication libraries used for development of Diabetics 
Assistant and Windows NT's 16-bit Windows emulation.  
Therefore, use of Diabetics Assistant under Windows NT is not 
recommended at this time.


*System Requirements

MS-DOS operating system version 3.3 or later
Microsoft Windows operating system 3.1 or later
286 or higher microprocessor
2 MB RAM
2.5 MB free hard drive space
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device


*Installation

If Diabetics Assistant was obtained electronically in ZIP file format:

1) Unzip the files DBASSIS1.ZIP, DBASSIS2.ZIP, and DBASSIS3.ZIP into
   an empty directory on your hard drive
2) Start Windows 3.1 if it is not already running
3) From the Program Manager, select Run from the File menu
4) Type <PATH>\setup, where <PATH> is the path to the files unzipped 
   in step 1 above
5) Delete the files unzipped in step 1 above after the setup program
   completes


If Diabetics Assistant was obtained on floppy disk:
 
1) Start Windows 3.1 if it is not already running
2) Insert the floppy disk into the disk drive
3) From the Program Manager, select Run from the File menu
4) Type x:\setup, where x is the drive letter of the floppy drive

The setup program will check for sufficient disk space and prompt 
the user for an installation directory.  A Program Manager group
named Diabetics Assistant will be created, and icons for the main
program, the help file, and this readme file will added.

Diabetics Assistant requires that the MS-DOS SHARE.EXE utility be 
loaded prior to starting Windows to provide file locking support.
If the setup program does not find SHARE.EXE loaded, it will
prompt the user to add the following line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

	<PATH>\SHARE.EXE /L:500

where <PATH> is the path to the MS-DOS system files (usually C:\DOS).
The user must then restart the computer before running the Diabetics
Assistant program.

Please refer to the on-line help file for information on how to
use Diabetics Assistant.


*Registration and Product Support

Diabetics Assistant is distributed as shareware.  The program is 
fully functional to allow detailed evaluation.  The user is encouraged 
to try the program for a period of 30 days free of charge.  Continued 
use after this evaluation period requires that the program be 
registered.

Diabetics Assistant may be registered by sending your full name, 
address, and a check for US $30.00 to:

	Douglas A. Williams
	13725 174th Ave NE
	Redmond, WA  98052-2168

You will be promptly mailed a customer card with your registration 
number that may then be entered into the Diabetics Assistant 
Registration dialog box (click "Register" from the Help About... 
dialog) to remove all "Unregistered Evaluation Copy" notices in the 
program.  Registration also qualifies the user for unlimited technical 
support from the author and announcements of future upgrade 
opportunities.

Support for users of Diabetics Assistant is available by contacting the 
author via e-mail in one of the following ways:

	America Online:  DAWilliams
	Internet:  dawilliams@aol.com
	PD Express BBS:  (206)883-0194, leave mail for Andy Williams

Feedback in the form of bug reports and recommended enhancements are much 
appreciated.


*Disclaimer and Copyright Information

This program is being made available on an "as is" basis, and 
carries no warranties, express or implied.  The author shall in no 
way be held liable for any damages resulting from the use of this 
program or the media on which it is distributed, including, without 
limitation, misrepresentation of data, loss of information, damage to 
equipment, or any other incidental or consequential damages.

The Diabetics Assistant software is owned by Douglas A. Williams, 
and is protected by United States copyright laws and international 
treaty provisions.  This software is not in the public domain.  
Diabetics Assistant is distributed as shareware.  The user is 
encouraged to try the program for a period of 30 days free of charge.  
Continued use after this period requires that the program be 
registered.  See "Registration and Product Support Information" above  
for further details.  Diabetics Assistant may not be distributed for 
profit (beyond reasonable media charges) in any way without prior 
written permission from the author.

The author is not affiliated with LifeScan Inc.  One Touch II is a 
registered trademark of LifeScan Inc.  MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows NT 
are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.  OS/2 is a 
registered trademark of IBM Corporation.


