The StarMessage Diary

How can I install the StarMessage Diary?
Find here the installation guide »
 

When I register the product will my diary entries be preserved?
Of course! After registering the product you can keep on using it normally.
 

How many diaries I can create with one license?
There is no limit on the number of separate diaries that can be created, so every member of your family can have his/her own diary.

In order to create a new diary, select the option *Create New Diary* on the drop-down list of the initial screen. You will be prompted for its secret password (every diary can have a different password).
 

How do I backup the diary file to save it from possible hard disk failures?
To backup your diary, simply copy the diary file (usually named "My diary") to a floppy disk or to a CD. You can view the exact file name of your diary file at the password screen of the StarMessage Diary. To verify that you are copying the correct file, check its properties and see if the date is the date you last updated your diary entries.
 

I am a registered customer running an older version of the program. How do I install the latest version without loosing my diary file and my license?
The latest released version of the diary is v3.1, available in the "Free Download" menu link.
You can see which version you have installed on your computer from the title bar of the diary screen. It should display something like "The StarMessage Diary vX.X".

1. Backup your diary.

2. Keep a note of the folder where the StarMessage Diary is installed.

3. Uninstall the StarMessage Diary from your computer.

4. Download the latest version from our site.

5. Install it in the same folder as in step 2.

6. Done!

How do I restore another diary file stored in my backup CD?

In order to "restore" your backup you must:

1. Run the program
2. From the drop-down list, instead of selecting a new or existing diary, just select the "RESTORE DIARY FROM BACKUP" option
3. Click NEXT
4. The program will ask you the location of your backed-up diary and its password.

Only if the passwords match, then the diary will be restored. This is a security measure that existed since version 1.0, as a lot of people where trying to restore other persons backups they didn't have the correct password.
Make sure that you create regular backups of your diary and save the backups on a different disk or on a CDR.
 

How do I move the diary program and my diary file to another computer?

1. Open the diary on your OLD computer

2. Click [TOOLS] -> [BACKUP/RESTORE] and choose BACKUP to make a copy of of your diary to floppy disk (or other media like a USB flash disk)
   
   Now you have a backup of your diary...
    

3. Install the diary application to your NEW computer.

4. Create a NEW EMPTY diary and open this empty diary.

5. Click [TOOLS] -> [BACKUP/RESTORE] and RESTORE the file you had backed up from step (2). All your previously written entries will be restored.
    

6. Enjoy!

I get an error when trying to open the downloaded ZIP setup file.
Our software is distributed inside a ZIP compressed file. If a ZIP utility (e.g. WinZip) is not properly installed on your computer, you may get an error when trying to open the file you just downloaded. A quick solution is to use this link:
http://download3.starmessage.gr/stardiary.exe
to download the EXE version of the Diary and install it to your computer.

After you install the program in your computer, you will be able to use it. If you have purchased a license, you can follow the instructions described in the registration code email to apply your license into the program. This will automatically convert the trial version that you installed, into the full version of the program.
 

How do I search in the diary entries?
The StarMessage diary has a keyword search.
Click 'BROWSE', fill the "SEARCH FOR" box with the word you are searching.
Make sure you have the "Full Context Search" checkbox checked. This searches single words or entire phrases.
 

My selected font does not remain as default the next time I use the diary.
Please upgrade to the latest version of the diary which solves this issue and use the "Tools" -> "Set font language" to select a new default font type and size.
Please note that the new default font applies only to the new entries you will create; it does not affect the existing entries.
 

When is the diary file saved?
Once you write/modify an entry, clicking EXIT always saves the diary.

If you shut down the computer without exiting the diary, this may not leave the diary enough time to save its data, depending on the speed that your computer shuts down (and other parameters as i.e the size of your diary file).

So, if you shutdown windows without exiting the diary, you are risking of loosing the last entries that you wrote.  It is advisable that you exit the diary before you turn off your computer.
 

It is not easy to scroll up and down in the text.
Right click on the text, and select the option to show the Scrollbar. That will show the scrollbar, when ever the lines are many and cannot fit into the text area.
 

What does RTF mean?
RTF is a file format compatible with most word processing software like Microsoft word. It actually is an acronym for "Rich Text Format".

I forgot the password to open my diary
If you forget your diary password, there is no way to retrieve it as the Diary uses strong 256bit irreversible encryption. So please be careful not to mistype or forget it!

Even if you sent your diary to us, we have no means to recover your password. There is no default password either.

Many times we've had a request unlock a diary but, since a genetic password  would create a large security compromise we didn't implement it. In addition, we had no way of ensuring that the true owners of the diary were making those requests.

In any case, we advice to try entering your password somehow differently (maybe you wrote some or all password characters in uppercase, or in a different language etc).

If that does not help, we advice of creating a new diary - write something inside - and testing your password just to make sure.

I have just changed the password of diary and forgot the new password
The diary automatically makes ONE backup of your diary each time you save it. You can RESTORE this special backup since this was encrypted using YOUR OLD password.
Follow the instructions above to restore the diary

How do I cut and paste an entry to another day?
Please go to the first day, press CTRL-A to select all the text and CTRL-C to copy it to the clipboard. Then, go to the new day, and press CTRL-V to paste the information.

Is there a way to edit the name of specific diaries once they have been created?
A diary renaming option, will be included it in the next version of the program. If you want to manually rename a diary file please follow these instructions:

• Open the Starmessage Diary and backup your diary file (just to be safe) using the backup option (under tools -> backup).
  Exit from the starmessage diary (IMPORTANT)
•  Go to the folder where you installed the diary
  (possibly "C:\Program Files\The StarMessage Diary\")
• There, among other files you will see your diary file for example mydiary.dry
• Rename it anything you want.dry (IMPORTANT: keep the .dry extension !)
• e) Open the diary and you will see it in the list of diaries

We strongly suggest though, to wait for version 1.5 which will have a simple renaming option.