PDA Software Library/pdasoftwarelib.iso/PSION/MISC/S3ABANK8/README.V17

Text File | 1996-09-28 | 12.6 KB | 236 lines

S3ABANK V1.8d - README
---------------------

This file is for users of V1.7 who wish to upgrade to V1.8.  New users
should use the file README.NEW, coupled with the full instructions.

To upgrade from V1.7, simply replace ALL the old files with new versions,
but note the following changes.

(If you are a bit unsure, full installation instructions are available in
the README.NEW file.  In particular, if you get a program crash with
'Procedure not found' after upgrading, the odds are that you have left
an overlay file from V1.7 somewhere on your computer.  Make sure ALL
the files have the same date.)

There are 2 additional files in V1.8 associated with the new
printing routines.  If you want to use the facility, then put the file
BANKSPRT.OVL into the \APP\BANK\ subdirectory and the S3APRINT.DYL file
into an \OPD\ directory.  (Note that this latter file will be common to
all my programs, so if you are running more than one, you will only need
one copy of this file)

There are also new Help files, all of which are optional.  BANKS3A.HLP
replaces the old BANKS3AH.OVL and there are new Help files for each of
the optional modules.  If you want them, these all go into the
\APP\BANK\ subdirectory.

The major changes you will notice are as follows:

GENERAL
-------

a.    Following the purchase of a license from Mark Esposito of Pelican
      Software (thanks Mark !) I can now offer a much more capable set of
      Printing routines, including new printouts for the Currency screen,
      Financial Planner and Utility screens and, of course, full support
      for PSIPRINT, something many of you have been waiting for. I think
      it is all self-explanatory, as it uses the same system as the
      built-in applications, with the Printer Configuration (Parallel,
      Serial, File) available from the 'Set Preferences' menu, and the
      Print Setup, Print Preview and actual Print routines available from
      each screen.

      A few points relating to this:

           (1)  I have adopted the Psion-standard hot keys of <PSION-Y>
                for the Print Setup, <PSION-*> for the Print Preview and
                <PSION-P> for the Printing.  This has necessitated a few
                changes in the 'hot keys', something I normally try to avoid.
                Losing the <PSION-*> has given me the opportunity to adopt
                the standard <PSION-Q> key for 'Set Preferences', which
                forced me then to use the Shift key to implement the Quicken
                Export facility (<PSION-SHIFT-Q>) and for compatibility, I
                continued that theme by using the Shift key on the Import
                function as well (<PSION-SHIFT-I>). Less importantly, the
                'Pay Bills' option now uses <PSION-I> instead of <PSION-P>.
                Hope you can all get used to the new keys fairly quickly.

           (2)  I am still continuing with my previous policy of providing
                upgrades to existing users free of charge.  However, the
                license fee for the new Print engine did not come cheap,
                so if you find you are using that new facility a great deal,
                and would like to help me offset the cost, then a $5-10
                contribution would be most welcome (If you are on
                CompuServe, a quick SWREG to one of my other programs is
                probably the easiest way to do it).  Please don't feel
                under any pressure to do this, it is purely voluntary !!

           (3)  This is very much a first shot at the print outputs.  Mark's
                system is much easier to program than my old 'steam-driven'
                routines, and the enhancements won't cost any memory, so
                any suggestions for improvements will be useful, and stand
                a good chance of going into V1.9. I have had the first one
                already which is an optional signature block for the
                Expense Account printout.

b.    I have also, with the help of Andy Waller, implemented a new Psion-
      compatible help system which integrates with the built-in system
      and I hope is much more comprehensive than the previous version.

c.    After numerous requests, the currency decimal place setting is now
      Group-specific, so you may find you have to reset it after the upgrade.

d.    Following advice from Patrick Bell (thanks Patrick !) I have done some
      cleaning up of the code to try and speed up the display routines.
      (For those of you who might wonder, rest assured that the sort routines
      are now as fast as they can possibly be for a high-level language !)
      However, although the display refresh is speeded up overall, I found
      I didn't like it so much, as it tends to be very 'jerky'.  Therefore
      the speed is now configurable through the 'Set Preferences' menu.

e.    A number of people said they would like to stay in the 'Set Preferences'
      menu while setting up the program, without having to continually
      re-select it.  That option is now available, again through the 'Set
      Preferences' menu itself.

f.    Again, I have had a number of people point out that, although the
      recognition of unknown categories when importing from Quicken can
      be useful, it can also be a pain in the neck.  There is now a new
      field in the Import dialog which allows you to ignore unknown
      categories.

g.    To bring the program in line with other financial programs, I now
      offer the option of displaying negative numbers in brackets.

h.    I have also taken the opportunity to rationalise the preference
      settings.  Basically, those that affect the program globally
      are in the Accounts screen, and those that are Account-specific
      (ie decimal places) are in the Transaction screen.  Some of the
      more regularly-accessed ones, ie 'Default Transactions' are
      available in both screens.

i.    To make the screen display more flexible, I now allow you to combine
      the credit/debit columns into one.  This allows more room for the
      descriptions.  Following on from this, I have told a number of people
      that the occasional overlaps of columns is unavoidable.  Absolute rubbish,
      of course, once someone pointed out to me the relevant command (even I
      have to RTFM).  Therefore, I hope you will find that they are a thing
      of the past.  However, with over 60 possible combinations of screen
      display in the Transaction display alone, I'm sure I've missed one or two.

j.    That's the good news;  however, there's no such thing as a free lunch !
      To get all this in I have had to make some compromises, particularly
      in the area of memory usage.  There is now a great deal more sharing
      of the precious memory resources than before, and that means some
      aspects will run quite a bit slower while data is swapped to and from
      the disc.  After using the program for some time, I have only really
      noticed it in 2 places.  When you enter a transaction there is a very
      short delay before the dialog appears, while various changes are made.
      After this, entering normal, simple transactions is not affected, but
      if you have a complex one, for example, that updates the financal planner,
      or goes into the Expenses Account, then this will take longer, because
      the optional modules now have to be swapped in and out of memory much
      more than before.  Sorry about that, but I think you will find the
      benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

k.    Finally, on the subject of memory, I have always implemented a memory
      cache, to speed up the program.  The optimum size appears to be about
      11,000 bytes. However, if you want to save system memory, or you find
      the program crashes with 'No System Memory', during complex operations,
      you might need to reduce the size.  I have therefore incorporated a
      new option in the 'Set Preferences' menu.

CORE PROGRAM:
-------------

a.    The Auto-Counter (Cheque/check numbering) option is now available
      for normal transaction entries, rather than just default transactions.

b.    The contents of the first Transaction Entry dialog has always been
      a subject of much discussion amongst users.  Basically there isn't
      enough room to get everything in, so some things have to be moved
      to the second dialog.  Some of the longer-serving owners will recall
      there was a outcry in V1.6 when I bumped the 'Category' field to the
      second dialog, so in V1.7 I gave a configurable option that enabled
      you to select 2 out of three for the first dialog from 'Categories',
      'Reference' and 'Transfer'.  In V1.8 I think I have gone one better.
      One of the essential lines in the first dialog was the currency to use
      if you have the 'Foreign Currency' option selected.  However, if you
      didn't have that option selected then the line was wasted.  So, in
      V1.8, if you don't have the 'Foreign Currency' option selected, then
      all 3 of the dialogs will appear.  The configuration setting for 2 out
      of 3, will only be used if you turn on foreign currencies.  I think
      we are getting there !!

c.    For various reasons I decided I wanted an 'Archive without Updating the
      Balance' option.  Also, I have never been happy with the Archive option
      including both 'Remove' and 'Delete' and having to define what each
      meant.  I have therefore adopted what I hope is a simpler solution.
      The Archive dialog now only has options to Archive or Delete, and
      there is a separate field to ask if you want the Balance updated
      (defaults to Yes)

d.    A number of people have asked for a selective Export to QIF & CSV function.
      Rather than introduce yet another attribute, I have just implemented
      an option to Export reconciled entries only.  Along with that I have
      added a 'Clear Attributes' option, so it should be relatively easy to
      highlight the entries you wish to export, build the file, and then
      deselect the entries with one keypress.

e.    Again, a number of people have requested an export function from the
      Archive.  This is going to be quite difficult, but as an interim
      measure I have provided an Export function which just produces a
      Text file.  If you then load that Text file into 'Word', highlight
      all of it  <Control-Shift-Psion-Down Arrow), you can use the 'Bring'
      option in 'Sheet' to convert it into a spreadsheet.  Obviously it can
      then be transferred easily into a PC/MAC spreadsheet.

f.    You can now have Tax Rate displayed in the Middle Column as an alternative
      to Reference, Category or Nothing.  Also, following severe pressure from
      Andy Waller a transaction that utilised the 'Split' Budget Category
      option will now have the word 'Split' displayed in the Category field
      as a reminder.  (I still can't afford the memory to keep a record of
      the split values - sorry !)

g.    After some pressure, I have allocated single key presses (there are no
      more <PSION> keys left) to the middle column display ('M') and the Balance
      Window display ('B").

HOUSE MODULE
------------

a.    I've implemented a sort routine for the Item screen.  I didn't know
      which field people would want to sort on, so you can pick any of them.
      Also, there is an option to pick which direction you wish to sort in,
      i.e. lower to higher or higher to lower.

FUEL AND SHARES MODULE
----------------------

a.    The Graph design for both of these modules has been improved.  The X-axis
      can have an Auto mode, where it fills the screen, and the actual axis
      line can be positioned on the bottom, centre or top.  The Y-Axis still
      retains the Auto mode, but the manual mode now asks for the top and
      bottom limits for the graph.  Most importantly, the settings are now
      saved with the Investment or Vehicle, so they can be configured
      differently.

FUEL MODULE
-----------

a.    A Statistics screen has been added to the History display.

SHARES MODULE
-------------

a.    The Gain/Loss display now allows for an Absolute percentage.

b.    Every time you update an investment the Total value of the portfolio
      is recorded, and you can now view that on a separate graph using <PSION-T>.
      (This also has it's own Decimal Place setting)

Hope you find all these changes useful; onto V1.9.

Al