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PC-FILE+ (TM) USER'S GUIDE Version 1.0 ISBN 0-922692-11-4 ButtonWare, Inc. P.O. Box 5786 Bellevue, WA 98006 (c) Copyright 1982-1987 by Jim Button All Rights Reserved. (C) COPYRIGHT 1982-1987 BY JIM BUTTON (C) COPYRIGHT 1984-1987 BY BUTTONWARE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language, natural or computer, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of ButtonWare. The software described in this manual is protected by Copyright laws. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms outlined in the chapter "Restricted Permission to Copy", which begins on page 229. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of ButtonWare, Inc. ButtonWare may make improvements and/or changes in this manual or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time. This product could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes may be incorporated in new editions of the publication. PC-FILE, PC-FILE III, PC-FILE/R, AND PC-FILE+ ARE TRADEMARKS OF BUTTONWARE, INC. i PHONE NUMBERS (800)J-BUTTON Toll free order line All 50 states except Washington Does not include Canada (206)454-2629 BUTTON-NET Bulletin Board and Technical support Hours of operation: ■ Technical support hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific time (Monday through Friday) ■ Bulletin Board (modem access) is continuous (all other hours) (206)454-0479 ButtonWare business line 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time (Monday through Friday) ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION.............................. 3 2.0 SOME DO-NOTS..................................... 7 3.0 SOME DEFINITIONS................................. 9 BEFORE YOU START 4.0 CONVERTING YOUR DATABASES........................ 13 4.1 PC-File III Version 2.0 and Earlier............ 13 4.2 Encrypted Databases............................ 14 4.3 Other Conversion Considerations................ 14 4.4 Downward Compatibility......................... 15 5.0 INSTALLING PC-FILE+.............................. 17 5.1 Installing on a Floppy Disk.................... 17 5.2 Installing on a Hard Disk...................... 18 5.3 Your CONFIG.SYS file........................... 20 5.4 Configuring PC-File+........................... 20 6.0 "TEACH" MODE..................................... 21 7.0 SPECIAL KEYS WHEN TYPING......................... 23 8.0 SELECTING FILES AND FIELDS....................... 29 8.1 Selecting Files................................ 29 8.2 Selecting Fields............................... 29 9.0 USING THE BUILT-IN EDITOR........................ 31 9.1 What You See On The Screen..................... 31 9.2 Moving the Cursor and Scrolling................ 32 9.3 Function Keys.................................. 33 9.4 Other Keys..................................... 34 9.5 Keying in special ASCII characters............. 34 USING PC-FILE+ 10.0 STARTING PC-FILE+............................... 37 11.0 DEFINING YOUR DATABASE.......................... 39 11.1 The FAST Method............................... 41 11.2 PAINTing Your Input Screen.................... 42 11.3 Guidelines.................................... 44 11.4 Field Lengths................................. 44 11.5 Field Names................................... 45 12.0 THE MASTER MENU SCREEN.......................... 47 13.0 ADDING RECORDS TO YOUR DATABASE................. 49 13.1 Entering the Data............................. 49 13.2 The DUPE Keys................................. 49 13.2.1 Record Duplication........................ 49 13.2.2 Field Duplication......................... 50 13.3 The Memorize Keys............................. 50 14.0 FINDING A RECORD................................ 51 14.1 (B) Beginning of file......................... 51 14.2 (E) End of file............................... 52 14.3 (N) Next sequential record.................... 52 14.4 (P) Previous record........................... 52 14.5 (R) Relative record number.................... 52 14.6 (+) Browse forward in file.................... 53 14.7 (-) Browse backward in file................... 53 14.8 Browsing - in general......................... 53 14.9 (S) Search for data (find).................... 54 14.9.1 Simple search............................. 55 14.9.2 Complex search............................ 57 14.10 After The Record is Found.................... 59 15.0 MODIFYING A RECORD.............................. 61 16.0 DELETING A RECORD............................... 63 17.0 SORTING THE DATABASE INDEX...................... 65 17.1 Defining the Sort............................. 65 17.2 Random Sort Fields............................ 68 17.3 Roman Numeral Sort Fields..................... 68 17.4 :p............................................ 68 18.0 PRINTING REPORTS................................ 69 18.1 Creating Report Formats....................... 69 18.1.1 Page Format............................... 70 18.1.2 Row Format................................ 70 18.1.3 Free Form................................. 72 18.1.4 Commands.................................. 77 18.2 Printing Reports.............................. 84 18.2.1 Output Device............................. 84 18.2.2 Number of Copies.......................... 84 18.2.3 Detail Lines.............................. 85 18.2.4 Subtotal Breaks........................... 85 18.2.5 Left Margin............................... 86 18.2.6 Page Length............................... 86 18.2.7 Print Size................................ 87 18.2.8 Blank Lines and Spaces.................... 87 18.2.9 Flip Data................................. 88 18.2.10 Selected Records......................... 89 18.2.11 Final Output............................. 89 18.3 Advanced Report Techniques.................... 89 18.3.1 Quick Complex Reports..................... 89 18.3.2 Printer Control Codes..................... 90 18.3.3 Mailing Labels............................ 90 19.0 USING THE LETTER WRITING FEATURES............... 93 19.1 Creating your Letter.......................... 93 19.2 The Mail Merge Commands....................... 95 19.3 An Example Letter............................. 97 19.4 Printing Letters.............................. 99 19.5 Doing Letters With Your Own Word Processor.... 99 20.0 PRINTING MAILING LABELS......................... 101 20.1 Running PCLABEL............................... 101 20.2 Recalling Previously Saved Defaults........... 102 20.3 Special Escape Codes for Printer.............. 102 20.4 Setting Up your Label Sheet Format............ 102 20.5 Position Labels Sheet in Printer.............. 105 20.6 Print Labels.................................. 106 20.7 PC-File Source Data........................... 106 20.8 Entering Punctuation and Constants............ 107 20.9 Completing the Label definition process....... 109 20.10 Save Label Setup Information to a File....... 110 20.11 Comma Delimited Source File.................. 110 20.12 Pure ASCII Labels Source File................ 111 20.13 PC-Type+ Mail Merge Label Source File........ 111 20.14 Invocation Parameters........................ 111 21.0 ENDING / CHANGING TO A DIFFERENT DATABASE....... 113 ADDITIONAL FEATURES 22.0 ALTERING A FIELD NAME, MASK, CONSTANT, OR CALC.. 117 22.1 Field Name.................................... 118 22.2 Edit Mask..................................... 119 22.3 An Automatic Field............................ 120 22.3.1 For Adding or Modifying Only.............. 120 22.3.2 Automatic - with Edit Mask................ 121 22.4 A Calculated Field............................ 121 22.5 A Relational Field............................ 122 22.6 A Constant.................................... 123 23.0 SETTING UP THE SMART KEYS....................... 125 23.1 Memorizing Smart Key Keystrokes............... 125 23.2 Editing or Changing existing Smart Keys....... 126 24.0 PASSWORDS AND SECURITY.......................... 129 25.0 CONFIGURING YOUR SYSTEM - USING PROFILE FILES... 133 25.1 Profile Overview.............................. 133 25.2 Creating or Modifying a Profile............... 134 25.2.1 Changing the Screen Colors................ 135 25.2.2 File Specification Defaults............... 136 25.2.3 Miscellaneous Configuration Options....... 137 25.2.4 Changing the Printer Defaults............. 138 25.2.5 Passwords................................. 140 25.2.6 /KEYIN - Keystrokes to Run at Startup Time. 141 25.2.7 Snapshot Mailing Labels................... 141 25.3 Saving the Profile............................ 142 25.4 Using a Text Editor to Modify Profile Files... 143 25.5 Profile Commands on the DOS Command Line...... 143 25.6 Configuration Commands Summary................ 143 26.0 USING THE UTILITIES............................. 145 26.1 File Maintenance - Copy, Delete, Rename....... 145 26.1.1 Copy a file............................... 146 26.1.2 Delete a file............................. 147 26.1.3 Rename a file............................. 147 26.2 Define or modify your configuration or profile files. 148 26.3 Modify the Smart Keys......................... 148 26.4 Modify a field name, mask, constant or calculation. 149 26.5 Clone - Change the current database definition. 149 26.6 Export and Import............................. 149 26.7 Checking for Duplicate Records................ 149 26.8 Un-deleting Deleted Records................... 152 27.0 GLOBAL MODIFY AND DELETE........................ 153 28.0 PC-FILE+ AND OTHER PROGRAMS..................... 157 28.1 Exporting your Database....................... 159 28.2 Importing Data................................ 163 28.3 Merging Two Databases Together................ 165 29.0 CHANGING YOUR DATABASE DEFINITION - CLONING..... 169 29.1 Delete a field................................ 170 29.2 Add a field................................... 170 29.3 Change a field length......................... 171 29.4 Rearrange fields.............................. 171 29.5 Sequencing fields............................. 171 29.6 Where will the data come from?................ 171 29.7 Modifying the Data Entry Screen............... 172 29.8 The Name of the Cloned Database............... 173 30.0 SPLITTING AND JOINING FIELDS.................... 175 31.0 SNAPSHOT MAILING LABELS......................... 177 31.1 The Snapshot Definition....................... 177 31.2 Using the Snapshot Label Feature.............. 178 31.3 An Example of a Snapshot Mailing Label........ 178 31.4 Printing to a Disk File....................... 179 31.5 Imbedding blank lines and spaces.............. 179 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 32.0 BACKING UP YOUR DATABASE........................ 183 32.1 Using the DOS COPY command.................... 183 32.2 Using the DOS BACKUP program.................. 183 32.3 Using PC-File+'s COPY Features................ 184 32.4 Using the PC-File+ EXPORT capability.......... 184 33.0 USING PCFIX..................................... 187 33.1 When to Run PCFIX............................. 187 33.2 How to Run PCFIX.............................. 187 33.3 What Happens During PCFIX..................... 188 33.4 Stopping PCFIX................................ 189 34.0 IF YOUR DATABASE GETS DAMAGED................... 191 35.0 CALCULATING DISK STORAGE SPACE.................. 193 36.0 TIPS AND TECHNIQUES............................. 195 36.1 Reorganizing the Database..................... 195 36.2 TopView and Windows........................... 196 37.0 THE PC-CALC PC-FILE CONNECTION.................. 197 38.0 THE PC-TYPE+ PC-FILE CONNECTION................. 199 APPENDIX A. ERROR MESSAGES........................... 201 APPENDIX B. A FEATURES CHECKLIST..................... 205 APPENDIX C. WRITING YOUR OWN PROGRAMS................ 209 APPENDIX D. COMPARISON OF PC-FILE PRODUCTS........... 215 APPENDIX E. THE FILES ON YOUR DISKS.................. 217 APPENDIX F. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS............... 221 APPENDIX G. WHEN YOU NEED TECHNICAL SUPPORT.......... 225 APPENDIX H. PC-FILE+ QUICK REFERENCE CARD............ 229 RESTRICTED PERMISSION TO COPY........................ 235 BUSINESS USE, PRODUCTIVE USE....................... 235 INDIVIDUALS AND COMPUTER CLUBS..................... 235 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS........................... 235 NO RENTING OR LEASING.............................. 236 EXTRA COPIES, EXTRA MANUALS........................ 236 USER RESPONSE FORM................................... 237 USER PROFILE....................................... 239 IMPROVEMENTS WANTED................................ 240 INTRODUCTION 1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION Congratulations on your purchase of PC-File+, and welcome to the ButtonWare family! PC-File+ is a general purpose Data Base Manager program. It combines maximum power with extreme ease of use. With PC-File+ you can easily create and maintain databases on your computer, and produce printed reports from all of your stored data. You can use PC-File+ for all kinds of tasks: ■ Maintain mailing lists and print mailing labels, 1-up or multi-up. ■ Write letters and send customized mailings to selected individuals from your database. ■ Maintain price lists. ■ Maintain telephone or name and address directories. ■ Keep various types of inventory records. ■ Build personnel databases. ■ Keep customer lists. ■ Build and maintain databases to be exported for use by other programs, such as VisiCalc, Multiplan, 1-2-3, WORD, and MailMerge. ■ Import files from other programs into the PC-File+ format. ■ and many other tasks. PC-File+ allows you to assign several different passwords to each database. In this way, you can restrict unauthorized people to only certain types of operations in the database. PC-File+ will allow you to sort your data into almost any sequence. It allows rapid access to any record in the database. Sophisticated search techniques allow comparison searches, soundex searches, wildcard searches, or "scan across" searches on any field in the record. You can print out reports from your database, listing all or some of the fields, from all or some of the records, in many different sequences, with subtotals and totals. Report fields can be calculated based on information from other fields in the database. Report fields can even be extracted from other databases. Reports can be sent directly to your video screen, to your printer, or to disk for later use with your word processor or other programs. You can create new databases from existing databases. The new database can be in a different format, and can be a 3 General Information ____________________________________________________________ subset of the database from which it was "cloned". New fields can be added, old fields can be deleted, field positions can be rearranged, and field sizes can be lengthened or shortened. You can merge together two databases. Databases can thus be created and maintained on separate PC's, then combined when desired into a "master" database. You can write letters using the built-in letter writing capabilities, or use your own word processor. Then merge the letters using the merge feature which is built into PC-File+ with selected data from your database to produce customized mailings. Above all else, PC-File+ is EASY! Many people can use it with no training or instructions. Please read this manual carefully, however, if you want to pick up the extra fine points of the program. The author has steadfastly refused to make any additions to PC-File+ which would make it more difficult to use. Any suggestions which you have for improving this program will be thoughtfully considered. PC-File+ contains powerful features, including many not normally found in other database programs. Here is a brief overview of what you'll be learning about and using: ■ Customized data entry screens. PC-File+ allows you to "paint" your own data entry screen, placing the fields where you would like them to appear. Additional text can also be included. ■ Relational capabilities. You can pull together information from any number of other PC-File databases for use in the current one. ■ Letter writing capabilities. PC-File+ contains built-in letter writing and mail merge capabilities for merging information from any database into your letters, reports, and documents. ■ Calculations can be done on fields in the database, and the answers can be used to update other fields in the database, or in printed reports. Nested calculations permitted. ■ Pop-up help screens. The help is context sensitive. That means the help you get refers to the specific question being asked. 4 General Information ____________________________________________________________ ■ Complete DOS subdirectory support. ■ Four methods for defining reports, including one to "paint" the output format. You can save your report formats, and even edit them at a later time, to make corrections or changes. ■ Smart Keys (sometimes called macros). ■ Special (proprietary) disk writing techniques are used to guard against accidental loss of data. ■ A browse feature to view 20 records at a time, with the ability to scroll left or right to see all fields in each record. ■ Multi-level password protection. ■ Every field in your database is indexed. You don't have to arbitrarily select a few of them to be indexed. ■ Soundex search on any fields. ■ Generic search on any fields. ■ Imbedded search on any fields. ■ Wildcard search on any fields. ■ All of these search types can be done in any combination, simultaneously. ■ Searches can be done on up to 70 fields simultaneously. ■ Global modify or delete on any combination of fields, including a portion of a field. ■ User defined data types. You can define the valid input characters for any field. ■ The date and time or other data of your choice can be automatically entered for you into fields in your database. ■ Sort on any fields, mixed ascending/descending. Random, roman numeral, and Soundex sorts are also supported. ■ Select (for printing) on any fields with boolean "and/or" comparisons. ■ Print mailing labels, one-up or multi-up. 5 General Information ____________________________________________________________ ■ Print a Snapshot while viewing a record. This feature lets you print mailing labels and special reports on demand. ■ A "flip data before printing" character is provided. ■ Import and export data in many different formats. ■ Menus, prompts, and context sensitive help screens aid you every step of the way. You'll be using PC-File+ in its basic form very quickly. The advanced features will be there for you to discover later, as your confidence in this very powerful tool grows. If you re-read this manual every few months, you'll be rewarded each time with some newly discovered capabilities. PC-File+ runs perfectly on all of the IBM series of personal computers, all compatible, and most "nearly compatible" computers. It's designed to work with any printer. PC-FILE+ REQUIRES A 384K OR LARGER MS-DOS COMPUTER WITH TWO DOUBLE SIDED DISK DRIVES OR ONE DOUBLE SIDED DISK DRIVE AND A HARD DISK, AN 80-COLUMN DISPLAY, AND MS-DOS OR PC-DOS VERSION 2.0 OR LATER. 6 2.0 SOME DO-NOTS ■ DO NOT use PC-File+ until you've at least browsed through this manual. ■ DO NOT forget to make regular backup copies of your database. ■ DO NOT ever remove the data disk until you have completely ended the program through the normal "Quit" sequence. ■ DO NOT remove the PC-File+ disk during program operation unless requested to do so by the computer. 7 Some Do-Nots ____________________________________________________________ 8 3.0 SOME DEFINITIONS Before you get too far into this manual, you might find some definitions of basic database terminology to be helpful. Byte A single character of information. Each time you press a key on the keyboard, one byte goes into the computer - taking up one space in memory and, ultimately on your data disk. Field A meaningful piece of information (made up of one or more bytes), which is something you want to keep track of. Examples of fields are: a date, a name, a dollar amount. Record The collection of fields that describes one individual entity in your database. For example: if your database is a name & address file, the fields might be "name", "phone", "street", "city", "state", and "zipcode". Each record in your database will contain these fields, and will describe one person. Database The collection of all the individual records which you are keeping on file. For our purposes, a different database exists for each of the types of things you are keeping track of. You might have a name & address database, a personal inventory database, and a library database. Relational database A database that has data which is common to the data in another database. Two databases containing some of the same company information would be an example. You can save time by pulling in current information about companies or employees from other relational databases. Thus you eliminate entry errors and keep all records up to date. 9 Some Definitions ____________________________________________________________ 10 BEFORE YOU START 4.0 CONVERTING YOUR DATABASES If you're a new user of PC-File and have NO pre-existing PC-File databases, please skip to the next chapter - "Installing PC-File+." PC-File+ is a MUCH improved version of the popular PC-File III and PC-File/R programs. It's faster. It's easier to use. It's far more powerful. Every attempt was made to keep PC-File+ compatible with your existing databases. However, some changes had to be made in the way things are defined in order to give you an enhanced product. Many of your databases will be directly useable by PC-File+. Some of your databases may require changes. This information is provided to help you determine where changes may be required. 4.1 PC-FILE III VERSION 2.0 AND EARLIER Starting with PC-File III version 3.0, the structure of the database index was changed to allow for a maximum of 32,767 records per database. PC-File+ uses the same database indexing methods as PC-File III version 3.0, version 4.0, and PC-File/R - and even allows twice as many records - 65,533. This means that old databases may not run directly with PC-File+. If you have any databases which were created PRIOR TO VERSION 3.0 of PC-File III which haven't yet been converted, you must do a conversion to each of the old databases before PC-File+ can use them. The conversion is not difficult. Just follow the instructions below to get each database converted. An extra benefit is that the index of your newly converted database will often take up less space on the disk than the index of the old database. It should never take up more space. 1. Bring up DOS the way you usually do. 2. Put your new PC-File+ utility diskette (disk 2) into the A disk drive. 3. Type A: then press the (Enter) key. 4. Type PCFIX then press the (Enter) key. 5. At this point, you can put your database diskette into the A or B disk drive, or no action required if your database is on the hard disk. 13 Converting Your Databases ____________________________________________________________ 6. Now, answer the questions from the PCFIX program. You'll tell it which drive contains the database. Then you'll give it a path and the name of the database. You will also have the option to remove deleted records, if you wish. After that, the conversion will be done for the database which you named. 7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each of your old databases. 4.2 ENCRYPTED DATABASES PC-File+ does not allow databases to be encrypted. This feature was dropped because of our inability to help users reconstruct their database when they forgot the password. If you have databases which were encrypted by an older version of PC-File, you need to decrypt them. There are three ways to do this: Method 1 Run the PCDECODE program which is provided with PC-File+. This is a standalone program, which you run directly from DOS. It will not do anything to your original (encrypted) database. It just reads it in, decrypts it, and creates a new (second) database which can be processed with PC-File+. Method 2 Using the older version of PC-File, "export" the database. Then using PC-File+, "import" it. Probably the best export/import format to use for this would be "compressed", as it takes up the least amount of space. Method 3 Using the older version of PC-File, clone the database into a new, non-encrypted one. 4.3 OTHER CONVERSION CONSIDERATIONS The Smart Key specifications have changed. Smart Keys which were set up with earlier versions of PC-File may have to be redone. Please read the section on Smart Keys. Report formats will all have to be completely redone. PC-File+ uses an entirely different type of report format. To help you do this, we've made defining reports easier than ever before. Calculated fields may have to be redone. This is because 14 Converting Your Databases ____________________________________________________________ old versions of PC-File calculated in a pure left to right sequence. PC-File+ uses a "priority of operations" method of calculating, and permits nesting of calculations with brackets. This means that some of your answers may be calculated differently. Edit masks containing relational field definitions will have to be modified. The relational definition now includes an "at sign", @ , before the first field name. You will need to add the @ sign to each relational definition. Please read the section on Relational fields. 4.4 DOWNWARD COMPATIBILITY Database layouts created with this version of PC-File+ will usually NOT be downward compatible with previous versions of PC-File. That means you can't create a new database with PC-File+ and then use the database with older versions of PC-File. 15 Converting Your Databases ____________________________________________________________ 16 5.0 INSTALLING PC-FILE+ NOTE: When we ask you to type something at the keyboard, we usually identify the characters to be typed in underlined letters like this: TYPE-ME. 5.1 INSTALLING ON A FLOPPY DISK If you have a hard disk on your computer, please skip to the section "Installing on a Hard Disk." You should make a copy of your PC-File+ disk before doing anything else. The new copy will serve as your operating diskette, and you can store the original distribution diskette for safe keeping. Assuming that you have a two-drive system, these are the steps that you should follow. 1. Put your DOS system diskette in the A drive and an empty diskette in the B drive. The diskette in the B drive will become your new PC-File+ operating diskette. 2. If you don't see the normal DOS prompt on your screen, then boot-up DOS in the usual manner. If you don't yet know how to do this, please return to your DOS manual for further reading. 3. Make sure that you are logged onto the A drive. To do this, type A: and press (Enter). 4. Format the diskette in the B drive as a system diskette and place COMMAND.COM onto it. This is done by typing: FORMAT B:/S 5. Next, remove the DOS diskette from the A drive and replace it with the PC-File+ distribution diskette number one. 6. Copy the PC-File+ programs to the B disk. Do this by typing: COPY A:PCF.EXE B: COPY A:PCF.HLP B: COPY A:PCF.PIF B: COPY A:PCFILE.PRO B: 17 Installing PC-File+ ____________________________________________________________ NOTE: You only have to copy PCF.PIF if you will be using PC-File+ with Topview or Windows. NOTE: If you don't include PCF.HLP on your operation disk, then you won't have the pop up help screens available while using PC-File+. 7. Remove the disk from the B drive and label it as your "PC-File+ operation" diskette. 8. Remove the PC-File+ distribution diskette number one from the A drive. Place the PC-File+ distribution diskette number two in your A drive. 9. Insert a new diskette in the B drive. Format this disk by typing: FORMAT B: 10. Copy the PC-File+ files to your B drive. Do this by typing: COPY A:*.* B: 11. Store your PC-File+ distribution diskettes in a safe place. 5.2 INSTALLING ON A HARD DISK If you don't have a hard disk on your computer, please skip over this section. To install PC-File+ on your hard disk, please perform the following steps. 1. Make sure that you booted up with DOS in the normal fashion. 2. You should see the DOS prompt before you continue with this procedure. 3. Make sure that you are logged on to your hard disk. For example, if your hard disk is drive C, you should see a DOS prompt that looks something like this: C> 4. Change directories, into the root directory. You do this by typing: 18 Installing PC-File+ ____________________________________________________________ CD \ 5. Make a subdirectory where you would like the PC-File+ programs to reside. If you already have a subdirectory in mind and it already exists, skip this step. Otherwise, type: MD \PCF NOTE: The above example assumes that you want the name "PCF" for your subdirectory. If you have some other name in mind, you can substitute your name for the word "PCF" in the above example, and in the other commands which follow. 6. Change directories into the subdirectory which will contain your PC-File+ programs. Do this by typing: CD \PCF 7. Place the PC-File+ distribution diskette number one in your A drive. 8. Copy the PC-File+ files to your subdirectory on the hard disk. Do this by typing: COPY A:*.* 9. Remove the PC-File+ distribution diskette number one. Place the PC-File+ distribution diskette number two in your A drive. 10. Copy the PC-File+ files to your hard disk. Do this by typing: COPY A:*.* 11. Store your PC-File+ distribution diskettes in a safe place. NOTE: If you place the PC-File+ subdirectory on the DOS "path", then you'll be able to run PC-File+ from anywhere on your hard disk. This means you won't have to change into the PC-File+ subdirectory each time you want to run PC-File+. Instead, whenever you type PCF, DOS will find PC-File+ and run it for you. If you don't understand what a path is or how to use it, please study the PATH command in your DOS manual. 19 Installing PC-File+ ____________________________________________________________ 5.3 YOUR CONFIG.SYS FILE PC-File+ opens several different files, including your database files, sort work files, etc. You need to make allowances for the number of files to be opened before using PC-File+. Use your text editor or word processing program to insert the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: FILES=20 If FILES is set to a number less than 20, you may have trouble when sorting a large database, or when using relational lookups. You can set FILES to a larger number if you wish. For more information on the FILES command and the CONFIG.SYS file, please refer to your DOS manual. 5.4 CONFIGURING PC-FILE+ PC-File+ is distributed to be used on an IBM PC or PC compatible, with an IBM or Epson compatible printer, and a monochrome monitor. This configuration will be satisfactory for most users. If you need to change the configuration before starting PC-File+, please see the section "Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files". 20 6.0 "TEACH" MODE A fun way to learn all about PC-File+ is to put it into "teach mode." When PC-File+ is in teach mode, it will always show information from the help menus at the same time it asks a question. This keeps you from having to press (Alt)H again and again. After you read each individual help screen, you can press (Enter) and then respond to the question being asked. Reading the help screens is a very good way to learn about PC-File+. You are actually reading the information in context. You see the response being asked for, and at the same time you see information designed to help you answer the question. For people who shun books, this may be the best way to learn about the program. To put PC-File+ into teach mode, just go to the Master Menu screen and then press T or press (Alt)F8. When you're ready to get out of teach mode, go back to the Master Menu screen and press T again. 21 "Teach" Mode ____________________________________________________________ 22 7.0 SPECIAL KEYS WHEN TYPING PC-File+ is designed to work with you, NOT against you. Often, PC-File+ will provide an assumed answer for you in the input area. This is intended to save you some keystrokes, while making the program easier to use. If the assumed answer is correct, all you need to do is press the (Enter) key. If the assumed answer is incorrect, type in the correct reply. One feature of PC-File+ that you're sure to find handy is the HELP key. The (Alt)H combination has been set aside as a special help key. When you're in doubt about what to do or how to answer a question, just press and hold the (Alt) key, then type H A help window will pop up. This window will contain information designed to assist you with a particular area of PC-File+. The help screens are context sensitive. They will display the correct information and some tips for whatever area of the program is in use. You will find that just about all of your questions can be answered by using the pop-up help screens. That means you have a mini version of the manual right there on the screen. If you need to move the help window out of the way while viewing it, use the arrow keys on your numeric keypad. The window can be moved up, down, left, and right to reveal any information it may be covering. After you've read the help message press any key (except the arrow keys) to remove the window. Most windows, like the help window, are moveable. The arrows on the upper bar of the window tell you which directions the window can be moved. Whenever you're prompted to enter data or commands, certain keys have special significance. Left Arrow The left arrow on the numeric keypad will move the cursor one position to the left. 23 Special Keys When Typing ____________________________________________________________ Right Arrow The right arrow on the keypad will move the cursor one position to the right. Up Arrow The up arrow will move the cursor to the field above the current one. If there are no fields above, it will move to the bottom field. Down Arrow The down arrow will move the cursor to the next field below the current one. If there are no fields below, it will move to the top field on the screen. (Del) - Delete The (Del) key will delete the character at the cursor, and fill in the spot with the characters to the right. Backspace - Delete The backspace key will delete the character to the left of the cursor, and fill in the spot with the characters to the right. (Ctrl)B You can use the (Ctrl)B combination to blank all data from the cursor to the right end of the field. Hold down the (Ctrl) key, and press B. (Ins) - Insert The (Ins) key will place the computer in insert mode. This is signaled by a change in the shape and size of the cursor. The cursor becomes a large solid rectangle. While in insert mode, each new character that you type will be inserted at the cursor location. Other characters will be moved over to the right to make room for the new character. If you press the (Ins) key again, you'll be taken out of insert mode and back into normal overtype mode. You also are taken out of insert mode when you move the cursor out of the current field. (Home) The (Home) key will move the cursor to the far left of the field. (End) The (End) key will move the cursor to the right of the last character in the field. (PgUp) The (PgUp) key will move the cursor to the first input field on the screen. When browsing the database, it will move up one screenful of records in the database. 24 Special Keys When Typing ____________________________________________________________ (PgDn) The (PgDn) key will move the cursor to the last input field on the screen. When browsing the database, it will move down one screenful of records in the database. (Enter) The (Enter) key will move the cursor to the next field down on the screen. If there's only one field, as in a question that only requires a single answer, then the (Enter) key will also "enter" the data for you - as if you pushed (F10). See (F10) below. Tab Key The (Tab) key will move the cursor to the next field on the screen. When in browse mode, the tab key will move the browse window one field to the right. Shift-tab, Backward-tab The "backward-tab", or (Shift)(Tab) key will move the cursor to the previous field on the screen. When in browse mode, the backward-tab key will move the browse window one field to the left. (F10) - Accept The (F10) key will always cause all of the data on the screen to be accepted as "finished input." Some computers don't have function keys, so a means is provided for these keyboards to simulate the (F10) key. Hold down the (Ctrl) key and type A. This is called (Ctrl)A and will cause the program to pretend that (F10) was pushed. (Ctrl)D - Duplicate Record There is a record duplication key for use when adding records to the database. If you press (Ctrl)D, all of the data from the previously viewed record will be duplicated (copied across) onto the screen. Then, it's a simple matter to change only the fields that are different. (Ctrl)F - Duplicate Field There is a field duplication key key for use when adding or modifying records. If you move the curser into a field and press (Ctrl)F, the data from the same field in the previous record will be copied into the field for you, as if you had keyed it in. (Ctrl)R and (Ctrl)W There are two keys which provide a "read into memory" and a "write from memory" function. This is a useful feature (in addition to the Dupe keys) for data you will 25 Special Keys When Typing ____________________________________________________________ enter often. It's a real asset when it comes to replicating data into a large field which isn't linked to your previous entry. It's also very useful for moving data from one field to a different one in the same record. (Ctrl)R - Read into Memory The "read into memory" key memorizes the information in the current field. To use it, hold down the (Ctrl) key and type R. When you press (Ctrl)R, all the data in the field where the cursor is located will be read into the computer's memory. The data stays in memory and can be re-used again and again until replaced by another (Ctrl)R operation. Then, you can move the cursor to any other field and activate the "write from memory" key. (Ctrl)W - Write from Memory The "write from memory" key is (Ctrl)W. Each time you press (Ctrl)W the data previously memorized (with the (Ctrl)R command) will be entered into the field for you. (Esc) - Escape (Esc) cancels the current operation. It can get you out of most problem situations. Sometimes you'll get into a part of the PC-File+ program you wish you weren't in! (You may have pushed the wrong Function Key, for example). At these times, you may push (Esc) to get back to the Master Menu screen. Tilde - Flip Data The "tilde" character (it looks like this ~ ) on the keyboard is the "flip data" character. When a field with the flip data character is printed, all data after the tilde is reversed with the data in front of the tilde. That means "Jones~Bill" will print as "Bill Jones". The flip data feature is provided so you can create fields with last names in front of first names (so that they sort correctly on the last name) and still print out nicely. By combining last name and first name into one field, you can usually save space (and a field) in the database. (Ctrl)L - Snapshot Label The Snapshot Label key is (Ctrl)L. Pressing (Ctrl)L while viewing a record on the screen will cause selected information to be printed for that record. You must hold down the (Ctrl) key and type L. The Snapshot format must have been previously defined in your profile file. See the section "Snapshot Mailing Labels." 26 Special Keys When Typing ____________________________________________________________ (Alt)Y - Smart Key memorize mode Macros (Smart keys) are very easy to set up and use. See the section entitled "Setting up the Smart Keys." Pressing (Alt)Y tells PC-File+ to start memorizing your keystrokes. All of your keystrokes will be remembered until you press (Alt)Y a second time. The second time you press (Alt)Y, the keystrokes you memorized will be saved away for future use as a macro. (Alt)D - Drop to DOS The (Alt)D combination means drop to DOS. This means that at any time you're using PC-File+, you can temporarily suspend what you're doing, perform a DOS command, and resume where you left off. 27 Special Keys When Typing ____________________________________________________________ Here's a summary chart of the keys and their functions. ____________________________________________________________ KEY FUNCTION --- ---------------------------------- (Alt)D drop to DOS (Alt)H HELP (Alt)Y Smart Key memorize on/off backspace delete character to the left of the cursor (Ctrl)A accept data (Ctrl)B blank right, to end of field (Ctrl)D duplicate all of previous record (Ctrl)F duplicate field from previous record (Ctrl)L print a Label (Snapshot) (Ctrl)R read into memory (Ctrl)W write from memory (Del) delete the character at the cursor down arrow move cursor to following field or line (End) cursor right, past last significant character (Enter) move cursor to next field (Esc) cancel this operation (F10) accept data (Home) cursor left, to start of field (Ins) Insert mode (toggle) left arrow move cursor left 1 position (PgDn) cursor to last input field on screen, or page down (in browse mode) (PgUp) cursor to first input field on screen, or page up (in browse mode) right arrow move cursor right 1 position tab move cursor to next field, or move browse window one field to the right tab left move cursor to prior field, or move browse window one field to the left tilde (~) the flip data character up arrow move cursor to preceding field or line ------------------------------------------------------------ Understanding how to use these keys in PC-File+ has a direct impact on how effectively you can utilize most aspects of the program. Most of this information is contained in various pop-up help screens. 28 8.0 SELECTING FILES AND FIELDS PC-File+ allows you to use several different methods to select a file or field. You can use the method you like best. The results will be the same. 8.1 SELECTING FILES There are various times when you need to tell PC-File+ which file to use. When you start PC-File+, you need to select the database file to use. You need to tell PC-File+ which report or letter to use when printing. PC-File+ will show you a list of appropriate files to chose from. You have three choices. You can: ■ Type the file name in the blank field provided and press (F10). ■ Type the number to the left of the file name in the blank field provided and press (F10). ■ Move the cursor to the number next to the file name and press (F10). 8.2 SELECTING FIELDS Many of the PC-File+ functions allow you to select fields. When you sort your database, you need to tell PC-File+ which fields it should use as the sort fields. When you want to rename a field, you need to tell PC-File+ which field to rename. When PC-File+ needs you to select a field, you will be shown a list of the fields in the current database. You will be asked to enter the name of the first field to use. You can either: ■ Type the field name in the blank field provided and press (F10). ■ Type the number to the left of the field name in the blank field provided and press (F10). ■ Move the cursor to the number next to the field name and press (F10). 29 Selecting Files and Fields ____________________________________________________________ ■ Type the field name, followed by the starting position and number of positions to compare, and press (F10). To select a portion of a field, you use the following convention: fieldname,starting position,number of positions For example, the field PHONE contains phone numbers entered in the following format, 206-454-0479. If you wanted to print only the phone number and not the area code, you would select PHONE,5,8. PHONE,5,8 tells PC-File+ to print the information in the PHONE field starting at the fifth position, printing eight characters. The method for selecting a portion of a field can be used when defining a report or letter, exporting, cloning and finding duplicate records. 30 9.0 USING THE BUILT-IN EDITOR When you are using PC-File+, you will sometimes be taken into the built-in editor. This usually happens when you're being asked to draw or paint something, such as a report or a screen layout. In this section, you'll learn how to use the built-in editor. The editor is very powerful because it allows you to key in characters in a window. The window automatically moves around over the data as you are typing. The data you are typing can be much wider and longer than the actual screen on your computer. Most of the keys that you use with the editor are the same keys you normally use for other PC-File+ activities. The main differences are the Function Keys, which allow you to move data in the window. 9.1 WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN You need to be able to recognize the editing window when you see it on the screen. Although it may vary in size and location on the screen, it's easy to recognize. Here's an editing window: ╔═ title or instructions 10:250 ═════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═(F1,F2)Cut (F3,F4)Paste (F5,F6)Del (F10)Done ═ r:1 c:1 ═╝ There are several things that will always tip you off to the fact that you're dealing with an editing window: ■ The row and column indicators in the lower right corner of the window See the "r:1 c:1"? The number after the "r:" is the row within the document where the cursor is currently located. The number after the "c:" is the column within the document where the cursor is currently located. As 31 Using the Built-In Editor ____________________________________________________________ the cursor moves inside the window, these numbers will be instantly updated. ■ The document size indicators on the upper bar of the window See the "10:250" on the upper bar? These numbers represent the actual size of the page you are editing. The editing window may only be showing a small part of the actual page. The first number (10 in the example) tells how many rows (lines) are in the page. The second number (250 in the example) tells how many columns are in the page (how wide it is.) ■ The abbreviated Function Key menu on the bottom bar of the window This helps you to remember the purpose of each Function Key in the editor. We'll teach you how to use these Function Keys a little later. PC-File+'s editor works much like other word processors - but the commands are kept to a minimum. In addition, there is great flexibility. 9.2 MOVING THE CURSOR AND SCROLLING The four cursor arrow keys move the cursor inside the window. The cursor moves in the direction indicated by the arrows on the keys. The (PgUp) and (PgDn) keys shift the window up or down on the document, in window-size increments. The (Home) key moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line. The (End) key moves the cursor to the right end of the current line. The Tab key moves the cursor right, to the next tab marker. The tab markers are invisible. They don't show up anywhere on the screen. The tab markers occur every 8 columns in the document. The (Shift)(Tab) key, or left-tab, moves the cursor left, to the previous tab marker. 32 Using the Built-In Editor ____________________________________________________________ 9.3 FUNCTION KEYS The Function Keys play an important role with the built in editor. Basically, Function Keys 1 through 4 allow you to move lines and pieces of text around in your document, and to duplicate text. Function Keys 5 and 6 allow you to delete lines and partial lines. Function Keys 7 through 9 aren't used. And Function Key 10, as always, means to "accept the input" for processing. The list that follows provides more details on what you can do with the ten Function Keys. F1 - CUT LINE The line that the cursor is on is memorized, or cut into memory. Only one line is remembered at any point in time. That means any previously memorized line will be replaced by this one. This serves the same function as (Ctrl)R memorize and, in fact, (Ctrl)R can be used here as well as (F1). F2 - CUT RIGHT The line that the cursor is on, beginning at the cursor location, is memorized. F3 - PASTE LINE The line that the cursor is on is replaced by the memorized line. In other words, the memorized line overlays the line where the cursor is currently located. The memorized line is also retained in memory for further use. That means you can place the memorized line in many different places. This serves the same function as (Ctrl)W write from memory and, in fact, (Ctrl)W can be used here as well as (F3). F4 - PASTE RIGHT The line that the cursor is on, beginning at the cursor location, is replaced by the memorized data. The memorized data is also retained in memory for further use. F5 - DELETE LINE Putting the cursor on a line and pressing (F5) deletes the entire line and closes up the space. The deleted line is thrown away - it is not memorized. 33 Using the Built-In Editor ____________________________________________________________ F6 - ERASE RIGHT The characters to the right of the cursor on the line are deleted. This serves the same function as (Ctrl)B "blank right" and, in fact, (Ctrl)B can be used here as well as (F6). F10 - DONE Press this key when you're through providing information to the editor. It means you're happy with what you have entered, and want all of the text to be accepted "as is" for use by PC-File+. 9.4 OTHER KEYS The (Enter) key will move your cursor to the first column of the next line, creating a new blank line. All lines below the cursor will be moved down one line. The (Ins) key, the (Del) key, and the backspace key behave just as they normally do in PC-File+ 9.5 KEYING IN SPECIAL ASCII CHARACTERS. You may want to key in some of the special characters that aren't on the keyboard, such as special lines for boxes, or a character from the greek character set. You can key in any character you wish from the keyboard. While holding down the (Alt) key, type in the ASCII value of the character desired (using the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard) then release the (Alt) key. For example, the mathematical symbol for square root is ASCII value 251. To key this character onto the screen, hold down the (Alt) key and using the numeric keypad at the right side of the keyboard, strike the digits 2 5 1. Then, release the (Alt) key. 34 USING PC-FILE+ 10.0 STARTING PC-FILE+ Now you're ready to use PC-File+. To start PC-File+, bring up your DOS system in the usual fashion. Skip this paragraph if you've installed PC-File+ on your hard disk. Put the PC-File+ operation disk in one of the disk drives (this is typically the "A" drive) and enter the drive name followed by a colon. For example, if the disk is in the left-side drive type A: and press (Enter). Type PCF and press (Enter). When prompted with the question "Which drive for the Database (A-Z)", enter the letter corresponding to the disk drive where your database is or will be stored. 37 Starting PC-File+ ____________________________________________________________ 38 11.0 DEFINING YOUR DATABASE Before you create your database, you will probably want to have a fairly concrete outline. PC-File+ allows you to go back and change a database after you have created it, but it is easier to get it right the first time. A simple name & address database layout might look like this: Field name Field Length ------------ ------ Last_Name 15 First_Name 12 Address1 20 Address2 20 City 15 State 2 Zip_Code 10 Home_Phone 12 Children# 2 Comments 145 In selecting a name for each field, keep the following rules in mind: The name cannot be longer than 12 characters. The only characters allowed are the alphabetic characters, numbers, the underscore, and the # character. The name must not start with a number. If the field will contain numbers which you will want to add up or otherwise use in arithmetic operations, you should mark the field as a "numeric" field by providing a # as the last character in the field name. After you've designed your database on paper, start up PC-File+ on your computer. PC-File+ will ask for a drive and path for the database. After you have given the appropriate information, one of two things will happen: ■ If you've already defined a database, you will be shown a list. You will then be asked to select a database. To define a new database, type a unique name and press 39 Defining Your Database ____________________________________________________________ (F10). ■ If you haven't defined a database before, or if you don't have any databases in the drive and path indicated, you will receive this message: "We'll need to define a database. Please give it a name." Enter the name for the database. The name cannot be longer than 8 characters, and can include any character valid in a DOS filename. After you have given the database a new name, PC-File+ will ask you: C:\PCF\NEWDATA is a new file. ╔═ Please reply ═════════════════╗ ║ Do you want to define it? Y/N [Y] ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════╝ You will want to answer Y. Next, PC-File+ will offer you two different options for defining your database. First, you can define your database using the FAST method. FAST is the easiest way to define your database. You'll name the fields in their relative locations on the screen. Then you'll give each one a length. This is a lot like it was done with older versions of PC-File. If you want more flexibility in defining your database, you will probably want to PAINT your input screen. PAINT is the most flexible way. You'll "draw" each field name and data location on an empty screen. You can also put in descriptive text or helpful markings for the operator. 40 Defining Your Database ____________________________________________________________ 11.1 THE FAST METHOD If you select the FAST method of defining your database, you will see a screen that looks like this: ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Enter the field NAMES in their relative positions │ │ You can place the names anywhere on the screen. │ │ │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]│ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]│ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]│ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]│ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]│ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]│ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]│ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ [ ] [ ] [ ] │ │ Please respond. Press (F10) when complete. │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ At this point, all that you need to do is fill in the field names of the fields that you would like in this new database. Place them in the order that you want them to appear and at the approximate position you want them to appear on the screen. After you have typed in all of your field names, press (F10). For the previous database, the screen will look like this: 41 Defining Your Database ____________________________________________________________ ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Enter a length (1 - 65) for each field│ │ The "superfield" maximum size is 945 │ │ │ │ Last_Name [ ] │ │ First_Name [ ] │ │ Address1 [ ] │ │ Address2 [ ] │ │ City [ ] │ │ State [ ] │ │ Zip_Code [ ] │ │ Home_Phone [ ] │ │ Children# [ ] │ │ Comments [ ] │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ NOTE: The superfield must always be the last field in the database. The superfield maximum size will vary depending on the number of fields you define. If you define more than 21 fields, you will not be given the option to have a superfield. At this point, you will need to specify the length for each field. Remember that the last field is the only field that can exceed 65 characters. After you have defined the length for each field, press (F10). Next, you will need to tell PC-File+ the order that you want your fields to be accessed. Normally, you will want the cursor to move in the order that you entered the fields. If so, press (F10). However, if you want to change the order that the cursor will move, you will need to number the fields accordingly. After you have indicated the order that you want the fields to be accessed, you will be returned to the PC-File+ Master Menu. 11.2 PAINTING YOUR INPUT SCREEN If you choose to PAINT your own input screen, here is the procedure that you will follow: 42 Defining Your Database ____________________________________________________________ First, you will receive a screen that looks like this: Field names: 12 letters or less. Data locations: [ ] Example: PHONE [( ) - ] Press (Alt)H for help ╔═ Please draw your data-entry screen 21:80 ══════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═ (F1,F2)Cut (F3,F4)Paste (F5,F6)Del (F10)Done ═ r:1 c:1 ═╝ You must now draw the data entry screen. You use brackets [ ] as the data markers to tell PC-File+ where the data will be entered. The number of spaces between the brackets will be the field length. Therefore, if you want a field length of 25, you would put 25 spaces between the brackets. Field names should come BEFORE the data markers [ ]. If you want some default data to always appear inside the data markers, go ahead and put it there. Miscellaneous text can appear anywhere. Here's an example of a drawn screen: ┌────────────────────────────────────┐ │ PartNumber [ ] Qty [ 1] │ │ P.O.Number [ ] │ │ ShipVia [UPS Blue ] │ │If Qty over 50 check with supervisor│ └────────────────────────────────────┘ NOTE: The brackets must start after column 2. After you have defined your database, press (F10). Then you'll indicate how the cursor moves from one field to the next (the access sequence). You do not have to access fields in the order they appear. After you have specified the access sequence, you will be returned to the Master Menu. 43 Defining Your Database ____________________________________________________________ 11.3 GUIDELINES Here are some general guidelines for database definition: 1. The maximum number of fields allowed is 70. 2. The maximum field length allowed is 1665. If you choose to have a superfield, it must be the last field defined in your database. If you have more than 21 fields, you will not be allowed to have a superfield. 3. If you want more than 21 fields, you will probably want to PAINT your own input screen. You will have a great deal more flexibility with this option. 11.4 FIELD LENGTHS Most fields are limited to 65 characters. The last field you define can be a superfield. Its length can be as long as all the remaining space on the display screen. To define a superfield you must have less than 21 fields in the database definition. It's important to note that you will only be able to have one superfield per record. Depending on how many fields there are in the database definition, the maximum length of the superfield will vary. The following figure outlines the maximum length you can use for your superfield. 44 Defining Your Database ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Number of Fields Maximum Superfield Length ---------------- ------------------------- 1 1665 2 1585 3 1505 4 1425 5 1345 6 1265 7 1185 8 1105 9 1025 10 945 11 865 12 785 13 705 14 625 15 545 16 465 17 385 18 305 19 225 20 145 21 65 ------------------------------------------------------------ This chart shows you how big your superfield can be, depending on how many fields you have in your record. ____________________________________________________________ NOTE: PC-File+ is a fixed length database. Therefore, even though you may not have data in all of your fields, the empty field still takes up disk space. Because of this, you will want to carefully consider your field lengths before you define the database. 11.5 FIELD NAMES Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind when naming your fields: Define field names no longer than the length of the field. Otherwise, when you print your report, the field names will be Otherwise, when you print your report, the field names will be truncated. You'll find it convenient to choose relatively short field names, just long enough so you can remember what the name stands for each time you see it. You should try to avoid including a space in the field name. Example: Last Name. If the field name contains a space, 45 Defining Your Database ____________________________________________________________ PC-File+ uses the last complete word or phrase as the field name. Therefore, the field name "Last Name" would be simply "Name". These characters are not allowed in field names: ~ < > - / * % & + | ' " ! ^ , . = { ( ) } If you use one of these characters, PC-File+ will change it to an underscore. If the field will contain numeric data, such as a price or a quantity, include a "#" at the end of the field name. Example: "PRICE#". This will cause PC-File+ to keep totals for that data when printing the reports, and will also cause the data to be printed right justified on the output reports. It will also enable PC-File+ to sort correctly on the field even if the numbers aren't all evenly aligned. Don't worry if you select an inappropriate name for a field. You'll be allowed to change the field names any time you wish after the database has been completely defined by selecting option N of the PC-File+ Utilities menu. 46 12.0 THE MASTER MENU SCREEN When you work in PC-FILE+ you will be working from the Master Menu Screen. Here's what that screen looks like: PC-File+ ──────── The current file is C:\PCF\NEWDATA There are 282 records, in Last_Name sequence This disk can hold approximately 15535 more records ┌────────────────────────────────────┐ │ F1 A - Add a new record │ │ F2 F - Find a record │ │ │ │ F4 G - Global operations │ │ F5 L - Letter writing │ │ F6 R - Reports │ │ F7 S - Sort │ │ F8 U - Utilities │ │ F9 M - Menu of smart keys │ │ │ │ (Alt)F8 T - Teach mode on/off │ │ (Alt)F9 Q - Quit this database │ │ (Alt)H - HELP │ └────────────────────────────────────┘ ╔═ Please reply ═════════════════════════════╗ ║ Type a command, or press a function key [F] ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════╝ You may perform any of the functions on the Master Menu Screen by pushing the appropriate Function Key at the left of the keyboard. You can accomplish the same thing by typing in the one-character function code (indicated by the first capitalized letter in each command). For example, to add a new record to the database, you could either push (F1), or you could type A. Some people like Function Keys, some learn the names of the commands more easily and so prefer to type the character. PC-File+ lets you suit yourself! When you use PC-File+ for the first time (or any time you define a new database) you will not see all of the items on this menu. Once you have added records to the database, the Master Menu helps you to move around within PC-File+. 47 The Master Menu Screen ____________________________________________________________ 48 13.0 ADDING RECORDS TO YOUR DATABASE To add records to your database, push (F1) or type A when viewing the Master Menu Screen. PC-File+ will locate an empty spot for your new record. If there has been a record deleted previously from the database, that location will be reused for the added record. If there are no deleted records in the database, the new record will be added at the end. In either case, PC-File+ will tell you at the top of the screen which location it has found for adding your record. 13.1 ENTERING THE DATA You will then be allowed to enter your data using the cursor keys to access any field on the screen. After you've entered all the data for one record, press (F10) to cause that record to be added to your database. PC-File+ will then prompt you to add another record. If there are no further records to add at this time, just press (F10) without entering any data. You'll be returned to the Master Menu Screen. There is a maximum of 65,533 records allowed in PC-File+. You must have enough disk space, of course, to handle the quantity of data in your database. This caution applies more to floppy disks than hard disks. 13.2 THE DUPE KEYS Two duplication keys are provided for data entry of repetitive information. One will duplicate an entire record, and the other will duplicate the current field. 13.2.1 RECORD DUPLICATION If you press (Ctrl)D PC-File+ will duplicate (copy across) all of the data from the previously viewed record. Then, you can move the cursor to any field that is different and change the data before adding the record to the database. 49 Adding Records To Your Database ____________________________________________________________ 13.2.2 FIELD DUPLICATION If you press (Ctrl)F PC-File+ will duplicate the field from the previously viewed record into this field. This is especially handy, for example, if almost everyone in your database is from the same city or state. 13.3 THE MEMORIZE KEYS If you have information in a field that you will enter from time to time in other fields, you might want to use the (Ctrl)R and (Ctrl)W features of PC-File+. Using these features you temporarily store information from a field in the memory of your computer. Here's how this works: Whenever you hold down the (Ctrl) key and press R all the data in the field where your cursor is will be read into the computer's memory. That data then stays in memory and can be re-used again and again, until replaced by another (Ctrl)R or you quit PC-File+. (Ctrl)R means "read" the field's data into memory. To retrieve what you have stored with (Ctrl)R, just hold down the (Ctrl) key again, this time pressing W. Your stored data will then be entered into the field where you've placed your cursor. (Ctrl)W means "write" into the field from memory. Using the duplication keys and the (Ctrl)R/(Ctrl)W keys will save you time during data entry. These techniques should also reduce typing errors, too. 50 14.0 FINDING A RECORD Find is a versatile command that allows you to not only find what you're looking for, but then modify or delete it. The default command from the Master Menu screen is set to F, so all you need to do is either press (F10), (Enter), or the F key to activate this function. The Find command has great flexibility built in to allow you to find just what you're looking for - no matter where it might be in your database. This section explains all the details of how to get the most out of the PC-File+ Find command. To find a record, press (F2) or (Enter) or (F10), or type F while viewing the Master Menu screen. Because there are many ways to find a record, PC-File+ shows you a menu of different methods for finding. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ S. Search for data (find) │ │ │ │ B. Beginning of file (first record) │ │ E. End of file (last record) │ │ N. Next sequential record in file │ │ P. Previous record in file │ │ R. Relative record number │ │ +. Browse forwards in file (PgDn) │ │ -. Browse backwards in file (PgUp) │ │ │ │ Q. Quit the Find. Return to main Menu │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ Let's review this menu, one item at a time. First, the simplest methods: 14.1 (B) BEGINNING OF FILE Select option B (Beginning of file) if you want to see the first record in your database. If your database has never been sorted, this is the first record that you entered or "added" to it. If your database has been sorted, this is the first record in the sort sequence. For example, if your database was sorted into ascending sequence on LastName, Aabrams might be the first record in the database. 51 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ 14.2 (E) END OF FILE Select option E (End of file) if you want to see the last record in your database. If your database has never been sorted, this will usually be the most recent record that you added to it. If your database has been sorted, this is the last record in the sort sequence. For example, if your database was sorted into ascending sequence on LastName, Zybrinski might be the last record in the database. 14.3 (N) NEXT SEQUENTIAL RECORD Selecting option N (Next record) will show you the next record in sequence. This is the record that follows in sequence the one you most recently viewed. If you just viewed Aabrams, for example, option N might show you Adams. Each time you press N you'll see the next record in sequence. In this manner, you can view every record, one after another, all the way to the end of the database. 14.4 (P) PREVIOUS RECORD Selecting option P (Previous record) will show you the previous, or prior, record in sequence. This is the record that precedes in sequence the one you most recently viewed. If you just viewed Zybrinski, option P might show you Zier. Each time you press P you'll see the preceding record in sequence. In this manner, you can back up all the way to the front of the database. 14.5 (R) RELATIVE RECORD NUMBER Each record in the database has a sequence number. This is sometimes called the relative record number. The first record in sequence is number 1, the second is number 2, and so on. Each time you sort the database, this sequence number changes to reflect the new sequence. If you know the sequence number of the record you're after, you can select option R (relative record number). PC-File+ will then ask you "What record number to find:". Just type in the record number. The record will be brought up onto the screen. 52 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ 14.6 (+) BROWSE FORWARD IN FILE Browsing allows you to look at more than one record at a time on your screen. When you browse, PC-File+ shows you one record per line, 20 lines (or records) at a time on the screen. If the record is wider than the screen, you'll only see as much of it as will fit onto the screen window. Pressing + or the (PgDn) key will start browsing forwards (down) in the database. It's like pressing N for Next, except that instead of seeing just the next record, you'll see the next 20 records. Each time you press + or the (PgDn) key, you'll see the next 20 records. In this manner, you can browse all the way to the end of the database. 14.7 (-) BROWSE BACKWARD IN FILE Pressing - or the (PgUp) key will start browsing backwards (up) in the database. It's like pressing P for Previous, except that instead of seeing just the prior record, you'll see the prior 20 records. Each time you press - or the (PgUp) key, you'll see the previous 20 records. In this manner, you can browse all the way to the front of the database. 14.8 BROWSING - IN GENERAL Just a few more things to know about browsing. The browse screen shows the relative record number of each record at the far left of the screen. If you see a record on the browse screen that you want to view in its entirety, you can just issue the R (relative record) command and then give the record number that's shown. You'll be taken immediately out of browse mode and the desired record will be displayed in its fullness on the screen, ready to be viewed, modified or deleted. Since browsing only shows about 70 of the characters in each record at one time, you may wish to move the browsing window to the left or right - so that you're viewing a different portion of each record. To move the window to the right by one field, press the (Tab) key. You can keep pressing the (Tab) key as often as you like. Each time you do, the browse window will move to the right. Similarly, you can move the browse window to the left. Just hold down the (Shift) key, and press the (Tab) key. This is 53 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ called left-tab, or (Shift)(Tab). Each time you do this, the browse window will move to the left one field. 14.9 (S) SEARCH FOR DATA (FIND) The search option is a very powerful feature of PC-File+. By using the search option, you'll be able to find any record in your database. You can search on any combination of fields in the database. And you can utilize powerful "sounds like" searches, "begins with" searches, and "scan across" searches in any combination. You can also tell PC-File+ whether to perform case sensitive or case insensitive searches. Please see the section on "Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files" for more information. To do a search, select the S (Search for data) option from the find menu. Here's what you'll see: ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ Simple search: │ │ you `fill in the blanks' │ │ Complex search: │ │ you type in a formula │ └─────────────────────────────┘ Basically, there are two ways to search. ■ The SIMPLE way. This is plenty powerful enough for most needs. And it's very easy to learn and do. ■ The COMPLEX way. The sky's the limit with a complex search. You use a powerful search language to find records in the database. And while it's much more powerful than the Simple search, it also requires you to know how to type in the search criteria. The search language is very logical and easy to learn, however. 54 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ 14.9.1 SIMPLE SEARCH You'll be given a screen showing each field name followed by a data portion for the field filled with the "*" character. Here's an example: ____________________________________________________________ Last_Name [***************] First_Name [************] Address1 [********************] Address2 [********************] City [***************] State [**] Zip_Code [**********] Home_Phone [************] Children# [**] Comments [***********************************************] Please respond. Press (F10) when complete. ____________________________________________________________ This sample shows the simple search screen. All you need to do is enter the information you want to find. ____________________________________________________________ The * shows the end of the data being searched for in each field. The * was used instead of spaces, because you may want to search for data containing spaces. If you're searching on only a single field, enter the data being searched for next to the field it's to be located in. For example, if you're looking for JONES, you would move the cursor to the LastName field, then type JONES and press (F10). You can also search on multiple fields simultaneously. This is a more selective type of search. If you enter search data in multiple fields, all of the data must match before the record will be considered found. For example, you could enter SMITH into the LastName field, JOHN into the FirstName field, and MILWAUKEE into the City field. You would then be shown only the John Smiths that reside in Milwaukee. There are FOUR different ways you can enter the search information: 55 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ ONE: SCAN ACROSS If you precede the data with a ~ (tilde) character, PC-File+ will look for an occurrence of that data anywhere in the field. For example, if you type ~MIT, records will be returned which have "Smith", or "transmit", or "miter", etc. This is a full field scan type of search. TWO: GENERIC If you type MIT (without the ~ in front) records will be retrieved only if they start out with "mit" in the field, such as "miter", "mitten", etc. This type of search is fully generic - that is, all records will be retrieved when the data field begins with the search data. You can, for example, find all records with last names that start with "S", or find all records with zip codes starting with "980". Search TWO will proceed considerably faster than search ONE. Search ONE does a full field scan, therefore PC-File+ must look at every record in the database. In search TWO, however, PC-File+ can take advantage of its index file for very rapid retrieval. THREE: SOUNDEX Soundex searches retrieve records that sound the same as what you're looking for. You can do a soundex search on any field in your database. If you precede the search data with a ? (a question mark), a soundex search will be made. For example, if you enter ?RAWLINS, you'll get back records with "Rollings" , "Rollins", "Rawlings", and "Rawlins". Please note that the soundex method of locating names was not invented by the author of PC-File+. It's a computerized implementation of a standard name indexing method that was in use long before computers were invented. We have made one improvement to the standard soundex method. Standard soundex requires that you give the FIRST letter of the name correctly. PC-File+ will find a match even if the first character that you type only sounds like the first character of the name. For example, a search for "Case" would also find "Kase" and "Xase". 56 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ FOUR: WILDCARD A wildcard search finds records which have certain characters appearing in certain fixed positions within a field. Think of the wildcard character as the "I don't care what's at that spot" character. The wildcard character is an underscore (it's uppercase on the minus key on the PC keyboard) and it looks like this "_" (between the quote marks). When you enter the wildcard character as part of the search string, PC-File+ will accept any character found in that position. Here's an example. Suppose that the field DEPARTMENT is two positions long and we want to find all departments that have a "7" in the second position. A search for _7 will show records for department 07, department 17, department 27, etc. The wildcard character may not be used with soundex searches. 14.9.2 COMPLEX SEARCH The search capabilities via the Complex search option are spectacular - far more powerful than those of most other database programs. When you choose to do a complex search, you are given a window in which to enter your search command. The window looks like this: ╔═ Type your Find command 1:250 ══════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════ r:1 c:1 ═╝ You'll type your find command in this window. The window is only one line deep, but it's 250 characters wide. This means that you can keep typing your command, even after the cursor gets to the right end of the window. You'll see your command scroll to the left as you continue typing past the right edge of the window. You can type up to 250 characters into your find command. Here's a sample Find command: (NAME = "SMITH " | NAME = "JONES ") & CITY = "BOSTON" Translated into English, this says "Name equal to SMITH or Name equal to Jones, and City = Boston". 57 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ A more clear translation that takes the brackets into account is "Find anyone named JONES or SMITH in the city of BOSTON". Notice that the Find command has four components: ■ Parentheses to group things logically. These are the ( and the ) characters. You can use as many parentheses as necessary to clarify the comparison logic. ■ Logical operators. These are the | and the & characters. The | means OR. The & means AND. ■ Comparison operators. The comparison operators are: = Equal to != Not equal to > Greater than < Less than >= Greater than or equal to <= Less than or equal to ■ Data identifiers. Data identifiers are either FIELDS, CONSTANTS, or the RECORD NUMBER. A FIELD is simply the field name. You don't have to include the entire field name, only enough so that PC-File+ can locate the field. CONSTANTS always have a special character surrounding them. Here are the special "surrounding" characters and their meanings: " Generic (begins with) search data example: "SMITH" ~ Scan across search data example: ~ITH~ ? Soundex (sounds like) search data example: ?SMITH? The RECORD NUMBER is the sequential number of the record in the database. It's indicated by the # character. Spaces between components are not necessary, but can be used as much as you like to enhance readability of the command. Here are some example searches, to help you tie all of this information together. 58 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ Find all of the departments that don't contain a "Q" anywhere in the department number. DEPARTMENT != ~Q~ Find any name in Utah that doesn't sound like "Smith" and doesn't sound like "Young": (STATE = "UT" & (NAME != ?SMITH? & NAME != ?YOUNG?)) Find all of the managers in division 12 earning at least $4,000.00 per month: STATUS="M" & DIVISION = "12" & SALARY# >= "4000.00" Find all records whose record number is greater than 100: # > "100" 14.10 AFTER THE RECORD IS FOUND Whichever type of search you use, when a matching record is found it will be displayed. A box containing your options will also be displayed. The box looks like: ╔≥F≤═════════════╗ ║ D Delete ║ ║ M Modify ║ ║ F Find (cont.) ║ ║ S new Search ║ ║ E End of file ║ ║ B Beginning " ║ ║ N Next record ║ ║ P Prior record ║ ║ R get by Rcd# ║ ║ + browse down ║ ║ - browse up ║ ║ Q Quit finding ║ ╚════════════════╝ If you want to find more records which match the search criteria, just type F (for Find another) or press (Enter). The next record will be found and displayed. If you want to make changes to the record, type M. To delete the record, type D. Or, you can enter one of the other find commands indicated at the left side of the box. Each of these commands was 59 Finding a Record ____________________________________________________________ discussed above. 60 15.0 MODIFYING A RECORD Before you can modify a record in your database, you first need to find it. Read the section on finding records in the database. After you've found the record to be modified, press M. PC-File+ will display the entire record for you in the data entry format, and allow you to change data in any or all fields. You use the cursor movement keys, data keys, and the insert and delete keys to change the data on the screen. You can also use the field duplication key (Ctrl)F to copy data from the corresponding field in the previously viewed record. Don't forget about (Ctrl)W at this point either, which will write memorized data from memory into any of the fields. After you've modified the data on the screen, press (F10) to cause the changes to be accepted. You'll then be prompted to provide information for finding another record in the database. If you want to go back to the Master Menu screen at this time, just type Q or press (F10). 61 Modifying a Record ____________________________________________________________ 62 16.0 DELETING A RECORD Before you can delete a record, you first need to find the record to be deleted. Please refer to the section on finding records in the database. After the record has been found, you press D to delete it. Before the record is deleted, you'll be asked if you really intend to delete it. This is just a final check, in case you pressed D accidentally! If you decide that you really do wish to delete the record, type Y for "Yes". If you decide not to delete this record, type N. 63 Deleting a Record ____________________________________________________________ 64 17.0 SORTING THE DATABASE INDEX If you wish to have your output reports printed in a specific sequence, you should sort the database index. For example, to print your customer file in alphabetical order, by last name, you would first sort the database on Last_Name. If you don't care about the sequence of your output report, you won't need to do a sort before printing. 17.1 DEFINING THE SORT To sort the records, press (F7) or type S while viewing the Master Menu Screen. PC-File+ will list all the field names on your screen, and ask: "Sort field #1:". You should enter the name of the field you want sorted in the database. (Just enter enough of the field name to uniquely identify it.) If you want to sort on multiple fields, you should give the name of the most primary (i.e., most important) field in the sort sequence. For example, you may be producing an alphabetic listing by name. Within all of the SMITH names, you would want the sort to include the first names, so that all the JOHN SMITHs would appear together, followed by all the JUNE SMITHs. Sort field #1 in this example would be Last_Name, and sort field #2 would be First_Name. You'll be allowed to specify up to ten field names in the sort sequence. You can also pull out any portion of any field for use in sequencing. To do this, you enter the field name, followed by an offset, followed by a length. All three items are separated by commas. Example: DATE,7,2 This would sort on positions seven and eight of the date field, picking up only the last two digits. For many date fields, this would isolate the year for sorting. If your dates look like 10/27/87 you can get the entire field to sort correctly by entering: DATE,7,2 (sort field #1) DATE,1,5 (sort field #2) This is also a way of saving space required for the sort. 65 Sorting the Database Index ____________________________________________________________ For example, when sorting on LASTNAME, it's often only necessary to sort on the first six or seven characters of the name. The sort would run much faster if you specified: LASTNAME,1,6 (sorts on only the first 6 characters) instead of LASTNAME (sorts for the entire field length) As you enter each field name, you'll be asked "Ascending or Descending (A or D):". Ascending means from front to back, like A to Z. Descending means from back to front, like from Z to A. Answer accordingly. You can freely intermix ascending fields with descending fields. For example, you might wish to print a list of employee salaries, according to department. Each department will be listed in ascending sequence. Within each department, you would list salaries by descending sequence (so that the big earners show up on top). To produce this list, you would sort as follows: DEPARTMENT (Ascending) SALARY# (Descending) When you've finished identifying all the fields and their corresponding sequences, press (F10). Finally, you'll be asked to identify a work drive for the sort to use as a work area. The work drive will be used as work space by the sort. You must select a work drive that has enough empty space on it to contain the entire sort work file. This file is almost as large in size as the database index file. For example, if your database is called MYFILE, you can look at the size of the file called MYFILE.INX to see how large the sort work file will be. Also, to help with the speed of the sort, it's best to make the work drive different from the database data drive. However, if you have a hard disk or enough room in a RAM drive, put the work file there. The sort will now proceed and keep you informed of its status as it progresses. The sort status report is displayed on the screen so that you can view the progress of the sort. 66 Sorting the Database Index ____________________________________________________________ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ The sort is running ... ║ ║ Current activity: extracting block 2 ║ ╟─────────────────────────────────────────────╢ ║ Sort keys extracted: 253 ║ ║ Records Sorted: 130 ║ ║ Index entries built: ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════╝ The sort fields: (A) Department (D) Salary Basically, here's what you'll see on the screen. The sort extracts blocks of records. After each block is extracted it is sorted. Thus, you'll see a block get extracted. Then the block will be sorted. Then the next block will be extracted, etc. While each block is being extracted, the "Sort keys extracted:" count will be increased. Then after a block has been sorted, the "Records Sorted:" count will be increased. After all the records in the database have been extracted into blocks and sorted, the bottom line "Index entries built:" will start updating. At this point, the sort is in its final phase - making a new index for the database. After the index entries count reaches the total number of records, the sort is finished. The sort is very fast. You can expect the total sort time to be roughly 1,000 records per minute. This time will vary GREATLY, however, depending on RAM memory available, the sort sequence, the order of the existing data file, the speed of your disk drives, and the speed of your computer. A TECHNICAL NOTE: The sort is a Shell sort with multiple merges. The data file itself is not sorted. The Index file, which contains pointers to the data records, is sorted. This permits very large databases to be sorted at high speed. 67 Sorting the Database Index ____________________________________________________________ 17.2 RANDOM SORT FIELDS PC-File+ can sort in a random sequence. Random sequence is like shuffling a deck of cards. The records in your database will be placed in a random order. This may be used to create a random list of the entrants in an event. To accomplish a random sort, reply with RANDOM* when you are asked to enter the name of the sort field. 17.3 ROMAN NUMERAL SORT FIELDS PC-File+ can also sort Roman Numerals correctly. If one of your sort fields contains Roman Numerals, supply the field name, a comma, and an R when asked "Sort field #n". Example: CHAPTER,R 17.4 :P. PC-File+ can perform a Soundex (sounds like) sort. To do a Soundex sort, supply the field name, a comma, and an S when asked "Sort field #n". Example: LASTNAME,S. This would place all last names sounding alike together in the database. 68 18.0 PRINTING REPORTS PC-File+ has the power to print a report of any size on any size paper or form. Invoices, purchase orders and checks are no problem for PC-File+ with its powerful report command language. PC-File+ can generate a row format or one record per page format quickly and easily. PC-File+ can select records based on any number of comparisons. You can use multiple levels of selection criteria to isolate the specific records you want to print. PC-File+ supports any printer connected to either a parallel or serial port. In addition you can print a report to the screen or a disk file. To list records, press (F6) or type R while viewing the Master Menu. PC-File+ will then list the names of report formats that have been defined previously, and you will be prompted to choose a report format. If no report formats have been defined you will be prompted for the type of report format to create. Report format types will be discussed shortly. To choose a report format you can type the name of the format, move the cursor to the report format or type the number next to the format that you want to use. After using one of the above methods, press (F10) to enter your choice. If you want to define a new report format press (F10) with the cursor in the blank field. 18.1 CREATING REPORT FORMATS With PC-File+ you can create a simple listing, or a complex report to print invoices and other forms. There are four options when creating a report. ■ The PAGE format will print one record per page similar to the way the records appear when displayed on the screen. ■ The ROW format allows you to select particular fields to be printed on one line across the page. ■ The FREE FORM mode enables you to paint your report format using the screen as a guide to where the fields will print. ■ The COMMAND option allows you to create a new report 69 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ format or edit an existing report format by modifying the report format directly. To create a new report format, press (F6) or R at the Master Menu. If you are prompted for the report format to use, press (F10) with the cursor in the blank field. You will then be asked for the type of report format to use. If no report formats have been previously defined you will be prompted for the type of format immediately. 18.1.1 PAGE FORMAT To create a simple report format with one record per page, choose the first option P, Page format. This will print each record similar to the way the records are displayed on the screen. The figure below is an example of a Page Format report. EMPNUM 12323 MONTH JAN VOLUME 423.34 TRANSACTION 17 After PC-File+ has created a work file you will be asked if you want to save the format. Answer Y if you will ever want to use this report format again. You will then be asked to enter the name of the report. PC-File+ will save the format in a file with the name you supplied and the extension .REP. The file will be saved on the same drive and directory as the database. Next, the Report Menu will appear. The format has now been defined. To print the report, refer to the section on printing reports. 18.1.2 ROW FORMAT To define a report format with the data appearing in columns across the page, choose R for Row Format. You could also just press (F10) or (Enter) since R is the default answer. A screen similar to the one below will appear. 70 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Please number only the columns that you wish to print. │ │ Column 1 will print at the left, then column 2, etc. │ │ EMPNUM [2 ] │ │ MONTH [1 ] │ │ VOLUME# [ ] │ │ TRANSACTION#[3 ] │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ To choose which fields to print, enter a number next to the field. Enter the numbers in the order that you want the fields to be printed. Any fields without a number will not be printed. In the example above the fields will be printed in the order MONTH, EMPNUM and then TRANSACTION#. The VOLUME# field will not be printed as it does not have a number next to it. Once you have entered a number for all of the fields you want to list, press (F10). PC-File+ will list the fields side by side with one space between each field. If the report is to be printed to the screen, and is wider than 79 characters, only the first 79 characters of each line will be displayed. When sending a report to the printer, the width should not be more than the printer can print on one line. The manual for your printer should indicate the maximum number of characters that can be printed per line. PC-File+ will then ask for the title of the report. If you enter a title, this title will be used each time the report is printed. If you do not enter a title, you will be prompted for the title of the report each time it is printed. This is useful when you want to use the same format but use a different title each time the report is printed. An example would be if you were printing a quarterly report that used the same fields but needed the specific quarter referenced. After you have entered the title of the report or pressed (Enter), you will be asked if you want to save the report format. If you respond Y you will be asked for the name of the report. Once the name has been entered the report will be written to disk with the extension .REP. Below is an example of how the row format will look when printed. 71 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ First Quarter Report Page 1 MON EMPNUM TRA === ====== === JAN 12323 17 FEB 12323 24 MAR 12323 15 JAN 19645 35 FEB 19645 20 MAR 19645 27 -------------------------------------- TOTALS: TRANSACTION 138.00 Numeric fields will generate totals and subtotals at the appropriate place in the report. Numeric fields are fields with names that end with a "#". If you want to suppress totals or subtotals for a field you will need to either edit the report format or remove the # sign from the field name. For more information on editing report formats see the section on Commands. 18.1.3 FREE FORM PC-File+ allows you to define a report by painting it on the screen. This is called the Free Form format. The fields are placed on the screen where you want them to print on the paper. A Free Form report can be patterned after another format that has been saved. After choosing F, Free Form format, you will be asked if you want to pattern the new report after an existing report. If you respond Y you will be shown a list of existing reports and asked which format to use. After choosing a report format, the editing window will appear with the old report format on the screen. 72 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ ╔══ 150:220 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ :COVER-------------------------------------------------- ║ ║ First Quarter Report ║ ║ :HEADING------------------------------------------------ ║ ║ Page @@@ ║ ║ EMPNUM MON VOLUME TRANSACTION ║ ║ ====== === ======= === ║ ║ :DETAIL------------------------------------------------- ║ ║ @@@@@@ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@ ║ ║ :SUBTOTAL----------------------------------------------- ║ ║ -------------------------------------- ║ ║ SUBTOTAL: VOLUME @@@,@@@,@@@.@@ ║ ║ TRANSACTION @@@,@@@,@@@.@@ ║ ║ -------------------------------------- ║ ║ :FOOTING------------------------------------------------ ║ ║ :TOTAL-------------------------------------------------- ║ ║ TOTALS: VOLUME @@@,@@@,@@@.@@ ║ ║ TRANSACTION @@@,@@@,@@@.@@ ║ ╚ (F1,F2)Cut (F3,F4)Paste (F5,F6)Del (F10)Done ═ r:21 c:1 ═╝ If you reply N when asked whether to pattern the new report after an existing report, a blank report format will appear in the editing window. Under each section of the report will be a brief description of the type of information to enter into that section. A report format consists of up to six sections. These sections are the COVER, HEADING, DETAIL, SUBTOTAL, TOTAL and FOOTING sections. Each section controls a specific part of the report. If a section is not included in a report format that portion of the report is not printed. Each section is described below. ■ COVER - The cover section is used to print text once at the beginning of a report. This is useful when you want to include a cover page or want to have something at the beginning of the report. ■ HEADING - The information in the heading section is printed at the top of each page. The heading is usually used to print titles, page numbers and column headings at the top of each page. ■ DETAIL - The detail section supplies the information that tells PC-File+ which fields to print and where to print them. Everything located in the detail section will be printed once for each record selected. ■ SUBTOTAL - The subtotal section is only printed when a subtotal break is requested. Each time a subtotal break occurs, the subtotal section will be printed. The subtotal section can be used to print subtotals for 73 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ numeric fields, text or blank lines. ■ TOTAL - The total section is printed at the end of a report after all of the records have been printed. Items that usually appear in the total section include totals for numeric fields, number of records printed and the selection criteria. ■ FOOTING - The footing section is printed at the end of each page. Information in the footing section can include items such as a page number, blank lines or strings of text. The DETAIL section is the only section which can contain actual fields from the database. All sections can contain system field commands (DATE*, PAGE*, etc.) and constants or text information. When creating a Free Form report format there are some important things to remember. 1. Any line with a ■ (short block) symbol in the first position is considered to be a comment line and will not be placed in the report format. 2. Anything that is typed in the editing window, other than the @ sign will be interpreted as a constant (text) in the report. 3. Any @ sign will be interpreted as a field in the database, a calculation or a system field. 4. There must be at least one space between each field (set of @ signs). When editing a report format, you will use the editing window. For more information on using the editing window see the section "Using the Built-in Editor." To draw the report, move the cursor to the location on the screen where you want data to print. If the data is a string of text such as a title or field heading, type in the text from the keyboard. When you want to place a field from the database enter a series of @ signs to indicate the length of the field to print. For example if you were to enter ten @ signs where a field with a length of 20 is to be printed, only the first 10 characters of that field will print. With numeric fields you can format a field to include commas and decimal points. If the string @@@,@@@.@@ were entered on the screen, the field printed at that location would be 74 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ formatted with the comma and decimal point. As an example the data 100000.59 would be printed as 100,000.59, the data 957 would be printed as 957.00. ╔ 150:220 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ :HEADING------------------------------------------------ ║ ║ MONTHLY SALES REPORT Page @@@ ║ ║ ║ ║ EMPNUM MONTH TRANS VOLUME AVG ║ ║ ------ ----- ----- --------- --------- ║ ║ :DETAIL------------------------------------------------- ║ ║ @@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @@,@@@.@@ @@,@@@.@@ ║ ║ :SUBTOTAL----------------------------------------------- ║ ║ ------------ ║ ║ SUBTOTAL: @,@@@,@@@.@@ ║ ║ ║ ║ :TOTAL-------------------------------------------------- ║ ║ ------------ ║ ║ TOTAL: @@,@@@,@@@.@@ ║ ║ ║ ║ :FOOTING------------------------------------------------ ║ ║ *** CONFIDENTIAL *** ║ ║ Page @@@ ║ ║ ║ ╚ (F1,F2)Cut (F3,F4)Paste (F5,F6)Del (F10)Done ═ r:26 c:1 ═╝ EMPNUM(5) MONTH(3) VOLUME#(7) TRANSACTION#(3) In the example above, the heading section is used to print the field titles and a title for the report. This will be printed at the top of each page. The detail section has a total of five fields. The first four are fields in the database. The last field, AVG, will be a calculation of VOLUME divided by TRANSACTION. The report also contains a subtotal and total calculation that will be the sum of the VOLUME field. Page numbers have been included at the top and bottom of each page. Any blank lines that are left in the layout will be printed as blank lines. The example above includes a blank line at the end of the subtotal, total and footing sections. The lines used in the heading and footing sections will determine how much of a top and bottom margin are used. The .FF command can be used to cause the printer to skip to the top of the next page. This command would be useful at the end of the cover page or a subtotal break to start a new page. The report layout can be up to 220 characters wide by 150 lines long. You can use as many lines in each section as are required to enter the report format. If a section is not needed in a report it may be deleted. Any instructions 75 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ or blank lines that are not needed can also be deleted. After you have finished laying out the report on the screen press (F10). You will be prompted for the information to fill in the field blanks. These blanks are the series of @ signs that you placed in the report format to represent the fields. One by one PC-File+ will move through each set of @ signs. PC-File+ will display the field that it is asking about as a series of ? symbols. PC-File+ will first ask you whether the marked space is a field or a calculation. If you respond F, PC-File+ will display a list of the fields in the database. Choose the field that you want to have printed at this location on the report. Field names that end with the # character will be taken as numeric fields. When you choose a field without a # character at the end you will be asked whether the field is a numeric or character field. If you respond with C when asked whether a marked field is a field or calculation, you will be prompted for the calculation to perform. A calculation can include any field in the database, a constant, a relational lookup or a system variable. The calculation can be up to 250 characters long and can have nested parentheses. To have a field perform a relational lookup you would use C when asked whether the field is a field or a calculation. A relational lookup is used to retrieve information from another PC-File database based on a common field in the two databases. When a field is marked in the Heading section, you will be prompted for which type of system variable to use. Fields in the Heading section can only be system variables. Fields marked in the Subtotal and Total sections can be a system variable or represent a total calculation for a field. Choose the T option when prompted to have a marked field be a total for the report or subtotal break. You will then be asked which field to total. To use a system variable select S and then choose the system variable to use. The system variables that are available in the Free Form report format are listed below. 76 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ a. Today's date b. The current time c. The page number d. Total records in database e. The selection criteria f. The primary sort field g. Quantity in the subtotal group h. Field name of subtotal field i. Data from the subtotal field j. Count of records printed k. Request operator input Once all of the fields have been identified, PC-File+ will ask if you want to save the report format. If you respond Y you will be asked to enter the name for the file. The program will then proceed to the Report Menu. 18.1.4 COMMANDS CREATING AND EDITING REPORT FORMATS The Command option allows you to create and modify report formats. The Command feature can be used to generate a report format from scratch. In most cases a report would be created using either the Page, Row or Free form option. If you need to be edit the report format you would use the Command option. To create or edit a report format type R from the Master Menu or press (F6). When prompted for the report format to use press (F10). To create a new report, type C. To edit an existing format type E. When creating a report format from scratch, a blank editing window listing the section titles will appear. The commands can be entered in each section to produce the desired report format. Any sections that are not needed can be deleted. When editing a format, the report is loaded into the editor. The cursor and editing keys work the same way as discussed in the section on using the editor. After the edit session is complete, press (F10). PC-File+ will ask for the name to save the report under. The default answer is the original format name. To save the format with a different name, type in the new name and press (Enter). After the report has been saved PC-File+ will move to the Report Menu. 77 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ REPORT COMMANDS When creating or editing a report format the editing window functions the same as when creating a free form report or using the letter writer. Here are the commands available for use in a report format: Command Syntax Command function -------------- ---------------- [xxx] database field <xxx> compressed database field [xxx,s,l] partial field, (s)tart,(l)ength [COUNT*] number of records printed [DATE*] system date [KEYIN*] prompt for operator input [PAGE*] page number [RECORD*] current record number [RECORDS*] number of records in database [SELECT*] selection criteria [SORT*] primary sort field [SUBCOUNT*] number of records in subtotal group [SUBFLD*] field name of subtotal break field [SUBID*] data from subtotal break field [TIME*] system time A nn,nn ASCII control codes =nn tab to column nn /n insert n lines .FF formfeed .CP n conditional page `x total bucket (a+b) calculation (#) record number (@F1,DB,F2,F3) relational lookup :@@@@@: edit mask for text field :zzz,zz#.##: edit mask for numeric field DATABASE FIELD COMMANDS To print a field from the database you must use one of the field designators. The first option would be to include the field name inside square brackets. This will cause the field to print and retain any spaces in the field. If pointed brackets are used, blank spaces in the field will be removed. It is possible to print only a portion of a field by entering the field name followed by the character position to start at and the number of characters to print. Examine 78 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ the report format shown below. Report Format | Database Record --------------- | ----------------- | EMPNUM [32472] :DETAIL | MONTH [JAN] [VOLUME] | VOLUME [4.34 ] [TRANSACTION] | TRANSACTION [17 ] /1 | <VOLUME> | <TRANSACTION> | /1 | [VOLUME,1,3] | [TRANSACTION,2,1] | /2 | When the report format is printed with the data shown, the output will appear as follows: Printed Report ---------------- VOLUME TRNS ------- --- 4.34 17 - square brackets 4.3417 - pointed brackets 4.3 7 - portion of field It is possible to print a string of text for each record. These strings are known as constants. Constants are used to print headings, titles and similar items on a report format. When a constant is used in a report format it must be surrounded by quotes ("). Notice how constants are used in the example below. :COVER =30 "ACME CHEMICAL COMPANY" /1 =32 "YEAR END REPORT" SYSTEM FIELD COMMANDS System fields can be used to print specific information concerning the report. System fields include the number of records that are printed, page numbers, the sort sequence, number of records in the database and other information. 79 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ "Printed " <COUNT*>:zz,zz#: " of the " <RECORDS*>:zz,zz#: " records." /1 "PRIMARY SORT FIELD: " <SORT*>:@@@@@@@@@@@@: "SELECTION CRITERIA: " <SELECT*> This part of a report format would print out the number of records that were printed, how the database is sorted and the selection criteria. The following example demonstrates how PC-File+ would prompt you for the title of the report or any other information which you might want to display when the report is printed. :HEADING <KEYIN*TITLE LINE:> The syntax is the KEYIN* command followed by the prompt message you want to have appear when PC-File+ asks for the information. System fields that are available in a report format are listed below. ■ [COUNT*] - lists the number of records that have been printed. ■ [DATE*] - prints the system date. ■ [KEYIN*] - prompts for input from operator during printing. ■ [PAGE*] - prints the current page number of the report. ■ [RECORD*] - lists the record number of the record being printed. ■ [RECORDS*] - prints the total number of records in the database. ■ [SELECT*] - prints the selection criteria entered for the report. ■ [SORT*] - lists the primary sort field for the database. ■ [SUBCOUNT*] - lists the number of records printed in a subtotal break. ■ [SUBFLD*] - lists the field name of subtotal break field ■ [SUBID*] - lists the data from subtotal break field ■ [TIME*] - prints the system time. 80 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ PAGE FORMAT COMMANDS There are several commands that allow you to tell PC-File+ where to print the fields. These commands control tabbing, line feeds and when to skip to the top of a new page. The =nn command controls the print location horizontally. If you want to have a field print in the middle of a line you must use the =nn command to move the print head across the page before printing the field. The nn indicates how many spaces to tab over. For example, the command =40 would tab over 40 characters from the left side of the page, =73 would tab 73 characters from the left side of the page. To cause the report to line feed down the page you would use the /n command. The /n command will cause the printer to move down n number of lines. To skip down five lines you would use the command /5. The only time PC-File+ will move to a new line is when a /n command is encountered. If you want to have more than one line you would use the /n command. An example would be if there are two lines of text in a heading, you would need to have a /1 command to have the second line print under the first. NOTE: /1 and / are interchangeable. Both will cause the printer to start a new line. The .FF and .CP n commands allow you to skip to a new page. The .FF command will cause the printer to skip to the next page even if the current page is not full. This is useful when printing a cover page at the beginning of a report or if you want to skip to a new page after a subtotal break. The .CP n command also skips to a new page, but only if there is less than n lines left on a page. An example of the command might be .CP 8 When this command is encountered PC-File+ will check to see how many lines are left between where it is currently printing and the end of the page. If there are less than eight lines left, the printer will skip to the next page. This command is referred to as the Conditional Page command. It is possible to have PC-File+ use type sizes other than normal and condensed. This is done with the A nn,nn command. This command tells PC-File+ to send the ASCII characters listed after the A to the printer. Using the A nn,nn command you can cause the printer to print a certain field in a different type size or you could even have a complete section print in a different type size. This would be useful if you wanted to have a specific field print in bold print or have all of the totals print in italics. For example, if you wanted PC-File+ to print condensed print on an Epson printer, you would enter, A 15. The following example demonstrates uses for the page layout or format 81 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ commands. :COVER A 27,71 /5 =30 "ACME CHEMICAL COMPANY" /1 =32 "YEAR END REPORT" .FF :HEADING =5 "EMPNUM" =15 "VOLUME" /1 =5 "------" =15 "------" :DETAIL =5 A 27,69 [EMPNUM] A 27,70 =15 [VOLUME] /1 :TOTAL .CP 6 "--------------------------------------" /1 "Printed " <COUNT*>:zz,zz#: " of the " <RECORDS*>:zz,zz#: " records." /1 :FOOTING /5 CALCULATION COMMANDS & MASKS A calculation can use a field in the database, a system field, a constant, a total bucket or a relational lookup. A calculation must be surrounded by parentheses and can include embedded parentheses. When performing a calculation, field names and constants can be entered as they appear in the database, no brackets or parentheses are required. A system field or a total bucket must be surrounded by square brackets. Relational calculations (or 82 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ lookups) must be surrounded by parentheses and must follow the format shown in the section "Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant or Calc." (VOLUME/TRANSACTION) ([`a]/[COUNT*]) (VOLUME*([RECORDS*]/TRANSACTION) (VOLUME*(@EMPNUM,COMM,EMPNUM,RATE)) A total bucket is used to keep a running total for a field. To use a total bucket, place an ` (backward apostrophe, not ') and the bucket letter at the end of the field to keep totals for. The bucket is placed in the detail section and can be any letter from a to z in either upper or lower case. To print a total bucket place the bucket inside square brackets. Below is an example of both a total bucket for a field, printing a total bucket and a calculation with a total bucket. [SALES]:zzz,zz#.##:`c [`c] ([`c]/[COUNT*]):z,zz#.##: When a field or calculation is printed, it is possible to format the data that will be printed. Fields containing text can only be formatted as to the number of characters that are printed. Numeric fields can be formatted for the number of characters to print, the location of commas and decimal points and parts of the field that will always be printed. To format a text field use a series of @ signs surrounded by colons to represent how many characters to print for that field. Numeric fields and calculations are formatted by adding the combination of lower case z's, # signs and commas or decimals. When a lower case z appears, PC-File+ will only print something if there is a character in that position of the field. When a # sign appears in a mask the position marked by the # sign is forced to print. If there is no data in that position a zero is printed. Commas and decimal points in an edit mask will print as discussed in the Free Form section. The example below demonstrates several edit mask possibilities. :DETAIL [MONTH]:@@@: [VOLUME]:zz,zz#.##: (VOLUME*TRANSACTION):z,zzz,zz#.##: 83 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ 18.2 PRINTING REPORTS After you choose a report format, create a new format or edit an old format, PC-File+ will display the Report Menu. You can now set the printing options for the report. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ REPORT MENU │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Output to Printer, Screen, or Disk P/S/D [P] │ │ Number of copies 1-9 [1] │ │ Do Detail lines? Y/N [Y] │ │ Do Subtotals? Y/N [N] │ │ Left margin (extra spaces) 0-99 [ 0] │ │ Page length (in "lines") [ 66] │ │ Type size (Normal/Compressed) N/C [N] │ │ Remove blank lines and spaces Y/N [N] │ │ Flip~data active Y/N [Y] │ │ Print All or Selected records A/S [A] │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 18.2.1 OUTPUT DEVICE PC-File+ can print a report to the printer, screen or disk. To select the output device, enter P, S, or D. If you select Printer as the output device, PC-File+ will print to the printer port selected in the configuration setup. The default is the first parallel port. If your printer is connected to another port, you must modify the configuration setup appropriately before printing a report. When printing to disk you will be prompted for the output filespec. This is the drive, path and file name that you want to print the report to. For example, you might enter C:\PCF\TEMP.LST. This would print the report into the file TEMP.LST, on the C drive, in the PCF directory. 18.2.2 NUMBER OF COPIES The second option on the Report Menu is the number of copies to print. PC-File+ can print up to nine copies of a report in one printing. 84 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ 18.2.3 DETAIL LINES PC-File+ allows you to omit the detail lines when printing a report. This is useful when only the subtotal information is required and the detail lines are not needed. To omit the detail lines change the response to N. Normally the detail lines will be printed as Y is the default answer. 18.2.4 SUBTOTAL BREAKS A subtotal break allows you to insert a break or space between related records. This is helpful to break a report into groups, such as months or departments. If you have numeric fields, the subtotal of those fields will print for the records in that group or subtotal. The "Do Subtotals" parameter specifies whether or not to use a subtotal break for the report being printed. PC-File+ can perform a subtotal break on any field in the database. It is best to use the subtotal break on the same field that the database is sorted on. This allows for a much more organized report and avoids having related pieces of data spread throughout the report. If you want a subtotal break, enter Y at the "Do Subtotals?" prompt. You will then be asked for the field to use for the subtotal break. Answer acordingly. The example below shows a report using a subtotal break on the EMPNUM field. Monthly Sales Figures - First Quarter 1991 EMPNUM MONTH VOLUME TRANSACTIONS AVERAGE ====== === ====== === ======= 12323 JAN 423.34 17 24.90 12323 FEB 545.35 24 22.72 12323 MAR 234.21 15 15.61 ------------------------------- 1,202.90 56 21.48 19645 JAN 879.56 35 25.13 19645 FEB 758.24 20 37.91 19645 MAR 834.94 27 30.92 ------------------------------- 2,472.74 82 30.15 Notice how each time the EMPNUM data changes, the subtotals for the previous records are printed. When printing with subtotal breaks it is also possible to 85 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ print using group highlighting. This avoids having the subtotal field repeat unnecessarily. To use group highlighting simply respond Y when prompted. The example below shows group highlighting for the first subtotal break. Monthly Sales Figures - First Quarter 1991 EMPNUM MONTH VOLUME TRANSACTIONS AVERAGE ====== === ====== === ======= 12323 JAN 423.34 17 24.90 FEB 545.35 24 22.72 MAR 234.21 15 15.61 ------------------------------- 1,202.90 56 21.48 It is also possible to perform a subtotal break when only a portion of a field changes. Using the example above, let's say the first two digits of each employee number represent the department they work in. To generate a report where the subtotal break occurs at the end of each department you would need to indicate EMPNUM,1,2. This will cause a subtotal break to occur when the first two characters or the EMPNUM field change. 18.2.5 LEFT MARGIN The Left Margin parameter allows you to imbed extra spaces on the left side of your report. This is especially useful when you want to have a left margin on your report or when printing with an automatic sheet feeder in the center of the printer. 18.2.6 PAGE LENGTH The fifth option allows you to set the page length for the report you are printing. This makes it easy to print on different size paper or forms without changing the profile setup. The page length will default to the setting in the profile. To change the number of lines per page, enter the new page length. The number of lines printed per page will be calculated by subtracting the number of header and footer lines from the page length. Using this formula PC-File+ will automatically calculate how many lines of data it can print on each page. 86 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ 18.2.7 PRINT SIZE PC-File+ can print a report using one of two pre-defined print sizes. These sizes are determined by the printer control codes set by the /NORMAL and /CONDENSED commands in the profile. The Type size parameter on the report menu specifies which size to use for your report. You should always use compressed print if your report is wider than your printer can print on one line using normal print. If you print a report that the printer cannot print on one line, the printer will either wrap each line of the report to the next line or it will print off the edge of the paper. The following table shows the maximum number of characters you can print on one line with various print sizes and paper widths. ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ Type Size │ ┌─────────┼────────┬─────────────────┤ │ Paper │ Normal │ Compressed │ │ Width │ 10 CPI │ 15 CPI 17 CPI │ ├─────────┼────────┼────────┬────────┤ │ 8.5 │ 80 │ 120 │ 132 │ │ 11.0 │ 105 │ 158 │ 178 │ │ 14.0 │ 136 │ 204 │ 232 │ └─────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┘ (CPI indicates Characters Per Inch) 18.2.8 BLANK LINES AND SPACES The "Remove blank lines and spaces" option allows you to print reports with extra spaces and blank lines removed. This is especially useful when you want to print labels from within PC-File+. Likewise, it can be used when printing regular reports to remove spaces between certain fields or remove extra blank lines that make the report appear spread out. PC-File+ will remove blank lines and spaces whenever there is one empty line or one empty space between fields. If there is more than one empty line or more than one empty space defined between the fields those fields will hold their position. 87 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ :DETAIL =20 [DUE_DATE] /2 [FIRSTNAME] [LASTNAME] /1 [COMPANY] /1 [ADDRESS] /1 [CITY] [STATE] =20 [ZIP] /2 When the report above is printed, it will produce a label with the extra spaces and blank lines removed. 01/01/91 ROBERT SMITH 1234 MAIN ST SEATTLE WA 98101 Notice that there are still two lines between the DUE_DATE field and the name fields. This is because of the /2 command between the fields in the report format. The blank line where the company would have been printed has been removed. The zip code is still printed 20 characters to the right because of the tab (=20) command. Locations that are tabbed to will never be compressed out, or moved further to the left. 18.2.9 FLIP DATA PC-File+ will normally flip the data in a field containing the flip character, ~ . You can suppress the flip action by entering Y to the Flip~data option. 88 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ 18.2.10 SELECTED RECORDS The last option on the Report Menu allows you to specify whether to print all or selected records from a database. The default answer is A for all records. If you choose selected records you will be prompted whether to use a simple or complex search. Refer to the section on finding records for information on simple and complex searches. 18.2.11 FINAL OUTPUT After you have answered the questions on the Report Menu, press (F10). At this point you will be prompted for information about subtotals and selected records if these options were selected. Once all of the information has been entered, PC-File+ will bring up the first record to be printed, unless the report is being printed to the screen. You will be asked whether to print the record. This is the second level of selection. You have the option to print only certain records from the group selected. You may enter Y to print the current record and move on to the next, N to skip the record and move on, X to have PC-File+ stop asking and print all of the records that meet the selection criteria, or Q to stop printing the report. If you press (Esc) or Q when printing a report, the printing process will terminate and you will be told that the report has been completed. After pressing (Enter) you will return to the Master Menu. 18.3 ADVANCED REPORT TECHNIQUES 18.3.1 QUICK COMPLEX REPORTS To speed up the process of creating complex reports you can first create a report using the Page, Row or Free Form formats. This will allow you to create the basic report quickly and then go back using the Command Edit function to put in the finishing touches. This is especially useful for adding things such as totals for calculated fields or averages for total buckets. In order to calculate averages you would divide the total bucket for a field by the number of records that were printed. PC-File+ keeps track of the total buckets at two levels. The first level is reset at the beginning of each subtotal break. The second level is only reset at the 89 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ beginning of a report. This allows you to generate totals and calculate averages at subtotal breaks as well as the end of the report. You do not need to worry about which level is used, PC-File+ will choose the level depending on where the bucket is referenced in the report. 18.3.2 PRINTER CONTROL CODES PC-File+ uses the /NORMAL and /CONDENSED commands to specify the general print size for reports. It is possible to use other control codes within a report format to specify various printer attributes. Control codes are useful for changing print size and style, or color. You could set up a report so that the headings are printed in bold type or highlight a field with italic print. PC-File+ makes using printer control codes even easier than previous versions. The A NN,NN command allows you to use any printer code anywhere in a report format. To change the print style in a report, imbed the A nn,nn command on a line by itself. The nn represents the decimal value of an ASCII character. As an example, A 27,69 will send the characters ESC and E to the printer to produce bold print on an Epson printer. To print a single field in bold type you would insert a line before the field (in the detail section) to turn bold printing on, A 27,69. After the field there would be a line that reads A 27,70 to turn the bold print off again. PC-File+ will accept up to 67 characters for the A nn,nn command, the length of a line in the report editor. This is sufficient for most printers. When using a laser printer which tends to require long ASCII strings in order to select a font, it may be necessary to divide a long string into two or more parts. 18.3.3 MAILING LABELS It is possible to print mailing labels in a 1-up format from within PC-File+. The simplest way to create a label format is to use the Free Form format. In the detail section, lay out the fields as you want them to appear. The detail section should contain the same number of lines as are on the labels you will be printing to. If the label has six lines there should be six lines in the detail section. This includes blank lines. Any lines in sections other than the detail section should be removed. 90 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ When printing the report you should use the "Remove blank lines and spaces" command on the Report Menu. This will cause extra spaces and empty lines to be compressed. If you're printing directly onto envelopes rather than onto labels and want the printer to pause after each envelope is printed, use .FF at the end of the detail section. This will signal PC-File+ to send a form feed to the printer ejecting the envelope. Each record should be allowed to print before starting the next record. You should not respond X when prompted "Output this one? Y,N,X or Q". Instead, press Y as each label is printed, pausing to insert the next envelope before pressing Y again. 91 Printing Reports ____________________________________________________________ 92 19.0 USING THE LETTER WRITING FEATURES PC-File+ has a built-in letter writing and mail merge feature. With the letter writing feature, you can create a form letter and then merge data from your database with the letter to create personalized letters. 19.1 CREATING YOUR LETTER Letter writing in PC-File+ is accessed from the Master Menu Screen by pressing (F5) or typing L. If you do not have any previously saved letters, you will be taken immediately to the letter screen. If you have previously saved any letters, you will be shown a list of the letters. If you want to create a new letter, place the cursor on the blank line and press (F10). If you want to use an existing letter, move the cursor to the line containing the letter and press (F10). 93 Using the Letter Writing Features ____________________________________________________________ The letter screen looks like: Press (F10) when letter is ready to print. You can include these commands in your letter: .<field> .[field] .<KEYIN*> .<DATE*> .GROUP .EGROUP .FORMFEED ╔ Type your letter 260:90 ════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚ (F1,F2)Cut (F3,F4)Paste (F5,F6)Del (F10)Done ═ r:1 c:1 ╝ Last_Name (15) First_Name (12) Address1 (20) Address2(20) City (15) State (2) Zip_Code (10) Home_Phone (12) Children#(2) Comments (145) Above the editing window, you will see a brief summary of the types of mail merge commands you can include in your letter. The top line of the editing window displays the size of the window 260:90. You can use up to 90 columns per line, and up to 260 lines. Below the editing window, you will see a list of the field names in your database. The length of each field will be displayed in parentheses next to the field name. You can now create or edit the letter. You can include all or some of the mail merge commands. You can include data in all fields or selected fields, calculations or relational lookups. After you have finished writing your letter, press (F10). You will be asked if you want to save the letter. If you answer Y, you will be asked to provide a name for the letter. PC-File+ will automatically include the .LTR file extension. 94 Using the Letter Writing Features ____________________________________________________________ 19.2 THE MAIL MERGE COMMANDS The merge commands are typed into your letter just like standard text. However, PC-File+ recognizes the special characters in the merge commands and replaces them with data from the database. The merge commands all start with a period. Here are the merge commands, and their meanings: .<fieldname> This is a variable substitution. Data will be extracted from the field indicated. Then, the excess spaces to the right and left of the data will be removed, and the result will be inserted into the letter. Replace "fieldname" above with the name of a field in your database. You can use an abbreviated field name. .[fieldname ] This is a fixed length substitution. Data will be extracted from the field indicated, but no spaces will be inserted or removed. Instead, the data will be placed into the space allocated in your letter as indicated by the left and right square brackets. This is useful for lining up data in columns. Replace "fieldname" above with the name of the field in your database. You can use an abbreviated field name. .<KEYIN*msg> The .<KEYIN*msg> command is used when you want PC-File+ to pause to accept input from the keyboard operator. You can type the information you want inserted in the letter. Press (Enter) to tell PC-File+ you are finished entering data. You can replace "msg" with an appropriate message. When PC-File+ processes the .<KEYIN*msg> command, the message you entered will be displayed on the screen. For example, if you wanted PC-File+ to remind the operator to enter a particular product, you would include the command .<KEYIN*product>. If you remove the message from the KEYIN command (.<KEYIN*>), no message will be displayed when PC-File+ stops for input. Note: The letter writer won't automatically reformat your line for you, so you need to be careful that the information you will be typing doesn't exceed the length you planned for when drafting the letter. 95 Using the Letter Writing Features ____________________________________________________________ .<DATE*> You may be printing this letter in the future. Rather than typing in the exact date, then changing it each time you get ready to print letters, you can use the .<DATE*> command. PC-File+ will pull in the system date. Note: If your computer does not have a clock calendar, you will need to enter the date by using the DOS DATE command. .GROUP This causes all following lines to be treated as a group, until an .EGROUP command is encountered. All blank lines within a .GROUP of lines will be removed. If a record doesn't have anything in a particular field there won't be a blank line. .EGROUP This ends a .GROUP. If any blank lines are found in a .GROUP, they will be removed. .EGROUP R This is another form of the .EGROUP command, except that the blank lines that were removed will be re-inserted at this point. This is used if you need to maintain exact line spacing in your letter. .FORMFEED This is how you tell PC-File+ when to skip to a new page. If your letter is only one page long, .FORMFEED should be placed on the last line of the letter. If your letter is several pages long, place one .FORMFEED between each page of the letter and one on the last line of the letter. .FF Same as .FORMFEED above. .CP nn This is the Conditional Page command. The .CP N command skips to a new page, but only if there is less than nn lines left on a page. An example of the command might be .CP 8. When this command is encountered PC-File+ will check to see how many lines are left between where it is currently printing and the end of the page. If 96 Using the Letter Writing Features ____________________________________________________________ there are less than eight lines left, the printer will skip to the next page. .<(calculated field)> You can place a calculated field in your letter. This field has the same format as calculated fields in reports. The answer will be placed at this location in your printed letter. EXAMPLE: .<(AGE*364.25):ZZ,ZZ#.## .<(relational lookup)> You can do a relational lookup into other databases. This field has the same format as relational lookup fields in reports. The lookup value will be inserted in your letter at this location. EXAMPLE: .<(@PARTNO,PARTSDB,PART,DESC):@@@@@ 19.3 AN EXAMPLE LETTER 97 Using the Letter Writing Features ____________________________________________________________ Let's look at an example letter. Press (F10) when letter is ready to print. You can include these commands in your letter: .<field> .[field] .<KEYIN*> .<DATE*> .GROUP .EGROUP .FORMFEED ╔ Type your letter 260:90 ════════════════════════════╗ ║ .<DATE*> ║ ║ .GROUP ║ ║ .<FIRSTNAME> .<LASTNAME> ║ ║ .<ADDRESS> ║ ║ .<CITY>, .<STATE> .<ZIP> ║ ║ .EGROUP ║ ║ Dear .<SALUTATION> .<LASTNAME>: ║ ║ ║ ║ According to our records, you owe ║ ║ us $.<(CHARGES-PAYMENTS+BALANCE):zz,zz#.##:>. ║ ║ ║ ║ Please pay up, you .<KEYIN*insult>!!! ║ ║ ║ ║ Sincerely, ║ ║ Acme Loan Company ║ ║ .FORMFEED ║ ╚ (F1,F2)Cut (F3,F4)Paste (F5,F6)Del (F10)Done ═ r:1 c:1 ╝ FIRSTNAME(12) LASTNAME (15) SALUTATION (4) ADDRESS(20) CITY (15) STATE (2) ZIP (5) CHARGES (10) PAYMENTS (10) BALANCE (10) The .GROUP and .EGROUP commands will keep your address information all grouped together, even if the field called ADDRESS is empty in some of the records. The .<SALUTATION> (i.e., Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss), along with the .<FIRSTNAME> and .<LASTNAME>, of each record selected will be plugged in for you. The same holds true for .<ADDRESS>, .<CITY>, .<STATE>, and .<ZIP>. Each one will be placed exactly where you want it in the letter. All of this information is taken out of each record selected by PC-File+. PC-File+ then performs the calculation, and inserts the answer in the body of the letter. PC-File+ will stop on the line containing the .<KEYIN*insult> command and wait for keyboard input. A message will be displayed reminding you to type an insult. After you have typed your reply, press (Enter) and PC-File+ will print your reply and continue with the rest of the letter. 98 Using the Letter Writing Features ____________________________________________________________ The .FORMFEED you see at the bottom of the letter means that this letter is done. The paper will now be skipped to a new page for the next letter. 19.4 PRINTING LETTERS The letter you've just created is now ready to be printed. You will be shown a menu of print options. For more information on this menu, please refer to the section on printing reports. 19.5 DOING LETTERS WITH YOUR OWN WORD PROCESSOR If your word processor saves data in a pure ASCII format, you can use it to create letters for use with PC-File+. Be sure that the letters you create with your word processor are saved with the file extension .LTR. 99 Using the Letter Writing Features ____________________________________________________________ 100 20.0 PRINTING MAILING LABELS PCLABEL can do a very nice job of producing mailing labels from any database. Excess spaces and empty lines will be automatically removed. Labels can be produced in the standard 1-up format, or you can optionally produce them multi-up in a side by side format. PCLABEL has been provided as a standalone program on your PC-File+ disk. PCLABEL works with all kinds of files - not just PC-File databases. It will also handle files consisting of pure ASCII information, comma delimited files, and address files created by PC-Type+. 20.1 RUNNING PCLABEL PCLABEL is a standalone program. To start PCLABEL, you must type PCLABEL from the DOS prompt. It is not a menu option in PC-File+. When you start PCLABEL, the PCLABEL menu shown below will be displayed. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ PC-LABEL Function Selection Menu │ │ │ ╞═════╤══════════════════════════════════════════╡ │ │ │ │ F1 │ Help │ │ F2 │ Recall Previous Label Setup Information │ │ F3 │ Save Label Setup Information to a File │ │ F4 │ Quit or Exit │ │ F5 │ │ │ F6 │ │ │ F7 │ Special Escape Codes for Printer │ │ F8 │ Set up Labels Sheet Format │ │ F9 │ Position Labels Sheet in Printer │ │ F10 │ Print Labels │ │ │ │ └─────┴──────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you press (F1), Help, you will be shown a few screens of explanatory information. To return to the PCLABEL menu, press (Esc). In fact, you will be able to return to this menu with the (Esc) key from any point within the PCLABEL program. 101 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ 20.2 RECALLING PREVIOUSLY SAVED DEFAULTS If you have run PCLABEL previously, you may have already saved a default file of label information. These files are saved with the extension .LBL. To recall a defaults file, press (F2). NOTE: You must know the drive, path and file name of the .LBL file. PCLABEL will ask you for the path to the default file. Enter the drive and path and press (F10). PCLABEL will provide you with a list of all .LBL files found in the specified path. Move the cursor to the desired file and press (F10) or (Enter). The defaults will be loaded, and you will be returned to the main menu. 20.3 SPECIAL ESCAPE CODES FOR PRINTER You may want to print your labels in italics, compressed print, etc. PCLABEL will let you enter the Escape codes for your printer. Press (F7) and enter the escape codes in the field provided. Enter the codes by holding down the (Alt) key and pressing the corresponding ASCII decimal number. Release the (Alt) key. An ASCII character should appear. Repeat the process for each character. NOTE: You will need to consult your printer manual for the ASCII decimal codes. If you need to enter the ASCII decimal value zero (not the character zero), you should enter (0). 20.4 SETTING UP YOUR LABEL SHEET FORMAT You can define your Label Format by pressing (F8). If you loaded previously saved defaults, you will not have to do this step. When you press (F8), you will be asked several questions about your labels. At any point in this process you may return to the main menu by pressing the (Esc) key. The first question is: How many labels across your label sheet? 102 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ Enter the number in the field provided and press (Enter) or (F10). The next question is: How many labels down one label sheet? If you are using separate sheets of labels, enter the number of labels down each sheet. Press (Enter). If you use continuous form or fan-fold labels, you should enter 99 and press (Enter). When you answer 99, PCLABEL will continuously print the labels until all the labels have been printed, or until interrupted. When you indicate an answer other than 99, PCLABEL will pause the printing process at the end of each sheet. You will next be asked to enter the number of lines from the beginning of one label to the beginning of the next label. If you know the answer to this question, enter the number and press (Enter). ┌─────────────────────┐ ─ Enter the number of lines from │ │ │ the top of one label to the top │ │ │ of the next label (max 22 - min 6) │ │ ▒ │ │ │ (If you don't know, enter '?') └─────────────────────┘ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ ─ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────────┘ If you do not know the answer to this question, press the question mark, and PCLABEL will respond with: Insert a sheet of paper in your printer and turn printer on. Press any key to continue ... A matrix of numbers will be printed to your label sheet that will allow you to determine the number of lines. If you specified that there was more than one label across each label sheet, you will be asked to enter the number of characters from the left edge of one label to the left edge of the next label. Again, by pressing the "?" a matrix of numbers will be printed on your label sheet to help you determine the answer. 103 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ You will next be asked to provide the maximum number of characters to be printed per line. Again, press the "?" key if you don't know. You will need to tell PCLABEL where to place your address information. To determine this, you will be asked the following four questions: ■ Enter the FIRST available row in the label for label data ■ Enter the LAST available row in the label for label data ■ Enter the FIRST available column in the label for label data ■ Enter the LAST available column in the label for label data If you can use the entire label, just press (Enter) or (F10) to each question. If you defined a portion of the label area for address information, you will be asked if you want to place any text on the label. If you answer N, you will be returned to the main menu. If you answer Y, a picture of the entire label will be displayed on your screen containing the area set aside for the address information. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ This is text line 1 │ │ This is text line 2 │ │▒▒▒▒This▒is▒text▒line▒3▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ │ This is text line 4 │ │ This is text line 5 │ │ This is text line 6 │ │ This is text line 7 │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐│ │ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ By pressing the up or down arrow keys, you can move the field entry bar to the line(s) where you want to enter information. When you have entered all the information, press (F10) and you will be returned to the main menu. NOTE: When inside the field entry bar, you may use the right and left arrow keys, the (Ctrl) right and left arrow keys, the (Tab) and (Shift)(Tab) keys, and (Home) and (End) to move around inside the field. 104 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ 20.5 POSITION LABELS SHEET IN PRINTER PCLABEL will help you to align your labels. By pressing (F9), you will be asked a series of questions. You will first be asked to align the top label as accurately as possible. A row of numbers will be printed across this label. This will allow you to tell PCLABEL how many spaces to skip before coming to the left edge of the label. The screen shown below will instruct you how to respond. Note that each occurrence of "0" is an additional 10. ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ A row of numbers is being printed across your Top label. │ │ │ │To determine how many spaces must be printed before getting to│ │your label, enter the number corresponding to the first number│ │printed INSIDE your label at the left edge. │ │ │ │ ┌────────────────────────┐ │ │ 123456789012│456789012345678901234567│9012.. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ In the example above, you would enter the number 14. │ │ │ │ Enter the number at the left edge: 14 │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ At this point, you should adjust the vertical position of the label to ensure that the first line printed will be on the first label line. This should be the first line at the very top of the label. PCLABEL will space down to the beginning of the next label. You will return to the main menu. 105 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ 20.6 PRINT LABELS When you are ready to print your labels, press (F10). You will need to select the type of source data. Each source data will ask slightly different questions. Four different types of source data are supported by PCLABEL: 1. PC-File database 2. PC-Type+ labels file 3. WS comma delimited file 4. Pure ASCII labels file 20.7 PC-FILE SOURCE DATA After you have selected a PC-File database as the source data, enter the drive and path containing the database. PCLABEL will display the names of all databases found. Select the database to use to print labels. PCLABEL will display the names of the fields in the database selected. You will be asked to mark those fields of the database which you will use in your label definition. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ PC-LABEL SOURCE DEFINITION │ │ │ │ x NAME_ NICKNAME │ │ TITLE x COMPANY │ │ x STREET x SUITE │ │ x CITY x STATE │ │ x ZIP COUNTRY │ │ B_PHONE H_PHONE │ │ KEYWORDS DATES_LTR │ │ COMMENTS │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ You will also be asked whether to print all or selected records. If you answered Selected records, you will be asked if the search is to be simple or complex. If you respond Simple, then you merely fill in the strings which you want matched in the records selected. (Only the first 42 fields will be available for entry.) 106 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ PC-LABEL SOURCE DEFINITION │ │ │ │ NAME_ cat NICKNAME │ │ TITLE COMPANY │ │ STREET SUITE │ │ CITY STATE ca │ │ ZIP COUNTRY │ │ B_PHONE H_PHONE │ │ KEYWORDS DATES_LTR │ │ COMMENTS │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you respond Complex, then all the field names will be displayed on the screen and you may enter a search command in the field provided which represents the information you want matched. This is a more sophisticated search since you may use & for AND, | for OR. For more information on the complex search, please refer to the section on Finding records. 20.8 ENTERING PUNCTUATION AND CONSTANTS Once the fields have been identified, you may define their location inside the label as shown below. Notice that you may also enter additional text, which will appear on each label. Note that while the fields appear spread out, they will be compressed when printed. ┌─────────────────────┤ NAME ├──────────────────────────┐ │Attn: NAME │ │COMPANY V.P. Sales │ │ADDRESS SUITE │ │CITY STATE │ │ZIP │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ You can place the fields anywhere on the label. You can move around inside the label from position to position by using the arrow keys. There are 6 positions per line. When you move the position bar to the desired location, press P for Put, and the field shown in the box will be placed in the current position. Press S to select the next field. The field name will be displayed in the box at the top of the screen. Press (Shift)S to select the previous field. Text may be entered in any of these positions by pressing E for "Enter data". The position bar will be converted into a field where you may type information. "Attn:" and "V.P. 107 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ Sales" in this example were entered in this fashion. You can include punctuation to be printed between fields. Punctuation will be appended to the field to the left. In the example below, the "," will be appended to the data in the field CITY. A space will always be printed between adjacent fields. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │Attn: NAME │ │COMPANY V.P. Sales │ │ADDRESS - SUITE │ │CITY ,STATE │ │ZIP │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Normally, PCLABEL will center each label. The label will be centered as a whole unit. Each line of the label will start on the same column. However, if you want some lines to maintain an absolute position in the label, you may insert spaces. Any lines which have not had spaces inserted will be centered. Any lines which have had at least one space inserted will not be centered - they will begin exactly where indicated on the label. In the example below, all information will be centered except the last line. The zip code will always begin at the indicated position on the label. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │Attn: NAME │ │COMPANY V.P. Sales │ │ADDRESS - SUITE │ │CITY, STATE │ │ ZIP │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 108 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ 20.9 COMPLETING THE LABEL DEFINITION PROCESS Once the file has been defined, you are asked if you want to send the labels to a disk file or to your printer. If you indicate a disk file, you will be asked for the path and name of that file. Next you will be asked if you want to print multiple copies of your label output. If you do, enter the number in the space provided. You may print multiple copies in one of two ways: 1. Print the entire set of labels once, then the entire set again, and then again, etc. 2. Print each record the desired number of times before continuing on to the next record. If you select method (1) above, PCLABEL will need some temporary disk space to save information. The amount of space you need can be determined by multiplying of the number of unique labels to be printed by 4. For example, if you will be printing 500 unique labels, you will need about 2K of disk space for this temporary file. Enter the drive letter where this room is available. PCLABEL will now begin printing. PCLABEL will display the first record to be printed. At this point you will be asked: Print label? Press Y/N or X=>Y and don't ask (or Esc) If you press Y for Yes, the label will be printed. If you press N for No, the label will not be printed. If you press X, the label will be printed and all the rest of the labels will be printed continuously without asking you for confirmation. You may interrupt this process by pressing (Esc). If you press (Esc) while in the process of printing labels, the message: Esc to exit. Press B to backup or C to continue. will be displayed on your screen. If you press (Esc) again, the label process will be aborted and you will be returned to the main menu. If you press B, the previous label printed will be displayed. Pressing B will back you up 50 labels or until the first label printed is encountered. 109 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ At any point in the backup process, if you press R, the process of printing labels will continue. (You will first be asked if you want to reposition your labels again.) When you resume printing after backing up, you will notice that previously skipped labels will be displayed again. This is done intentionally so that if you accidentally skipped a label, you can back up and print it. The backup feature of PCLABEL is very handy in case you run into some sort of printer problem. With this feature, you do not have to start over from the beginning. When all the labels have been printed, you will be asked if you want to start from the beginning of the file or return to the main menu. 20.10 SAVE LABEL SETUP INFORMATION TO A FILE You can save the label setup to a file by pressing (F3). You will be asked for the path to save the information. Following this, you will be asked to provide a file name. All the .LBL files which exist in the directory specified will be displayed as shown below. In addition, the field "New_File" will exist. By using the arrow keys, you may move the selection bar to any file. When you press (F10), the previous .LBL file will be replaced with the new defaults information. By selecting "New_File" and pressing the (F10) key, you will be presented with a blank field in which you may enter a new file name. Press (Enter) or (F10) after entering the new name and the file will be saved to disk with a .LBL extension. 20.11 COMMA DELIMITED SOURCE FILE You will first be asked for the location and name of the Comma Delimited File. You will also need to define which fields will to use in the label output, the position in which these fields should be located on the label, and any necessary punctuation to include. A Comma Delimited file contains data, but does not contain information relating to that data. Therefore, you must provide the names for the data fields so the information can be identified. In the sample below, you must supply the field names, "name", "address", etc. 110 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ PC-LABEL SOURCE DEFINITION │ │ │ │ name Cat~Garfield Fat Cat │ │ President company Garfield Enterprise │ │ address 123 Feline Court suite Very │ │ city Lyons state CA │ │ zip 90014 USA │ │ 328-3663 │ │ │ │ Cuddley │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 20.12 PURE ASCII LABELS SOURCE FILE The Pure ASCII Label data will simply ask you for the location and name of the source data. PCLABEL will assume a label is completed when a blank line is encountered in the file. 20.13 PC-TYPE+ MAIL MERGE LABEL SOURCE FILE The PC-Type+ Label data will also ask you for the location and name of the labels file. This file is created by PC-Type+ when you use the .LABEL and .ELABEL options provided within Mail Merge. The format of these files is quite similar to that of a Comma Delimited file, but is easier to use since the label shape and information is already included in each record of the file. 20.14 INVOCATION PARAMETERS When initially starting PCLABEL, you may optionally include one or more of the following invocation parameters. /GREEN Use this parameter if you have a graphics monitor which does not support color. If you have a standard monochrome screen you do not need to do this. /BIOS If you are using a computer which is reasonably compatible with the IBM PC, you may need to use this parameter. This will cause all screen output to go through your BIOS instead of directly to the screen. 111 Printing Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ /ANSI If you are using a computer which is not very compatible with the IBM PC, you may need to use this parameter. If you do, be sure that you have ANSI.SYS installed by including the line DEVICE=ANSI.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file. Both CONFIG.SYS and ANSI.SYS must be located in your root directory. default filespec You may call PCLABEL with the full path and file specification for a previously saved default file. This will save you the trouble of specifying it once you get into the program itself. For example, if you typed the following after the DOS prompt: PCLABEL C:\PCF\CLIENT.LBL /GREEN /BIOS PCLABEL will automatically load the file CLIENT.LBL in the PCF subdirectory on your C drive. Your screen color would be set to black and white and all screen output would go through your ROM BIOS before being displayed on the screen. 112 21.0 ENDING / CHANGING TO A DIFFERENT DATABASE To end the program and return to DOS, or to change to a different database, Press (Alt) with (F9), or type Q while viewing the Master Menu Screen. PC-File+ will ask: "Quit processing, Different file, or Resume processing?" Answer Q if you're through working with PC-File+ and you don't want to work with any other databases. Answer D if you would like to keep using PC-File+, but wish to work with a different database. Answer R if you didn't really mean to quit, in which case you'll be returned to the Master Menu Screen. 113 Ending / Changing to a Different Database ____________________________________________________________ 114 ADDITIONAL FEATURES 22.0 ALTERING A FIELD NAME, MASK, CONSTANT, OR CALC The "Name or Mask Screen" is an area of PC-File+ where you can do several things. ■ You can change the NAME of a field. ■ You can provide an EDIT MASK for a field, to carefully screen what's typed into the field by the operator. ■ You can provide an AUTOMATIC FIELD. This is where the date, time, or other information can be automatically entered for the operator. ■ You can provide a CONSTANT for the field. This is pre-entered data, which can either be accepted as input, or typed over by the operator. ■ You can provide a CALCULATION for the field. This can be an arithmetic calculation, or a lookup into another database for the answer. To perform any of these functions, you must first select the Utilities option by typing U while viewing the Master Menu screen. Then, from the Utilities menu, select the item "Name of Field, Mask, Constant, or Calc (modify)". You will be shown a list of all the field names and asked: "Which FIELD's Name, Mask, Constant or Calcs to Change?" Type the name or number of the field you wish to change and press (F10). The next question will be: "Change (N)Name (M)Mask (K)Constant or (C)Calcs [ ]" Your response to this question depends on what characteristics of the field you wish to change. 117 Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant, or Calc ____________________________________________________________ 22.1 FIELD NAME You answer N if you want to change the name of the field selected. You might want to do this, for example, to shorten the field name, or change the field attribute from numeric to character. You will be asked to: Enter the new field Name [ ] At that point you can go ahead and type in the new field name - right over the old one. Once you have the new field name entered, you can press (F10). The new name will be accepted and you will be returned to the question, "Which FIELD's Name, Mask, Constant or Calcs to Change?" You can change as many field names as you like and as often as you like, too. In choosing a new name for the field, keep these points in mind: ■ Use only alphabetic characters, numbers, and the underscore character for field names. ■ Never start the field name out with a number. It should always start with an alphabetic character. ■ If the field will contain only numeric data which you may need to add up for totals, or which you may want to sort into numerical sequence, make it a Numeric field. You do this by ending the field name with a # character. Here are some field name examples: Name Last_Name Month1 Quantity# 118 Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant, or Calc ____________________________________________________________ 22.2 EDIT MASK You use an edit mask to define which characters will be allowed when entering data into a field. If you don't provide an edit mask, all characters (i.e., those in the ASCII character set) will be allowed for the field. If you have a numeric field, only the digits 0 through 9, as well as the decimal, plus, minus, and the letters "D" and "E" will be allowed. ("D" and "E" are used when entering floating point numbers in scientific notation.) A carefully thought out edit mask can prevent the operator from accidentally keying the wrong characters into your data fields. That means you can restrict the kind of information that can be entered. You can make sure that only numbers get entered in zip code fields and only letters in a name field. Before we go over some examples, you need to know a little bit more about how to enter information in the edit mask. To set up an edit mask you need to enter a colon, followed by PAIR(S) of characters, ending with a colon. Each pair of characters defines a valid range of characters which will be allowed as input. Spaces and punctuation are counted as characters here, so you must enter those in pairs also. For example, :AZ: will only allow uppercase characters from "A" through "Z". Similarly, :YZ: will only allow Y and Z, and :YY: will only allow the uppercase Y. The edit mask :AZaz: would allow all uppercase and lowercase letters, but nothing else. The edit mask :AZaz09 : would allow all uppercase and lowercase letters and all digits from 0 through 9, and the "space" character. One last example. The edit mask :09//--: would allow the digits "0" through "9", the slash, and the minus character. This would be a useful edit mask for a date field. 119 Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant, or Calc ____________________________________________________________ 22.3 AN AUTOMATIC FIELD Certain field masks can be used to cause automatic data entry into a field. If you use one of the masks listed below, data will be supplied automatically for the field whenever records are being added or changed. The masks and their automatic data are as follows: MASKS AND THEIR AUTOMATIC DATA Mask Example of supplied data: ---------- ------------------------- :MO*: 10 (the month) :DY*: 20 (the day) :YR*: 87 (the year) :YYMMDD*: 871020 (date yymmdd) :DATE*: 10-20-87 (date mm-dd-yy) :MM/DD/YY*: 10/20/87 (date mm/dd/yy) :DD/MM/YY*: 20/10/87 (date dd/mm/yy) :TIME*: 14:37 (time hh:mm) :UNIQUE*: 31415 (a unique record number) :DUPE*: Smith (duplicates from previous record) The UNIQUE* field shown above merits further explanation. The number automatically placed into this field is a number that will be unique for the particular record in the database. No other record will have that number. Even if you sort the database, the UNIQUE* number will not change. However, if you delete the record, the UNIQUE* number becomes available again. 22.3.1 FOR ADDING OR MODIFYING ONLY You may wish to have the automatic data supplied only when you are adding new records, but not when you are modifying a record. Or, you may want it only when modifying a record, but not when adding a new one. For other automatic fields, you may want the data supplied both when you are adding, and when you are modifying. The table above shows the edit mask to use for BOTH adding and modifying records. If you want the automatic data supplied ONLY when you are adding records, put an "A" after the asterisk. This must be an uppercase "A". Example: :DATE*A: 120 Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant, or Calc ____________________________________________________________ If you want the automatic data supplied ONLY when you are modifying a record, put an uppercase "M" after the asterisk. Example: :TIME*M: 22.3.2 AUTOMATIC - WITH EDIT MASK Even though the data is being supplied automatically, you may also wish to supply an edit mask to limit what the operator can key into the field. To supply an additional edit mask for the automatic field, just add the edit mask data after the asterisk. Here are some examples: :YYMMDD*09: digits only, adding and modifying :YYMMDD*A09: digits only, adding only :YYMMDD*M09: digits only, modifying only 22.4 A CALCULATED FIELD You also can specify a calculated field. The calculated field will do arithmetic calculations on other fields in the database, and provide the answer as data. A calculated field looks like this: (fieldname*fieldname).d Where you see "fieldname" in the above example, you can put the name of a field, or you can specify a numeric constant. Where you see the "*", you can put a "+" for add, a "-" for subtract, a "/" for divide, or a "*" for multiply. Instead of the "d" at the right end, place a number indicating how many digits should appear to the right of the decimal point in the answer. The left parenthesis and the right parenthesis as well as the decimal point must appear exactly as you see them in the example. You can abbreviate the field names, taking care to specify enough of the first few characters of the field name to make sure PC-File+ can recognize it. Here are some examples of valid calculated fields: 121 Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant, or Calc ____________________________________________________________ (CENTS/100).2 ((RADIUS^2)*3.1415927).5 You can use a calculated field in conjunction with a relational field (which is explained in the next section). 22.5 A RELATIONAL FIELD A relational lookup is just another type of calculation. When PC-File+ detects a relational field, it goes out to the indicated database and retrieves the necessary data, placing it into the input field for you. To specify a relational lookup as part of a calculation, you first use the "@" character, followed by four more identifiers. Here's a sample relational lookup: (@partno,pmaster,partno,price) You can read this relational lookup from left to right, like this: 1. Using "partno" from the current database, 2. go out to the "pmaster" database, 3. and find the same data in "partno" 4. and give me back the "price" for that partno. Here's a similar example. This one takes the current quantity, then goes out to the master file to find the price, and multiplies the two together (quantity times price). (quantity * @partno,pmaster,partno,price).2 Here's the way to remember the order of what you're doing with a relational lookup: RELATED FIELD, LOOKUP DATABASE, LOOKUP FIELD, LOOKUP DATA RELATED FIELD The field in the current database, which contains a value that we'd like to look for in some other database. LOOKUP DATABASE The database to go look into, to find a match from the related field. 122 Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant, or Calc ____________________________________________________________ LOOKUP FIELD The field in the LOOKUP DATABASE, which corresponds to the RELATED FIELD. This field may have a different name than the RELATED FIELD, but its data will be the same. LOOKUP DATA After finding a match in the LOOKUP DATABASE, this is the actual data that is brought back. And remember that while you can abbreviate field names - in either the current or lookup database - you CANNOT abbreviate the lookup database file name. 22.6 A CONSTANT Specifying a constant for a field is just like specifying automatic data for the field - except that you get to provide an exact value for the field. For example, suppose that most of the addresses in your name and address database are from Poughkeepsie. Every time a new record is added to the database, you would like to save the operator from having to type POUGHKEEPSIE. You can provide a constant for the field, which will automatically provide it with the value of POUGHKEEPSIE. Then, the operator can just skip over the field and accept the value provided. If a different city is needed, the replacement value can be typed over the one provided. When you provide the constant for the name, just remember to put quotation marks around both sides of the constant. Here are some examples: "Poughkeepsie" "Walla Walla" "I.B.M. Personal Computer" As with automatic fields, you can specify that the constant only be supplied when adding a record, or only when modifying a record. To do that, just put *A (for adding only) or *M (for modifying only) after the quotation mark on the right. Here are some examples: "Hackensack"*A "Chocolate covered almonds"*M 123 Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant, or Calc ____________________________________________________________ 124 23.0 SETTING UP THE SMART KEYS Twelve different keys - known as Smart Keys - on your keyboard can be used to store data and/or commands. The keys are the number keys 0-9 located along the TOP of your keyboard, and the "-" and "=" keys, also at the top of the keyboard. They are NOT the Function Keys. They are NOT the keys on the numeric keypad at the right side of your keyboard. When Smart Keys have been set up with data or commands, they can be used by holding down the (Alt) key and then pressing the desired Smart Key number. If the particular key has been set up with keystrokes, the commands will be invoked just as if you had typed them in from the keyboard. If the Smart Key hasn't been set up, then nothing will happen when it's pressed. 23.1 MEMORIZING SMART KEY KEYSTROKES Setting up Smart Keys couldn't be easier. Press (Alt)Y at any time you're using PC-File+. This puts PC-File+ into Smart Key memorize mode. From then on, each keystroke will be remembered for you. In addition, each keystroke will be accompanied by an audible sound. This is done to remind you that your keystrokes are being remembered. When you want to stop memorizing your keystrokes, press (Alt)Y a second time. This will cause PC-File+ to stop remembering your keystrokes. You'll be shown a menu of the current Smart Keys and asked which Smart Key you'd like to save the keystrokes into. Press any of the number keys (0-9) or the "-" or the "=" key. The memorized keystrokes will be placed into that Smart Key for future use. From then on, whenever you want to play back your keystrokes, press (Alt) with the Smart Key identifier. 125 Setting Up the Smart Keys ____________________________________________________________ 23.2 EDITING OR CHANGING EXISTING SMART KEYS Advanced users may want to change existing Smart Keys. This might be done to include a menu entry at the front of the Smart Key. Or, data that was entered during Smart Key memorization can be replaced with a ^K command. This requests information from the operator during Smart Key playback, and makes the macro more general in nature. To edit a Smart Key, press U to select the Utility option from the Master Menu screen. Then, from the Utility menu, select option S "Smart Keys (modify)". The status of all Smart Keys will be displayed, and you'll be asked which key you want to set up. Press any of the number keys (0-9) or the "-" or the "=" key. Next you'll be prompted to enter the data to be loaded into the Smart Key. This data can be up to 318 characters in length, and is typed in exactly the way you want it to be emitted. You can enter actual data, such as the name of a city which you enter frequently, or you can intermix commands with the data. Before setting up the Smart Key data, it's best to actually perform the sequence manually, keeping track of each keystroke on a note pad. Then, when you're ready to set up the Smart Key, it's a simple task to recreate the keying sequence. Before you key in the Smart Key data, it's wise to insert a comment, or note to the operator, at the front of the Smart Key information. The comment for each Smart Key will be displayed whenever you press (F9) or type M while viewing the Master Menu Screen. This allows you to set up your own Smart Key menu screen to help prompt the users of your database. Here's how to place a comment at the front of the Smart Key data. Enter a left parenthesis, followed by a comment, followed by a right parenthesis. Here's an example. (Change to CUSTOMER database)QDC\DATA[324]CUSTOMER[324] Some keys on your keyboard can't be entered directly as Smart Key data. For example, if you try to use the (Enter) key as data, it will be intercepted instead as a command. The same is true of the cursor movement keys, or the insert and delete keys. For these special keys, there is a unique way to indicate to PC-File+ that they are to be inserted into the Smart Key data. First, key in the [ (left square bracket) character. 126 Setting Up the Smart Keys ____________________________________________________________ Next, key in a number from the table below. Finally, key in the ] (right square bracket) character. For example, the (Enter) key would look like this: [13] and the (PgUp) key would look like this: [329] The table below shows some of the more common special keys on the PC keyboard that you'll be using when you set up Smart Keys. The numbers you see are what you'll place within the brackets to get the particular key stroke. Keystroke codes for Smart Keys ___________________________________________________________ F1 - [315] Home - [327] Tab rt. - [9] F2 - [316] Cursor up - [328] Tab left - [271] F3 - [317] PgUp - [329] (Alt)D - [288] F4 - [318] Cursor left - [331] (Alt)H - [291] F5 - [319] Cursor rt. - [333] (Ctrl)A - [1] F6 - [320] End - [335] (Ctrl)B - [2] F7 - [321] Cursor down - [336] (Ctrl)D - [4] F8 - [322] PgDn - [337] (Ctrl)F - [6] F9 - [323] Ins - [338] (Ctrl)L - [12] F10- [324] Del - [339] (Ctrl)R - [18] Enter - [13] (Ctrl)W - [23] ___________________________________________________________ The number inside the brackets is the ASCII value of the key. If the key produces a two character extended code, the number is 256 plus the second character of the extended code. A complete list of the extended codes can be found at the back of your BASIC manual in the section titled "Extended Codes." You can nest Smart Keys within other Smart Keys. To do this, enter the ^ character followed by the Smart Key number. For example: Assume that Smart Key 1 contains the data CDEF. Assume that Smart Key 2 contains the data AB^1GH. If you press Smart Key 2, the ^1 in Smart Key 2 will be replaced by the data "CDEF" from Smart Key 1. All the rest of the Smart Key 2 data will be invoked unchanged. The final result will be ABCDEFGH. You can also cause the Smart Key to pause and accept keyboard input from the operator. To do this, enter the ^ character followed by a K for "Keyboard". While the Smart Key is sending out its data, it will pause when it comes to the ^K and let the operator type until the (Enter) key is pressed. Then, the Smart Key will continue with any remaining data that it has. While PC-File+ is waiting for operator input within a Smart Key, the shape of the cursor will change to a half block shape. This is to alert the 127 Setting Up the Smart Keys ____________________________________________________________ operator that the keystrokes are coming in at the request of a Smart Key. After programming a Smart Key, you can cause it to perform its function by pressing (Alt) and the appropriate number key at the top of the keyboard. The Smart Keys are remembered in a file called databasename.KEY (where databasename is the name you gave to your database), which is saved on your data disk. Different Smart Key files can be created for use with different databases. The key file will automatically be loaded whenever the corresponding database is called for. 128 24.0 PASSWORDS AND SECURITY PC-File+ allows you to establish a system of passwords for each of your databases. The passwords are designed to prevent certain types of operations on the database by unauthorized users. If you don't provide passwords for a database, all users of the database will be allowed to perform any of the operations. Each of the following operations can be controlled by the use of passwords: ■ Viewing the database, or using it in any way ■ Adding, modifying, and deleting records ■ Sorting the database ■ Performing "system" type operations on the database, such as defining reports, or setting and changing Smart Keys. It's even possible to set the passwords up so that the menu screens totally omit any options that you don't want the user to know about. Before we talk about each password that can be set, a few notes about passwords in general. Passwords are from one to three characters long. Any of the characters on the keyboard can be used in the password, in any combination. Thus, passwords can be numbers, letters, punctuation marks, or any combination of these. Here are some valid passwords: 911 JB RED #*$ R/D The password feature is not case sensitive. For example, if you set up a password "ABC", then the user of the system will be allowed access if he/she provides "abc" or "aBc", etc. This is so that it will be easy to enter the password, IF YOU KNOW IT! One password that has particular meaning is "XXX". If you specify "XXX" as the password for a certain activity, it means that NO one should be allowed to perform the activity. The activity won't be displayed as an option on the menu 129 Passwords and Security ____________________________________________________________ screen. However, you can optionally provide an "override" password for your own use. You'll learn more about the override password below. To set the passwords, you need to run PC-File+ and use the setup routine. There are two ways to do this. First, you can go into setup directly from DOS. Just type PCF SETUP at the DOS prompt. Or, you can bring up PC-File+ in the usual fashion. Then, from the Master Menu, type U or press (F8). From the utilities menu, press P to choose "Profile files (set up configuration)." After you get to the setup screen, you'll see an item asking if you wish to set passwords. Answer Y (Yes) and press (F10). The password setup screen will follow. The password setup screen shows five passwords that you can set. Master Menu Password This is the highest level password. If you provide a master menu password, the user will have to give this password in order to do ANYTHING with the database. If this password can't be provided, the user will not be allowed to access any aspect of the database. It can't even be viewed. Modify Password This password controls Adding records, Modifying records, Deleting records, and Global operations in the database. If you specify a password here, the user will have to provide the same password the first time that an attempt is made to add, modify, or delete any record in the database. Sort Password This password controls sorting the database. If you specify a sort password, then the user will have to give the same password in order to sort the database. System Password This password controls "system" type activities. If you provide a system password during setup, then users of the database will also have to provide the same password before they are allowed to do any "system" activities. These activities are: changing the configuration setup options defining report formats defining and changing Smart Keys changing field names, edit masks, and calculated fields 130 Passwords and Security ____________________________________________________________ changing the database definition (cloning) Override password Remember that if "XXX" is used as a password, no one can ever use the feature that the password controls. It won't even show up on the menu screen. The override password, if specified, will allow bypassing of all the "XXX" passwords on the system. If you specify an override password, a new command will be made active from the Master Menu screen. This new command will not show up on the menu screen because it's a hidden command. When you type X, the system will ask you for the override password. If you can provide the override password, you'll be allowed access to all of the operations that were formerly locked out by "XXX" passwords. Thus, the override password is provided to keep others from knowing about or having to view certain menu options. At the same time, you'll be able to issue an override password and access all features of PC-File+. An example. Let's say you don't want anyone except yourself to be able to add, modify or delete records or perform any system activity. In fact, you don't want other users to see these options on the screen. You would define the Modify Password to be XXX and the System Password to be XXX. In order to be able to perform these functions yourself, however, you'll need to define an Override or XXX password. When you issue the X command and give this password correctly, you'll be able to add, modify, delete, and perform system functions. 131 Passwords and Security ____________________________________________________________ 132 25.0 CONFIGURING YOUR SYSTEM - USING PROFILE FILES 25.1 PROFILE OVERVIEW PC-File+ comes configured ready to run on most IBM compatible machines. You can change many of the PC-File+ options to suit your individual tastes and hardware configuration. This chapter details the options which can be changed and how to change them. The configuration commands are stored in a profile file. There are two types of profile files: ■ the master profile file, called PCFILE.PRO. ■ individual database profile files, filename.PRO. Whenever you start PC-File+, it reads the PCFILE.PRO file on the current drive and path. PC-File+ uses the information found in PCFILE.PRO to adjust itself to your requirements. If PC-File+ does not find the file PCFILE.PRO on the current drive and path, PC-File+ will assume certain defaults. The defaults PC-File+ assumes are: ■ /BG,0 black background ■ /FG,7 white foreground ■ /PAGELEN,66 the page is 66 lines long (11") The file PCFILE.PRO which was included on your distribution disk, includes the above parameters, as well as the following: ■ /NORMAL,18 Epson printer code for 10 cpi. ■ /CONDENSED,15 Epson printer code for 17.1 cpi. PC-File+ also allows you to have individual profile files for each database. For example, you might want to have different colors, a different Snapshot label definition, or different passwords for each database. After PC-File+ has started and processed the PCFILE.PRO file, it asks for the database to be used. If it finds a profile file for the database in use, it will use the 133 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ configuration commands in the database profile file, overriding any similar commands from the PCFILE.PRO file. For example, if your database is named EMPLOYEE, you can create a profile for it called EMPLOYEE.PRO. You need to place this profile file on the same drive and path with your database. Whenever you use the EMPLOYEE database, PC-File+ will read the settings in EMPLOYEE.PRO and adjust itself accordingly. 25.2 CREATING OR MODIFYING A PROFILE You can change the configuration and profile parameters in one of two ways. First, you can start PC-File+ and go directly to the configuration setup menu by typing PCF SETUP at the DOS prompt. You must use this method if you have not yet defined any databases. Second, if you are working with a database, and find you need to change one or more settings, you can go to the Utilities menu. Select option P of the Utilities menu - "Profile files (set up configuration)." You will be asked if you want to create a new profile file or modify an existing one. If you answer C, you be asked if you want to use an existing profile file as a sample. This will allow you to create a profile file which is similar to another without having to type in all of the parameters. This is especially handy if you want to use the same Snapshot definition, KEYIN definition, etc. If you want to use an existing profile as a sample, answer Y. You will be asked to enter the drive, path and name of the profile to use as a sample. If you do not want to use an existing profile as a sample, you will be taken immediately to the configuration screen. If you want to modify an existing profile, answer M. PC-File+ will ask you to enter the file specification of the profile file you want to modify. You will be asked to enter the drive and path where the profile exists or will be stored. You will then be shown a list of all currently defined profile files on the drive and path indicated. Select the profile to modify. After you have selected the profile file to modify or create, you will be shown the following screen: 134 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │SCREEN COLORS: Background (0-7) [ ] │ │ Foreground (0-15)[ ] │ │ │ │DATABASE DEFAULTS: Drive (A-Z) [ ] │ │ Path [ ]│ │ Database name [ ] │ │ │ │OPTIONS: Case sensitive finds (Y/N) [N] │ │ Case sensitive sorts (Y/N) [N] │ │Skip to next field when field full(Y/N) [N] │ │ │ │PRINTER DEFAULTS: Define/Modify (Y/N) [N] │ │ │ │MENU PASSWORDS: Define/Modify (Y/N) [N] │ │ │ │KEYIN MACRO: Define/Modify (Y/N) [N] │ │ │ │SNAPSHOT LABEL: Define/Modify (Y/N) [N] │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you are creating a new profile file from scratch, the first five fields will be blank, and the remaining options will be set to N. If you are using an existing profile as a sample, or if you are modifying an existing profile, the first nine fields will be set accordingly. You only need to provide answers for the parameters you wish to define or modify. In order to define or modify the printer defaults, passwords, KEYIN macro and/or Snapshot label, you must answer Y to the appropriate question. You will be shown subsequent screens if you wish to define or modify any of these four items. 25.2.1 CHANGING THE SCREEN COLORS If you have a color monitor, you will probably want to change the default colors from white on black to something more interesting. To change the background color, just move the cursor to the field "Background (0-7)" and enter the number corresponding to the color you want. To change the foreground color, just move the cursor to the field "Foreground (0-15)" and enter the number corresponding to the color you want. 135 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ The colors are: 0 - Black 8 - Gray 1 - Blue 9 - Lt Blue 2 - Green 10 - Lt Green 3 - Cyan 11 - Lt Cyan 4 - Red 12 - Lt Red 5 - Magenta 13 - Lt Magenta 6 - Brown 14 - Yellow 7 - White 15 - Bright White If you enter an invalid color number, or if you enter the same color for background and foreground, PC-File+ will display an error message. You must correct the colors before you can save the profile file. 25.2.2 FILE SPECIFICATION DEFAULTS You can save a default drive, path, and/or database in PCFILE.PRO. You can define all three parameters, some or none. If a default drive, path and/or database is defined in PCFILE.PRO when the program is initially loaded, PC-File+ will bypass the screens asking for this information. There is no reason to put these parameters in an individual database profile file. Because you must select the drive, path and database before PC-File+ can load the database and associated profile, PC-File+ will not access these parameters if found in an individual database profile file. Let's say you each time you start PC-File+, you want to load the database called CUSTOMER which is on your C drive in the subdirectory called PCF. You would enter the following answers: ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │DATABASE DEFAULTS: Drive (A-Z) [C] │ │ Path [\PCF ]│ │ Database name [CUSTOMER] │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Now, whenever you start PC-File+, your CUSTOMER database will automatically be loaded for you. You won't have to tell PC-File+ which drive and path contain the database, and you won't have to select the database to use. NOTE: If you are using floppy diskettes, you probably will not store the database in a subdirectory. If you would like PC-File+ to bypass the "Path" question, you need to enter a backslash (\) in the "Path" option of your PCFILE.PRO file. 136 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ 25.2.3 MISCELLANEOUS CONFIGURATION OPTIONS There are three miscellaneous configuration options which can be included in PCFILE.PRO or a database profile. These options are: ■ Case sensitive finds ■ Case sensitive sorts ■ Skip to the next field when the current field is full CASE SENSITIVE FINDS You can tell PC-File+ that whenever it searches for a record, whether simple or complex, to perform a case sensitive search. If you ask for case sensitive searches, PC-File+ will distinguish between upper and lower case letters. For example, if you requested case sensitive searches, and asked for SMITH, PC-File+ would select all records with SMITH, but no records with Smith or SMIth, etc. CASE SENSITIVE SORTS You can tell PC-File+ that whenever it sorts the database, to distinguish between upper and lower case letters. If you request case sensitive sorts, upper case letters will be sorted before lower case letters. If you do not request case sensitive sorts, upper and lower case letters will be treated equally. The following chart shows the difference between a case sensitive sort and a case insensitive sort. CASE SENSITIVE CASE INSENSITIVE Anderson, Andy Anderson, Andy DAVIS, Donald brown, bob Davis, David davis, danny brown, bob DAVIS, David davis, danny Davis, Donald AUTOSKIP Normally, PC-File+ requires you to press the (Enter) key when you want to move from one field to the next field while adding or modifying a record. However, you can tell PC-File+ to automatically move to the next field if you fill the current field. In order for PC-File+ to automatically move to the cursor to the next field, the cursor must be in the last position of the field. 137 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ 25.2.4 CHANGING THE PRINTER DEFAULTS PC-File+ allows you to define four different parameters pertaining to your printer. The four parameters are: ■ the printer control code(s) for Normal print ■ the printer control code(s) for Condensed print ■ the length of the page ■ the port your printer is connected to If you answer Y to define or modify the printer defaults, you you will be asked to provide answers for each of the four parameters. PRINTER CONTROL CODES - NORMAL AND CONDENSED When you print a report or a letter, you can select between two printer options, Normal and Condensed. PC-File+ is distributed with the IBM or Epson printer control codes for Normal and Condensed print. Depending on your needs and printer, you may need to change these printer control codes. If you answer Y to define or modify the printer defaults, you will first be shown a screen listing various printers. At this point, you will need to select the printer you are using. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ (C) C. Itoh/NEC printers or compatibles │ │ (D) Diablo printers or compatibles │ │ (H) HP Laser Jet printers │ │ (I) IBM/Epson printers or compatibles │ │ (O) Okidata printers or compatibles │ │ (R) Radio Shack (Tandy) printers │ │ (T) Toshiba printers or compatibles │ │ │ │ (0) Do not send any printer control codes │ │ (1) Remove /NORMAL and /CONDENSED from profile │ │ (2) Enter your own printer control codes │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ We have included printer control codes for some of the more popular printers. If you see your printer listed, enter the appropriate letter. You can tell PC-File+ not to send any printer control codes to the printer, or to remove existing printer control codes from the profile file. You might want to do this if you have a daisy-wheel printer, or if you use an external 138 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ program to set your printer control codes. Answer 0 if you do not want to send any printer control codes to the printer. Answer 1 if you want to remove existing printer control codes. If you do not see your printer listed, or if you want to change the pre-defined printer control codes for your printer, press 2. You will be taken to another screen to enter the printer control codes. You will first be asked to enter the printer control codes for normal print. Next you will be asked to enter the printer control codes for condensed print. You will enter the printer control code or codes in the editing window provided. As indicated on the screen, you should enter the ASCII decimal value of the printer control code. You should separate each ASCII value with a comma. For example, if the code for normal or ten characters per inch for your printer is ESC G, you would enter 27,71. You do not need a comma after the last value. You will need to refer to your printer manual for the control codes for your printer. You are not limited to normal print or condensed print. You can enter the printer control codes for italics, double-strike, elite pitch, etc. However, remember that the codes you enter for Normal will be sent to the printer when you use the normal parameters, and the codes you enter for Condensed will be sent to the printer when you use the condensed parameters. You can define the normal printer control codes to print near-letter quality, and the condensed printer control codes to print elite and italics. Every time you use this particular profile, the codes you have entered will be sent to the printer. PAGE LENGTH After you have selected the printer control codes for normal and condensed print, you will be asked to enter the length of the paper. The length of the page can be calculated by multiplying the length of the paper in inches by the number of lines printed per inch. Normally, a printer prints six lines per inch. If you will be using 8 1/2" by 11" paper, you would indicate 66 lines per page (6 x 11 = 66). PC-File+ will automatically calculate the number of lines of text to be printed per page. The number of lines to print per page is equal to the length of the page minus the number of heading lines and footing lines. 139 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ PRINTER PORT You will also be asked to select the port your printer is connected to. Most printers are connected to the first parallel port, LPT1:. However, some printers, such as laser printers and daisy-wheel printers may be connected to the serial port, COM1: or COM2:. Select the port for your hardware configuration. 25.2.5 PASSWORDS If you answer Y to define or modify the passwords, you will be shown the following screen. You can enter passwords for each function, or you may only want to enter passwords for selected functions. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ PC-File+ Passwords │ │ │ │Enter any three digit combination of letters and/or numbers.│ │If you do not want a particular menu item to have a password│ │ just leave the password field blank. │ │ │ │ │ │ PC-FILE+ MASTER MENU PASSWORD [ ] │ │ │ │ MODIFY PASSWORD [ ] │ │ │ │ SORT PASSWORD [ ] │ │ │ │ SYSTEM PASSWORD [ ] │ │ │ │ XXX OVERRIDE PASSWORD [ ] │ │ │ │ │ │When you have entered the passwords you want, press (F10). │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you define a password for a particular function, you will be asked to enter the correct password whenever you try to access that function. For example, if you define a SORT password, each time you press (F7) or type S from the Master Menu, PC-File+ will ask you to enter the password. If you do not enter the correct password, PC-File+ will not let you sort. You must enter up to three characters for the password. You may use any combination of letters, numbers, punctation characters, or a space. The password feature is not case sensitive. 140 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ If you don't want a particular feature to be password protected, just leave the password field blank. Please see the section Passwords and Security for more information. 25.2.6 /KEYIN - KEYSTROKES TO RUN AT STARTUP TIME It's possible to cause PC-File+ to automatically run the equivalent of a Smart Key every time it loads one of the profile files. The /KEYIN command is executed when the program first begins if the command is in the PCFILE.PRO file. Likewise, it's executed every time the database is opened if the command is in the associated database profile. To define or modify the /KEYIN command, answer Y on the setup screen. You will shown the editing window, and allowed to enter the command string. You should enter the keystrokes necessary to perform the function. Please review the section on Smart Keys for an understanding of the characters allowed in the /KEYIN command string. Let's say that every time you load your customer database, you want to sort on the field ZIPCODE. You don't want the operator to have to remember to do this every day. With the KEYIN parameter, you can have PC-File+ do it for you automatically. Inside the profile file for your database, you would include: /KEYIN,SZIPCODE[324]A[324]C. The KEYIN parameter tells PC-File+ to enter S at the Master Menu to Sort the database. Type in ZIPCODE as the primary sort field. Press (F10) to accept ZIPCODE as the primary sort field. Indicate you want an ascending sort. Press (F10) to indicate no secondary sort field. Indicate drive C as the work drive. 25.2.7 SNAPSHOT MAILING LABELS To define or modify a Snapshot mailing label, answer Y in the field SNAPSHOT LABEL. You will be taken to another screen, and allowed to enter your Snapshot mailing label definition. You can include up to 250 characters in your Snapshot label definition. The Snapshot label definition is: device,t,f,f,f,f,f,f,f,f,f,f 141 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ where "device" is the name of the DOS device to be used for Snapshot label output, "t" is the number of characters to tab to the right on each line, and "f" is the data to print on the label. Please refer to the section on Snapshot Mailing labels for more information. 25.3 SAVING THE PROFILE After you have answered all the profile configuration questions, you will be asked if you are ready to save the profile file. If you realize you made a mistake or forgot to change a parameter, answer N. You will be taken back to the first screen, and allowed to modify any answer. If you have completed the configuration setup, answer Y. You will need to enter the drive, path and name of the profile to save the parameters in. If you modified an existing profile file, PC-File+ will display the drive, path and name of the profile you modified. If you modified or created a profile for the database you are currently working with, or the PCFILE.PRO on the program drive and path, you will be asked if you want to load the new profile parameters. If you want the new profile parameters to take effect immediately, answer Y. If you answer N, the profile parameters will not take effect until you exit the program and then re-start PC-File+ and load the database. You will be returned to one of two places depending on how you entered the profile configuration. If you started PC-File+ by typing PCF SETUP at the DOS prompt, you will be returned to the PC-File+ start-up screen, and asked to select a database. If you changed your defaults by entering the Utilities menu, you will be returned to the Master Menu. 142 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ 25.4 USING A TEXT EDITOR TO MODIFY PROFILE FILES You do not have to use the configuration routine provided in PC-File+ to modify profile files. You can edit a profile file with a text editor or word processor that saves the file in a straight ASCII format. 25.5 PROFILE COMMANDS ON THE DOS COMMAND LINE All of the profile commands discussed in this chapter can be used on the DOS command line when PC-File+ is started. To do this, type PCF, press the space bar once, then include the configuration command. Here is an example: PCF /DRIVE,B If you need to include more than one command, you must separate each command with a comma. For example: PCF /BG,1,/FG,0 25.6 CONFIGURATION COMMANDS SUMMARY 143 Configuring Your System - Using Profile Files ____________________________________________________________ Configuration Commands ________________________________________________________________ /AUTOSKIP skip to next field when field full /BG,n color for screen background /CASEFIND cause case sensitive searches /CASESORT cause case sensitive sorts /CONDENSED,n,n characters to cause condensed print /DRIVE,x default disk drive for data /FG,n color for screen foreground /FILE,xxx default database name /KEYIN,xxx keystrokes to run at startup /LBL,xxx gives Snapshot feature format /MODPW,xxx password allowing modifications /NORMAL,n,n characters to cause normal print size /PAGELEN,n size of page (no. of print lines) /PATH,xxx default subdirectory for data /PRPORT,xxx printer port to send output to /SORTPW,xxx password allowing sort operations /SYSPW,xxx password allowing system operations /USEPW,xxx password allowing use of PC-File+ /XXXPW,xxx password to override other passwords _________________________________________________________________ 144 26.0 USING THE UTILITIES The utilities section of PC-File+ includes convenient features which make it easier to maintain your database. To access the features provided in the Utilities section, press (F8) or type U while viewing the Master Menu Screen. You will then be presented with a Utilities menu screen and prompted for further action. You can perform any of the following from the Utilities menu: ■ Copy, Delete or Rename a PC-File+ data file ■ Define or modify your setup configuration ■ Modify the Smart Keys ■ Change a field name, mask, constant or calculation ■ Change the current database definition (clone) ■ Export the current database ■ Import a PC-File+ database or other data file ■ Find duplicate records in the current database ■ Un-delete deleted records When you want to return to the PC-File+ Master Menu, simply enter 0 at the Utilities Menu and press (Enter). 26.1 FILE MAINTENANCE - COPY, DELETE, RENAME The first option of the Utilities menu is for general file maintenance. You can copy, delete or rename PC-File+ data files - a database (.HDR, .DTA and .INX), a Smart Key file (.KEY), a letter file (.LTR), a profile file .(PRO) or a report format (.REP). You do not have to use the Utilities to copy, rename or delete PC-File+ files. You may prefer to use DOS commands instead. The choice is yours. There are two advantages, however, to using the Utilities. First, you will be able to perform these functions without having to exit PC-File+. Second, you can copy, delete or rename the three database 145 Using the Utilities ____________________________________________________________ files (.HDR, .DTA, and .INX) in one process. To copy, delete or rename PC-File+ data files, press M at the Utilities menu. Answer appropriately when asked: Copy, Delete or Rename (C/D/R)? Next, you will be asked to select the type of file. The options are: ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐ │ D) Database (.HDR .DTA .INX) │ │ L) Letter file (.LTR) │ │ P) Profile file (.PRO) │ │ R) Report format (.REP) │ │ S) Smart Key file (.KEY) │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ The database files - the header file (.HDR), the data file (.DTA) and the index file (.INX) - will be treated as one group. All three will be copied, deleted or renamed in one process. 26.1.1 COPY A FILE It is important to make frequent backup copies of your PC-File+ database and associated files, just in case something happens to make them unusable. You never know when you might need to refer to a backup copy. After you have selected the type of file to copy, you will be asked to enter the drive and path which contain the file. You will then be shown a list of all files of the type selected. Select the file you want to copy. You will then be asked to enter the drive, path and filename to copy to. If you will be copying to a different drive or path, you can give the file the same name. If you will be copying to the same drive and path, you will need to give the file a new name. If you enter a name of a file which already exists on the drive and path selected, you will have the option to replace the existing file. If you replace an existing file, the existing data will be lost. Be sure you are not replacing a file you need. If you do not want to replace the existing file(s), answer N when asked. If you answer N, you will be returned to the Utilities menu. After PC-File+ has copied the file(s) selected, you will be returned to the Utilities menu. 146 Using the Utilities ____________________________________________________________ NOTE: The copy feature of the Utilities menu can only copy files if they will fit on the designated drive. If you are copying from a hard disk to a floppy disk and your database takes up more space than available on the floppy disk, you can use the DOS BACKUP command to backup your files to a floppy. Alternatively, you can export your database to the compressed format. Refer to the section on Exporting your database. 26.1.2 DELETE A FILE You may find you want to delete PC-File+ data files. Maybe you cloned your database, and want to delete the old database. Perhaps you changed a report format and want to delete the backup copy. Regardless of the reason, you can delete any PC-File+ data file from within the program. After selecting the type of file to delete, you will be asked to enter the drive and path which contain the file. You will be shown a list of all files of the type selected. Select the file you want to delete. PC-File+ will then display the file name, and ask you to verify that you want to delete the file. Just in case you selected the wrong file, you can still prevent PC-File+ from deleting the wrong file by answering N. If you do want to delete the file, answer Y. After PC-File+ has deleted the file(s) selected, you will be returned to the Utilities menu. 26.1.3 RENAME A FILE You can also rename PC-File+ data files from within the program. After selecting the type of file to rename, you will be asked to enter the drive and path which contain the file. You will then be asked to select the the file to rename from the list shown. Next, you will be asked to enter the new name. Make sure you give a unique name. If you enter the name of a file which already exists, PC-File+ will not be able to rename the file(s). After PC-File+ has renamed the file(s) selected, you will be returned to the Utilities menu. 147 Using the Utilities ____________________________________________________________ 26.2 DEFINE OR MODIFY YOUR CONFIGURATION OR PROFILE FILES PC-File+ stores the configuration parameters in a profile file. You can change the configuration parameters used at any time from the Utilities menu. You can modify an existing profile or create a new profile. The configuration parameters determine the following: ■ screen colors ■ default database information ■ miscellaneous defaults ■ printer defaults ■ passwords ■ /KEYIN definition ■ Snapshot definition Please refer to the section on configuring your system for more information. 26.3 MODIFY THE SMART KEYS PC-File+ allows you to store up to twelve different Smart Keys per database. Normally, you will define your Smart Keys using (Alt)Y to memorize the keystrokes. However, there may be times when you want to make a minor change to an existing Smart Key without having to memorize the entire sequence. To edit a Smart Key, press U from the Master Menu screen. Then, from the Utilities menu, select option S "Smart keys (modify)." The status of all Smart Keys will be displayed, and you'll be asked which key you want to modify. Press the appropriate key. The current Smart Key definition will be displayed in the editing window. You can now make your changes. For more information on defining and modifying Smart Keys, please refer to the section on Smart Keys. 148 Using the Utilities ____________________________________________________________ 26.4 MODIFY A FIELD NAME, MASK, CONSTANT OR CALCULATION After you have defined your database, you can change the name of a field very easily. You can also add an edit mask to limit the characters which can be entered in a field. You can also add a constant value or calculation. For more information, see the section on Altering a Field Name, Mask, Constant or Calc. 26.5 CLONE - CHANGE THE CURRENT DATABASE DEFINITION PC-File+ allows you to change the database definition, even after you have entered data. You can add new fields, delete existing fields, re-order fields and change field lengths. You can also modify the data entry screen to move fields and add textual information. For more information, see the section on Changing the Database Definition - Cloning. 26.6 EXPORT AND IMPORT PC-File+ has the ability to transfer information to other programs, and read information from other programs. To transfer information out of PC-File+ to another program, you export your database. To read in information from another program, you import a file. Importing also allows you to merge PC-File+ databases into one master database. For more information on exporting and importing, please see the section PC-File+ and Other Programs. 26.7 CHECKING FOR DUPLICATE RECORDS Another utility provided with PC-File+ is the ability to check for duplicate records in the current database. You might want to check your mailing list database for duplicate records before printing labels. The duplicate record check will allow you to specify the field or fields to compare. You will also be allowed to compare on a portion of a field. You can specify up to ten fields or portions of a field to compare. As PC-File+ checks the database for duplicate records, a 149 Using the Utilities ____________________________________________________________ report will be prepared with information regarding each duplicate record found. You can print the report to the printer, screen or disk. Once you have printed the report, you can go back to the duplicates found and consolidate data and delete duplicate records, if necessary. To check for duplicate records, press (F8) or type U from the PC-File+ main menu. You will be shown the Utilities menu. Press D to begin the duplicate record check. You will be shown a list of fields in the current database, and asked to enter the name of the first field to compare. Select the field or portion of a field to compare. Remember, you can select on up to ten different fields or portions of a field to compare. Your database must be sorted in the order you will compare fields. PC-File+ will check the primary sort field. If you select a field other than the primary sort field as the primary compare field, you will receive an error message. Let's say you want to find all records with duplicate data in the fields CLIENT and COMPANY. You would sort on the CLIENT field as the primary sort field and the COMPANY field as the secondary sort field. After the sorting process is complete, enter the Utilities menu, and select option 8 to check for duplicate records. Select CLIENT as the first field to compare, and COMPANY as the second field to compare. After you have selected the compare fields, you will be asked if you want the report to be printed to the printer, screen, or disk. Answer appropriately. If you want the report to be printed to a disk file, PC-File+ will create a file on the same drive and path as the database with the name FILE.DUP, where FILE is the name of the database. You will also be asked if you want to print data in all of the fields in the database or only the fields you are comparing. PC-File+ will print the record number of any duplicate record in the left column. Data in the fields will be printed to the right of the record number. PC-File+ will print up to 78 characters per record on one line. Data beyond 78 characters per line will be omitted. PC-File+ will print all of the data for an entire field even if you asked to compare on a portion of a field. Here is an example of a report, selecting on LASTNAME as compare field #1, and the first five characters of FIRSTNAME (FIRSTNAME,1,5) as compare field #2. 150 Using the Utilities ____________________________________________________________ RECNO LASTNAME FIRSTNAME STREET ----- ------------- --------------- ----------------- 10 Brown Robert P.O. Box 111 11 Brown Roberta 55 Main Street 30 Davis Donald 123 First Street 31 Davis Donald 123 First Street 100 Smith John 9898 Hill Road 101 Smith John P.O. Box 123 102 Smith John 9898 Hill Road Notice that PC-File+ considers records 10 and 11 to be duplicates. The reason is that PC-File+ was comparing only the first five characters of FIRSTNAME. The first five characters of "Robert" and "Roberta" are the same, and thus considered duplicates. PC-File+ will compare the data from one record to the data from the previous record. If the data is different in any of the compare fields, PC-File+ will not consider the two records as duplicates. The data must match exactly for all compare fields in order for PC-File+ to consider the two records as duplicates. PC-File+ can only compare adjacent records. For example, the data in record 1 can be compared to the data in record 2, but not the data in records 3, 4, etc. If the data in the first compare field doesn't match, PC-File+ won't bother to compare the subsequent compare fields. For example, if your first compare field is LASTNAME and the second compare field is FIRSTNAME, the records containing JOHN SMITH and JOHN DOE will not be flagged as duplicates because the last names are not duplicates. However, JOHN SMITH in Seattle, WA and JOHN SMITH in Los Angeles, CA would be flagged as duplicates. Referring to the previous example, if you had selected LASTNAME as compare field #1, FIRSTNAME as compare field #2 and STREET as compare field #3, only the records for Donald Davis, records 30 and 31, would be selected as duplicates. Records 100 and 102 would not be selected as duplicates. Records 100 and 101 are not considered duplicates because the street addresses are not the same. Therefore, record 102 can only be compared to record 101, and not 100. 151 Using the Utilities ____________________________________________________________ 26.8 UN-DELETING DELETED RECORDS PC-File+ has the ability to un-delete or recover deleted records in the current database. To un-delete deleted records, press (F8) or type U from the PC-File+ Master Menu. You will be shown the Utilities menu. Press U, "Un-delete records". PC-File+ will read the data file. Each time a deleted record is found, PC-File+ will display the deleted record on your screen. You will notice that the first character of the first field contains a slash, / . To un-delete the record displayed, enter the correct character for the first position of the first field. To leave the record deleted, just press (F10). NOTE: PC-File+ will only be able to recover deleted records which still exist in the database. If you removed deleted records by running PCFIX or cloning the database, PC-File+ will not be able to recover those deleted records. Likewise, you will not be able to recover deleted records if new records have been added in place of the deleted records. 152 27.0 GLOBAL MODIFY AND DELETE If you wish to delete a lot of records at one time, or modify a lot of records with the same values, then you'll find the global modify/delete capabilities of PC-File+ to be very useful. You can think of this as a bulk, or batch modify or delete. You'll be allowed to find a quantity of selected records from the database. For every record found, global delete will delete the record(s). Or, if you're doing global modify, each record found can have any of the fields changed to a new value. To perform global modifies or deletes, press (F4), or type G while viewing the Master Menu Screen. Here's an explanation of the questions you'll then be asked. Global Modify or Delete (M/D) [M] If you want to delete a series of records, reply D. If you want to modify a series of records, reply M. The next questions asks: All records, or Selected A/S [S] If you want to operate on all of the records in the database, reply A. If you want limit the operation to selected records, reply S If you reply S for selected records, you'll see the search menu screen. 153 Global Modify and Delete ____________________________________________________________ ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Simple search: │ │ you `fill in the blanks' │ │ Complex search: │ │ you type in a formula │ └──────────────────────────────┘ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ S(Simple search), C(Complex search), Q(Quit) S/C/Q [S] ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ PC-File+ will have to find the records for you to process. This is the same search question that's used when you give the "Find" command. Please read the section on Finding a record for more information. If you're doing a global modify, PC-File+ will ask which fields to change, and the new values. The prompt looks like this (we'll use a fictitious database): Please supply the replacement data below ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Name [==========================] Address [================================] City [===============] State [==] Zipcode [==========] This screen lets you replace the current data with new information. If you don't enter anything into a field, the data in that field will not be changed during the modify. It will be left alone. If you do enter something into a field, every record selected for updating will have that field replaced with the new value. You can enter new data into one, several, or all of the fields. Each of the fields that have new data entered will be modified. The wildcard character can be very useful here. Remember the wildcard character is an underscore. It looks like this: _ If you use a wildcard character as part of the new data in a field, it means to leave this spot alone during the modify. 154 Global Modify and Delete ____________________________________________________________ Let's try an example. Suppose that you wanted to put a dash into every zipcode, after the first five characters. You want to leave the first five characters of the zipcode unchanged, but you want the sixth character to become a "-". Also, you want every character after the sixth one to be left unchanged. Here's how you would fill in the screen: Please supply the replacement data below ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Name [==========================] Address [================================] City [===============] State [==] Zipcode [_____-____] PC-File+ will locate a record which matches your search. If you're doing a global modify, you'll be asked: "modify? Y,N, X(stop asking), Q(Quit) [N]" If you're doing a global delete, you'll be asked: "Delete? Y,N, X(stop asking), Q(Quit) [N]" If you wish to perform the modify or delete, reply Y. If you wish to leave the record unchanged and continue the search for the next record, reply N. If you're absolutely sure of what you're doing and wish to have all future modifies or deletes done with no more questions asked, reply X. CAUTION! Things happen fast in PC-File+. If you reply X, you'll modify or delete a lot of records quickly. It's up to you to know what you're doing. Think hard before pressing X, and be certain that you have a fresh backup copy of your database just in case things don't go as expected. We recommend pressing Y for the first several records so you can be sure the records being selected are the ones you want. After all the processing has been performed, you'll get a short report on the screen telling how many records were modified or deleted. 155 Global Modify and Delete ____________________________________________________________ 156 28.0 PC-FILE+ AND OTHER PROGRAMS A very powerful feature of PC-File+ is its ability to exchange data with many programs such as Lotus 1-2-3, WordStar, Microsoft WORD, dBASE, PC-Calc, PeachText, VisiCalc, and others. The following formats can be imported into PC-File+ databases and exported from PC-File+ databases. dBASE This is the format used be dBASE II and dBASE III data files, and other .DBF files. DIF This format is produced as an import/export option by many spreadsheet programs, and by some database programs. Fixed Length Fixed length format is used by many programs which create "random" files. Every record is exactly the same length, and there are no delimiters or record separators. The only way to tell where one record stops and the next one starts is by knowing the exact length of the records. This format is just like the Text Editor format described below, except that the end of each record is not marked by a carriage return. Lotus PRN This is essentially the same format as MailMerge described below, with one exception. In the MailMerge format, if a field is blank or empty, nothing is written out except the comma at the end of the field. In PRN files, if the field is blank or empty, a pair of quote marks is written out, then the comma at the end of the field. PRN files can be imported into 1-2-3 by using the File Import Numbers command sequence. To import a PRN file created by 1-2-3, you would use the Text Editor format. MailMerge This format consists of data fields separated by commas, with quote marks usually surrounding each field. The end of each record has a carriage-return and optionally a line-feed. This format is used by many word processing programs, including the WordStar "MailMerge" program and Microsoft Word, and is produced by many BASIC programs. It is also an export option in many 157 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ database programs. PC-Calc This format is used by the ButtonWare spreadsheet program called "PC-Calc". PC-File databases. You can select another PC-File database as the file to import. This will allow you to merge two different PC-File databases into one database. The PC-File format is not supported on export. PeachText This format consists of one field on each line of a new text record. It's sometimes called "field delimited" or "field per record" format. The only way to know where one record stops and another starts is to know exactly how many fields exist in each record. SYLK This format is used by MicroSoft in its "MULTI" series of programs. PC-File+ can export to SYLK format, but it cannot import from SYLK files. Text editor or SDF format This format consists of fixed length fields with no separators between each field. The end of each record has a carriage return and sometimes a line-feed. This format is produced by many text editor programs and word processing programs, and is an export/import option in many database programs. User-defined delimiter This format is supplied so you can exchange data with programs that don't use one of the standard formats. This format allows you to specify the field delimiter on import and export, and the record delimiter on export. When importing using this format, PC-File+ assumes the record delimiter is either a line-feed character or carriage-return/line-feed combination. Visicalc This format is used by the Visicalc spreadsheet program, and is produced as an import/export option by some spreadsheet programs. PC-File+ can export to Visicalc format, but it cannot import Visicalc format. To import Visicalc files, please refer to the DIF format above. Word Perfect This format is used by the "Word Perfect" word processor. 158 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ Compressed This format is created by the PC-File+ export program when "Compressed" is selected as the export format. It has combinations of two or more spaces replaced by single characters. Compressed files typically occupy approximately half as much space as the original database. Compressed format files can extend over multiple diskettes. 28.1 EXPORTING YOUR DATABASE You can export PC-File+ databases for use with many other programs. You may want to export your data to be used with your word processing program's mail merge feature. You might also want to export portions of your database to be used with your spreadsheet program. PC-File+ will export the database you are currently using. If you want to export a different database, you must first change databases, and load the database you wish to export. To export your database, press (F8) or enter U from the Master Menu Screen. You will then be shown the Utilities menu. Select option E," Export the current database." PC-File+ will prompt you to enter the drive and path to contain the exported file. Next, PC-File+ will ask you to enter the name for the exported file. You do not need to supply a file extension, PC-File+ will do that automatically for you. NOTE: You want to be sure to export to a drive with enough available space to contain the exported file. After entering the file specification of the file to be exported, you will be shown the possible formats to export to, and asked to select the format you want. 159 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ B) dBASE (DBF) │ │ C) PC-Calc (by ButtonWare) │ │ D) DIF (i.e. Visicalc, etc.) │ │ F) Fixed length (i.e. random files) │ │ L) Lotus PRN │ │ M) Mail-merge (comma-delimited) │ │ P) Peachtext (i.e. 1 field per record)│ │ S) Sylk (Microsoft Multiplan) │ │ T) Text editor (SDF) (i.e. fixed length, c/r) │ │ U) User-defined delimiter │ │ V) Visicalc │ │ W) Word Perfect │ │ X) Compressed (by PC-File export) │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Select the appropriate format. Refer to the section above. After selecting the format to export to, PC-File+ will check the complete file specification. If a file already exists with the file specification given, you will have the option to replace the existing file. If you replace the existing file, the existing data will be lost, and the new exported data will take its place. If you do not want to overwrite the existing file, indicate this and you will be returned to the Master Menu. Depending on which format you select, you will be asked different questions. If you select the Mail-Merge option: You will be asked "If the last field is blank, do you want an extra comma? (Y/N)". Normally, you will want to answer N. If you are using an earlier version of Wordstar, an extra comma is required if the last field is blank. If you will be using the exported file with Wordstar, not Wordstar 2000, answer Y. You will also be asked if the first record of the exported file should contain the field names. Some programs, such as Microsoft Word, require the first record to contain the field names. If you will be using such a program, answer Y, otherwise answer N. If you select the User-defined delimiter option: You will first be asked to enter the field delimiter, and then the record delimiter. The field delimiter is the character which will separate each field. The record delimiter is the character which will separate each record. The field and record delimiters may or 160 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ may not be the same, and will vary depending on which program you will be using. There are four options for entering the field and record delimiters. You can: 1. Enter the ASCII decimal value of the delimiter. This is handy for those keys which aren't represented by a character, such as <Tab> or <Enter>. 2. Select carriage return/line-feed combination as the delimiter. 3. Enter the required delimiter via keyboard. You will be asked to enter the delimiter by pressing the appropriate key. 4. Select no delimiter. Next, you will be asked the following questions if you export to any format other than the compressed format: "Do you want to flip the data?" If the data contains the tilde character, ~ , you can flip the data on output. You will want to answer Y if you will be using your exported file with a word processing program to perform a mail merge. "Export all fields or selected fields". Your answer may vary. If your database contains fields which will not be used by the program you are exporting to, you may want to export selected fields. You can export a portion of a field also. Finally, you will be asked if you want to export all records or selected records. Please read the section on printing reports for more information on selecting records. After you have answered all of the questions, PC-File+ will display the first record to export on the screen. You will be asked "Export? Y, N, X, Q". If you want to export this record, but still preview each record before exporting, answer Y. If you do not want to export this record, answer N. If you want to export this record, and all remaining records without PC-File+ stopping to ask you, answer X. If you want to quit the export process, answer Q. If you answer X, PC-File+ will keep you informed as to how many records have been processed, and how many records have been exported. After PC-File+ has processed all of the records in the 161 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ database, you will receive a message indicating the export process is complete. You will now be returned to the PC-File+ Master Menu. After your database has been exported, the exported file will have one of the following names: filename.CAL if you chose "PC-Calc" format filename.DBF if you chose "dBASE" format filename.DIF if you chose "DIF" format filename.FXD if you chose "Fixed Length" format filename.PRN if you chose "Lotus PRN" format filename.WS if you chose "Mail-Merge" format filename.PCH if you chose "PeachText" format filename.SYL if you chose "SYLK" format filename.SDF if you chose "Text Editor" format filename.USR if you chose "User-defined delimiter" format filename.VC if you chose "VisiCalc" format filename.WP if you chose "Word Perfect" format filename.X1 if you chose "Compressed" format A special note on the output of the "Compressed" option: PC-File+ makes a copy of the header file on the output drive in case the original somehow gets lost. It names this file "filename.HD1" so as not to conflict with the "filename.HDR" of the original file. The Compressed format is the only format that also allows multiple disks for the output. When each disk fills up, the operator will be prompted to insert a new one. This will continue until the entire database is exported. The filename on the first exported disk will be "filename.X1". On the second disk, it will be "filename.X2". The number at the end will increase by one for each output disk from the export. When you export the database, the selected records will be exported in the most recent sort sequence. Therefore, if you want the exported file to appear in a particular order, you'll need to sort the database first. 162 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ 28.2 IMPORTING DATA You can import files or databases created with other programs into the PC-File+ database format. You can also use the import feature to merge two PC-File databases into one. In order to do this, the file to be imported must be in one of the above formats. PC-File+ cannot, however, import SYLK, Visicalc or Lotus PRN formats. You may only import into the current database. If you want to import records into a different database, you must first change to the desired database. If you have not yet defined the database you wish to import into, you must first define the database. PC-File+ does not require that the file or database to be imported have the same number of fields, or matching field lengths. If the file to be imported contains more fields than the database, the extra fields will be thrown away. If the file to be imported contains fewer fields than the database, the fields at the end of the record will be filled with blanks. This is also true for field lengths. If the file to be imported contains fields longer than those defined in the database, data in those fields will be truncated to the database field length. If the file to be imported contains fields which are shorter than the database, the extra spaces will be filled with blanks. NOTE: If you will be importing using the Text Editor (SDF), fixed length, dBASE, or PeachText format, the database must match the import file exactly. The database must be defined with the fields in the same sequence as they exist in the import file, with the same number of fields, and matching fields must have matching lengths. To import a file into the current database, press (F8) or enter U from the Master Menu Screen. You will then see the Utilities menu. Select option I, "Import a PC-File+ database or other file." You will first be asked if you will be importing a PC-File database, or another file. If you want to import or merge another PC-File database, answer F, otherwise answer O. PC-File+ will prompt you to enter the drive and path which contain the file to be imported. After you have entered a valid drive and path, PC-File+ will ask you to select the file to be imported. PC-File+ will list the first 50 files on the drive and path indicated. If you see the file you want to import on the screen, you can either move the cursor 163 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ to the desired file and press (F10), or enter the file name or number in the blank field, then press (F10). If you have more than 50 files and you do not see your file listed, you will need to type the name in the blank field provided. You will now be shown the possible import formats. Select the appropriate format. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ B) dBASE (DBF) │ │ C) PC-Calc (by ButtonWare) │ │ D) DIF (i.e. Visicalc, etc.) │ │ F) Fixed length (i.e. random files) │ │ M) Mail-merge (comma-delimited) │ │ P) Peachtext (i.e. 1 field per record)│ │ T) Text editor (SDF) (i.e. fixed length, c/r) │ │ U) User-defined delimiter │ │ W) Word Perfect │ │ X) Compressed (by PC-File export) │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you select the User-defined delimiters option, you will be asked to enter the field delimiter. Next, you will be asked if you want to append the new records to the end of the database, or overwrite the existing data. Answer appropriately. If you select A, the imported records are added to the end of your database. If your database was empty to start with, then it will contain only the records that were imported. If you imported into a database that already contained records, the newly imported records will appear at the end of the database. If you answer O to overwrite, the existing records will be deleted, and the records imported will start at record 1. Finally, you will be asked if you want to import all records or selected records. Answer accordingly. Please refer to the section of the manual "(S) Search for Data" for more information. PC-File+ will begin the importing process. The first record will be shown to you as it will be stored in PC-File+. You will be asked "Import? Y, N, X, Q". If you want to import this record, but still preview each record before importing, answer Y. If you do not want to import this record, answer N. If you want to import this record, and all remaining records without PC-File+ stopping to ask you, answer X. If you want to quit the import process answer Q. One advantage to previewing the records before actually 164 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ importing, is that you can see if the records will be imported properly. If you notice that the record is not being imported properly, you can stop the import process, by typing Q. If you answer X, PC-File+ will keep you informed as to how many records are now in the database and how many records have been imported. After PC-File+ has processed the import file, you will receive a message indicating the import process is complete. You will now be returned to the PC-File+ Master Menu. The records imported will be in the order they appeared in the import file. You may want to sort the database before processing. 28.3 MERGING TWO DATABASES TOGETHER There is occasionally a need to combine two databases into one. For example, you may have been keeping your data on two separate databases because of a limitation on diskette space. Later, you install a new hard disk and wish to combine both databases into one. The merge function is actually an append. Records from one PC-File+ database will be appended to the end of the current database. Data will not be merged into existing records. As an example, let's say that you want to merge FILEB into FILEA. After the merge is complete, FILEB will still be the same as it was. FILEA will contain all of its original information, and in addition will contain the selected data from FILEB. The two databases to merge do not have to be defined similarly, i.e., have the same number of fields, or matching field lengths. However, the fields should be in the same order. If the database to be imported contains more fields than the current database, the data in the extra fields will be thrown away. If the database to be imported contains fewer fields than the current database, the fields at the end of the record will be filled with blanks. This is also true for field lengths. If the database to be imported contains fields longer than in the current database, data in those fields will be truncated to the database field length. If the database to be imported contains fields which are shorter than the current database, the extra spaces will be filled with blanks. To merge two databases, first make certain that the disk 165 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ with the current database has enough room to contain the increased size of the merged database. It is also a good idea to have backup copies of both databases, just in case you need to refer to the original databases. To merge another PC-File+ database into the current database, press (F8) or enter U from the Master Menu Screen. You will then see the Utilities menu. Select option I, "Import a PC-File+ database or other file." You will first be asked if you will be importing a PC-File+ database or another file. Answer F. PC-File+ will prompt you to enter the drive and path which contain the database to be merged. After you have entered a valid drive and path, PC-File+ will ask you to select the database to merge into the current database. PC-File+ will list the first 50 databases on the drive and path indicated. If you see the database you want to import on the screen, you can either move the cursor to the desired database and press (F10), or enter the database name or number in the blank field, then press (F10). If you have more than 50 databases on the drive and path indicated, and do not see the database listed, you will need to type the name in the blank field provided. Finally, you will be asked if you want to merge all records or selected records. Answer accordingly. Please refer to the section of the manual "(S) Search for Data" for more information. PC-File+ will begin the merging process. The first record will be shown to you as it will be stored in PC-File+. You will be asked "Import? Y, N, X, Q". If you want to import this record, but still preview each record before importing, answer Y. If you do not want to import this record, answer N. If you want to import this record, and all remaining records without PC-File+ stopping to ask you, answer X. If you want to quit the import process answer Q. One advantage to previewing the records before actually importing, is that you can see if the records will be imported properly. If you notice that the record is not being imported properly, you can stop the import process by typing Q. If you answer X, PC-File+ will keep you informed as to how many records are now in the database and how many records have been imported. 166 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ After PC-File+ has processed the import file, you will receive a message indicating the import process is complete. You will now be returned to the PC-File+ Master Menu. The records imported will be in the order they appeared in the import file. You may want to sort the database before processing. 167 PC-File+ and Other Programs ____________________________________________________________ 168 29.0 CHANGING YOUR DATABASE DEFINITION - CLONING You can create an entirely new database from an existing database. You may want to do this to create a subset of the original database with fewer records, or to change the way your database is defined. You can also split a database into multiple parts. This is especially useful when you're running out of disk space and wish to divide the database into several smaller databases. The cloning operation allows you to define a new database that is similar to an existing one, and copies the data from the existing database into the new one. The new database can differ from the original in the following ways: ■ You can modify your data entry screen. ■ Field lengths can be lengthened. ■ Field lengths can be shortened. ■ New fields can be added. ■ Fields can be deleted. ■ Fields can be rearranged (the order of their appearance on the screen changed). ■ The new database can contain selected records from the original. Cloning your database is simple! All you have to do is modify the current data entry screen. To clone your database, press (F8) or U while viewing the Master Menu. From the Utilities menu, choose selection C, "Clone (Change the database definition)." PC-File+ will display the current entry screen. You can now make any changes to the data entry screen. Here is an example of what the screen looks like: NOTE: Your database will probably be defined differently than ours. Therefore, your field names, number of fields, and size of fields will differ from this example. 169 Changing Your Database Definition - Cloning ____________________________________________________________ Field names: 12 letters or less. Data locations: [ ] Example: PHONE [( ) - ] Press (Alt) H for help ╔ Please make changes to your data-entry screen 21:80 ═══╗ ║ NAME [ ] ║ ║ ADDRESS1 [ ] ║ ║ ADDRESS2 [ ] ║ ║ CITY [ ] ║ ║ STATE [ ] ║ ║ ZIP [ ] ║ ║ PHONE [ ] ║ ║ COMMENTS [ ║ ║ ]║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═(F1,F2)Cut (F3,F4)Paste (F5,F6)Del (F10)Done ═ r:1 c:1 ═╝ 29.1 DELETE A FIELD To delete a field, place the cursor on the first character of the field name and press the delete key. If the field is on a line by itself, you can press the (F5) key. If the field is the last field on a line (to the right of all the other fields), press (F6). If there is a field to the right, do not use the (F5) or (F6) keys. You must use the (Del) key and the space bar to prevent deleting the field to the right. 29.2 ADD A FIELD To add a field to your database, type the new name where you want the new field. Then use the left and right brackets to define the field length. For example, if you want to define a field ten characters long, you must have ten blank spaces between the left and right brackets. 170 Changing Your Database Definition - Cloning ____________________________________________________________ 29.3 CHANGE A FIELD LENGTH To change a field length, all that you have to do is either delete spaces between the brackets, or add spaces between your brackets. NOTE: If you delete spaces between the brackets you may lose data. 29.4 REARRANGE FIELDS To rearrange your fields on the data entry screen, use the (F1), (F2) Cut keys and the (F3), (F4) Paste keys. You can then place your fields in any order you wish. For more information regarding the editor commands, please see the section "Using the Built-in Editor." 29.5 SEQUENCING FIELDS After you have made all of your changes to the entry screen, press (F10). You will be shown the order of access for the fields. If you want to change the order the cursor will move, answer Y when asked. Otherwise, answer N. If you answer Y, you will be asked to enter a number next to each field. The number will correspond to the order the field will be accessed. NOTE: PC-File+ will store the data in the .DTA file in the order the fields are accessed. In other words, the first field that is accessed on your screen will be the first field in the data file. 29.6 WHERE WILL THE DATA COME FROM? PC-File+ needs to know which field currently contains the information so that the data can be transferred to the new database. PC-File+ will display the field names as they were before the cloning process. PC-File+ will prompt you to enter the name of the field the data will come from, for each field in the new database. PC-File+ will try to quess which field currently contains the data. If PC-File+ thinks it knows which field contains the data, the field name will be displayed in the entry field. If PC-File+ can't figure out 171 Changing Your Database Definition - Cloning ____________________________________________________________ which field contains the data, the entry field will be blank. If PC-File+ is correct, just press (F10). If PC-File+ is not correct, enter the correct name. If the field is a new field, just press (F10) when the cursor is in the blank field. If you are shortening a field, you can tell PC-File+ which characters to clone. Following the field name, type a comma, following by the starting position, followed by a comma, followed by the number of characters to clone. The number of characters to clone should equal the field length. For example, the field DATE is stored in the format MM-DD-YY. You want to shorten the field to two characters to include just the year. When asked to enter the name of the field which contains the data for DATE, you would enter DATE,7,2. This tells PC-File+ to clone two characters, starting at position 7. If you shorten a field, and do not indicate the starting position and number of characters to clone, PC-File+ will assume a starting position of 1, and will clone the number of characters equal to the field length. 29.7 MODIFYING THE DATA ENTRY SCREEN If PC-File+ determines that you have only made cosmetic modifications to the data entry screen, and not actually changed the number of fields, field lengths or positions, you will be asked, "Clone a new database or only Modify the entry screen?" If you answer M, PC-File+ will save the new header file, and return to the Master Menu. PC-File+ will not actually clone the database. 172 Changing Your Database Definition - Cloning ____________________________________________________________ 29.8 THE NAME OF THE CLONED DATABASE After you have defined which fields to include in your new database and the order the fields will appear, you will be asked to enter the file specification for the new database. First, PC-File+ will ask you "Which drive for output?" Enter the drive where you want the new database to be stored. Be sure there is enough room on the disk you select to contain the new database. Next, PC-File+ will ask you to enter the name of the path or subdirectory to clone to. After you have entered a valid drive and path, PC-File+ will ask you to enter the name for the new database. You do not need to include the file extension in the name. PC-File+ will do that for you automatically. You must give the database a unique name. If you clone to a different drive or path, you can use the same name for the database. If you try to name the new database with the name of an existing database on the drive and path specified, you will be asked if you want to replace the existing database. If you want to overwrite the existing data, answer Y. If you don't want to lose the existing database, answer N. PC-File+ will ask you for the file specification, again, beginning with the drive to contain the database. If you have defined a profile file for the current database, you will be asked if you want to copy the profile file. You will also be asked if you want to copy the .KEY file if you have defined any Smart Keys for the current database. Your answers to these two questions will probably depend on the reason for cloning. If you clone your database to add a new field or to lengthen a field, you will probably want to copy the profile file and Smart Key file. If you are creating a subset database that will be used for a different purpose, you may not want to copy the profile file or Smart Key file. Remember, you can always go to the Utilities menu to copy or delete either a profile file or Smart Key file. Finally, PC-File+ will ask you whether you want to clone all of the records in the current database or only selected records. Again, your answer will probably vary. Answer accordingly. If you answer S for selected records, you will be asked to enter the selection criteria. Please refer to the section on selecting records for more information. PC-File+ will display the first record matching the selection criteria and ask if you want to clone the record. If you answer X (clone all of the remaining records and don't ask anymore), PC-File+ will display the number of records processed and the number of records selected for cloning. This will tell you how many records will be 173 Changing Your Database Definition - Cloning ____________________________________________________________ included in the new database. This will also give you an idea of how fast the cloning process is proceeding. Regardless of whether or not you specify all records or selected records, PC-File+ will never clone deleted records. When PC-File+ has completed the cloning process, the total number of records included in your new database will be displayed on the screen. If you escape out of the cloning process, PC-File+ will display a message "Clone canceled. Press (Enter)". The new database will contain only those records which were already cloned before you pressed (Esc). After the cloning process has finished, press (Enter) to return to the Master Menu. 174 30.0 SPLITTING AND JOINING FIELDS It's possible with PC-File+ to combine two adjacent fields into one field in your database. You may want to do this, for example, if you had defined a YEAR field, a MONTH field, and a DAY field and then wished to combine them into one single field called DATE. You can also split up a single field into multiple fields. For example, you may want to take the DATE field and split it out into MONTH, DAY, and YEAR. Here's how to split or join fields: Let's use an example. We'll pretend that your old database is named OLD, and your new database is called NEW. The OLD database has a field called NAME, which we don't want to change. It has a field called BIGFIELD which we want to split out into two fields called BIG1 and BIG2. It has two fields called SMALL1 and SMALL2 which we wish to join into one field called SMALLFIELD. Here's how the changes will look: OLD database NEW database -------------- -------------- NAME 20 NAME 20 BIGFIELD 30 BIG1 15 BIG2 15 SMALL1 4 SMALLFIELD 10 SMALL2 6 Please reference the above example in the steps that follow. 1. Define a new database. Make certain that you use a different database name. Define it exactly the same as your old database, except for the changes to the fields you wish to split or join. The lengths of all the non-changed fields must be exactly the same. The lengths of the split or joined fields must exactly add up to the length of the old field(s). The total length of all your new fields must equal EXACTLY the total length of all the fields in your original database. NOTE: Do not change the order of any field which is not either split or joined. If you need to change the order of any field, you must clone the database. 175 Splitting and Joining Fields ____________________________________________________________ For the example, you would define a new database called NEW as outlined above. 2. Copy the data portion of your old database over to become the data portion of your new database, changing the name in the process. From DOS, for example, you would enter the command: COPY OLD.DTA NEW.DTA 3. Run the Program PCFIX on your new database. This will cause the new index to be built. From DOS with your PC-File+ disk in the default drive, you would type: PCFIX After performing all of the above steps, the new database should be ready to use. After you've checked it out thoroughly, you can delete the old database. 176 31.0 SNAPSHOT MAILING LABELS The Snapshot Mailing Label is a very handy feature. When you're adding a record to your database, or just viewing or modifying a record, you may wish to print some of the information you see on the screen. You might want the address for a mailing label or specific details for a daily listing or report. To define a Snapshot mailing label, you must either create or modify the profile file of the database to have snapshot mailing labels. From the Master Menu, enter the Utilities menu and select option P, "Profile files (set up configuration)." Select the profile to create or modify. Answer Y in the field next to SNAPSHOT LABEL. You will be allowed to enter the Snapshot definition in the editing window provided. 31.1 THE SNAPSHOT DEFINITION You can include up to 255 characters in your Snapshot label definition. The Snapshot label definition is: device,t,f,f,f,f,f,f,f,f,f,f Replace the "device" with the name of the DOS device to be used for Snapshot label output. This will usually be LPT1: (a printer connected to the first parallel port). If you have a serial port printer, you would indicate either COM1: or COM2:. You can store the Snapshot information in a file on disk, rather than printing the information. To do this, you would include the name of the file as the device. Replace the "t" with a number specifying how far to tab in at the front of each line of your mailing label or report. Replace the "f"'s in the definition as follows: 0 - Use the 0 (zero) when you want to start a new line. A Field Number - Select the fields you want, in the order that you want them printed. To select the first field, you would enter 1; to select the second field, enter 2, etc. Number of Characters to tab right - The number must be 177 Snapshot Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ preceded by a minus sign. For example, if you want to tab 10 spaces to the right, you would enter -10. A Constant A constant is any text that you want printed on each label. Each constant must be surrounded by the apostrophe character. Quote marks will not work. Example: 'DO NOT BEND' You can put as many "f" values as needed in your Snapshot definition. Each value must be separated by a comma. 31.2 USING THE SNAPSHOT LABEL FEATURE Once you have defined the Snapshot, all you have to do to print the label is press the (Ctrl)L key combination. 31.3 AN EXAMPLE OF A SNAPSHOT MAILING LABEL Let's try an example. Assume that your database is defined with these field names in this order: 1 LASTNAME 2 FIRSTNAME 3 ADDRESS 4 CITY 5 STATE 6 COUNTRY 7 ZIPCODE 8 PHONE Also suppose that you want your address labels to look like this: firstname lastname address city state zipcode country FIRST CLASS In addition, you want to tab over ten spaces before you print each line of the label. You also need two blank lines at the end of each label to get the printer to the top of the next label. Your Snapshot command string would look like this: 178 Snapshot Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ LPT1:,10,2,1,0,3,0,4,5,7,0,6,-15,'FIRST CLASS',0,0,0 31.4 PRINTING TO A DISK FILE Using the same database as above, let's assume that you want to keep a log of your telephone calls each day. Thus, each time that someone calls, you look them up in the database, and do a Snapshot label. However, because you want to be using your printer for other tasks, you don't want to have to print to your printer. You can print the Snapshot label to a disk file called CALLS. Your Snapshot string for printing to disk would look like this: CALLS,0,2,1,3,4,5,7,0 PC-File+ will create a file called CALLS if one does not exist. If a file CALLS already exists, PC-File+ will append the snapshot data for the record displayed to the end of the CALLS file. 31.5 IMBEDDING BLANK LINES AND SPACES The Snapshot label removes spaces within a line, and removes blank lines. This is to produce a nicer looking label. There might be times when you want a blank line within the body of your label. To imbed a blank line, you need to tell PC-File+ to tab a certain number of characters, we recommend 1, then start a new line. Using the example above, if you wanted a blank line to occur between the line with CITY, STATE and ZIP (4,5,7) and the line with COUNTRY (6), you would enter: LPT1:,10,2,1,0,3,0,4,5,7,0,-1,0,6,-15,0,0,0 The combination "0,-1,0" will cause PC-File+ to print a blank line within the body of the snapshot label. 179 Snapshot Mailing Labels ____________________________________________________________ 180 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 32.0 BACKING UP YOUR DATABASE We recommend backing up your database frequently. It doesn't take much time to backup at the end of EACH day. If what you have on disk is very important to you, you should keep several "generations" of your backup copies on hand. You may want to keep a different set of backup disks for each day of the week. There are several methods that can be used to make your backup copies. 32.1 USING THE DOS COPY COMMAND If your database is small enough to fit on a single diskette, you can use the DOS COPY command. The DOS manual explains this command in greater detail. Here's an example using a database called MYDATA. COPY B:MYDATA.* A: 32.2 USING THE DOS BACKUP PROGRAM If your database is on a hard disk and is too large to fit on a single diskette, you can use the DOS BACKUP command. This will allow you to copy the entire database onto several floppy disks. Later, you'll be able to restore your database back onto the hard disk by using the DOS RESTORE command. These commands are explained in the DOS manual. Here's an example using the BACKUP command on a file called MYDATA in a directory called PCF on the C drive: BACKUP C:\PCF\MYDATA.* A: NOTE: If you backup using DOS BACKUP, you MUST use the RESTORE command if you need to use the backup copy. You cannot use the DOS COPY command to restore a database which was backed up using BACKUP. 183 Backing up Your Database ____________________________________________________________ 32.3 USING PC-FILE+'S COPY FEATURES To make backup copies of your database(s) from within PC-File+ you need to go from the Master Menu Screen to the Utilities section of PC-File+. You do that by pressing (F8) or typing U while viewing the Master Menu Screen. Select option M, "Maintenance - Copy, Delete or Rename a PC-File+ file." When asked "Copy, Delete, or Rename?", type C. You will then be asked which type of file you wish to copy. Answer D, for database. You will be asked for the drive, path and name of the database to copy. You will then be asked for the drive, path and name to copy to. If you will be copying to the same drive and path, you must select a different name than the current database. If you select a file specification of a database which already exists, PC-File+ will tell you. You can proceed with the copy process and overwrite the existing file, or you can cancel the copy process and select a different file specification. PC-File+ will then display each of the file names being copied. When you press (Enter) you will be taken back to the Utilities menu. To return to the Master Menu Screen just type Q and press (Enter). It's important to note that making backup copies this way may not be as fast as using the DOS commands, but it does allow you to make your backup copies without exiting PC-File+. 32.4 USING THE PC-FILE+ EXPORT CAPABILITY The export utility in PC-File+ can also be used to make a backup copy of your database. There are some advantages and disadvantages to using this method. The disadvantage is the slower speed of making the copy. The DOS COPY and BACKUP commands will both run faster than the PC-File+ export. The advantages are: ■ All excess blanks (spaces) will be removed from the exported copy. The exported copy will take up less space on the diskettes. The exported copy typically occupies only half as much space as the original. ■ The process of exporting and then importing the database removes deleted records, and places the database in the same physical sequence as the index. This can have a 184 Backing up Your Database ____________________________________________________________ speed advantage in later processing with the database. To backup your database using the export routines, follow the instructions in the chapter on exporting your database, selecting the Compressed format. 185 Backing up Your Database ____________________________________________________________ 186 33.0 USING PCFIX PCFIX performs several functions. First, PCFIX allows you to permanently remove deleted records from your database. PCFIX will also remove any imbedded end-of-file markers and will replace any character with an ASCII value less than 32 with a space. Finally, PCFIX will build a new index file. 33.1 WHEN TO RUN PCFIX You may never need to run PCFIX. However, there may be times when something happens to your database files. If your index file is damaged or deleted, you should run PCFIX. Also, you may have an imbedded end-of-file marker in the database. When this happens, you will not be able to access all of your records. You should run PCFIX. Moreover, if you delete a lot of records, you may want to run PCFIX to reclaim the space taken up by the deleted records. 33.2 HOW TO RUN PCFIX To run PCFIX, type PCFIX at the DOS prompt. You will be asked to enter the file specification of the database to fix. You will first enter the drive and path which contain the database. PCFIX will display a list of databases on the drive and path indicated. Select the database to fix. There are two reasons that you might not see your database listed. First, you may have indicated the wrong drive and/or path. Second, you have more than 50 databases on the drive and path. If this is the problem, you will need to type the database name on the line provided, and press (F10). If you try to select a database that does not exist, PCFIX will reject it. 187 Using PCFIX ____________________________________________________________ 33.3 WHAT HAPPENS DURING PCFIX After you have entered the file specification, PCFIX will check the header file (.HDR). PCFIX will warn you of any problems with the header file. Possible problems are: ■ An error in a field name. ■ An error in a field length. ■ Too many fields defined in your database. The maximum number of fields is 70. PCFIX cannot repair a damaged header file. If your header file becomes damaged, you can do one of two things to repair the header file: 1. Copy a backup copy of the header file. 2. Recreate the header file by defining an exact database. After you have defined the new database, copy the new header file over the old header file. After PCFIX has checked the header file, you will be asked if you want to remove deleted records. If you answer Y, PCFIX will read through the .DTA file, searching for all deleted records. When PCFIX finds a deleted record, the next record will be moved on top of the deleted record. This process will proceed until PCFIX has read the entire .DTA file. PCFIX will keep you informed of how many records have been processed and how many deleted records have been removed. After checking for deleted records, PCFIX will begin building a new index file. PCFIX will also replace any imbedded end-of-file markers in the .DTA file with an @, and will also replace any character with an ASCII value less than 32 with a space. PCFIX will keep you posted as to how many records have been processed and how many records have been fixed. When PCFIX has successfully finished processing, you will be notified that your database is ready to use. NOTE: PCFIX builds the index in the order the records were originally entered. You may find you need to sort the database after running PCFIX. If the data disk becomes full before the entire index file is built, PCFIX will display an error message. The partial index file will be deleted. You will need to free up space 188 Using PCFIX ____________________________________________________________ on the disk, or copy the header and data file to a disk with more space, and run PCFIX again. You will not be able to access your database until PCFIX has built a complete index file. 33.4 STOPPING PCFIX We do not recommend canceling PCFIX before it has completed processing. You will not be able to use the (Esc) key to escape out of PCFIX after you answer the question "Do you want to remove deleted records?". This prevents you from accidentally destroying your index file. When you run PCFIX the old index file is deleted and a new index file is created. Without a complete index file, you would not be able to access the data in the database. NOTE: If you remove deleted records, DO NOT use (Ctrl) (Break) to break out of PCFIX. If you do, you risk damaging your data. 189 Using PCFIX ____________________________________________________________ 190 34.0 IF YOUR DATABASE GETS DAMAGED PC-File+ takes many precautions to make sure that you don't accidentally damage your database. However, accidents do happen. Diskettes are a notoriously unreliable medium for the storage of information. Sectors can sometimes go bad on the disks. Read/write heads in the drives can get dirty. If something unforeseen happens to your database, follow the steps listed below. It can probably be recovered. First Run the DOS CHKDSK command on your data disk. If any errors are reported, follow the instructions in your DOS manual for trying to fix the errors. Until the errors are corrected, you should not use your database. Second Check to see that you have some empty space on the database disk (the DOS CHKDSK program will tell you this). If the disk is full, you must free up some space by deleting any files on the disk that are not needed, or by moving some files off of the database disk onto another disk. Third Run the program PCFIX which was distributed as part of your PC-File+ package. This program can repair a damaged index file, but not a damaged header file or data file. Fourth If the above steps don't solve the problem, you'll have to make a copy of one of your backup copies of the database and use the COPY of the backup copy. To help minimize the chances of damaging a database in the future, we offer the following suggestions. ■ Always keep one or more backup copies of your database. If you ever need to use the backup copy, DON'T. Make a copy of the backup copy, and use that. Please see the section "Backing up your Database." ■ Never open the latch on your diskette drive until after the red light on the disk drive goes out. 191 If Your Database Gets Damaged ____________________________________________________________ ■ Don't change diskettes while running PC-File+ unless you're prompted to do so by a message on the screen. ■ Use only top quality diskettes to store your database. If you have double-sided drives, use only diskettes rated "double-sided". ■ Before you run PC-File+ enter this command to DOS: VERIFY ON This will cause DOS to always read back what it has just written on the disk to make certain it was written correctly. ■ If it's been a year or more since you've cleaned the "heads" in your diskette drives, buy a good quality head cleaning kit and clean the heads. ■ Obtain a power line filter for your PC, to protect it from voltage surges. It's relatively cheap protection for an expensive machine. ■ Make certain that your power cord is plugged into a well grounded outlet. If the power outlet isn't properly grounded, you'll have unreliable operation. ■ If your computer work station is on a carpeted floor, static electricity can cause many heartaches. Investigate the following remedies: Removing the carpets, or relocating the computer work station Buying antistatic spray for the carpets Providing a "grounding pad" for placement at the keyboard 192 35.0 CALCULATING DISK STORAGE SPACE You can manually calculate the amount of disk space your database will require. For the filename.INX file, take the number of fields defined and multiply by 2. To that answer, add 2. The answer is the number of characters in one index record. For the filename.DTA file, add together the length of each field defined. To that answer, add 1. This gives the number of characters in one data record. If you add together the calculated length of the INX record and the calculated length of the DTA record and multiply this by the maximum number of records you expect to have in your database, you'll have the approximate number of characters of disk space required to contain your database. Here's a worksheet to help clarify the calculations: a. Total number of fields in your database ____________(a) b. Item(a) times 2 ____________(b) c. Item(b) plus 2 = length of index record ____________(c) d. Sum of all field lengths in your database ____________(d) e. Item(d)+ 1 = length of data record ____________(e) f. Item(e) plus Item(c) = disk space used by each record ____________(f) g. Total number of records expected in database ____________(g) h. Item(g) times Item(f) = total disk space needed for the database ____________(h) To save you the effort of these calculations and to warn you as your disk starts to fill up, PC-File+ looks at your disk frequently and displays the number of records that can be added to the disk. This number is shown at the top of the Master Menu Screen. 193 Calculating Disk Storage Space ____________________________________________________________ 194 36.0 TIPS AND TECHNIQUES 36.1 REORGANIZING THE DATABASE Reorganizing means to remove all the deleted records, and put the database data into the same physical sequence as the database index. Your database really doesn't need to be reorganized. We don't recommend that you ever do it, unless you consider yourself an advanced user. Here are the benefits of reorganizing your database: ■ Deleted slots will be removed. This is important only if you have a lot of deleted records with no hope of reusing them in the near future. ■ Certain database operations may run faster. Specifically, the last phase of the sort, listing to disk, and exporting may run faster when the physical sequence of the database matches the logical sequence (the physical sequence of the index). There are several different ways to reorganize a database. ■ Export the database and then import it, using the compressed format. ■ Clone the database. ■ Run PCFIX, telling it to remove deleted records. This will get rid of deleted records, but it will not improve the sequence of physical records. The database will then have to be re-sorted if you care about the sequence it's in. 195 Tips and Techniques ____________________________________________________________ 36.2 TOPVIEW AND WINDOWS PC-File+ is designed to be aware of TopView and Windows. It is in all respects "well behaved." If it discovers that it's running under TopView or Windows, it issues standard TopView and Windows commands, instead of writing directly to screen RAM. When you add the PC-File+ program to TopView or Windows, the PIF file on the PC-File+ disk will provide the necessary information to TopView or Windows. 196 37.0 THE PC-CALC PC-FILE CONNECTION The information presented in this section should not be confused with importing or exporting files, which have already been covered in this manual. While it's true that you can import and export data between PC-File+ and PC-Calc, PC-Calc has the ability to go in and directly use information contained in PC-File+ database fields. While you are using a PC-Calc spreadsheet, you can get data from any number of PC-File+ database fields. Data in PC-File+ fields can be retrieved directly into any spreadsheet cell. From a single PC-Calc spreadsheet you can obtain sales figures and other information for calculations. Data can even be summarized from the database for placement into a single spreadsheet cell. For the details on how to do this you will need to read your PC-Calc manual. This information is presented here because it points out more capabilities you have with PC-File+ when combined with PC-Calc. Now, you can design and use your database(s) knowing that you can easily have the numeric data readily available for use in PC-Calc. You won't have to re-enter any of the information. It's important to note that you can do all of this without the database being modified in anyway. 197 The PC-Calc PC-File Connection ____________________________________________________________ 198 38.0 THE PC-TYPE+ PC-FILE CONNECTION PC-Type+ can go in directly and pull information from any number of PC-File+ database files and fields. Data in PC-File+ fields can be retrieved directly into any part of your document. This is very handy, for example, when writing a letter. When you get ready to do the address lines, you can have PC-Type+ retrieve all of the necessary information directly from your address database and place it in your letter. The mail merge feature in PC-Type+ can also retrieve data from your PC-File+ database files. PC-Type+ can even do the same types of powerful searches through your database that PC-File+ can! When you don't have integrated products like ButtonWare's PC-File+ and PC-Type+, here's what you normally have to do to get an address into your letter: 1. Save your letter 2. Exit your word processor 3. Start up your database program 4. Look up the address in your database 5. Write down the information 6. Quit your database program 7. Restart your word processor 8. Load your letter back in 9. Type in the name and address With PC-Type+ and PC-File+, getting an address into your letter is this easy: 1. Tell PC-Type+ to look up the address in your database 2. Tell PC-Type+ to copy the address directly into your letter For the details on how to do this you will need to read your PC-Type+ program manual. This information is presented here because it points out even more capabilities you have with PC-File+ when combined with PC-Type+. Now, you can design and use your database(s), knowing that you can easily have the information readily available for use in your word processor. Why re-do and re-enter all of the information, when you can have it pulled out of your databases by PC-Type+? 199 The PC-Type+ PC-File Connection ____________________________________________________________ 200 APPENDIX A. ERROR MESSAGES In case you receive an error message that you don't understand, the following list of messages may help you determine an appropriate action. The messages are listed in alphabetical order. Bad seek in wrk file This is an error message from the sort. It's usually caused by a bad sector on the sort work disk. It could also be caused by an error in RAM memory. You may need to run PCFIX before re-starting the sort. Cannot load overlay: too many open files You have not allowed for enough files in DOS. You need to increase the number of files allowed, by changing your CONFIG.SYS file. Please refer to the section "Installing PC-File+" for more information. Can't open ... The file named in the message cannot be opened for processing. There could be several reasons for this: ■ The file could not be found, because you gave the wrong name for it ■ The file could not be found, because you specified the wrong disk drive or subdirectory ■ The file exists, but is in use by someone else on your system ■ You are having disk hardware errors ■ The file may have been damaged in some way Can't run DOS (nn) You've tried to run a DOS command from within PC-File+ and the DOS command cannot be processed. The number inside the parentheses (shown above as nn) gives the reason: 2 - COMMAND.COM cannot be found on the disk 7 - The space required for the environment information exceeds 32K 8 - The COMMAND.COM file has an invalid format and is not executable 12 - Not enough RAM memory is available to execute the command; or the available memory has been 201 Error Messages ____________________________________________________________ corrupted Error reading ... This message occurs when PC-File+ can't read the named file. Perhaps the file has been damaged in some way. You may be having difficulties with the disk itself. Either the diskette (or disk media) has a bad sector, or errors are occurring in the disk controller card. Make sure that you haven't changed diskettes at an inappropriate time. Error writing on ... This message occurs when PC-File+ can't write on the named file. Check to make sure that the disk doesn't have a write-protect tab on it. Also, make sure that the disk isn't already full. If it is full, no more data can be written onto it. You may be having difficulties with the disk itself. Either the diskette (or disk media) has a bad sector, or errors are occurring in the disk controller card. Make sure that you haven't changed diskettes at an inappropriate time. Until you correct this error and re-start PC-File+, you will not be allowed to add, delete, or modify any more records in the database. File not found ... The file named in the message cannot be found. There could be several reasons for this: ■ The file could not be found, because you gave the wrong name for it ■ The file could not be found, because you specified the wrong disk drive or subdirectory ■ You are having disk hardware errors ■ Your disk directory may have been damaged in some way Not enough disk work space This is an error message from the sort. The disk drive where you indicated the work area should reside doesn't have enough available space to contain the work file. You need to either provide a different disk drive for the work area, or free up some space by deleting unneeded files. 202 Error Messages ____________________________________________________________ Not enough RAM for this operation The operation you attempted requires more RAM memory than you have available. You need to either purchase more RAM memory for your system, or free up some existing RAM memory. You can free up existing memory by removing some of your RAM resident routines or, if you're using Windows or some other multi-tasking program, specify a larger size for PC-File+. Path error - ... PC-File+ was not able to locate the path that you specified. Perhaps you gave the name of a path that doesn't exist. You may have indicated the wrong disk drive. Too many work files This is an error message from the sort. Your database is too large to sort, given the sort fields which you requested. Solutions: (1) More RAM memory would cut down on the number of work files required, (2) Don't sort on so many fields, (3) Cut down the SIZE of the fields you're sorting on, by providing a starting position and length in each field, example: LASTNAME,1,6 Wrong password A password is required before you can perform the operation you attempted. You provided the wrong password. To learn the correct password, check with the person who set up your database. 203 Error Messages ____________________________________________________________ 204 APPENDIX B. A FEATURES CHECKLIST Making comparisons of the many database programs on the market today is a popular pastime. The features checklist provided here will help simplify such a task. We welcome all comparisons of PC-File+ to other programs. You'll soon discover that PC-File+ does far more than most programs that sell for many times its price. Additionally, many of PC-File+'s helpful features aren't even available in other programs. Database Type: Indexed, relational Maximum databases open simultaneously is 70 User Interface: Menu driven Full screen input A Help key, context-sensitive with pop-up help screens Password protection optional, 5 levels Macro definition capability Entry/Editing Capabilities: Paint input screen "Character" field type "Number" field type User defined field types Automatic Date, several formats Automatic Time Automatic "Unique number" Pre-entered "default" data RAM Memory: Minimum required is 384K Printers Supported: Any printer supported by DOS Disk Drives: Minimum required is 2 floppy or 1 hard disk Hard Disk Support: Program may reside on hard disk Data may reside on hard disk Separate subdirectories are supported 205 A Features Checklist ____________________________________________________________ Electronic Disk Support: Program may reside on electronic disk Data may reside on electronic disk Program Capacities: Maximum Field length (most fields) is 65 characters Maximum Field length (last field) is 1665 characters Maximum Fields per Database is 70 Maximum Record length is 1665 characters Maximum Records per Database is 65,533 Maximum Number of Sort Control Fields is 10 Maximum Number of "subtotal fields" in a report is 52 Maximum Number of "calculated fields" in a database is 70 Maximum Number of "relational fields" in a database is 70 Search Types: Wild Card Soundex Generic Scan across (imbedded) Sort capabilities: Up to ten of any of the fields at one time Mixed ascending or descending Can sort any portion of a field Can sort Scientific notation numbers Can sort Roman Numerals Can sort in "Random" sequence Can sort in Soundex (sounds like) sequence Ad hoc queries possible: Yes Case independence: Searches are case independent Option for case dependent searches Sorts are case independent Option for case dependent sorts Indexing: ALL fields are automatically indexed Search or sort on ANY fields in the database Fast "Binary" search is automatically used when possible Reports Paint reports Boolean logic for record selection Control breaks are supported "Cover page" can be designed Titles on each page are supported Multiple title lines allowed Fields can be placed anywhere on the page 206 A Features Checklist ____________________________________________________________ Subtotals, totals and averages all optional, can be placed anywhere on page Footers supported Calculated report fields Relational report fields (from other databases) Variety of system fields can be included Print to disk, printer, or screen Communication with other programs: Can read and write the following file types ASCII text files Comma-separated (WORD, MailMerge) DIF files dBase "DBF" files One field per line (Peachtext) Word Perfect format PC-Calc files Fixed length files Compressed files (spaces removed) user-defined field and record separators Lotus "PRN" files (writes only) Visicalc "VC" files (writes only) MicroSoft "SYLK" files (writes only) Openness of the system: Is Program copy-protected? NO Method is provided to predict database sizes Programmer information is provided Sample BASIC program is provided Sample Turbo Pascal program is provided Miscellaneous advanced features: Calculated and Relational fields Built-in letter writing with mail merge "Browse" mode Global modify & delete Database data restructuring is supported "Snapshot" images can be sent to printer or disk Macro keys can be defined Proprietary disk writing techniques protect against loss of data 207 A Features Checklist ____________________________________________________________ 208 APPENDIX C. WRITING YOUR OWN PROGRAMS This information is provided for programmers who wish to use PC-File+ databases with their own programs - BASIC or Turbo Pascal. PC-File+ makes an excellent "Front End" program for other systems which you might develop. You can use PC-File+ to handle the file maintenance functions, and concentrate your efforts on the rest of the system. The file "filename.DTA" (where "filename" is the name you gave the database), is the data file which you will want to use. The file is laid out with each field of the record being fixed length (the length that you defined for it) and padded on the right if necessary with blanks. The fields are in the record in the same order in which you defined them. Deleted records which have not been re-used, have a slash "/" in the first position of the record. There is a carriage return character (HEX 0D) added to the end of each record. The end of the file is marked with a "\" (backslash) in the far left position (Byte 1). All records in the file are the same length. The sequence of the records in the file is the same sequence in which they were originally entered, except that deleted records are reused when another ADD takes place. The sort program does not resequence the data portion of the database, only the index. The file "filename.INX" is the index file for your database. There is one index record for each data record. The index record is composed of the first two bytes from each data field, followed at the end of the record with a two-byte (binary format) pointer to the relative record number of the record in filename.DTA. There is also a "filename.HDR" file for each database. This is a standard file of ASCII sequential records, two records for each field in the database. The first record of the pair is the field name followed by its optional mask and constant. The field name always takes up the first 12 bytes. The mask and/or constant can start at any point thereafter. The second record of the pair contains the field length, in ASCII character format. The field length is followed by a comma, then the starting row on the screen for the field data. Then comes another comma, and the starting column on the screen. Example: 10,9,12 means length 10, screen row 9, screen column 12. This sequence repeats for each field defined in the 209 Writing Your Own Programs ____________________________________________________________ database. There is optionally one more record in the header file. It's a "picture" of the data entry screen, if one was "drawn" when defining the database. If it exists, it will be the last record in the file. It starts with the "|" character and will be quite long - up to 1680 bytes in length. This section provides two program examples. One is a BASIC program and the other is a Turbo Pascal program. Here's a sample BASIC program to show you how to process the Index and Data records in your database. Please note: Due to limitations in BASIC, this program would NOT be able to process databases containing more than 32,767 records. 210 Writing Your Own Programs ____________________________________________________________ 10 '+-----------------------------------------------------+ 20 ': PC-File+ Sample BASIC program. : 40 '+-----------------------------------------------------+ 60 '* This program reads a database (named "SAMPLE") 70 '* in sequence by the Index. 80 '* For each record read, a line is printed. 100 '* 110 '* The sample database was defined as follows: 120 '* NAM 20 140 '* CITY 12 150 '* STATE 2 160 '* ZIP 5 180 '* = (39) total lngth of all fields 200 '* The lngth of an index record in this database: 210 '* 2 * (number of fields) + 2. 2 * 4 + 2 = 10. 240 '* The lngth of a data record in this database: 250 '* (Lngth of data fields) + 1. 39 + 1 = 40 320 ' 360 INX.LEN = 10 'this length was calculated above 370 DTA.LEN = 40 'this length was calculated above 380 ' 390 '.......... OPEN FILES FOR PROCESSING .................. 410 OPEN "SAMPLE.INX" AS #1 LEN=INX.LEN 420 FIELD#1,2 AS NM$,2 AS CI$,2 AS ST$,2 AS ZI$,2 AS PT.DTA$ 430 ' Each of the above fields contains the 1st 2 bytes of 440 ' the corresponding field in the data file. 450 ' The last 2 bytes of the above index rcrd are a binary 460 ' pointer to the relative rcrd no. in the data file. 480 OPEN "SAMPLE.DTA" AS #2 LEN=DTA.LEN 490 FIELD #2, 20 AS NAM$, 12 AS CITY$, 2 AS STATE$,5 AS ZIP$ 500 ' 510 '.....FOR EACH INX RCRD, GET CORRESPONDING DTA RCRD..... 530 GET #1 'Get nxt INX rcd. 540 IF LEFT$(NM$,1) = "/" THEN 530 'Bypass deleted rcrd. 550 IF LEFT$(NM$,1) = "\" THEN 600 'End of file. " " 560 POINTER = CVI(PT.DTA$) 'Get ptr into DTA file. 570 GET #2,POINTER 'Random get DTA record. 580 LPRINT NAM$;" ";CITY$;" ";STATE$;" ";ZIP$ 590 GOTO 530 'Loop until end file. 600 ' 610 '..... PROCESSING IS COMPLETE. SHUT DOWN ............. 630 CLOSE 'Close all files 640 END 'Leave the program 211 Writing Your Own Programs ____________________________________________________________ Here's a sample program written in TURBO PASCAL to show you how to process the Index and Data records in a PC-File+ database. Please note: Due to the way this program was written, it will not handle databases containing more than 32,767 records. PROGRAM Sample; (* +-------------------------------------------------------+ : PC-File+ Sample PASCAL program. : +-------------------------------------------------------+ This program reads a database (named "SAMPLE") in sequence by the Index. For each record read, a line is written to the screen and printed on the printer. The sample database was defined as follows: Nam 20 City 12 State 2 Zip 5 = (39) total length of data fields The length of an index record in this database is: 2 * (number of fields) + 2. 2 * 4 + 2 = 10. The length of a data record in this database is: Length of data fields + 1, 39 + 1 = 40. *) CONST IndD_Lng = 8; {length of index file data} Indx_Lng = 10; {length of index record} Recrd_Lng = 39; {length of data file recrd} Max_Lng = 80; {arbitrary for conversion} nflds = 4; {no. of fields defined} Nam = 20; {length of field 1} City = 12; {length of field 2} State = 2; {length of field 3} Zip = 5; {length of field 4} TYPE AnyStr = String[Max_Lng]; {arbitrary} {define char string for index and data file data} SortDta = Array[1..IndD_Lng] of Char; RecrDat = Array[1..Recrd_Lng] of Char; {define typical index record} Indx = record Ind_dat : SortDta; RecPntr : Integer; end; 212 Writing Your Own Programs ____________________________________________________________ {define typical data record} DataV = record Data_Var : RecrDat; Crg_rtn : Char; end; VAR {define index file and index buffer record} Ind_File : file of Indx; Ind_Rec : Indx; {define data file and data buffer record} Dat_File : file of DataV; Dat_Rec : DataV; {miscelaneous variables for processing} i : Integer; fldpos,fldlng : Array[1..nflds] of Integer; {----------------------------------------------------------} FUNCTION cnvfl (chrarr : RecrDat; FldBgn,FldLng : Integer) : AnyStr; (* cnvfl takes FldLng characters beginning at character FldBgn in the string of chars in chrarr and converts them to a true pascal string of length FldLng which is returned via cnvfl. *) VAR i : Integer; tmpstr : AnyStr; Begin for i := 1 to FldLng do tmpstr[i] := chrarr[FldBgn+i-1]; tmpstr[0] := chr(FldLng); cnvfl := tmpstr; End; {----------------------------------------------------------} BEGIN {initialize} clrscr; {set up fldlng array with length of each field} fldlng[1] := Nam; fldlng[2] := City; fldlng[3] := State; fldlng[4] := Zip; {setup fldpos array with beginning pos. of each fld} fldpos[1] := 1; 213 Writing Your Own Programs ____________________________________________________________ for i := 2 to nflds do fldpos[i] := fldpos[i-1]+fldlng[i-1]; {open index file for reading} Assign(Ind_File,'Sample.Inx'); Reset(Ind_File); {open data file for reading} Assign(Dat_File,'Sample.Dta'); Reset(Dat_File); repeat {keep reading index records until find one which references a record which has not been previously deleted.} repeat Read(Ind_File,Ind_Rec) until (Ind_Rec.Ind_Dat[1]<>'/'); {if non-deleted rcrd isn't the end-of-file, then..} if (Ind_Rec.Ind_Dat[1]<>'\') then begin {read in data record pointed to by RecPntr} Seek(Dat_File,Ind_Rec.RecPntr-1); Read(Dat_File,Dat_Rec); with Dat_Rec do begin {output each record to the screen..} writeln; {and to the printer} writeln(lst); for i := 1 to nflds do begin write(cnvfl(Data_Var, fldpos[i], fldlng[i]),' '); write(lst, cnvfl(Data_Var, fldpos[i], fldlng[i]),' '); end; end; end; until (Ind_Rec.Ind_Dat[1]='\'); {close all opened files} Close(Ind_File); Close(Dat_File); END. 214 APPENDIX D. COMPARISON OF PC-FILE PRODUCTS PCF+ PCFIII PCF/R ────── ─────── ────── 65,533 32,766 32,766 Maximum records in database 70 42 42 Maximum fields in database 2-5 1 1 Speedup factor, most activities 175 1 49 Number of help windows yes no no DOS commands at any time yes no yes Letter-writing & Mail-merge easiest easy easy Ease of learning and use yes no no "Teach mode" available yes no no Automatic smart key programming yes no no Run PC-File from any subdir on path 1 8 11 Number of EXE files required yes no yes Relational database retrievals yes no no input screen painting (user design) yes no no descriptive text allowed on screens yes no no "Record Duplicate" key - data entry yes yes yes Rpts: record per page format yes yes yes " row/column format yes no no " option to "paint" report yes some some " report command language yes no no " cover page yes no no " footing lines yes no no " freedom - subtot placement yes no no " freedom - totals placement yes no no " user placement decimal,commas yes no no " printer control codes allowed 4 1 1 " printer ports supported yes no no Calcs: imbedded blanks allowed yes no no " nested parentheses allowed yes no no " exponentiation operator yes no no " modulo (remainder) operator yes no no Find: "and/or" and complex searches 70 1 1 No. search fields for global mod/del 70 1 1 No. fields to global modify at once yes no no Global modify portions of a field easy hard hard Cloning the database yes no no Import selected records yes no no Export selected records yes no no Export selected fields yes no no Can report on duplicate records yes no no Undelete - recover deleted records 5 1 1 Levels of password control no yes yes data encryption no yes yes "EMPTY*" fields allowed 384K 128K 256K RAM memory required 720K 360K 360K Disk space required (reasonable use) 215 Comparison of PC-File Products ____________________________________________________________ 216 APPENDIX E. THE FILES ON YOUR DISKS This information is provided so that you'll know the function of each file and program in the PC-File+ system. Some of these files came with your PC-File+ disks. Some of them are created during the course of using PC-File+. databasename.DTA This is the actual data which you enter into your database. databasename.HDR This file is created when you have finished defining your database. It contains information on the field names and lengths in the database. databasename.INX This is the index to your database. There is one for each database which you define. databasename.KEY This file is created if you define any Smart Keys for your database. It contains the Smart Key character strings for use with the database. databasename.PRO This file is essentially the same as PCFILE.PRO. It's created by the user, and is optional. It provides profile information that will be used whenever the particular database is selected for processing. DELETE.ME This is a temporary work file created for use by the report writing routines of PC-File+. It is normally deleted automatically, so you'll probably never see this file. If it does show up on your disk, it can be deleted. filename.LTR If you create any letters, for use with mail-merge or letter writing, this is the name that your letter file is saved with. filename.REP This is created when you define an output report and answer "Y" to the question "Save this report format?". It contains information needed to format the output for that particular report. These report formats can be deleted at any time you wish with the DOS "DELETE" 217 The Files on Your Disks ____________________________________________________________ command or through the PC-File+ Utilities options. JUNK.xxx JUNK.OLD and JUNK.1 through JUNK.25 are temporary work files created during sorting. They are normally cleaned up by the sort program before it finishes. However, if you experience an unexpected power outage or some other type of system failure during the sort, you may discover some of these files on your disk. They can be deleted. PCDECODE.COM A standalone program (run it from DOS) to decrypt databases which were encrypted under previous versions of PC-File. This is necessary because PC-File+ does not handle encrypted databases. If you don't need PCDECODE.COM, or after you're through with it, you can remove it from your operations disk. PCF.EXE The main program module of PC-File+. It must reside either in the root directory or somewhere on the "path". PCF.HLP The help file used by PC-File+ whenever you press (Alt)H. This file is optional but highly recommended if you have room for it. You must place it on the same drive and in the same subdirectory with PCF.EXE, either in the root directory or somewhere on the DOS "path". PCF.PIF The "program information file" for use by TopView and Windows. This file provides the information TopView or Windows needs in order to handle PC-File+ correctly. It can be deleted if you're not using TopView or Windows. PCFILE.PRO A control file used by PC-File+ to determine your operating environment. Contains information about your printer control characters, screen colors, etc. It's created by the configuration setup option from the Utilities menu. This file is optional, because if it is missing PC-File+ will assume a standard set of defaults (no color support, and IBM graphics printer). PCFIX.EXE A standalone program (run it from DOS) designed to repair a damaged database. If you have a database with many records, but PC-File+ only lets you access a few or none of them, this program may fix the problem. To use it, type PCFIX while running under DOS. 218 The Files on Your Disks ____________________________________________________________ PCLABEL.EXE A standalone program which allows the printing of mailing labels in a multi-up format. READ.ME A small text file provided for additional miscellaneous information. You can view this file with any word processor that reads ASCII files, or print it on your printer with this command: COPY A:READ.ME >PRN RESPONSE A text file containing a copy of the User Response Form. This file may be printed out to create a feedback response form for mailing to ButtonWare. You can delete it if you wish. However, the information ButtonWare receives on these forms is carefully evaluated. If you want to let us know about additional features (or improvements to current ones) in PC-File+, please complete this form and send it to us. 219 The Files on Your Disks ____________________________________________________________ 220 APPENDIX F. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS "Will it help if I buy more RAM memory for my PC?" ANSWER: If PC-File+ is able to run in the memory which you have available, then buying more memory will not improve performance. However, if you'd like to use additional memory as a RAM disk, or with a disk caching program, PC-File+ will benefit greatly from the apparent speed increase on the "disk". Since database programs use disks heavily, RAM disks and disk caching programs have a big impact on performance. "In what language was PC-File+ written?" ANSWER: It was written in Microsoft C, and compiled with the Microsoft version 4.0 compiler. There are also some assembler language subroutines, which were created using the IBM Assembler. There are over 25,000 lines of source code in this product. We use PC-Type+ to maintain our source code and documentation files. Final documentation is produced onto diskette using "ReadiWriter", by ReadiWare Systems Inc. "What computers run PC-File+?" ANSWER: PC-File+ was designed to run on all models of the IBM Personal Computer. It also runs on many of the compatible machines, such as Compaq, much of the Tandy series, etc. "Is PC-File available in any foreign languages?" ANSWER: Yes, PC-File is one of the most widely translated programs available. Complete translations (Documentation as well as screen prompts) are available in: Arabic Danish Dutch Finnish French German Greek Icelandic Italian Norwegian Portuguese Spanish (Basque and Catalan versions, too) Swedish All marketing of the foreign language translations of 221 Frequently Asked Questions ____________________________________________________________ ButtonWare products is handled by: DORTEC Sloejfen 48 2820 Gentofte DENMARK PHONE: INT-45-1-65-01-81 "Can I obtain the source code for the program?" ANSWER: No. "Do you have any predefined database applications available?" ANSWER: There are none available from ButtonWare at this time. "Do you have any other programs that you're distributing?" ANSWER: Yes, We take great pride in our ability to provide high quality, high function, easy to use programs for a popular price. PC-TYPE+ Our easy to use word processing program is PC-Type+, "The Ultimate Word Processor." It includes a 100,000 word "Fault-Finder" that will check for misspellings and repeated words. PC-Type+ works hand in hand with PC-File+ and with PC-Style. In addition, you can work on up to 10 files simultaneously. PC-CALC PC-Calc is by far the nicest spreadsheet available in its price range. It's a relational spreadsheet. It can extract information from other spreadsheets and even from PC-File+ databases directly into a cell. PC-DIAL PC-Dial is an excellent communications program. It handles asynchronous communications and can upload and download all types of files using error checking. You can define up to 12 macros. And, user created "scripts" are supported. PC-GRAPH+ PC-Graph+ allows you to graph your PC-File database. Line graphs and bar graphs can be created and additional artwork can be added. PC-Graph+ can print the graphs on a wide variety of output devices, including plotters and laser printers. PC-STYLE PC-Style checks your writing for readability and style. 222 Frequently Asked Questions ____________________________________________________________ It graphically reports on the readability, personal tone, and use of action verbs in your documents. PC-Style works with any word processor that can produce ASCII text files. It works hand-in-hand with PC-Type+ to check on writing style even while you're working on the document. PC-TICKLE PC-Tickle is "the program that never forgets." It lets you easily create a tickler file, which it will then reference to remind you of important dates, appointments, and other items. It even has some simple math capabilities which allow it to report on expenses or hours utilized at certain activities. XD XD means "extensions to DOS." This powerful utility program allows many of the DOS commands, such as RENAME or COPY, to handle multiple files and multiple file specs. All files to be operated on are shown to the operator, and a last minute "yes" or "no" is permitted for each file. Other features include changing file attributes, such as "hidden" and "read only", changing the date and time on files, searching files, file printing, and easily removing subdirectories. BAKERS DOZEN This is the handiest set of 13 utilities ever assembled onto one disk. The assortment includes: A pop-up calendar with holidays and events (add your own), file and text finding, text file comparing, file sorting (up to 4 levels), screen snapshots to disk, redirecting of printer output to disk, sideways printing, switch COM1 and COM2, switch LPT1 and LPT2, remove directories and all files, color screen setup, disk utility program and keyboard and character determination program. ADVENTURE GAMES A whole new world of adventure is at your fingertips, through the ButtonWare text adventure games. Educational adventure games as well as the traditional forms of adventure games are available. The learning adventures help you improve your geography skills by taking you on expeditions to Africa, Asia, or South America. These games are designed to complement classes taught at the junior high school level. Other adventure games are available to take you on adventures to the outer reaches of the galaxy, the heart of the Soviet Union, into deepest Africa, or backward and forward in time. 223 Frequently Asked Questions ____________________________________________________________ Each program is available from ButtonWare and can be ordered directly by calling our toll-free software order line: 1-800-J-BUTTON or from your software dealer. 224 APPENDIX G. WHEN YOU NEED TECHNICAL SUPPORT The price of ButtonWare products includes technical support for a period of one year beginning on the date of purchase. You are welcome to call or write with any questions or problems within this period of time. Before you call or write, please follow these steps: 1. Verify that your equipment is compatible with the program. Requirements are listed in this manual. 2. Verify that your computer and all peripheral equipment is turned on, and is functioning properly. Make sure that the printer cables are securely connected to your computer. 3. Verify that you have enough RAM memory available to run the program. The minimum memory requirements for the program are listed in this manual. You can use the DOS CHKDSK command to find out how much RAM memory you have available. Refer to your DOS manual for instructions on using the CHKDSK command. 4. READ THE MANUAL. The Technical Support department has found that more than 50 percent of the questions are answered in the manual. 5. If you purchased the program from a dealer, consult your dealer. If your questions have not been answered after following the above steps, you may call or write to the Technical Support department. Before you call or write, please answer the questions on the Technical Support form. The Technical Support telephone number is 206-454-2629. Technical Support staff answer this number between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm (Pacific Time) Monday through Friday. If possible, please be sitting at your computer when you call. Your computer should already be turned on and ready to go. When calling Technical Support, you MUST provide the zip code and name that you are registered under. Without this information we cannot provide technical support. You can also call Button-Net, ButtonWare's bulletin board service after 3:00 pm and before 8:00 am (Pacific Time) Monday through Friday, and 24 hours on weekends and holidays. Answers to the most common questions are provided 225 When You Need Technical Support ____________________________________________________________ for all registered users to read on Button-Net. If you do not find an answer to your questions, you may leave a message on the bulletin board. Remember to include the information requested on the Technical Support form. If you will be writing for technical support, please address your correspondence to: ButtonWare Attn: Technical Support Dept. P.O. Box 5786 Bellevue, WA 98006 Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. If you will be sending in diskettes, you must provide a self-addressed stamped disk mailer if you wish the diskettes returned to you. Remember to include the information requested on the following page. 226 When You Need Technical Support ____________________________________________________________ TECHNICAL SUPPORT FORM Software product: _______________________ Version: ________ Machine Information Computer brand and model: ________________________________ Available RAM memory (as reported by DOS CHKDSK): ________ Version of DOS being used: __________ Memory resident programs installed: ______________________ Type & size of disk drives: ______________________________ Printer brand and model: _________________________________ Monitor brand and model: _________________________________ Program Information Exact wording of any error message: ______________________ _______________________________________________________ Can you consistently reproduce the problem? Y____ N____ If yes, how: _____________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Does the problem occur on only one machine? Y____ N____ If occurs on only one machine, what is peculiar about it? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Has the problem occurred before? Yes _______ No ________ If the problem is new, what are you doing differently, or what have you changed on your machine? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 227 When You Need Technical Support ____________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 228 APPENDIX H. PC-FILE+ QUICK REFERENCE CARD SPECIAL KEYS WHEN TYPING KEY FUNCTION ─────── ───────────────────────────────────────────── (Alt)D drop to DOS (Alt)H HELP (Alt)T TEACH mode (on/off) (Alt)Y Smart Key Memorize (on/off) (Ctrl)A accept data (same as (F10)) (Ctrl)B blank right, to end of field (Ctrl)D duplicate all of previous record (Ctrl)F duplicate Field from previous record (Ctrl)L print a Label (Snapshot) (Ctrl)R read into memory (Ctrl)W write from memory (Del) delete the character at the cursor down arrow move cursor to following field or line (End) cursor right, past last significant character (Enter) move cursor to next field (Esc) cancel this operation (F10) accept data (Home) cursor left, to start of field (Ins) Insert mode (on/off) left arrow move cursor left 1 position (PgDn) cursor to last input field on screen, or page down (in browse mode) (PgUp) cursor to first input field on screen, or page up (in browse mode) right arrow move cursor right 1 position tab move cursor to next field, or move browse window one field to the right tab left move cursor to prior field, or move browse window one field to the left tilde (~) the "flip data" character up arrow move cursor to preceding field or line DEFINING THE DATA BASE Special Characters # At the end of the field name creates a numeric field. Example: QTY# Edit mask examples: :azAZ: allows only alphabetic characters :AAaaEEeeIIiiOOooUUuu: allows only vowels :09//-- : good for date fields Automatic Fields (In edit mask area) :DATE*: mm-dd-yy :TIME*: hh:mm :MM/DD/YY*: mm/dd/yy :UNIQUE*: unique no. 229 PC-File+ Quick Reference Card ____________________________________________________________ :DD/MM/YY*: dd/mm/yy :DUPE*: auto dupe :YYMMDD*: yymmdd :MO*: mm :DY*: dd :YR*: yy Automatic field can also have an input edit mask: :DATE*09//: Automatic field only when adding records: :DATE*A: Automatic field only when modifying: :DATE*M: Automatic Constant "New York City" "Des Moines"*A (only when adding records) "Milton Freewater"*M (only when modifying) Calculated fields example: ((cost + adjustments) / 100).2 Relational lookup example: (@empno,empmast,empno,salary) FIND: TYPES OF SEARCHES xxx generic (exact, first part) ~xxx scan across ?xxx soundex (sounds like) ___x wildcard WHEN CALCULATIONS ARE ASKED FOR: example arithmetic calculation: ((cost + adjust) / 100) example comparison calculation: ((age >= 21 & age < 40) & sex = "F") arithmetic operators: + addition - subtraction or negation * multiplication / division % modulo (remainder) ^ exponentiation logical operators: & and | or comparison operators: = equal != not equal > greater than >= greater than or equal < less than <= less than or equal 230 PC-File+ Quick Reference Card ____________________________________________________________ COMMANDS WITHIN SMART KEY DATA [2] simulate "blank to right" key [4] simulate "dupe record" key [6] simulate "dupe field" key [9] simulate tab-rt key [12] simulate "Snapshot Label" key [13] simulate (Enter) key [18] simulate "read into memory" key [23] simulate "write from memory" key [271] simulate tab-left key [324] simulate (F10) key [328] simulate cursor up key [335] simulate End key [336] simulate cursor down key [338] simulate Ins key [339] simulate Del key ^n imbed SMART KEY #n ^K get keyboard input REPORT COMMAND LANGUAGE The sections of the report :COVER once at beginning of report :HEADING top of each page :DETAIL once for each record printed :SUBTOTAL at each subtotal break :FOOTING bottom of each page :TOTAL at end of the report Commands in print control file (1 command per line): [xxx] field xxx data prints here [COUNT*] print count of records printed so far [DATE*] today's date prints here [KEYIN*prompt] ask operator input, print here [PAGE*] print page number here [RECORD*] print record no. of the current record [RECORDS*] print no. of rcds in database [SELECT*] print the selection criteria [SORT*] print the primary sort field name [SUBCOUNT*] print count of rcds in subtotal group [SUBFLD*] print field name of subtotal break fld [SUBID*] print data from subtotal break field [TIME*] the current time prints here A nn,nnn,nn print ASCII printer control codes here <xxx> field xxx data (excess spaces removed) "xxx" a constant =nn tab to column nn /n insert n newlines .FF form feed to new page .CP nn conditional skip to new page (a+b):z,zz#.##: a calculated answer (#):zz,zz#: relative record number 231 PC-File+ Quick Reference Card ____________________________________________________________ (@K1,DB,k2,x2):@@@: relational lookup MAIL-MERGE COMMANDS (IMBED IN LETTER) .<fieldname> insert data, blanks stripped .[fieldname] insert data, no blanks removed .<KEYIN*prompt> insert data from keyboard .<DATE*> insert today's date .GROUP start a group (no blank lines) .EGROUP end a group .EGROUP R end a group, replace blank lines .FORMFEED skip to new page on printer .FF skip to new page on printer .CP nn conditional skip to new page .<(a+b):z,zz#.##:> a calculated answer .<(@K1,DB2,k2,x2):@@@:> a relational lookup answer SORT ALTERNATIVES (SORT FIELD #1) fieldname sort on entire field fieldname,1,2 data starts in byte=1, length=2 fieldname,R Roman Numeral sort fieldname,S Soundex sort RANDOM* random sequence COMMANDS IN PROFILE FILES /AUTOSKIP automatic skip to next field when full /BG,n set background screen color 0-7 (note 1) /CASEFIND searches will be case sensitive /CASESORT sorts will be case sensitive /CONDENSED,n,n ASCII values to cause condensed print /DRIVE,x default disk for data /FG,n set foreground screen color 0-15 (note 1) /FG2,n set alternate color (field names) /FILE,xxx default database name /KEYIN,xxx keystrokes to run at startup /LBL,xxx gives Snapshot Label format (note 2) /MODPW,xxx password allowing changes in data /NORMAL,n,n ASCII values to cause normal print size /PAGELEN,n size of page (no. of print lines) /PATH,xxx default subdirectory for data /PRPORT,LPTx: printer output port /SORTPW,xxx password allows sorts on database /SYSPW,xxx password allows system operations /USEPW,xxx password allows use of the database /XXXPW,xxx password allows override of all passwords Note 1. Screen colors: bg 0-7, fg 0-15 0 black 4 red 8 gray 12 lt. red 1 blue 5 magenta 9 lt. blue 13 lt. magenta 232 PC-File+ Quick Reference Card ____________________________________________________________ 2 green 6 brown 10 lt. green 14 yellow 3 cyan 7 white 11 lt. cyan 15 bright white Note 2. Snapshot Feature specification: dev,t,f,f,f,f...... dev = LPT1:, LPT2:, MYFILE, etc. t = no. chars to tab in at left margin f = field number, or command 0 = new line -n = insert n spaces 'xx' = insert xx (a constant) 233 PC-File+ Quick Reference Card ____________________________________________________________ 234 RESTRICTED PERMISSION TO COPY PC-File+ is NOT a public domain program. It is Copyright(C) 1982, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 by Jim Button and by ButtonWare, Inc. The conditions under which you may copy the PC-File+ programs and documentation are clearly outlined below. WARNING!!! The author will vigorously prosecute copyright violations. BUSINESS USE, PRODUCTIVE USE On whatever computer PC-File+ is used for business purposes, or is used productively, a copy of PC-File+ must be purchased from ButtonWare or from an authorized dealer. INDIVIDUALS AND COMPUTER CLUBS Private individuals and computer clubs are granted permission by the author to freely copy the PC-File+ diskettes for evaluation by others as long as the disks are not modified in any way. You may give the disks to friends, upload them to electronic bulletin boards, or distribute them through computer clubs. However, you may not sell the disks for profit. User groups may charge a fee to cover the actual cost of the disks and of administration. This fee may not in any case exceed $10.00 total (equivalent U.S. dollars.) Exceptions to these rules must be received in writing from ButtonWare. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Schools and universities are granted permission by the author to copy the PC-File+ diskettes for educational training on other computers in the organization, but only under the following conditions: 1. The institution must purchase at lease one copy of PC-File+ from ButtonWare or from an authorized dealer, so that instructors will have a complete copy of the manual. 2. The disks may be copied freely for student use. A charge may be assessed to the students only if it is not more than the actual cost of the diskettes and in no 235 Restricted Permission to Copy ____________________________________________________________ case may this charge be more than $6.00 per diskette (equivalent U.S. dollars.) 3. The following notice must be provided to each student, in printed form: ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ These diskettes are distributed to you through the │ │ courtesy of your school and instructor, and │ │ Jim Button. No royalty or registration fee has │ │ been paid for the programs, which are for your use │ │ and evaluation as a student. │ │ │ │ If you wish to receive technical support from │ │ ButtonWare, as well as announcements of updates and │ │ improvements to the programs, you must first become │ │ a "registered user." You do that by purchasing │ │ each program you plan to use - from an authorized │ │ dealer or directly from ButtonWare: │ │ │ │ Jim Button │ │ P.O. Box 5786 │ │ Bellevue, WA 98006 │ │ │ │ You may also register by calling our toll-free │ │ order line, 1-800-JBUTTON. │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ NO RENTING OR LEASING Copies of PC-File+ may not be rented or leased under any circumstances. EXTRA COPIES, EXTRA MANUALS The printed manuals may not be copied or reproduced in any way. Extra manuals cannot be purchased separately. When multiple copies or extra manuals are required, PC-File+ is available at quantity discounts. See the order form at the back of this manual, or contact ButtonWare. 236 USER RESPONSE FORM We'd like to know more about you and your requirements. This information helps us to make improvements, as well as add in the new features that are most needed. Please help us by completing this questionnaire and mailing it to: Jim Button User Survey P.O. Box 5786 Bellevue, WA 98006 USA If you don't want to remove these pages from your manual and a copy machine isn't available, there is a file on your PC-File+ diskette called RESPONSE which is a copy of this form. You may print out RESPONSE by using the following procedure. Then fill in the printed form and mail it to us. To print out the RESPONSE form: 1. Boot up your DOS system in the usual manner 2. Put your PC-File+ diskette in the A: drive 3. Make your printer ready 4. Type in this command at the keyboard: COPY A:RESPONSE PRN 237 User Response Form ____________________________________________________________ 238 User Response Form ____________________________________________________________ USER PROFILE 1. Your computer brand and model: _______________________________________________________ 2. Amount of computer RAM memory: _______________________________________________________ 3. Types of disk: _______________________________________________________ 4. Monochrome or color display? _______________________________________________________ 5. Printer brand and model: _______________________________________________________ 6. Compatibility problems running PC-File+ on your machine? _______________________________________________________ 7. How do you rate PC-File+? (1=poor, 10=best) Ease of Learning_____ Ease of Use _____ Overall speed _____ Flexibility _____ Documentation _____ Help screens_____ Product Support _____ Price _____ 8. What do you like best about PC-File+? _______________________________________________________ 9. What do you like least about PC-File+? _______________________________________________________ 10. Where did you hear about PC-File+? _______________________________________________________ 11. Your name and address (optional) _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 239 User Response Form ____________________________________________________________ IMPROVEMENTS WANTED Here are some enhancements to PC-File+ that are being considered. Please help us to prioritize them. Put a "1" beside each feature you would find useful. Put a "2" beside any that are quite important to you. Put a "3" beside those that are absolutely essential. ___ Automatic update to other relational databases ___ Multi-user capabilities (networking) ___ More than 65,000 records per database ___ More than 70 fields ___ Field sizes larger than 65 characters ___ Multiple input screens ___ Mouse support ___ Increase the number of Smart Keys ___ The ability to define more Snapshot keys ___ More subtotal levels ___ Scan backwards when FINDing records ___ Programmer "toolkit" for other languages ___ A high level database language & command processor ___ Beginners guide ___ Disk tutorial ___ Predefined applications (name some below) ___ Export/Import other format:_____________________ ___ Other suggestions:______________________________ ___ ________________________________________________ ___ ________________________________________________ ___ ________________________________________________ ___ ________________________________________________ 240 ORDER FORM ButtonWare, Inc. 1-800-J-BUTTON (orders only) P.O. Box 5786 (206)454-0479 (office number) Bellevue, WA 98006 Federal Employer I.D.# 91-1277227 ■ Prices are subject to change without notice ■ Price includes technical support for one year ■ We normally ship within 48 hours ■ COD's are not accepted ■ PO's must be prepaid QUANTITY* PRICE PRICE ITEM QTY DISCOUNT EACH EXTENDED ─────────────────── ─── ──────── ───── ──────── PC-File+ Quantity 1 to 4 ___ 0% $69.95 $_______ Quantity 5 to 9 ___ 20% 55.96 _______ Quantity 10 to 49 ___ 25% 52.46 _______ Quantity 50 to 99 ___ 30% 48.97 _______ Quantity 100+ ___ 35% 45.47 _______ PC-Graph+ ___ * 69.95 _______ PC-Type+ ___ * 69.95 _______ PC-Dial ___ * 59.95 _______ PC-Calc ___ * 59.95 _______ PC-Style ___ * 29.95 _______ PC-Tickle ___ * 29.95 _______ XD ___ * 29.95 _______ Bakers Dozen ___ * 29.95 _______ *The quantity discount percents apply to each product SUBTOTAL: $_______ (Wash. state residents only) 8.1% sales tax $_______ Standard shipping and handling $5 $ 5.00 Orders outside U.S. and Canada add $5 $_______ TOTAL: $_______ ▓ MasterCard ▓ Visa ▓ check (U.S. funds) Card number____________________________________________ Expiration date__________ Signature____________________ Name _______________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ City _____________________ State_____ Zip_________ Country ___________________ Phone (____)_____-________ What type of computer do you have? ____________________ INDEX --- A --- A, 47 accept data, 34 add, 47 record, 49 add field, 164 adventure games, 217 align label, 101 alphabetic, 65 (Alt)D, 27 (Alt)H, 23 (Alt)Y, 26, 121 /ANSI, 107 antistatic spray, 186 applications, 216 arrow, 23 ascending, 66 ASCII, 77 ASCII characters, 34 ASCII format, 97 assembler, 215 assembler language, 215 assistance, 219 asterisk, 55 automatic field, 116 automatic help, 21 autoskip, 133 --- B --- backslash, 203 backspace key, 24, 34 BACKUP, 142 backup, 7, 177, 185 backup copies, 142 backward browse, 53 backward-tab key, 25 bad seek, 195 Bakers Dozen, 217, 235 BASIC, 153 BASIC program, 204 beginning of file, 51 /BIOS, 107 blank lines, 94 blank right, 24 browse backward, 53 browse forward, 53 bulletin board, 219 bulletin boards, 229 business use, 229 Button-Net, 219 byte, 9 --- C --- calculated field, 94, 117 calculation, 77, 81, 145 calling for help, 219 cancel, 26 can't open, 195 can't run DOS, 195 capabilities, 209 capacities, 209 capacity, 200 card, reference, 223 carpets, 186 carriage return, 153, 203 case, 115 case sensitive, 133 case sensitive finds, 133, 144 case sensitive sorts, 133, 144 change, 109, 149 change definition, 163, 169 change field length, 165 change name, 114 change record, 59, 61 character field, 114 CHKDSK, 185 C language, 215 clone, 145, 163 clubs, 229 color, 144 colors, 131, 212 COM1:, 136, 171 COM2:, 136 combine, 161 comma, 82, 153 comma delimited, 97 command option, 76 comment, 122 comparison of products, 209 comparison operator, 57 compatibility, 13, 215 complex search, 57 compressed, 86, 154, 155 compressed format, 142 computer clubs, 229 condensed, 86, 134 CONFIG.SYS, 20 configuration, 6, 144 configure, 129 constant, 58, 116, 119, 145, 203 control, 212 control characters, 134 conversion, 13 convert, 212 copies, 83 copy, 17, 229 backup, 177 copy a file, 142 copyright, i, 229 count, 76 COUNT*, 77 COVER, 72 .CP, 77 .CP nn, 94 (Ctrl)A, 25 (Ctrl)B, 24, 33 (Ctrl)D, 25, 49, 61 (Ctrl)F, 25, 50, 61 (Ctrl)L, 26, 172 (Ctrl)R, 26, 33, 50 (Ctrl)W, 26, 33, 50, 61 cursor movement keys, 32 cut line, 33 cut right, 33 --- D --- damaged, 212 damaged database, 181, 185 data, 115 database, 9 database definition, 163 databasename.DTA, 211 databasename.HDR, 211 databasename.INX, 211 databasename.KEY, 123, 211 databasename.PRO, 211 database size, 187 data entry screen, 166 date, 76 DATE*, 77, 93, 116 date field, 65, 115 dBASE, 153 DD/MM/YY*, 116 decimal, 82 decode, 14 default, 119, 134, 212 default database, 132 default drive, 132 default path, 132 defaults, 132 defaults (save label), 106 define, 39 definition, 9, 163 DEL, 63 (Del), 24 delete, 149 delete a file, 143 deleted record, 49, 178, 203 deleted records, 148, 182, 189 delete field, 164 delete key, 24 delete line, 33 DELETE.ME, 211 delete record, 59, 63 delimiter, 153, 154 (Del) key, 34 descending, 66 DETAIL, 73 detail line, 84 device, 171 output, 83 DIF, 153, 155 differences, 13, 209 different database, 109 disclaimer, i disk, 66 disk drive, 199 diskettes, 186 disk full, 185 disk space, 49, 161, 178, 187 disk storage, 187 do not, 7 DOS, 17, 185 DOS commands, 27 DOS device, 171 DOS extensions, 217 down arrow, 24 draw, 31, 42 draw report, 73 drive, 66 drop to DOS, 27 .DTA, 211 dupe, 49, 61 DUPE*, 116 dupe field, 25 dupe record, 25 duplicate, 49, 61 duplicate field, 25 duplicate record, 25 duplicate records, 145 DY*, 116 --- E --- edit, 82 edit mask, 77, 115, 145 editor, 31 edit window, 31 educational games, 217 educational use, 229 EGROUP, 94 .ELABEL, 107 electrical, 186 electronic disk, 199 encrypted database, 14, 212 end, 109 (End), 24 End key, 32 end of file, 52 enhancements, 233 (Enter), 25 (Enter) key, 34 envelope, 89 environment, 212 equal to, 57 erase right, 33 error message, 195 error reading, 195 error writing, 196 (Esc), 26 escape, 26 escape code, 98 exchange data, 153 export, 142, 145, 153, 155, 178 extended function code, 122 extensions to DOS, 217 extra copies, 230 --- F --- (F1), 33 F1, 49 (F10), 25, 34 (F2), 33, 51 (F3), 33 (F4), 33 (F5), 33, 91 (F6), 33, 69 F7, 65 F8, 141 (F8), 145, 148 F9, 122 F command, 51 features, 199 feedback, 213, 231 .FF, 75, 94 field, 9, 65, 187 delimited, 154 length, 45, 187, 203 name, 45, 114, 203 field duplicate, 61 field duplication, 25, 50 field join, 169 field length, 158, 163, 165, 169 field name, 106, 145 field position, 106 field split, 169 file conversion, 153 filename.CAL, 158 filename.DBF, 158 filename.DIF, 158 "filename.DTA", 187, 203 filename.FXD, 158 filename.HD1, 158 "filename.HDR", 203 "filename.INX", 187, 203 filename.LTR, 211 filename.PCH, 158 filename.PRN, 158 filename.PRO, 129 filename.REP, 211 file names, 211 filename.SDF, 158 filename.SYL, 158 filename.USR, 158 filename.VC, 158 filename.WP, 158 filename.WS, 158 filename.X1, 158 file not found, 196 files, 211 Find command, 51 first record, 51 fix, 185, 212 fixed length, 153, 154 fixed length substitution, 93 flip data, 26, 87 floating point, 115 floppy disk, 17 FOOTING, 73 foreign languages, 215 format, 82 diskette, 17 report, 211 formfeed, 75, 77 FORMFEED, 94 form letters, 91 forward browse, 53 free form format, 72 front end, 203 full disk, 185 function key, 33, 122 --- G --- games, 217 G command, 149 general information, 3 generic, 56, 58 global, 149 graphics mode, 34 greater than, 57 /GREEN, 107 GROUP, 94 group highlight, 84 --- H --- hard disk, 18, 66, 199 .HDR, 211 HEADING, 73 help, 21 help file, 212 help key, 23 highlight group, 84 (Home), 24 Home key, 32 --- I --- identifier, 58 imbedded, 58 import, 145, 153, 158, 178 improvements, 233 index, 65, 203, 212 index file, 181 index record, 187 input, 49, 115 (Ins), 24 insert key, 24 (Ins) key, 34 install, 17 .INX, 211 --- J --- join fields, 169 JUNK.xxx, 212 justify, 46 --- K --- .KEY, 211 key extended function, 122 keyboard, 23 keyboard input, 93, 123 KEYIN*, 77, 79, 93 /KEYIN, 137 /KEYIN definition, 144 keys, 23 --- L --- .LABEL, 107 label, 26, 87, 89, 97, 212 label backup, 105 label position, 101 labels, 137, 171 label sheet, 98 language, 215 last record, 52 L command, 91 learn mode, 21 lease, 230 left arrow, 23 left margin, 85 length, 65 field, 165, 203 page, 85 lengthen field, 165 less than, 57 letter printing, 96 letter writing, 91 license, i line feed, 153 lines page, 85 line spacing, 94 locate, 51 logged-on drive, 212 logical operator, 57 lookup, 118 Lotus 1-2-3, 153 Lotus PRN, 153, 155 lower case, 115 LPT1:, 136, 171 LPT2:, 136 .LTR, 211 --- M --- macro, 26, 121, 137 macros, 144 mailing label, 26, 89, 97, 137, 171, 212 Mail Merge, 97 MailMerge, 153, 155 mail merge, 91, 107 manuals, 230 margin, 85 mask, 203 edit, 115 master menu, 47 master menu password, 126 maximum, 44, 49, 187, 199, 209 M command, 122 memorize, 25, 26, 50, 121 memory, 215 menu, 47 smart key, 122 merge, 161 merge databases, 158 merging, 154 message error, 195 Microsoft C, 215 Microsoft WORD, 153 mini editor, 31 minimum, 199, 209 MM/DD/YY*, 116 MO*, 116 modify, 149 modify entry screen, 166 modify password, 126 modify record, 59, 61 MS-DOS, 215 Multiplan, 153 multiple copies, 230 multiple field search, 55 --- N --- name field, 114, 203 N command, 113 nesting smart keys, 123 new database, 39, 109 new field, 163, 164 new line, 77 new page, 94 new record, 49 next field, 24 next record, 52 normal, 86 normal size, 134 not enough, 196 not equal, 57 number record, 52 numeric, 46 numeric field, 71, 74, 114 --- O --- offset, 65 operator, 57 operator input, 93, 123 options, 129 order form, 235 other programs, 153 output device, 83 overflow, 66 override password, 126 --- P --- page, 76, 94 PAGE*, 77 page format, 70 PAGELEN, 134 page length, 85, 135 paint, 31, 42 paint report, 72 parameters PCLABEL, 107 parenthesis, 57 PASCAL program, 206 password, 125 passwords, 136, 144 paste line, 33 paste right, 33 path, 19 path error, 196 pause for input, 93 PC-Calc, 153, 155, 191, 216, 235 PCDECODE.COM, 14, 212 PC-Dial, 216, 235 PCF.EXE, 212 PCF.HLP, 212 PC-File, 97 PC-File III, 209 PCFILE.PRO, 129, 212 PC-File/R, 209 PCFIX, 181 PCFIX.COM, 13 PCFIX.EXE, 212 PCF.PIF, 189, 212 PC-Graph+, 216 PC-Graph, 235 PCLABEL, 97 PCLABEL.EXE, 212 PCLABEL paramters, 107 PC-Style, 216, 235 PC-Tickle, 217, 235 PC-Type+, 107, 193, 216, 235 PeachText, 153, 154, 155 performance, 66 permission, 229 Personal Editor, 153 PFS Professional File, 153 (PgDn), 25, 32 (PgUp), 24, 32 phone numbers, ii PIF, 189, 212 port, 83 portion of field, 30 position label, 101 power supply, 186 previous record, 52 primary field, 65 printer, 134, 212 printer code, 98 printer control, 89, 212 printer defaults, 144 printer port, 83, 136 printer support, 199 printing letters, 96 print labels, 102 print letter, 91 print size, 86 .PRO, 211 product comparison, 209 production diskette, 211 productive use, 229 profile, 144, 212 profile file, 26, 129, 134 Program Information File, 212 programmers, 203 programming, 203 punctuation, 104 --- Q --- Q command, 109 question mark, 56 questions, 215, 219 quick reference card, 223 quit, 109 quote, 153 --- R --- RAM, 196, 215 RAM disk, 199 RAM drive, 66 RAM memory, 199 RANDOM*, 68 random files, 153 random sort, 68 R command, 69 read from memory, 50 read into memory, 25 ReadiWriter, 215 READ.ME, 213 rearrange field, 165 recall, 50 record, 9 RECORD*, 77 record add, 47 number, 52 size, 187 record duplicate, 61 record duplication, 25, 49 record number, 77 recovery, 185 re-entering data, 50 reference card, 223 Reflex, 153 registration, 229 relational, 9 relational field, 95, 118, 145 relational lookup, 75 relative record, 52, 203 remember, 50 remove field, 164 rename a file, 143 rent, 230 re-order field, 165 reorganize, 189 .REP, 211 repair, 185, 212 repeat, 49, 50 report, 69, 211 report menu, 83 reproduce, 229 requirements, 6 re-sequence field, 165 RESPONSE, 213, 231 response form, 231 restore, 177 right arrow, 23 right justify, 46 roman numeral sort, 68 row format, 70 --- S --- sample program, 204 save label defaults, 106 scan across, 55, 58 schools, 229 scientific notation, 115 S command, 65 screen, 166 screen colors, 131 SDF, 154 search, 51, 54 secondary field, 65 security, 125 SELECT*, 77 selected record, 157 selected records, 87 select field, 29 select file, 29 separators, 154 sequence, 65, 203 serial printers, 136 setup, 126, 129, 134 sheet of labels, 98 shift-tab key, 25 shorten field, 165 simple search, 54 size, 49, 187 print, 86 Smart Key, 26, 137 smart key, 14, 121, 211 smart key menu, 122 smart keys, 144 Smart Key variable, 123 snapshot, 26 Snapshot definition, 144 snapshot label, 171 Snapshot label, 137 sort, 65, 133, 200, 203 SORT*, 77 sort password, 126 soundex, 56, 58 sounds like, 56, 58 source code, 216 space, 178, 187 special characters, 34 special keys, 23 speed, 66 split fields, 169 spreadsheet, 191 start, 37 static electricity, 186 status, 66 SUBCOUNT*, 77 subdirectory, 19 SUBFLD*, 77 SUBID*, 77 subset database, 163 substitution, 93 SUBTOTAL, 73 subtotal, 84 suggestions, 233 superfield, 44 survey, 213, 231 SYLK, 154, 155 system defaults, 129 system password, 126 --- T --- tab, 77, 171 tab key, 25 Tab Key, 32 teaching, 229 teach mode, 21 technical support, 219 techniques, 189 telephone numbers, ii template, 216 terminology, 9 text editor, 154, 155 tilde, 26, 55 TIME*, 77, 116 time, 76 tips, 189 title, 71 too many, 197 TopView, 189, 212 total, 46, 82 TOTAL, 73 trademark, i training, 229 transfer, 153 translation, 215 transpose, 26 Turbo PASCAL, 206 tutor mode, 21 typing, 23 --- U --- U, 141 underscore, 56 underscore character, 150 UNIQUE*, 116 universities, 229 up arrow, 24 update, 149 update record, 61 upper case, 115 user-defined delimiter, 154 user groups, 229 UTI, 153 utilities, 141, 145, 148, 161, 217 Utilities, 163 --- V --- variable smart key, 123 variable substitution, 93 VERIFY, 186 VisiCalc, 153, 155 Visicalc, 154 voltage surge, 186 --- W --- width report, 86 wildcard, 56 wildcard character, 150 window edit, 31 Windows, 189 WORD, 153, 155 Word Perfect, 153, 154, 155 word processing, 31 WordStar, 153, 155 work drive, 66 work file, 195 write from memory, 25 write letter, 91 write to memory, 50 wrong password, 197 --- X --- XD, 217, 235 XXX password, 125 --- Y --- YR*, 116 YYMMDD*, 116