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PC-File III(tm) User's Guide (Evaluation Copy) Version 3.0 (C)Copyright Jim Button, 1984. Portions (C)Copyright Microsoft Corp., 1982. All Rights Reserved. Jim Button ButtonWare P.O. Box 5786 Bellevue, WA 98006 24 hr order line 1-800-JBUTTON ISBN 0-922692-00-9 _ TABLE OF CONTENTS You MUST Read This.................................... 3 General Information................................... 4 Some Do-Not's......................................... 6 Some Definitions...................................... 6 Getting Started....................................... 7 Special Keys When Typing.............................. 8 Defining Your Database................................ 10 The Master Menu Screen................................ 12 Adding Records To Your Database....................... 13 Modifying a Record.................................... 14 Deleting a Record..................................... 15 Displaying a Record................................... 15 Finding a Record...................................... 15 Listing the Records................................... 17 Sorting the Database Index............................ 22 Using the Utilities................................... 23 Altering a Field Name or Edit Mask.................... 23 Ending / Changing to a New Database................... 24 Global Update and Delete.............................. 24 Merging Two Databases Together........................ 24 Setting Up the "Smart" Keys........................... 25 Printing Mailing Labels............................... 25 Snapshot Mailing Labels............................... 25 Cloning: (Outputting a New Database).................. 26 Splitting and Joining Fields.......................... 26 Exchanging Data With VisiCalc, Others................. 27 Using Your Data With MailMerge........................ 27 Importing & Exporting Your Database................... 27 Security (Encyphered) Databases....................... 28 If Your Database Gets Damaged......................... 29 Configuring Your System............................... 29 Using MS-DOS (Non IBM "Compatible")................... 30 Writing Your Own Programs............................. 31 Calculating Disk Storage Space........................ 32 Users With Only 1 Disk Drive.......................... 32 A Features Checklist.................................. 33 Some Notes on Performance............................. 35 Summary of Enhancements to this Version............... 35 The Files on Your Program Disk........................ 36 Some Frequently Asked Questions....................... 36 If You Need Help...................................... 38 Error Messages........................................ 38 The User-Supported Concept............................ 38 Why Should I Pay?..................................... 40 Restricted Permission to Copy......................... 40 INDEX..................................................... 43 _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 3. YOU MUST READ THIS You can skip this section if you're a new user of PC-File and have no pre-existing PC-File databases. With this newest version of PC-File III, we've changed the structure of the database index to allow for the new maximum of 32,767 records per database. This means that for the first time in the history of PC-File, your old databases will not run directly with the new version of the program. You must do a database conversion to each of your old databases before PC-File III can use them. This is not difficult. Just follow the instructions below to get each database converted. An extra benefit is that your newly converted database will often take up less space on the disk than the old database. It'll never take up more space. 1. Bring up DOS the way you usually do. 2. If you're using a hard disk, you'll need to change into the directory where your databases reside with a "CHDIR" command. 3. Put your new PC-File III program diskette into the "A:" disk drive. 4. Type "A:" (no quote marks) then press the "Enter" key. 5. Type "PC-FIX" (no quote marks) then press the "Enter" key. 6. 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. 7. Now, answer the two questions from the PC-FIX program. You'll tell it which drive contains the database. Then you'll give it the name of the database. After that, the conversion will be done for the database which you named. 8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 for each of your old databases. A Note About Your Evaluation Copy At several places in this copy of the User's Guide you'll see the following notice. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** We honestly feel that we've supplied enough of the manual to allow you to make a good evaluation of the program. There are several reasons why we didn't provide the entire manual on disk. - We want to continually remind you to pay for the program if you're using it. We've priced PC-File so that you can afford it. Frankly, it's the best bargain in the industry. We also suspect and hope that you (the buying public) will want to cast your "vote" for lower priced software by paying readily _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 4. for such programs. Other software publishers would then be forced to take notice. - We feel that the honesty of our "registered" users should be rewarded. They're entitled to some extra value that should rightfully be denied to those who don't pay. - It takes up too much room on the diskette. We trust that you'll be open-minded about the omissions. We hope that we can soon add you to our list of very satisfied customers. GENERAL INFORMATION PC-File III is a general purpose "Data Base Manager" program. It's designed specifically for ease of use. With PC-File III you can easily create and maintain databases on the computer, and create simple printed reports based on your data. You can use PC-File III for all kinds of tasks: - Maintain mailing lists and print mailing labels, 1-up or multi-up, and address envelopes. - 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 systems, into the PC-File III format. - Maintain "secure" information in an encrypted format. No one can view the data who doesn't know the security code. - and many other tasks which only you can dream up. PC-File III will allow you to sort your data into almost any sequence. It allows rapid access to any record in the database, with sophisticated search techniques allowing comparison searches, soundex searches, wildcard searches, or generic searches on any field in the record. For example, you can display all employees over a certain age, all customers with last names sounding like "Schwartz", or all items that are not in a certain category. 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 on the numeric fields. Report fields can be calculated based on information in other fields in the database. Reports can be sent directly to your video screen or to any one of many different types of printers. They can also be sent to disk for later use with your word _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 5. processing programs. You can create entire new databases from existing databases. The new database can be in a different format, and can be a 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 which have similar definitions. Databases can thus be created and maintained on separate PC's, then combined when desired into a "master" database. You can export & import your databases for use with 1-2-3, Visicalc and other "calc" programs, WORD, or as "MailMerge" files. Above all else, PC-File III is EASY! Many people can use it with no training or instructions. Please read the documentation carefully, however, to pick up the extra "fine points" of the program. The author has steadfastly refused to make any additions to PC-File III which would make it more difficult to use. Any suggestions which you have for improving this program will be thoughtfully considered and greatly appreciated. PC-File III contains many powerful features not normally found in other database programs. Here are just a few of them that you'll be learning about and using. - Three special (proprietary) disk writing techniques are used to ensure against accidental loss of data. - Full screen editing for data entry and update. - "Smart keys" (sometimes called "macros") - Security encrypted databases. - Soundex search on any field. - Generic search on any field. - Imbedded search on any field. - Wildcard search on any field. - Global update or delete on any field. - A database "browse" mode. - User defined data types. You can define the valid input characters for any field. - The date and time can be automatically entered for you into fields in your database. - Every field in your database is indexed. You don't have to arbitrarily select a few of them to be indexed. - Sort on any fields, mixed ascending/descending. - Select (for printing) on any fields with boolean "and/or" comparisons. - Calculated report columns. - Print mailing labels, multi-up. - Print a "snapshot" mailing label while viewing a record. - A "flip data before printing" character is provided. - Import and export in many different formats. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 6. - Automatically uses all available RAM memory for super fast performance. - Abbreviated menus help you every step of the way. You'll be using PC-File III 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 III requires a 128K or larger IBM-PC, PCjr, PC-XT, PC-AT, or IBM-PC "compatible" computer with a double sided disk drive, and DOS 1.1 or later. PC-File III can be set up to support either 40 or 80 character wide displays, although an 80 character display is recommended. SOME DO-NOT'S - DO NOT use PC-File III until you've read the User's Guide. - DO NOT forget to make regular backup copies of your database. - DO NOT remove the data diskette until you have completely ended the program through the normal END sequence ("END" followed by "Q" for Quit). - DO NOT remove the PC-File III disk during program operation unless requested to do so by the computer. - If you use the data encryption facilities, DO NOT forget to write down your security code. SOME DEFINITIONS Before you get too far into the documentation, some definitions of basic "database" terminology as used in this manual may be helpful. Byte A single character of information. Each time you press a key on the keyboard, one "byte" goes into the computer. Field A meaningful piece of information (it is made up of one or more bytes). 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 "last-name", "first-name", "street-address", "city", "state", and "zip-code". Each record in your database will contain these fields, and will describe one person. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 7. 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. GETTING STARTED Before trying to operate PC-File III, please carefully read all of this User's Guide. Please also make sure that you have placed a "write-protect" tab on your PC-File III distribution diskette, so that it can't be accidentally erased or overwritten. You should now make a copy of your PC-File III disk. This will also serve as your "operations" diskette. 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 III operation diskette. 2. If you don't see the normal DOS prompt on your screen, then "boot-up" the DOS operating system 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 your are logged onto the "A" drive. To do this, type "A:" (don't type the quote marks) and press the (return) key. 4. Format the diskette in the "B" drive as a system diskette. This is done by typing: FORMAT B:/S 5. Remove the DOS diskette from the "A" drive and replace it with the PC-File III distribution diskette. 6. Copy the PC-File III executable programs to the "B" disk. Do this by typing: COPY PC-*.EXE B: 7. Type: COPY PC-FILE.PRO B: 8. Remove the disk from the "B" drive and label it as your "PC-File III operation" diskette. 9. Store your PC-File III distribution diskette in a safe place. At this point, you may want to run the configuration program. To run the configuration program, put your PC-File III operation diskette in the "A" drive. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 8. Type: PC-SETUP Follow the instructions from the program and, when directed, refer to the indicated sections in the printed user's guide. To start PC-File III, bring up your DOS system in the usual fashion. Then, put the PC-File III operation disk in one of the disk drives (this is typically the "A" drive) and enter the drive name followed by a colon. Thus, if the disk is in the left-side drive type "A:" (don't enter the quote marks). Press (Enter). Then type "PC-FILE" (no quote marks). Press (Enter). When prompted with the question "Which drive (A-H) for the Data:", enter the letter corresponding to the disk drive where your database will be stored. The left hand drive is "A", the right hand drive is "B". SPECIAL KEYS WHEN TYPING Often, PC-File III will provide an assumed answer for you in the input area. This is intended to save you some keystrokes. If the assumed answer is correct, all you need to do is press the (Enter) key. If the assumed answer is incorrect, just type in the correct reply. Whenever you're prompted for input of data or commands, certain of the keys have special significance. The left-facing arrow on the numeric keypad will move the cursor to the left one position. The right-facing arrow on the keypad will move the cursor to the right one position. The up-facing 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. 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. The "Del" key will delete the character at the cursor, and fill in the spot with the characters to the right. The "Ins" key will open up one space for a new character, and move all the characters at the cursor and to the right, over one position further so that a new character can be typed in. Each time you press the (Ins) key another blank will be inserted. The "Home" key will move the cursor all the way to the left end _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 9. of the field. The "End" key will move the cursor to the right of the field, just past the last significant (non blank) character. 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. 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. The "Enter" key will move the cursor to the next field down on the screen. If the cursor is in the last field on the screen when you press the "Enter" key, it will cause the data to be "read" as if the (F10) key had been pushed. The "tab" key will move the cursor to the next field on the screen. The "backwards-tab" key will move the cursor to the previous field on the screen. The (F10) key will 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 pressing of the (F10) key. Hold down the (Ctrl) key and then press the "A" key. This is called "Ctrl-A" and will cause the program to pretend that (F10) was pushed. The "quote" and "apostrophe" key behave as a "duplication" key when adding or modifying data in the records. If you enter a single quote or single apostrophe as the only data in a field, the data from the previously viewed record will be copied into the field for you, as if you had keyed it in. The "Esc" key should be thought of as the "cancel this operation" key. It can get you out of most problem situations. Sometimes you'll get into a part of the PC-File III program which you wish you weren't in! (You may have pushed the wrong function key, for example). At these times, you may push the "Esc" key to get back to the master menu screen. You shouldn't rely too heavily on the "Esc" key, because overuse of it will gradually subtract from the main memory available during the current session with PC-File III. Use this key when you can figure no other convenient way out of a situation. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 10. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** DEFINING YOUR DATABASE The first step in defining a database is determining what you want to define and store. We suggest that you use paper and pencil to plan your database before you run PC-File III. First, determine what information you want and how many characters, or positions, each "field" or piece of data should contain. For example, a simple name/address database layout might look like this: Field name Length ------------ ------ Salutation 10 FirstName 12 LastName 15 Address1 20 Address2 20 City 15 State 2 ZipCode 9 HomePhone 12 WorkPhone 12 Comments 145 After you've designed your database on paper, start up PC-File III. PC-File III will show you a screen with the message "These files are already defined:", and will then ask "FILE NAME:". If this is the first time you have run the program, there will be no database names displayed. Type in the name of the database you will want to define. This should be a one to eight character name, starting with the characters A to Z. The only other characters allowed in the name are the numerals 0 to 9, but do not include a numeral as the first character in the database name. Do not include a file suffix (a period followed by three more characters), because PC-File III will supply standard suffixes for your database files. You can totally prevent others from viewing your database by telling PC-File III to encrypt the data. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 11. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** The program "PC-Def" will be loaded automatically, to allow you to define your new database. You'll be allowed to enter a list of field names and field lengths. The field names can be up to 12 characters long, and the field lengths can be any number from 1 to 25 or from 1 to 65, depending on the size of your display screen and the number of fields you are defining. The last field you define can be a "super" field - much longer than the others. This type of field can be used to store text or descriptive information. The allowable field lengths are discussed later on in this chapter. If you need help during database definition, you can press (F1) to get a help screen. You'll find it convenient to choose relatively short names, just long enough so you can remember what the name stands for each time you see it. It's best to choose a name that's not longer than the number of characters actually in the field itself, because the name will be truncated to the data length when printing titles for your printed reports. For example, if an employee number is six digits long, and you name the field "EMPLOYEE", the title for that field on your output reports will be "EMPLOY". Sometimes you have to choose longer names, so let your own judgment and taste be your guide. Just be careful not to use this same name for any other field in the record. It's wise not to use special characters in the field names, as these may conflict with some of the advanced reporting capabilities you will later wish to specify for your fields. You should stay away from the plus, minus, underscore, asterisk, slash, left parenthesis, right parenthesis, colon, quote, apostrophe, exclamation mark, comma, and period. If the field will contain numeric data, such as price, or quantity, give the name a "#" at the end. Example: "PRICE#". This will cause PC-File III 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. 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. Certain field names are reserved as "automatic" data entry fields. If you use one of these names, data will be supplied automatically for the operator whenever you are ADDing records to the database. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 12. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** For "FIELD LENGTH", enter the number of characters which are required to contain the data for that field. You should give it a length as long as the longest piece of data that the field will contain. For example, a field which will contain the names of cities should be at least 11 characters long if one of the cities in your database will be "Walla Walla." Field lengths must be 65 characters or less. If you have a 40 character display, or if your database has more than 21 fields, then field length must be kept to 25 characters or less. The last field you define can be a "super" field. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** The maximum number of fields which you'll be allowed to define is forty-two. The minimum is one. After you've finished with record definition, PC-File III will take you to the Master Menu screen. THE MASTER MENU SCREEN It looks like this: FILE:xxxxxxx ________________________________________________ F1 ADD - Add a record F2 MOD - Modify a record F3 DEL - Delete a record F4 DIS - Display a record F5 FIN - Find a record F6 LIS - List or clone F7 SOR - Sort the index F8 UTI - Utilities F9 NAM - Alter field name or mask GLO - Global update or delete KEY - Set up the smart keys END - End or change database Awaiting your Command [ ] You may perform any of the functions on the master menu screen by _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 13. pushing the appropriate function key at the left of the keyboard. You can accomplish the same thing by typing in the three-character function code (indicated by the three capitalized letters in each command). For example, to alter a field name, you could either push (F9), or you could type NAM followed by the (enter) key. Some people like function keys, some learn the names of the commands more easily and so prefer to type the three characters. PC-File III lets you suit yourself! Now that you have defined your database, the first thing that you'll want to do is put some data into it. ADDING RECORDS TO YOUR DATABASE To add records to your database, push (F1) or type ADD when viewing the master menu screen. PC-File III will then find an empty spot for your new record to go into. 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 to the end. In either case, PC-File III will tell you at the top of the screen which location it has found for adding your record. You will then be allowed to enter your data, using the cursor movement keys to access any field on the screen. A "Duplication" key is provided for data entry of repetitive information. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** This is especially handy if everyone in your database is from Albuquerque. After you've entered all the data for one record, press (F10) to cause the record to be added to the database. PC-File III 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 32,767 records allowed in this version of PC-File III. You must have enough disk space, of course, to handle the quantity of data in your database. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 14. MODIFYING A RECORD To modify a record in your database, push (F2) or type "MOD" while viewing the master menu screen. You will be asked "KEY or #n,*,+,-,++,--,\ ". If you know the key (the data in the first field) of the record to be modified, enter it at this time. Alternatively, you can enter the record number of the record in the database. The first record is number 1, the second is 2, and so on. To modify record number 120, you would enter "#120". Entering an "*" will allow you to modify the most recently retrieved record. This is handy when you have just used "FINd" to locate a record, and now you are using "MODify" to change it. Instead of having to enter the record # of the found record, just enter an "*". It's also handy for making another modification to the same record that you just finished modifying. A fourth way to specify the record to be modified is to enter "+", meaning to modify the next record after the one which you just modified. You can also enter a "-", meaning to modify the record just prior to the one you just modified. If you enter a "++", you'll be taken into "browse" mode. The next twenty records in sequence will be shown on the screen, preceded by their relative record numbers. Each time you press "++" you'll see the next twenty records. If your keyboard has the "PgDn" key, you can press it and get the same results. When you see the record you wish to modify, just enter its number. Example: if you see that it's record number 123 that you want to modify, enter #123. If you enter a "--", you'll be taken into "browse" mode. The previous twenty records will be shown on the screen. Each time you enter "--", you'll back up twenty records in the database. If your keyboard has the "PgUp" key, you can press it and get the same results. If you enter a "\" (backslash), you'll be presented with the last record in the database and allowed to modify it. PC-File III will retrieve the record to be modified and display it for modification on the screen. You can use the cursor movement keys, data keys, and the insert and delete keys to change any of the data on the screen. You can also use the "duplication" key (a single quote or a single apostrophe) to copy data from the corresponding field in the previously viewed record. After you've modified the data on the screen, press (F10) to cause the changes to be accepted. You'll be prompted to enter the KEY value for another record to be modified. If you have no _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 15. other modifications to make at this time, just press (enter) or (F10) and you'll be returned to the master menu screen. DELETING A RECORD To delete a record, press (F3) or type "DEL" while viewing the master menu screen. You'll be asked "KEY or #n,*,+,-,++,--,\ ". You should then enter the Key value of the first field in the record to be deleted, or the record number in the database (preceded by a #), or an "*" to delete the most recently retrieved record, or a "+" to delete the next record in sequence, or a "-" to delete the previous record in sequence, or a "\" (backslash) to delete the last record in the database. You can also go into "browse" mode at this time by entering "++" or (PgDn) or "--" or (PgUp). (Read the above section "Modifying A Record" for a longer explanation of this prompt.) PC-File III will retrieve the record and display it for you and then ask you to "Type 'DELETE', or press (enter)". If you decide that you really do wish to delete the record, type "DELETE". If you decide not to delete this record, type "KEEP". Press (enter). You'll then be prompted for the next record KEY to be deleted. When you've finished with all your deletions, just press (enter) when asked for the next record KEY. You will be returned to the master menu screen. DISPLAYING A RECORD To display a record, press (F4) or type "DIS" while viewing the master menu screen. You'll be asked "KEY, or #n,+,-,++,--,\ ". You should then enter the Key value of the first field in the record to be displayed, or the record number in the database (preceded by a #), or a "+" to display the next record in sequence, or a "-" to display the previous record in sequence, or a "\" to display the last record in the database. You can also enter "browse" mode by entering "++" or "--". PC-File III will retrieve and display the record for you, and then prompt you for the next record to be displayed. When you're through displaying records, just press (enter) and you'll be returned to the master menu screen. FINDING A RECORD To find a record, press (F5) or type "FIN" while viewing the master menu screen. You will then be shown a list of all the field names in the database, and asked "FIELD TO SEARCH". You should type in the name of the field which you wish to search on. You only need to enter as much of the field name as required to uniquely identify the field. PC-File III will next prompt you _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 16. with: >xxx(scan full field) ?xxx(soundex) Look for:__________ You should now type in the data which you would like to search for. But first, look at these FOUR different ways you can make a search. ONE: SCAN ACROSS If you precede the data with a ">" character, PC-File III 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", and therefore PC-File III must look at every record in the database. In search TWO, however, PC-File III can take advantage of its index file for very rapid retrieval. THREE: SOUNDEX Soundex searches retrieve records which sound the same as the search argument. You can do a soundex search on any field in your database. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** Please note that the "soundex" method of locating names was not invented by the author of PC-File III. It's only a computerized implementation of a standard name indexing method that's been around for many years. FOUR: WILDCARD A wildcard search finds records which have certain characters appearing only in certain fixed positions within a field. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 17. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** Whichever type of search you use, when a record is found which matches the search it'll be displayed followed by this prompt: "Continue, Stop, Modify, or Delete?". If you want to find more records which match this search criterion, just type "C" or press (Enter). The next record will be found and displayed. If you wish to stop searching, type "S" and then push (Enter). If you want to make changes to the record you just found, type "M" and then press (Enter). To delete the record you just found, type "D" and press (Enter). After you modify or delete the record, the search will continue from that point. LISTING THE RECORDS The listing capabilities of PC-File III are very powerful indeed. You will be allowed to select records based on "equal", "unequal", "greater than", or "less than" relationships. The data can be displayed in any format which you specify. And you can list the report on your printer, on your screen, or to disk. There is even a data transposition (flip data) character provided. (See the section "Special Keys When Typing" or look up "flip data" in the index). To list the records, press (F6) or type "LIS" while viewing the master menu screen. You will be shown the names of all the report formats which you have previously defined to the system, and asked "Which format, or press (enter)". If this is the first time you've ever created this particular report format, just press (enter). You will be shown all of the field names in this database, and prompted with: "Column=0. Field to List:". You should type in the name of the field which you would like to see first on your report (at the far left). You don't need to type in the whole field name; only enough so that PC-File III can uniquely identify it. As you continue to be prompted to enter field names, PC-File III will keep you informed, at the bottom of the screen, about the number of print columns which you've used up. If the report will go to your screen, you should not let this number go beyond 79. If the report will go to your printer, you shouldn't let the number go beyond the maximum width of a print line. PC-File III will list your fields side by side on the output report, with one space inserted between each field. For most reporting purposes, this is all that you need to know. Just specify the desired fields and let PC-File III do the rest. You're freed from the burden of calculating which column you want the data printed in, or of designing your output forms (which _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 18. some database programs force you to do). You'll find that the report which is automatically generated for you is usually quite adequate. For unusual reporting requirements, however, PC-File III provides some formatting options which you may wish to utilize. The following information will show you how to format customized output reports, placing your data in selected locations on the report. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** You can also cause calculations to occur and be printed as the output field. The format for calculated fields looks like this: ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** When you've specified all of the data to appear on the listing, just push (enter). Here is a summary with some sample answers to the question "Field to List?": RESPONSE PRINTED RESULT ------------ ------------------------------------ FIELD1 The data from FIELD1 * The relative record number "FRIDAY" The constant "FRIDAY" will be printed >10 Print ten blanks (ten spaces) < Backspace 1 space =25 Tab to printer column 25 / Start new line on the printer /FF Skip to a new page (A+B)SUM:7.2 A calculated answer You'll be asked to enter the Title of the report. If you enter a title at this time, it will be saved with the report format and used whenever the report is printed. If you enter a "null" title (no data, just an "enter" key), you'll be prompted for a title each time the report is about to be printed. When you enter the Title, there are some characters which you can put at the front of the title line to give you extra control over the output. These characters will allow you to bypass title or heading lines, bypass printing of totals, omit detail lines, or cause prompting for changing of paper or envelopes in friction feed printers. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 19. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** When you're asked "Save this report format?", Reply "Y" if you will ever want to print this report again, or "N" if this is a one-time only report. If you reply "Y", you'll then be asked "Name for this format:". Just type in a 1 to 8 character name by which you would like to remember this report format. You will next be asked: "List on Printer, Screen, or Disk (P,S,D)". Type "P" to get a printed list, or "S" to get the listing on your video screen. If you are "cloning" (creating a new database) or printing to disk, reply "D". See the section on Cloning a new database. You'll be told to prepare your printer for output, and asked: "Shall I print an alignment pattern?". If you answer "Y", a pattern of X's will be printed (one line only) so that you can see if your printer was lined up correctly. After the X's are printed, the question will be repeated. This is most useful if you are using pre-printed output forms, or if you are printing on labels and want to be sure you have things lined up properly. You'll be given the opportunity to have subtotals printed, or to have them omitted. The prompt for this is: Field to trigger subtotals, or press (Enter) for no subtotals If you enter the name of a field in your database, subtotals will be printed for your numeric fields whenever the named field changes in value. If you enter no field name (just press the 'enter' key), subtotals will not be printed. You would normally indicate the field which was the first field specified the last time you sorted the database. If you selected subtotals, you'll be asked two more questions. First, "Do you want Group Highlighting?". If you reply "Y", then only the first group item in each subtotal group will be printed. Subsequent items will print as blanks. For example, if you sorted on DEPARTMENT then selected DEPARTMENT as the field to trigger subtotals, your report might look like this: _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 20. DEPARTMENT ACTIONS ---------- ------- A27 173 212 555 B33 212 066 If you answer "N" to the Group Highlighting question, then the same report would look like this: DEPARTMENT ACTIONS ---------- ------- A27 173 A27 212 A27 555 B33 212 B33 066 Second, you'll be asked "New page after each subtotal?". If you want to skip to the top of a clean page after the subtotals for each group are printed, answer "Y". If you answer "N", you'll get one blank line after the subtotals, before the start of the next group. You'll be asked "List All records or Selected records (A or S):". If you want to see all the records in your report, answer "A". If you only want to list some of the records, answer "S". In this case, you will be shown all of the field names and asked "Field to Select on:". PC-File III wants to know which field will determine whether or not the record will be printed. Enter enough of the field name to uniquely identify it. You will then be asked "Compare how? >,<,=,<> ". The field which you have selected will later be compared to some value which you will also later enter. PC-File III is asking how it should compare the field to the value. If you will want them to be equal, enter "=". If you will want to see records which have the field less than some value, enter "<". For a "greater than" comparison, enter ">". For "unequal", enter "<>". Now you will be asked for the value which your field will be compared to. PC-File III asks: "Compared to value:". Enter the value. Example: To list all employees with age greater than 40 you would respond as follows: "Field to select on:" AGE "Compare how? " > "Compared to value: " 40 If the comparison is for equal or unequal, you're also allowed to _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 21. enter the ">" character at the front of the searched for value. This will cause PC-File III to scan the entire field for an occurance of the value. Example: To list all employees with "ART" appearing anywhere in the field called "HOBBIES" you would respond as follows: "Field to select on:" HOBBIES "Compare how? " = "Compared to value: " >ART If the comparison is for equal or unequal, you'll be allowed to use the wildcard character "_" in your search value. Example: a search on "equal" for a value of "___TH" (three wildcard characters in front of the "TH") would print records for SMITH, BROTHERS, FORTH, etc. In case you need to make multiple comparisons to select the records to be printed, you'll now be asked: "And, Or, or End". If you only have one comparison to make, reply "E". If you reply "A" (for "And") or "O" (for "Or"), the results of your first comparison will be "ANDed" or "ORed" with the results of subsequent comparisons which you'll be prompted for. In all, you can make a total of ten "and/or" comparisons. In this context, "AND" means that ALL of the comparisons must be true. "OR" means that ANY one or more of the comparisons must be true. For example: Assume that we wish to list all Female employees between the age of 20 and 40 who are single. This table shows the appropriate responses: FIELD TO COMPARE COMPARED TO AND/OR/END SELECT ON HOW VALUE --------- ------- ------------ ---------- SEX = F A AGE > 20 A AGE < 40 A STATUS = S E We used "AND" because we wanted ALL of the conditions to be true. ANDing and ORing combines from left to right. Each time you make a comparison, the result is saved as the "truth" value, and this truth value is then used for the next comparison, etc. Until you get used to the way this works, it is wise to practice your intended comparison by listing to the screen, just to see if the results are as expected. If you are using a printer for output, PC-File III will now pause with a message to allow you to set up the printer. Now is when PC-File III really goes to work for you. Here's a peek at what's going on behind the scene: _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 22. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** SORTING THE DATABASE INDEX If you wish to have your output reports printed in a specific sequence, you may wish to sort the database index. For example, to print your customer file in alphabetic sequence by last name you would first sort the database on "LASTNAME". If you don't care about the sequence of your output report, you won't need to do a sort before printing the report. To sort the records, press (F7) or type "SOR" while viewing the master menu screen. PC-File III will load a special sort program into the computer, print out all the field names, and ask: "Sort field #1:". You should enter the name of the field which you would like to use to sequence the database. (Just enter enough of the name to uniquely identify it.). If the sequence will depend on multiple fields, you should give the name of the most primary 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 "LASTNAME", and sort field #2 would be "FIRSTNAME". You'll be allowed to specify up to ten field names in the sort sequence. You can also pull out any portion of the field for use in sequencing. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** As you enter each field name, you'll be asked "Ascending or Descending (A or D):". This is your chance to tell whether you want the field to be sorted into ascending or descending sequence. 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, just push (enter). _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 23. Finally, you'll be asked to identify a "work" drive for the sort to use as an overflow area. The work drive will be used to contain a small file of sort status information. It will also be used as "spill over" work space if the sort is unable to sort the entire database index in RAM memory. The sort will do as much of its work as possible in the memory you have available for it. This is why the sort runs so fast. If it needs more work space than there is memory available, it'll use the work drive as an "extension" of RAM memory. You must select a work drive that has enough empty space on it to handle the sort work requirements. 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", definitely put the work drive there. For most databases in the "under 2000 records" category, the work space won't be needed and so it won't matter which drive you specify. The sort will now proceed and keep you informed of its status as it progresses. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** USING THE UTILITIES It is important to make frequent "backup" copies of your database, in case something happens to make it unusable. The Utilities provided with PC-File III allow you to Copy your database, or to Rename, Delete, Export or Merge databases. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** ALTERING A FIELD NAME OR EDIT MASK You can change the name of any field defined in your database. You might want to do this, for example, to change a field attribute from numeric to character, or to shorten the field name. Press (F9) or type "NAM" while viewing the master menu screen. You will be shown a list of all the field names and asked "Which Name to Change:". Type the name of the field you wish to change. You'll then be asked to "Enter the New Name:". Type the name that you would like to use for the new name of the field. Underneath the field name, you can optionally provide information telling PC-File III what characters will be allowed when keying _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 24. data into the field. If you don't provide this information, all characters in the ASCII character set will be allowed for the field if it's not numeric. If it's a numeric field, only the digits 0 through 9, decimal, plus, minus, and the letters "D" and "E" will be allowed. ("D" and "E" are used when entering floating point numbers.) We call this optional editing information an "edit mask". A carefully thought out edit mask can prevent the operator from accidentally keying invalid characters into your data field. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** ENDING / CHANGING TO A NEW DATABASE To end the program and return to the DOS operating system, or to change to a different database, type "END" while viewing the master menu screen. PC-File III will ask: "Quit, Change file, or Resume?(Q,C,R)". Answer "Q" if you have completed processing with PC-File III. Answer "C" if you would like to keep using PC-File III, but wish to process a different database. Answer "R" if you didn't really mean to type "END", in which case you'll be returned to the master menu screen. GLOBAL UPDATE AND DELETE If you wish to delete a lot of records at one time, or update a lot of records with the same value, then you'll find the global update/delete capabilities of PC-File III to be very useful. You'll be allowed to name a field in the database, and a value which you're looking for. For every record found in the database which has the value in the field, global delete will delete the record. Or, if you're doing global update, each found record can have any field changed to a new value. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** MERGING TWO DATABASES TOGETHER There is occasionally a need to combine two databases into one. For example, you may have been keeping your data in two separate databases because of a limitation on diskette space. Suddenly, you find yourself with a new hard disk on your PC and wish to combine both databases into one. Here's how it's done. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 25. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** SETTING UP THE "SMART" KEYS Ten different keys on your keyboard can be preloaded with data and/or commands. The keys are the NUMBER keys 0-9 located along the TOP of your keyboard. These are NOT the function keys. When they have been setup with data or commands, they can be used by pressing the "Alt" key at the left of the space-bar and, while holding the Alt key down, pressing the desired number key. If the particular key has been preloaded with characters, they will be emitted just as if you had typed them in from the keyboard. If the smart key hasn't been set up, then nothing will happen if it's pressed. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** PRINTING MAILING LABELS PC-File III can do a very nice job of producing mailing labels from your 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. The multi-up labels can be printed on continuous forms labels or on sheets of labels. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** SNAPSHOT MAILING LABELS There's a very useful feature built into PC-File III which we've been using here at ButtonWare for quite some time. We've decided to make it generally useable by everyone. It's called "Snapshot Mailing Labels" and it works like this: When you're adding a record to your database, or just viewing or modifying a record, you may wish to print a mailing label for the person or address being viewed. If you've previously defined a special snapshot format, then you can produce the label whenever you want by pressing the "snapshot key." _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 26. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** CLONING: (OUTPUTTING A NEW DATABASE) 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 was 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 different ones. The cloning operation allows you to define a new database which is similar to an existing one, and then it copies the data from the existing database into the new one. The new database can differ from the original in the following ways: - Field lengths can be lengthened - Field lengths can be shortened - New fields can be inserted - Fields can be removed - Fields can be rearranged (the order of their appearance on the screen changed) - The new database can contain "selected" records from the original - The database can be changed from normal to encrypted - The database can be changed from encrypted to normal - The database can be changed from encrypted to encrypted (with a new security code) Follow the steps below to create a new database from an old database: ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** SPLITTING AND JOINING FIELDS It's also possible to combine two adjacent fields into one field in your database. You may want to do this, for example, if you defined a YEAR field, a MONTH field, and a DAY field and wish 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: _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 27. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** EXCHANGING DATA WITH VISICALC, OTHERS You may export your database for use with Visicalc, 1-2-3, or Multiplan or any other program which will allow input of a "DIF" or Visicalc format file. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** USING YOUR DATA WITH MAILMERGE You can export your database into a format which can be used with MailMerge, WORD, or other types of programs which require your fields to be separated by commas. This is handy for keeping a mailing labels database and then printing customized letters to each person on your mailing list. To do this, press (F8) or type "UTI" while viewing the Master menu screen. When asked "Export to Visicalc or Wordstar", reply "W". Then answer the questions about the input and output drive and the database name. When the program is finished, your newly created file will have the name "filename.WS" (Where "filename" is the name of your database). IMPORTING & EXPORTING YOUR DATABASE A very powerful feature of the PC-File III system is its ability to share data with many other programs, such as Lotus 1-2-3, Multiplan, PC-Calc, VisiCalc, WordStar, WORD, and Personal Editor. IMPORTING: You can import files or databases created on other systems, into the PC-File III database format. In order to do this, the file to be imported must be in one of these formats: MailMerge format. 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 the WordStar "MailMerge" program, is produced by many BASIC programs, and is an export option in many existing database programs. Text editor 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 most of the text editors and many _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 28. of the word processing programs. PC-Calc format. This format is used by the ButtonWare spreadsheet program called "PC-Calc". DIF format. This format is produced as an output or export option by many of the existing spreadsheet programs, and by some database programs. Fixed Length format. This format is just like the Text Editor format described above, except that the end of each record is not marked by a carriage return. 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 when they were created. If your file exists or can be changed into one of these formats, it can be imported into PC-File III for use as a database. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** EXPORTING: You can also export your PC-File III database for use with many other programs. You'll be able to export into "VisiCalc", "MailMerge", Microsoft WORD, "PC-Calc", "DIF", or "Text Editor" formats. When you export the database, all of the records in the database will be copied out into the export file. They'll be copied in the most recent sort sequence. Therefore, if you will want the exported file to appear in some special sequence, you'll need to sort the database first. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** SECURITY (ENCYPHERED) DATABASES You can tell PC-File III that the database is to be kept secure from other people. If you do this, PC-File III will maintain all of the data, the index, and the database description in an encrypted format. This data can't be viewed by ANYONE without the password, not even clever programmers with disk snooping tools, because the data is highly "scrambled". The only people who will be able to access and see your database are those who know the special security key which you'll be asked to enter when you first define the database. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 29. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** IF YOUR DATABASE GETS DAMAGED PC-File III takes great pains to make sure that you don't accidentally damage your database. Three special techniques proprietary to ButtonWare are utilized to keep your data in good form on the disk. Therefore, the number of occurrences of damage to databases is very low. However, accidents do happen. Diskettes are a notoriously unreliable medium for the storage of information. Sectors do go bad on the disks. Read/write heads in the drives do get dirty. If something unforeseen does happen to your database, don't panic! Chances are pretty good that it can be recovered. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** To help minimize the chances that you will damage a database in the future, we offer the following suggestions. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** CONFIGURING YOUR SYSTEM You can change many of the PC-File III options to suit your individual configuration. You do this by running, from DOS, the standalone program called PC-SETUP. Instructions for running PC-SETUP are given in the section "Getting Started". This chapter details some of the options that can be changed. Changing the Printer Defaults PC-File III is distributed for use with the IBM 80-column Printer or with the Epson MX-80. However, you can override the printer defaults for use with other printers. These defaults include the length of your printed page, the width of the page, the control characters to cause "normal" or "condensed" printing, the method used to skip to the next page, and the number of lines to print on each page. Changing the Screen Colors You can change the colors (white on black) which are normally displayed. After you have defined these colors they will be used _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 30. whenever you start up PC-File III. Using 40-Character Width Displays If you have a video display which only allows viewing in "40-column" mode, such as a television set with an RF Modulator, you can configure for this. Miscellaneous Settings. There are some other settings that can be established by running PC-SETUP. These include a default disk drive, a default database name, settings for running on MS-DOS (non-IBM compatible) machines, and the control commands for your "snapshot" mailing labels. A Program to Run When Finished Sometimes, PC users don't wish to return to DOS when they're completed with their database processing. You can establish a program to be run at the completion of PC-File III processing. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** USING MS-DOS (NON IBM "COMPATIBLE") PC-File III will run on many MS-DOS computers which don't claim to be IBM "compatible". If PC-File III won't run on your MS-DOS computer, taking the following steps should allow you to run the program correctly. First, try utilizing the ROM BIOS routines rather than the high speed RAM screen output routines of PC-File III. To do this, run the standalone program called PC-SETUP. To the first question (about IBM PC compatibility), answer number 2 "Mostly compatible with the IBM-PC". After answering the rest of the questions, try again to run PC-File III on your machine. If the above doesn't work, try utilizing the ANSI device driver provided which is built in to many versions of MS-DOS. Here's how to do it. You must be using MS-DOS version 2.0 or later. Run the standalone program called PC-SETUP. To the first question (about IBM PC compatibility), answer number 3 "Not very compatible". After answering the rest of the questions, try again to run PC-File III on your machine. Many MS-DOS computers have the ANSI "device driver" available as _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 31. a separate option. The option must be specified to MS-DOS in order for PC-File III to run with the above indicated changes. If the screen still doesn't look correct, you may also have to do the following: The file named "ANSI.SYS" must be placed on your "boot-up" disk. This file is provided as part of the MS-DOS system disk on most systems. The file "CONFIG.SYS" must be placed on your "boot-up" disk and must contain the following statement (you can put it there) as one of the command lines. DEVICE=ANSI.SYS The CONFIG.SYS file is created by you and is described in your MS-DOS manual. If you faithfully meet all of the above conditions, PC-File III will try to use the special device driver called "ANSI.SYS" which will allow it to run on almost any MS-DOS computer. On some MS-DOS computers there are no function keys. The only absolutely necessary function key is (F10). Therefore, provision has been made for you to "simulate" the pressing of (F10). Hold down the (Ctrl) key and then press "A". This is called "Ctrl-A". If you type in the "Ctrl-A" character, PC-File III will pretend that you pressed (F10). WRITING YOUR OWN PROGRAMS This information is provided for programmers who may wish to use the PC-File III databases with other programs. PC-File III makes an excellent "Front End" program for other systems which you might develop. You can use PC-File III to handle the file maintenance functions, and concentrate your efforts on the rest of the system. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** A sample BASIC program is provided for you, to show you how to process the Index and Data records in your database. It is named "SAMPLE.BAS". Why don't you print it and have a look at it? _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 32. CALCULATING DISK STORAGE SPACE You can calculate the amount of disk space your database will require. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** 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. USERS WITH ONLY 1 DISK DRIVE You have two options for running PC-File III. Option 1: Database on the "B:" drive, PC-File III on the "A:" drive. Even though some computers don't have a "B:" drive, DOS lets them pretend that they do. If you tell PC-File that your database is on the "B:" drive, the DOS operating system will automatically prompt you whenever you need to change disks. Whenever it asks for the "A:" drive diskette, insert the PC-File III program disk. Whenever it asks for the "B:" diskette, insert your database diskette. The advantage of this approach is that you can use an entire diskette (360,000 characters) for your database. The disadvantage is that you might have to exchange diskettes frequently. Option 2: Database on the "A:" drive and PC-File III also on the "A:" drive. If you tell PC-File III that your database is on the "A:" drive, you will have to share your database with the PC-File III programs. The advantage of this approach is that you won't have to keep changing diskettes. The disadvantage is that you won't have very much room for your database because of the space occupied by programs. However, you can create a "Production" version of PC-File III, to give yourself the maximum amount of available disk space. To do this, make a copy of the PC-File III diskette, which will become your production copy. Then, on this copy, delete all files except PC-OVL.EXE, PC-FILE.EXE, PC-SORT.EXE, PC-PRINT.EXE, PC-DEF.EXE, PC-UTIL.EXE, PC-EXPOR.EXE, PC-FIX.EXE, PC-IMPOR.EXE, and PC-FILE.PRO. Some of these files may even be deleted. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 33. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** A FEATURES CHECKLIST Making comparisons of the many database programs that are on the market is a popular pastime. This features checklist is provided to simplify the task. You'll soon discover that PC-File III does far more than most programs selling for many times the price. Database Type: Indexed. Maximum databases open simultaneously is one. User Interface: Menu driven. Full screen input. Password protection optional. Macro definition capability. Entry/Editing Capabilities "Character" field type. "Number" field type. User defined field types. Automatic Date and Time. RAM Memory Minimum required is 128K. Maximum useable is 640K. Printers Supported: Any printer on the "parallel" port. Disk Drives Minimum required is 1. Maximum supported is 8. (Drives A through H, but all the programs must be on one drive, and all the data in a particular database must be on one drive.) Hard Disk Support: Program may reside on hard disk. Data may reside on hard disk. (Programs must be in same subdirectory with data if on same drive.) 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 42. Maximum Record length is 1665 characters. Maximum Records per Database is 32,767. Maximum Number of Sort Control Fields is 10. Maximum No. of Compares for print record selection is 10. Maximum Number of "calculated fields" _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 34. in a report is 20. Search Types Wild Card. Soundex. Generic. Scan across (imbedded). Ad hoc queries possible? Yes. Case independence: Searches are case independent. Sorts are case independent. Indexing ALL fields are automatically indexed. Search or sort on ANY field in the database. Reports Maximum report width is 32767 characters. Control breaks are supported. Titles on each page are supported. Fields can be placed anywhere on the page. Subtotals and totals. Calculated report fields. Print to disk, printer, or screen. Boolean logic for record selection. Communication with other programs Can read and write the following file types ASCII text files Comma-separated (WORD, MailMerge) Visicalc "VC" files VisiCalc "DIF" files PC-Calc files Fixed length files Openness of the system Is Program "copy-protected"? No. Method is provided to calculate database sizes. Programmer information is provided. Sample BASIC program is provided. Miscellaneous advanced features Encryption. "Browse" mode. Global update & delete. Correctly handles floating point data. Data restructuring is supported. "Snapshot" mailing labels. Macro keys can be defined. Proprietary disk writing techniques protect against loss of data. Program cost Initial purchase is $49. Updates cost approx. $20. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 35. SOME NOTES ON PERFORMANCE PC-File III is well known for its excellent speed of operation. However, with very large databases containing thousands of records, things can slow down considerably. The following hints and information should help you to get the maximum possible speed when processing your data. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** SUMMARY OF ENHANCEMENTS TO THIS VERSION - New high speed screen output routines are used for IBM compatible machines. - Expanded capabilities allow 32767 records maximum. - One "super" field is allowed per database. It must be the last field defined, and can have a maximum size of all the remainder of the screen. - A "wildcard" search character is provided for all PC-File and PC-Print searching. - "Snapshot" mailing labels. Users can print a mailing label instantly for the record being displayed. - Added direct path from "FINding" a record to "MODifying" or "DELeting" it. After the modify or delete, the FINd will continue with the next sequential record. - Performance improvement. ALL of RAM memory is now used by PC-File and PC-Sort. - Change to the search logic. Records will now be searched beginning from the "current pointer" to the end of the index, then from the front of the index forward to the current pointer. The old search was always from the beginning of the index to the end. This change permits the user to process database updates in sequence for performance gains. - Enhanced the "DUPE" key. It now displays duplicated data instantly. Data can be "duplicated" from previously viewed or modified records as well as from added records. - PgDn and PgUp keys may now be used when browsing, as substitutes for "++" and "--". - The amount of data that each "smartkey" can hold is now 300 characters for each key. It was 75. - Provided new program PC-SETUP. Asks configuration questions, then builds the profile file PC-FILE.PRO automatically. - Option for "Group Highlighting" on reports. - Option for new page after subtotals on reports. - Numeric data will now add correctly even if it contains imbedded "$","+", or commas. - The "transpose when printing" character (a tilde) is provided. "Smith~John" will print as "John Smith". - Added a new user definable parameter "/PAGEWIDTH". Allows user to tell PC-Print how wide a report may be in "normal" _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 36. print mode before going to "condensed" mode. - Time of day removed from report titles. (Many users requested this.) - Mailing labels can now also be printed on sheets of labels. Sheets can be manually inserted or automatically fed. - Option provided to use FORMFEED or NEWLINE characters to eject report pages. - PC-IMPORt has been integrated with the rest of the system. It no longer needs to be run standalone. - Utilities include deletion of report formats. - Utilities will also copy filename.KEY files. - Disk error recovery has been enhanced. Errors on the disk will now be retried 10 times. - Minor fixes and cosmetic improvements. THE FILES ON YOUR PROGRAM DISK This information is provided so that you'll know the function of each file in the PC-File III system. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - "Do you have any other programs that you're distributing?" ANSWER: Yes, we have an excellent communications program called "PC-Dial". We have a spreadsheet program called "PC-Calc" which is by far the nicest available in its price range. There's also a graphics program called "PC-Graph" which allows you to graph your PC-File database. PC-Graph will be available in January, 1985. Each program is available from ButtonWare for under $50 and can be ordered directly by calling (206)746-4296. Visa and MasterCard accepted. We take great pride in our ability to provide high quality, high function, easy to use programs for a popular price. We hope to have our word processing program (PC-Type) available sometime in 1985. Also in the plans are the integration of our products into one easily used package. You'll be able to use the spreadsheet program, the database program, the graphics program, the communications program, and the word processor - all from one menu and with the same data. The price will be "very popular". We plan to name it "Medley(tm)". We can't say for sure when "Medley" will be available, but we'll bust our Buttons (so to speak) getting it to you! - "Do you have any predefined database applications available?" _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 37. ANSWER: Not at this time. However, there are over 90,000 users of PC-File now (and the number is growing rapidly), so if you'd like to become an entrepreneur, why don't you create an application and market it? A very good one would be an address and phone number database with mailing labels. How about a database for stamp collectors? If you notify us of your product, we'll include a listing for you here in future versions of this manual. Here's the start of what we hope will become a long list: LETUS A-B-C is a database containing extracts of articles from the major PC magazines over the past several years. You can do searches by keywords, subject, title, or author to find a needed article. LETUS A-B-C R. Nelson 3790 El Camino Real Suite 2006 Palo Alto, CA 94306 ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** - "What computers does PC-File III run on?" ANSWER: We've worked very hard to make PC-File III run on as many different "MS-DOS" computers as possible. It's known to run on the following machines: AT&T PC CANNON AS100 ITT XTRA CHAMELEON KAYPRO 10 (8088 coprocessor) COLUMBIA 1600-4 LEADING EDGE COMPAQ OTRONA ATTACHE CORONA PANASONIC SR. PARTNER DIMENSION 6800 (IBM mode) SANYO MBC 550 EAGLE 1630 SPERRY PC FUJITSU MICRO 16S STEARNS (ST-DOS) GRID COMPASS (/ANSISYS) TANDY 2000 HONEYWELL 6/10 TELEX HYPERION TI PROFESSIONAL ("emulate" mode) IBM PC, PCjr, XT, AT ZENITH Z-150 This list was made possible through reports from users who kindly provided the information. If you're able to add to our knowledge, please send the details so that we can improve the list. - "Can I obtain the source code for the program?" ANSWER: No. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 38. IF YOU NEED HELP It's our express goal to provide the highest quality programs for the lowest price in the industry. Nobody benefits more from this policy than you, the computer user. Our products are so overwhelmingly popular that the telephone here rings almost constantly. While the author heartily enjoys talking with users, it's becoming impossible to spend any time enhancing the programs. If we have to install support lines and hire technical personnel to provide telephone assistance, the price of our products will have to be increased. We don't want to have to do this, and we're certain that you agree. Therefore, we no longer offer telephone support. The best way to receive help with your questions or a response to your suggestions is to write us a letter. Be certain that you carefully detail the problem and all symptoms. Please include a stamped, self addressed return envelope. We'll try to respond to all such mailings. Questions and requests from non registered users will be ignored. ERROR MESSAGES Although we try to prevent numbered error messages from ever appearing on your screen, we can't guarantee that it will never happen. If you do receive an unusual error message that you can't figure out, the following list of messages and message numbers may help you to figure out what's happening. ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** THE USER-SUPPORTED CONCEPT _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 39. User-Supported Software You're encouraged to copy and share this diskette with others. If after evaluating this program you find it to be useful, You're trusted to send a $49 payment. Jim Button P.O. Box 5786 Bellevue, WA 98006 User-supported software is an experiment in distributing computer programs, based on these beliefs: 1. That the value and utility of software is best assessed by the user on his/her own system. 2. That the creation of personal computer software can and should be supported by the computing community. 3. That copying of programs should be encouraged, rather than restricted. Anyone may legally obtain an evaluation copy of the program from a friend or computer club. After you've had a chance to use and evaluate the program in your own environment, you're trusted to either forward a payment to the author, or to discontinue use of the program. In any case, you are encouraged to copy the program for evaluation by others. Free distribution of software and voluntary payment for its use eliminates costs for advertising and copy protection schemes. Users obtain quality software at greatly reduced cost. They can try it out before buying, and do so at their own pace and in the comfort of their own home or office. The best programs will survive, based purely on their quality and usefulness. Please join the experiment. If you believe in these ideals, your payment is solicited to help make them work. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 40. WHY SHOULD I PAY? We were hoping you would ask. You're trusted to use this copy of PC-File III for evaluation purposes only, until the requested payment is made. There are some solid reasons for sending in your payment: - It's the right thing to do. You'll feel a lot better about yourself! - When we receive your payment, we'll send you the latest version of PC-File III. This is the version with the fewest bugs and the newest enhancements. New features are being added regularly to this program. - You'll receive a complete, printed copy of the User's Guide. - We'll add you to our database of supporters. Every time a new version comes out, we'll automatically send you a flyer giving you the option of buying the new version for a nominal update charge - usually about $20. - We'll give you "priority" treatment if you need to write to us with problems or questions. RESTRICTED PERMISSION TO COPY PC-File III is not a public domain program, and never has been. It is Copyright(C) 1983, 1984, 1985 by Jim Button. The conditions under which you may copy the PC-File III programs and documentation are clearly outlined below. WARNING!!! The author intends to vigorously prosecute copyright violations. Individuals are granted permission by the author to freely copy the PC-File III diskette for their own use or for others to evaluate, so long as no price or other consideration is charged. The printed material may not be copied without the express written permission of the author. Computer clubs (non-profit) are granted permission by the author to copy the PC-File III diskette and share it with their members, so long as: 1. No price or other consideration is charged. However, a distribution cost may be charged for the cost of the diskette, shipping and handling, as long as it's not more than $9 total. 2. The program or documentation are not modified in any way and are distributed together. 3. PC-File III may not be sold as part of some other more inclusive package. 4. The programs may not be "rented" to others. _ PC-File III(tm) User's Guide Page 41. 5. The programs may not be distributed via computerized "bulletin boards" or through any other telecommunications link. 6. The printed manual may not be copied or reproduced in any way. Any group, person, or organization which purchases advertising space in any publication may not distribute PC-File III under the "computer club" conditions. Companies, schools, universities, government and other organizations are granted permission by the author to copy the PC-File III programs and documentation for use on other computers and at other locations in the organization, so long as: 1. The full registration fee of $49 has been paid for the original copy of the program. 2. A usage fee of $40 is paid to ButtonWare for each additional building where PC-File III will be used. Within any building for which the usage fee has been paid, PC-File III may be copied freely for use on any computer in that building. You may also make as many copies as desired for classroom use or training which takes place within the building. 3. Where Local Area Networks, "LAN"s, are involved, the above building rule also applies. The building usage fee must be paid if PC-File III is copied into the memory or storage of any computer in the building. Organizations are invited to correspond with ButtonWare concerning a special license agreement which would enable you to copy and distribute the diskettes with impunity within your organization. We also offer quantity purchase discounts. Programmers, Software and hardware distributors and system developers are encouraged to include PC-File III with their own products. You must have written permission from ButtonWare before you can copy or distribute PC-File III. Please contact ButtonWare to obtain a written agreement. _ INDEX ************************************** * Omitted from the evaluation copy * ************************************** _ ORDER FORM ------------------------------------------------------- JIM BUTTON Call: 1-800-JBUTTON (24 hrs) ButtonWare P.O. Box 5786 Federal Employer I.D.# 91-1228699 Bellevue, WA 98006 (Qty discounts avail) PRICE PRICE ITEM QTY EACH EXTENDED ========================== === ===== ======== "PC-File III" version 3.0 $49 $ (Includes User's Guide) --- ------- Usage fee for additional $40 $ copies (each building) --- ------- Extra printed User's Guide $25 $ (Registered users only) --- ------- Package of 10 PC-File $150 $ Printed User's Guides --- ------- Package of 100 PC-File $1000 $ Printed User's Guides --- ------- PC-Dial $29 $ Async communications pgm. --- ------- PC-Calc Spreadsheet program --- $48 $------- SUBTOTAL: $ ------- 7.8% state sales tax $ (Washington state residents) ------- TOTAL: $ ------- (Available only on double-sided diskette) MasterCard or Visa or personal check ----- ----- ----- Card number: ------------------------------------------- Expiration date: Signature: --------- ------------------- Name ------------------------------------------------ Address ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ City State Zip ------------------------ ----- ---------