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- File Express(tm) User's Guide ----------------------------- L A B E L P R I N T I N G ----------------------------- With File Express it is extremely easy to print labels. You may print labels up to five across on label forms up to 14 inches wide. Printing may be done in either regular or condensed print. (You may also print "Quick Labels" while you are entering information into your database or while editing records.) Telling File Express the size of your labels and the spacing be- tween each one is so easy and simple that you'll wonder why you ever dreaded printing labels before. To reach the Label Printing Section, press <6> while viewing the Main Menu. The first display on the screen will be the "Mailing Label Menu": ________________________________ | | | 1 - Re-define LABEL SPACING | | | | 2 - Go to LABEL FORMAT LIST | | | | 3 - Design NEW LABEL | | | | 4 - Test LABEL POSITION | |--------------------------------| | | | 5 - Go to REPORT GENERATOR | | | | 6 - RE-SORT Index | | | | 7 - Return to MAIN MENU | | | | 8 - QUIT all Processing | |________________________________| Selection _ From here, the first four selections have to do with printing labels. (53) - File Express(tm) User's Guide SETTING LABEL SPACINGS When you use File Express for the first time, the default values are set to match a two-across label format of 3 1/2" x 15/16" - labels that are commonly available on continuous tractor feed paper. If you are using single column labels, labels with three or more across, or labels of a different size, then you must reset the size and spacing values before you print. To do this press <1>, the fol- lowing list will appear. Set Label Sizes and Spacings default Number of Labels across Page 2 Horizontal Label Spacing 37 Vertical Label Spacing 6 Characters per line on Label 33 Printable lines per Label 4 Starting Tab Position 1 Press <ENTER> to use all default values or <R> to Reset the values The values on the right are either File Express default values or values read in from the Data Disk from a previous setup that was saved. If these values are correct then all you have to do is press <Enter> and you will be returned to the Mailing Label Menu. If you would like to reset the values then press <R>. The screen will clear and you will be asked: "Print in <C>ondensed or <R>egular mode?" With File Express you may print labels on forms up to 14 inches wide in regular type (10 characters per inch) or in condensed mode (about 17 characters per inch). Choose which type of printing you want to use and press the corresponding first letter, either <C> or <R>. The next question to be asked will be: default "How may labels across the Page (1 to 5) _ (2) The numbers in the first set of parenthesis, at the right of the question, indicate the value range that will be accepted for an answer to that particular question. The values in the successive questions will be dependent upon the answers preceding them. The default value at the far right of the question is pulled from the standard default values that you saw in the previous screen. To (54) - File Express(tm) User's Guide use the default value for any question, just press <Enter>. An- swer by entering the number of label columns on your label forms. After answering, File Express will draw some labels at the top of the screen to assist you in answering the next questions. The next question that File Express will ask you depends on your answer to question one. If you indicated that you were using label forms with two or more labels across the page then you will be asked: ------------------------- ------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------- ------------------------- |--------------- ? ------------| ------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------- default "Spacing from one label to the next (max. xx) (37)" As indicated by the picture above the questions, this is the dis- tance, in character positions, from the beginning of one label horizontally across to the beginning of the next label. This amount can be determined by measuring the distance and multiply- ing it by the number of characters per inch that you will be printing in, usually either 10 or 17. If you don't have a ruler handy then just take a good guess as to how far it is. You will be given a chance to test the printer setup before you actually print labels. (55) - File Express(tm) User's Guide After answering the above question, or if you are using single column label forms, the next query will be: --- ------------------------- ------------------------- | | | | | | | | | ? | | | | ------------------------- ------------------------- | | --- ------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------- default "Lines down from one Label to next (max. 66) (6)" You are now to enter the number of line-feeds it would take to move from the first row of one label to the first row of the label below it. Next question: ------------------------- ------------------------- | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | | | |----------?----------| | | | | | | | ------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------- default "Characters per line on each label (max. xx) (33)" This is to be the number of characters that you want printed per line on the labels. This does not necessarily mean that you should answer with the maximum number that will fit on the label, though. Your labels may be 40 characters wide, but if you want to maintain a left and right margin you should subtract these amounts from the maximum width to determine the width that you want to use. (56) - File Express(tm) User's Guide Next question: ------------------------- ------------------------- |--- Line 1 | | | | ? Line 2 | | | |--- Line 3 | | | ------------------------- ------------------------- |------------------- ? --------| ------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------- default "Printable Lines per Label? (max. xx) (4)" Enter the number of lines that can be printed on the label, again excluding any top or bottom margins that you would like to pro- vide. Last question: ------------------------- ------------------------- | | | | |- ? -| | | | | | | | ------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------- default "Tab position to first label (max xx) (1)" Enter the number of spaces that the print head would have to move to reach the first character of the first line on the first label. When changing from regular computer paper to label pages it is a good practice to not move the left tractor drive or paper guide. Leave the left guide where it is and just move the right one in or out to fit the page widths. This way you won't have to worry if you have moved the starting print position as you switch back and forth between paper and labels. After answering the setup questions you will be asked: Do you want to save these values as future "Default" values (Y/N)? (57) - File Express(tm) User's Guide If you will always be using the label spacings that you have just specified and don't want to have to re-enter them every time you print labels, press <Y> in answer to the question. Your response will then be saved on the Data disk in a file named "DEFAULT.VAL". Each time you go to the Label Printing Section of File Express, it will first look on the disk to see if "DEFAULT.VAL" is there and if so will use it's values as the default values when printing the Label Spacing screen. You then need only to press <Enter> to use the saved setup values. TEST PRINTER SETUP "Would you like to test this setup on your Printer (Y,N)" If this is the first time you have printed labels with File Express, it would be a good idea to answer <Y> to this question to make sure that you have answered all the setup questions cor- rectly and to see if your labels will be printed as you envisioned them. To run the setup test, press the line-feed on your printer until the print head is in position to print the first line of a label. After pressing <Y> to the test question the message: "When printer is ready, press any key" will appear. When it is ready and "on line", press any key to begin the test. File Express will print two rows of labels full of slash marks according to the spacing information you gave it. If during the test it is obvious that you need to change some spacing values, press <Esc> and you will be taken back to the Label Sizes and Spacing section, where you may then change any incorrect values. If the test is allowed to finish, you will be taken to the Label Format List. From this point you may still press <Esc> to go back to the Label Sizes and Spacing section to change any values. LABEL FORMAT LIST Press <2> from the Mailing Label Menu to view a list of any prev- iously saved Label Layouts. If no formats have been saved before, you will be taken to the "Define Label Layout" section. If there are existing layouts on disk you will be asked to: Enter Number of Label format (to ERASE file...enter number of file then press <End>) <Esc> Menu (58) - File Express(tm) User's Guide Typing in the number of an existing format will cause a label to be drawn on the screen and filled in with the field names and text specified in that layout. You will then be told what size and spacing was saved with the label format. For example, if you had selected the EXAMPLE label on the Utility disk you would see: Selecting this label format will reset label spacing to: Label Forms: 2 Across 6 lines high Regular Print Press <Enter> to use this layout or <Esc> to go back for another layout Pressing <Enter> causes File Express to use the format shown and will reset the label sizes and spacings to those shown on the screen. This resetting of the sizes and spacings will happen whenever you load a label format from disk. If you want to use a label format with more than one type of label forms, you will have to define a specific layout for each form size. DESIGNING THE LABEL To design a new label layout, press <3> from the Mailing Label Menu. You will be shown a list of the field numbers and names of the current file. If the file contains more than twenty fields, then you may use <PgUp> and <PgDn> to view all the field names. A label is drawn on the screen to the sizes specified. The command lines at the bottom of the screen read: <M>anual or <A>utomatic spacing between fields on the same line? File Express allows you to choose between the standard of one blank space separating all fields on the same line of the label, or specifically defining what, if anything, should separate the fields. Choosing Automatic spacing means that File Express will insert one blank space between each field that is printed on the same line of a label. Choosing Manual spacing means that you must specify what characters (usually blanks or punctuation) are to separate each field on a line. This is done by defining a Text field to be printed between each field. For example, you would specify a text field containing one space to go between a first and last name. You would specify a text field containing a comma and a space to go between a city and state. You would specify a text field of a period and two spaces to go between a state abbreviation and the zip code. (For instructions on how to specify a Text field see the "TEXT ON LABEL" section following this section.) (59) - File Express(tm) User's Guide After choosing the type of spacing to be used you will be asked for: "Field number to print on Line 1" <0>=REC.# <Enter>-next line <Crsr up>-erase line <^T>-text <End>-finished You may now begin to design the layout of your labels. On each line of the label you may print field contents, text lines, or both. If you want to begin with a particular field, then type in its number and press <Enter>. The name of the field will be printed on the first line of the label, or at least as much of the field name as will fit within the length of that field. You will then be asked for: "Next field on Line 1" You may continue to enter various field numbers as long as they will fit on the label line. You may even enter the same field number more than once if you like. If you select the number of a field that may not fit on the label then File Express will tell you: WARNING, field contents may print past end of label...Go ahead (Y/N)? If you have a label size that is 33 characters wide, for example, and you want to print a "FIRST NAME" field and a "LAST NAME" field with a combined length that adds up to more than the 33 characters avail- able, then the above warning message will appear when you enter the number of the "LAST NAME" field. However, since File Express removes all trailing blanks from all record fields, the combination of the pair of fields will probably always fit on the label. If you feel that this is the case then answer <Y>. The field name in question will be printed on the current label line on the screen, or as much of it as will fit, and an arrow will be placed at the right edge of the label to indicate that there is a possibility of an overwrite at print time. The current line indicator arrow on the left will then move to the next line. TEXT ON LABEL If you want to enter a constant text line, one that will be print- ed the same on each label, then press <^T> instead of a field num- ber. You will then be asked to: "Enter text" A prompt line will appear on the current line of the label from the current column position to the end of the label. You are permitted to enter text characters from the cursor position to the end of the line, if you wish. If, however, you do not use the remainder of the current line, you may still enter field numbers after the text, if they will fit. (60) - File Express(tm) User's Guide When you have filled the current line or when you desire to move to the next line of the label, just press <Enter> by itself and the current line arrow will move to the next line, the command line prompt will increment, and you are ready to indicate your choices for line 2. You can also get into the text mode by pressing the <Spacebar> or the <.> (period) or the <,> (comma) keys. This makes it very convenient when in manual spacing mode and you want to put a space between fields or a comma and a space between a city and state field. RECORD NUMBERS ON LABELS You may have the record number of each record printed on the labels. To do this, select field number <0> when you are at the desired location on the label. CORRECTIONS If you make a mistake or change your mind while designing the label, you may back up using the <Cursor up> key. If you have already specified one or more fields or text items on a particular line, pressing <Cursor up> will erase that line and leave you at it's beginning. If there is nothing on the current line yet, or if you have just erased it by pressing the <Cursor up> key, then the line directly above will be erased and you may then re-enter that one. You may use <Cursor up> to move all the way back to the top of the label if you wish. When you have finished your layout of the label press <End> to tell File Express that there will be no further additions to the label. SAVING LABEL LAYOUT After you have finished the layout of the label you will be asked: "Would you like to save this label layout (Y/N)?" If you would like to save the design so that you can use it again in the future, press <Y>. You will then be asked to type in the name for the design, and the layout will be recorded on the data drive. Whenever a label format is saved to disk for future use, the size of the label upon which the format was made will also be saved with it. Thus, when you choose a format to view, subsequent to printing labels, the current size and spacings will be changed to the sizes saved with the label format. (61) - File Express(tm) User's Guide From this point you will be taken to the "Record Choice Menu". RECORD CHOICE MENU After you have completed your specification of the label format, or have chosen a previously saved format from the Label Layout List, you will be presented with the "Record Choice Menu": 1 - Print Labels from EVERY record in File 2 - Print Labels from SOME records in File 3 - Print Labels from ONE Record in File 4 - ... Redo the Label Layout Selection ? _ USE EVERY RECORD By pressing <1> from the Record Choice Menu you are telling File Express that you would like to use every record within the cur- rent file when printing your labels. USE SOME RECORDS If you would like to be selective in your choice of which records to include on the labels, then press <2>. You will then be shown the Field Name List with a prompt at the bottom: "<G>reater than <L>ess than <E>qual to <N>ot equal to" You may now make your first choice as to how you would like to choose the records that are to be printed on the report. After making your choice, the command line will change to: "Select field number to pull records by" You must now press the number of the field that you would like to apply your selected comparison to. You will then be asked: "Which <field name> would you like to choose records <comparison>?" You must now enter the name, value, etc. that you would like to make the comparison with. (62) - File Express(tm) User's Guide MIXED CASE SEARCHS Normally File Express will ignore the case of the comparisons being done. Searching for "Smith" will bring up "SMITH" and "smith" for instance. If you would like File Express to pay attention to the case of the search information it looks at, then press <Ctrl-Enter> instead of just <Enter> at the end of typing in the comparison string. EMBEDDED CASE COMPARISONS If you are doing an "<E>qual to" comparison or a "<N>ot equal to" comparison you may specify that the entire field be looked at. To do this you add two peroids (..), in front of the comparison string and two periods after the string. For example: ..Fishing.. After making your first comparison choice, the prompt line will change to: <A>- "And" Comparison <O>- "Or" Comparison <End> - Finished With File Express you can do multiple comparisons when choosing which records to use. To make an AND or OR comparison, press either <A> or <O> from the above prompt. You will then again see on the command line: "<G>reater than <L>ess than <E>qual to <N>ot equal to" You may now make your next choice for field number and comparison value. Up to 10 comparisons can be made. When you have finished, press <End> to tell File Express that you are done and would like to print the report. USE ONE RECORD If you would like to print some labels from only one record within your file, press <3>. You will then be asked: "What Record Number would you like to print Labels from (1 to max)?" Enter the record number that you would like to work with. If you can't remember the number that you wanted to use, you may have to go back to the Main Menu and use the Search function to locate the record, and then remember the record number when you return to the Label Section. To go back and redesign the layout for the labels, press <4>. (63) - File Express(tm) User's Guide MULTIPLE LABELS PER RECORD After selecting option <1>,<2>, or <3> you will be asked: "How many Labels would you like to Print of each Record?" File Express allows you to print any number of labels, up to 999, for each record. This way you don't have to re-run the label printing process in order to get multiple labels. Enter the num- ber of labels you would like per record and press <Enter>. The next question asked will be: Would you like all blank lines removed when labels are printed (Y/N)?" If you would like to have any blank lines that would appear on a label because of an empty field in a record removed , answer <Y> to this question. PAGING OPTIONS The Label printing section of File Exprss may be used as a report generator, allowing you to print multiple records across a page and use the features of removing trailing blanks from field information and blank line removal. File Express will ask: Set paging options (Y/N)? To take advantage of this feature, press <Y>. You will then be asked: Would you like to print a title (Y/N)? If you would like to include a one line title at the tip pf each page, answer <Y> and fill in the desired heading when asked to: Enter Title _______________________________________________________ After entering the title, or after answering <N> to the title request, you will be asked: Would you like <D>ate, age numbering, oth or <N>one? You may include just the current date in the header of each page by answering <D>. If you would like to have only the page number, press . To include both the date and page numbering, press . Pressing <N> will disable both the date and numbering. (64) - File Express(tm) User's Guide After answering the above prompts, File Express will need to know how many rows of labels you would like to print before going on to the next page. Print how many label rows before new page? __ The header takes up four lines at the top of each page. Taking into consideration the size of the labels you have currently defined, you must decide how many rows of these "labels" you would like to print on each page before moving on to the next page. During the printing process, File Express will print the title line and date and page number, if requested, then generate the desired number of label rows. A formfeed will then be sent to the printer and the procedure will be repeated until all the records that are to be typed have been processed. WHERE TO PRINT THE LABELS It is now time to print the labels. You may either preview the labels on the screen, send them to a disk file, or print them on your printer. Make your choice by answering the prompt at the bottom of the screen: Write to <S>creen, rinter, or <D>isk? When viewing the labels on the screen you may use the <Spacebar> to start and stop the scrolling display. If you are printing the labels on your printer you will now be asked: "Continuous feed or Pause after each label row (C/P)?" Choose if you would like to have the printer pause after each row of labels is printed. This is convenient if you want to put the labels on the envelopes as they are printed or if you are printing directly on the envelopes themselves. Press <C> if you want to print all the labels continuously. You will then be asked if your printer is ready. Make sure that the print head is in position to print on the first line of a label and that the printer is "on line". Then press any key to proceed with the printing of the labels. (65) - File Express(tm) User's Guide You may stop the printing of labels at any point during the print- out by pressing <Esc>. You may then restart it by pressing <Enter> or completely abort the printing by pressing <Esc> a second time. After the printing is completed, or if you press <Esc> twice, you will be taken back to the "Mailing Label Menu". To go back and design another label layout for the current file, press <1>. To go back and choose a previously saved label layout, press <2>. To run the printer test, press <3>. If you would like to go to another section of File Express from here, press the corresponding number. If you want to quit all processing, press <8>. You will be re- turned to DOS. (66) - File Express(tm) User's Guide --------------------------------- F I L E M A I N T E N A N C E --------------------------------- In the File Maintenance section you can take care of a range of different housekeeping chores. To reach this section, press <7> while viewing the Main Menu. The screen will fill with the File Maintenance Menu: ----------------------------------------- | | | 1 - Change Field Name | | | | 2 - Change Field Data Type | | | | 3 - Rebuild Deleted Record Stack | | | | 4 - Change Calculated Fields | | | | 5 - Reset Printer Codes | | | | 6 - Merge multiple files into one | | | | 7 - Setup Quick Label format | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------- Selection _ Below is a description of each option: CHANGING FIELD NAMES To change the name of any field press <1>. A list of the current field names will be displayed along with the prompt: "Enter number of field to change" Select the field name to change by entering the number of that field. After doing this the following command will appear: "Enter new field name" You may change the field name to anything you like. You may even change them to one of the KEY FIELD NAMES that are filled in with the current time or date. (This may only be done, however, if the (67) - File Express(tm) User's Guide length of the field is long enough to hold the entries. If not then you will receive a warning message and the new name will be rejected.) Also, a field with a length of less than four may not be changed to a dollar field. An appropriate warning will appear if at- tempted. Type in the new name, (up to 12 characters), and press <Enter>. You will then be given the choice to: "<S>ave changes <C>hange another <Esc> abort all changes" To change another field name, press <C> and follow the same process. When you have made all the changes desired, press <S> to save the new names on the diskette. CHANGING FIELD DATA TYPES If you decide to change the type of data allowed into a field, press <2> while viewing the File Layout Updating Menu. A list of the field names with the current data-type symbols will be displayed along with the prompt: "Enter number of field to change." Type the number of the field you want to change. The old symbol will disappear and you may then enter the symbol of the new data type from the following list: + Positive decimal numbers * Positive or negative whole numbers # Positive or negative decimal numbers $ Positive or negative dollar amounts A Alphabetic characters only N Numeric characters only (can't be added) ! Any characters Fields with a length greater then 14 can't be changed to numeric. Care must be taken when changing data types. After a change, any information in the file can only be edited using the new data type. After making the changes desired you are then given the choice to: "<S>ave changes <C>hange another <Esc> Abort all changes" To change another field name, press <C> and follow the same pro- cess. (68) - File Express(tm) User's Guide When you have made all the changes desired, press <S> to save the new names on the diskette. REBUILDING A NEW DELETED RECORD STACK Whenever a record is deleted, File Express adds the record num- ber to a Stack array in memory. When a new record is added, any vacant record slots are reused. This is done to conserve disk space. When you exit File Express in the normal manner by either choosing option <9> from the Main Menu and then pressing <1> to "End Session" or by Quitting from any of the Second Round Menus, the current stack is saved on the Data Disk for future use under the name of the database file with an extension of ".STK". If, for some reason, you exit abnormally, (power failure, computer failure etc.), you can cause File Express to reconstruct a new stack by choosing option <3> from the File Maintenance Menu. File Express will go through the entire index and check to see if there are any empty record positions. After it is finished it will save the new stack on the Data Disk, retain a copy in memory, and re- port to you the number of empty slots found. CHANGING CALC FIELDS File Express provides a way to change the equation of a Calc Field if desired. This may be necessary if, for example, the Tax Rate changes and you are using it as part of a SALES TAX field. To change a Calc Field, press <4>. The Change Calc module will be loaded and you will be lead through the change procedure. This is just the same as making any changes before saving a new database format, (See DEFINE NEW DATABASE), except that you will only be allowed to change the equations of Calc Fields - nothing else. If you want a particular Calc Field to no longer be a Calc Field, you may do this by answering "No" to the first question after indica- ting the field to change. In this case the equation is removed but the field remains numeric so as not to cause reference errors in other Calc Fields that may access that field. When you are through, press <S> to save the changed copy of the equations. Note: If, for example, the tax rate changes and you change your equations accordingly and then have to go back to edit a pre- tax-change record, you can turn off auto-recalc before the edit so that the new tax rate isn't forced on the old tax rate record. (Please see AUTO-RECALC in Add New Records section). (69) - File Express(tm) User's Guide SET PRINTER DEFAULTS Whenever you choose a data file to work with, File Express looks on the Data Disk for a file called "PRINTER.SET". This file con- tains the printer codes to cause condensed and regular type if your printer supports them. The file comes with the codes for the IBM dot matrix printer. This includes the new IBM color printer and the Epson printer. If you have a different printer or would like to override the present codes, press <5> from the File Maintenance Menu. Two boxes will be drawn, the upper box containing the current page length value and the number of lines to be printed per page. The lower box contains the necessary printer codes to cause con- densed and regular printing. The prompt below the box reads: "Enter Number of line to change or <End> to Save" Press <1> to change the current Page length. Enter the length of your page in lines. This is the number of line feeds it would take to move from the top of one page to the top of the next. This option is currently only available for Epson and IBM printers or printers that use the same page length codes. Press <2> to change the lines per page value. Enter the number of lines that you would like to have printed on each page before skipping to the top of the next. This should be the page length minus the desired top and bottom margins. Press <3> to change the Condensed mode codes. Enter as many as needed to cause your printer to print in condensed mode, then press <End>. If your printer doesn't support condensed print then just press <Enter> to blank out the current codes. Press <4> to change the Regular print codes. Again, enter as many as needed, then press <End>. When you are through changing the codes, press <End> to save the new values on the Data Disk for future use. (70) - File Express(tm) User's Guide MERGING FILES You may specify up to ten different database files to be appended to one another. Each file format is analyzed and any differences are reported. If allowed to continue after reporting inconsis- tancies, all database formats are converted to the format of the current file. To reach the Merge section of File Express, press <7> from the File Maintenance menu. (The File Maintenance menu is reached by pressing <7> from the Main Menu). After the Merge section is loaded you will see a list of the data files on the current data drive with a prompt at the bottom: Enter Number of next file __ or Press <drive letter>-new directory <Q>-query progress <End> - finished What File Express would like you to do now is start choosing the files that you would like to add to the end of the current file. You may enter the number of one of the files shown on the screen or you may change the directory listing to one of another disk drive simply by pressing the letter of the new drive. For example, if you are now looking at a directory listing of the database files on drive B you can change to a directory listing of drive A by pressing the letter "A". Pressing <Q> will show you a list of the files you have selected so far, with the current file shown as "Primary File". When you select a file to be appended to the end of the current file, File Express will analyze the format of the file to see how it compares to the primary file (current file). If any diff- erences are found they are reported to you and you are asked if you would like to continue. File Express will check for differ- ences in: 1 - Number of fields in each file 2 - Length of the fields in each file 3 - Differences in field names 4 - Differences in field types 5 - Differences in Calculated fields For example, if you choose a file with more fields per record than the primary file, File Express will report: <primary filename> has fewer fields than <second filename> Extra fields will be dropped ...Would you like to proceed with this file ? (Y or N) In this case, if you elected to proceed by pressing <Y>, any of the information in the extra fields of the second file would (71) - File Express(tm) User's Guide be discarded when it was added to the primary file. File Express would then go on and analyze the rest of the format, reporting any differences, and asking for permission to continue. You may choose up to nine files to add to the primary file. These files may be on different drives, but all must be available to File Express while the merging is being done. After confirming or rejecting each file selected, you will be asked to: Enter Number of next file __ or Press <drive letter>-new directory <Q>-query progress <End> - finished Press <End> when you are through selecting files. After doing so you will be asked to: Enter new Name for resulting database file ________ Enter the name you would like to give the new database file. This name should be different from any of those being added together. After entering the file name you will be asked to: Enter Drive Letter for new database _ You should now press the drive letter where you want the resulting database file to be stored. Be sure there is enough room on the disk. File Express will now display a summary of the files that are to be added together to form the new file. After pressing any key (except <Esc>, which will take you to the Search sub-menu) the merge will begin. At the center of the screen will appear the blinking message: Merging Files...Please wait Below this will be shown the name of the file that is currently being added to the new file. When all the files have been added together File Express will tell you: Merging of files is complete <new filename> on drive X now contains Y records You must now SORT the new file before you can use it Press any key to continue The newly created file will contain the sum total of all the records from the appended files minus any deleted records that File Express found while doing the merge. Press any key to be taken to the Search sub-menu where you may choose any of the options shown. (72) - File Express(tm) User's Guide QUICK LABELS Whenever you are adding new information to your database file or while you are editing what is already contained there, File Express provides you with the opportunity to print a mailing label for the record you are working on. These are called "Quick Labels". Quick Labels may be printed for any record that is showing on the screen...if you have defined a Quick Label format for the file you are working on. The label is printed by pressing <Ctrl-L>. To set up a Quick Label format you must indicate the fields that you would like to have printed and where to put them on the label. This is easily done. To begin the layout process for your Quick Labels, press <7> while viewing the File Maintenance Menu. You will be shown a list of all the field names contained in the current database. At the bottom of the screen will be the prompt: __________________________________________________________ Enter label Format String (T=tab, F=field, CR=enter, S=space) Example: T10 F2 F1 CR F3 Cr F4 F5 F6 CR CR CR If this is the first time that you are specifying a Quick Label format for this database then the input line will be blank. If you have previously set up a format then the input line will contain that format and the cursor will be placed at the beginning. The first thing that is to be contained in the format string is how many spaces to tab over when printing each line of the label. This is done by typing a "T" immediately followed by the column number at which to print. This tab position will be in effect for each line of the label and should only be specified once, at the beginning of the string. (See example on Command line). Next in the format will be the field or fields to be printed on the first line of the label. This is done by typing an "F" followed by the number of the field you want to print. You may continue to specify fields in this manner by putting at least one space between each field. (See example on command line). If you would like to print on the label the record number where the information is kept, enter "F0" at any desired position on the label layout. When you want to move to the next line of the label type "CR" (which stands for Carriage Return). You may then type in the field numbers to be printed on the next line. When the labels are printed, all trailing blanks are removed from the field information and all adjacent fields are printed with one space between them. You may increase the spacing between any two fields on the same line by entering a spacing number. This is done by typing "S" followed by (73) - File Express(tm) User's Guide the number of spaces to be added before the next field is printed. Continue to enter Field numbers, Carriage Returns, and Spaces until you have finished your label layout. Finish up by adding as many Carriage Returns as needed to move to the top of the next label. There should be as many "CR"s in the format string as there are lines from the top of one label to the top of the next. When you have completed the format string, press <Enter>. File Express will check through the format to make sure that everything is O.K. and if so will save the format on your Data Disk under the name of the database file with an extension of ".QLB". If there is a problem in the format string you will hear a beep and a message will appear on the screen: Error in Quick Label String, please correct...press any key After pressing a key, the cursor will be placed on the problem portion of the format string and you may then make the corrections. The problems that are caught are usually due to the entering of a field number that is out of range or in not leaving at least one space after the Tab or after each Field, Space, or Carriage Return. Whenever you have just entered a new record and have come to the <S>ave prompt, you may choose to print a Quick Label by pressing <Ctrl-L>. You may also print Quick Labels when you have pulled up a record for viewing or editing using the "Search" option of File Express. If you want more than one label printed, just press <Ctrl-L> again for each label desired. (74)