A.C.E. 2

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ A.C.E. 2 / ACE CD 2.iso / FILES / DOCS / HOMEACC2.LHA / HomeAccounts2.doc < prev

Wrap

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 219.0 KB | 7,578 lines

_________________________________________________________________________ /#########################################################################\ |#####...####..######..######......####...####..#####..##......##......###| |####.....###..######..########..#####.....###...####..##..######..#######| |###..###..##..######..########..####..###..##....###..##..######..#######| |###..###..##..######..########..####..###..##..#...#..##..######......###| |###.......##..######..########..####.......##..##.....##..######..#######| |###..###..##..######..########..####..###..##..###....##..######..#######| |###..###..##...#####...#######..####..###..##..####...##..######..#######| |###..###..##......##......##......##..###..##..#####..##......##......###| |#########################################################################| |####################################################################{RB}#| |=========================================================================| | | | ----> PRESENTS <---- | | | | HOME ACCOUNTS 2 - THE COMPLETE MANUAL | | | | SCANNED, TYPED AND EDITED BY : RAZOR BLADE | | SUPPLIED BY : BIG STU AND MICK. | | | |-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-| | CALL THE ALLIANCE WORLD HQ -> THE PLACE TO BE | | UNKNOWN PLEASURES --> +44 (0) 823 322 891 --> SYSOP: BARBARIAN | |_________________________________________________________________________| NOTE : THIS ONE'S ALMOST COBWEBWARE NOW SO I WASNT GONNA RELEASE THE DOCS BUT I SPOKE TO A FEW GUYS WHO ARE USING THE PROGRAM WHO SAID THAT THE DOCS WOULD BE WELL USEFUL SO HERE YOU GO .....:) Chapter 1- Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1.1 Welcome to Home Accounts 2 13 1.2 Machine Requirements 14 1.3 Conventions Used in This Book 15 1.4 Terminology Used in This Book 16 Chapter 2 - Setting up Home Accounts 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1 What You Should Already Know 19 2.2 Preparing to Use Home Accounts 2 20 2.3 Installing Home Accounts2 21 2.3.1 Floppy Disk Users 21 2.3.2 Hard Disk Users 21 2.4 To Start Home Accounts2 22 Chapter 3 - Quickstart 25 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 4 - Tutorial ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.1 What's on The Screen 29 4.2 Creating a New File 30 4.3 Asking For Help 33 4.4 Setting up Accounts 35 4.5 Setting up Income And Expenditure Types 39 4.6 Setting up Regular Transactions 42 4.7 Saving Information 46 4.8 Setting up Budgets 46 4.9 The Calculator 50 4.10 The Interest Calculator 51 4.11 Entering Transactions 52 4.12 Setting Transaction Window Display Headers 58 4.13 Finding Transactions 59 4.14 Finding And Replacing Transactions 60 4.15 Reconciling Transactions 61 4.16 Setting Transaction Defaults 63 4.17 Function Keys 65 4.18 Setting up Investments 66 4.19 Multiple Windows 66 4.20 Arranging Windows 67 4.21 Workbench icons 68 4.22 Setting up Your Printer 69 4.23 Reports 71 4.24 Setting Preferences 75 Chapter 5 - Looking After Your Finances ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5.1 The Secret to Good Housekeeping 79 5.1.1 Plan Your Budget, Budget Your Spending 79 5.1.2 Budget Checklist 80 5.2 Getting Credit 81 5.3 Credit Guide 82 5.4 Tips For Better Borrowing 84 5.5 Cancelling a Loan 85 5.6 General Tips 86 5.6.1 Loan Insurance 86 5.6.2 Annual Percentage Rate 86 5.6.3 What if You Are Turned Down For Credit 86 5.7 Debt-a Survival Guide 87 5.7.1 If You Get Into Too Much Debt 87 5.7.2 Six Step Emergency Plan 87 5.7.3 Borrowing Again to Get Out of Debt 88 5.7.4 Coping With Debt 89 5.7.5 Loan Sharks 89 5.8 Using Home Accounts2 90 5.9 Once Upon a Time... 94 Chapter 6 - General ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6.1 The Desktop 101 6.1.1 Menu Bar 101 6.1.2 Icons 102 6.1.3 Trashcan 104 6.2 The Requesters 106 6.2.1 Text Entry Boxes 107 6.2.2 Radio Buttons 107 6.2.3 Check Boxes 107 6.2.4 Cycle Buttons 107 6.2.5 List Boxes 108 6.2.6 Alert Boxes 108 6.3 Editing Windows 109 6.4 The Notepad 110 6.5 The File Selector 111 Chapter 7 - Menu Commands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7.1 Project menu 115 7.1.1 About Home Accounts2 115 7.1.2 New 115 7.1.3 Open 115 7.1.4 Save 116 7.1.5 Save as 117 7.1.6 Delete 118 7.1.7 Open Comparatives 119 7.1.8 Clear Comparatives 120 7.1.9 Quit 120 7.2 Edit Menu 121 7.2.1 Add 121 7.2.2 Amend 121 7.2.3 Delete 121 7.2.4 Sort 122 7.2.5 Find 122 7.2.6 Find Again 124 7.2.7 Find And Replace 124 7.3 Setup Menu 125 7.3.1 Add Account 125 7.3.2 Amend Account 127 7.3.3 Delete Account 127 7.3.4 Transaction Types 127 7.3.5 Transaction Markers 128 7.3.6 Regular Transactions 128 7.3.7 Budget 130 7.3.8 Investments 132 7.3.9 VAT Code 133 7.3.10 Window Headers 134 7.3.11 Function Keys 135 7.3.12 Password 135 7.4 Trans Menu 136 7.4.1 Set Defaults 136 7.4.2 Add or Amend 137 7.4.3 Reconcile 139 7.4.4 Auto Balance 139 7.4.5 Auto Balance Again 140 7.5 Options Menu 141 7.5.1 Preferences 141 7.5.1.1 General Preferences 141 7.5.1.2 Icon Preferences 142 7.5.1.3 Printer Preferences 142 7.5.1.4 Colour Preferences 143 7.5.2 Arrange Windows 143 7.5.3 Clean up Desktop 143 7.5.4 Empty Trashcan 143 7.6 Report Menu 144 7.6.1 Types 147 7.6.2 Markers 147 7.6.3 Budget 147 7.6.4 Regular Transactions 147 7.6.5 VAT Codes 147 7.6.6 Account Summary 147 7.6.7 Account Statement 147 7.6.8 Income And Expenditure 150 7.6.9 Budget Progress 151 7.6.10 VAT 152 7.6.11 Portfolio 153 7.6.12 Net Worth 153 7.7 System Menu 154 7.7.1 Help 154 7.7.2 Calculator 154 7.7.3 Interest Calculator 155 7.7.4 Set Date Time 156 7.7.5 Playtime 157 7.7.6 Workbench Open 157 7.7.7 Open a New Shell 157 Appendices ~~~~~~~~~~ Appendix A--Memory And Home Accounts2 161 What is Memory? 161 How Home Accounts2 Uses Memory 162 Appendix B--Keyboard Shortcuts 163 Appendix C--File Format 165 ASCII Text Format 165 IFF Format 165 Home Accounts Format 165 Appendix D--Troubleshooting 166 The Glossary 171 Index 193 Terms And Conditions of Sale 200 Product Support And Registration 202 Chapter 1 Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This chapter gives details about Home Accounts2 and this book. Welcome to Home Accounts2. Machine requirements. Conventions used in this book. Terminology used in this book If you read nothing else, at least study Chapter 3, "Quickstart". Welcome to Home Accounts2 for the Amiga. Home Accounts2 will be enhanced and upgraded each year. Therefore, it is important to return your registration card at the back of this book so that we can keep you informed as upgrades become available. Additionally, we would like to hear from any users with specific comments or ideas for future upgrades. Your Home Accounts2 package should consist of: This Home Accounts2 book. Product registration card (contained at the rear of this book). One program disk. Home accounts two will provide you with : * 3D desktop look and feel. * HIPTM (Human Interface Protocol), a graphical environment which integrates the desktop and automates the way you work. Predictable, consistent, you will find HIP both friendly and intuitive. * Multiple windows (window positions and sizes are automatically remembered). * Icons for major functions (optional). * Background cocktail colour themes. * Comprehensive reporting and graphics. * Capacity limited only by the memory of your Amiga. * Extensive budgeting facilities. * Optional password. * Optional VAT facility. * On-line help. * Calculator, with interest and loan repayment computation. The best just got better. PAGE 13 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.2 Machine Requirements ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commodore Amiga A500 A1000 A2000 A3000 Workbench 1.2,1.3 or 2.0. 1MB RAM. Printer (optional). Mono or colour TV/monitor. The capacity of Home Accounts2 is limited only by the amount of memory available in your Amiga. PAGE 14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.3 Conventions used in this book ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Square-bulleted lists provide information Italics generally indicates words or characters you enter. For example, "enter Petrol in the reference box". They are also used to indicate program or drawer names. For example, "use the Set map program in your utilities drawer." Pointer refers to the arrow ( ~) which you move with the mouse when choosing from menus, or when you click icons on the desktop. Combination key presses are expressed, for example as Right Amiga-Q. This means hold down the Right Amiga key and press the Q key. Then release both keys. Any text consisting of more than one word, that appears on the screen when using Home Accounts2, is enclosed by quotation marks (for example "Set up" menu or "Start a new year?"). PAGE 15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.4 Terminology used in this book ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Account refers to your own sources of money. For example, a bank account, a credit or charge card, a store card, an investment or building society account. Budget refers to the amount you estimate you will be spending. For example, a budget for a summer holiday. Manual transaction refers to a money transaction which occurs once. For example, writing a cheque to buy some food, buying a radio using a credit card. Notepad refers to the facility in Home Accounts2 to save a few lines of text. For example, you can set up a Notepad for your bank account--this may contain the bank's address and the name of the local manager. Reconciled refers to any money transaction which you know has been processed. For example, if you paid for something by credit card, the transaction is considered Reconciled when the money has been transferred out of your account. (Normally you would only know this when you receive your statement and the transaction appears on it). By differentiating between Reconciled and Unreconciled transactions, Home Accounts2 can provide you with both up-to-date account balances, and actual balances to match the statements you receive. Compare Unreconciled. Regular transaction refers to a money transaction which occurs regularly. For example, a standing order to pay off a loan, a monthly mortgage payment. Type refers to the groups into which you allocate your income and expenditure. For example, you probably want to analyse your spending over different headings, such as Food, Petrol, Housekeeping. Unreconciled refers to any money transaction for which you have not received confirmation that it has been processed. For example, you may have written a cheque for something, but it has not yet gone through to your bank account. Compare Reconciled. Afull glossary appears at the rear of this book. PAGE 16 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2 Settlng Up Home Accounts2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money" SAMUEL JOHNSON This chapter will show you how to set up Home Accounts2 on floppy disk and hard disk Amiga systems. What you should already know. Preparing to use Home Accounts2. Installing Home Accounts2 for the first time. Starting Home Accounts2. 2.1 What you should already know ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To set up Home Accounts2 on your Amiga, you need an understanding of basic Amiga concepts. Before you begin, you should know how to: Use icons on Workbench desktop. Use the mouse to point, drag, click and double-click. Start and quit from applications using Workbench. Format and copy disks. Select menus, pull down menus and choose menu commands. Scroll in windows, resize and reposition, and close windows. If you are not familiar with any of these terms or processes, see your Amiga owner's guide. PAGE 19 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.2 Preparing to use Home Accounts 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Make a backup copy of your master disk. It is important to work with a copy of your Home Accounts2 disk rather than the original. If the copy is damaged or lost, you can go back to the original and make another copy. Before copying the master disk, slide up the small tab in the upper-left corner on the back of the disk so that it is in the uppermost position (the tab will no longer be visible from the front side of the disk). This locks information on the disk, preventing accidental deletion of files and documents. Now copy the disk. Your Amiga manual gives instructions on copying disks. Put the original disk away in a safe place. Now check on the Home Accounts2 disk for a READ.ME file. If it exists, it will contain important additional information. PAGE 20 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3 Installing Home Accounts 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You have been provided with a single program disk, you will also need a separate disk to store your information. This is referred to as a "data disk". 2.3.1 Floopy Disk ------------------ This procedure assumes you are using the back-up copy of your program disk (as explained earlier). Switch on your Amiga and insert your copy of your Home Accounts2 disk into the internal disk drive. Double-click the disk icon and then double-click the HomeAccounts2 drawer. Double-click the HomeAcc2 icon to start Home Accounts2. 2.3.2 Hard Disk --------------- Switch on your Amiga and load Workbench as normal. Double-click your hard disk icon to open its window. Insert your copy of HomeAccoMnts2 into the disk drive and double-click the disk icon to open the window. Drag the HomeAccounts2 drawer until the pointer is directly over your hard disk window. Release the mouse button. The files will now be copied onto the hard disk. To start Home Accounts2, open the HomeAccounts2 drawer and double-click the icon titled HomeAcc2. PAGE 21 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.4 To Start Home Accounts 2 The very first time you start Home Accounts2, you will be prompted to enter: Your name. The name of your organisation. (If this is not applicable, enter your name again.) Your license number (this appears at the back of this book, next to the registration card). Click OK. Once you have personalised the program, your name will appear every time you start Home Accounts2, confirming that you are a registered licensed user. If you do not personalise Home Accounts2 correctly, you will be returned to the Workbench. PAGE 22 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3 Quickstart ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people" ADAM SMITH This chapter gives brief instructions for installing and using Home Accounts2. It assumes a good knowledge of the Amiga computer and general familiarity with home finance programs. If, like many users, you only read the operating instructions in an emergency, at least follow these instructions: 1 - Fill in your registration card and send it to Digita (only registered users can receive upgrades and hot-line product support). 2 - Refer to Appendix B, "Keyboard Shortcuts". 3 - Check on the Home Accounts2 disk for a READ.ME file. If it exists, it will contain important additional information. 4 - When you start Home Accounts2 for the first time, you will be asked to personalise the program and when prompted, enter your name, the name of your organisation and your license number. Your license number is located at the rear of the book, next to the registration card. 5 - If you already use Home Accounts, you'll find it quite painless to start using Home Accounts2. If, however, you have any problems, press Help. This provides a simple memory jogger. 6 - Use the index in the book to look up any specific features which are not obvious to you. PAGE 25 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 Tutorial ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five" W SOMERSET MAUGHAM In the chapter you'll learn all about Home Accounts2. It should take you a couple of hours. 4.1 The tutorial ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This tutorial assumes you have: Successfully installed Home Accounts2. Studied the READ.ME file (if it exists). Personalised your copy of Home Accounts2. A blank formatted disk titled Mydata. Started Home Accounts2. Important: Follow this tutorial closely and do not try to modify the application until you finish. This tutorial purposely illustrates a wide variety of the features of Home Accounts2. The requester requests the current date and time. The text box titled "Current date" should be highlighted; if it isn't, click inside it with the Left Mouse key. For the tutorial to work correctly you should set the date to 1st April, 1991. To do this enter 01041991. As you enter the first number notice that the mouse pointer disappears and the text box changes to / / and indicates you are now in edit mode. PAGE 29 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- When in edit mode, note: KEY DOES ---------------------- --------------------------------- Left Arrow Move cursor left Right Arrow "" "" right Up Arrow Move to Previous text box Down Arrow or Move to next text box Tab or the Return key Shift-Left Arrow Move to start of text box Shift-Right Arrow Move to end of text box Right Amiga-X Clear text box Right Amiga-Q Restore text box settings Control-Right Amiga-Q Restore box to contents before editing. Backspace Delete character to the left Delete Delete current character F1 Edit contents of text box F2 Toggle between insert and overtype Enter Move to next text box and can be used to select the defualt button to exit a requester If you wish to edit an entry simply click in the appropriate box to highlight it and then press F1. Now press the Return key, this completes the entry for the "Current date" and moves the cursor into the "Current time" Enter the current time in 24 hour style, hrs:mins:secs (for example, 201500) and press the Return key. Click OK, the requester disappears leaving the blank desktop and menu bar. However, the requester will not disappear if you typed an invalid date or time. 4.2 Creating a new file ------------------------ Move the mouse pointer onto the menu bar and choose New from the Project menu by clicking the Left Mouse key on the New command. PAGE 30 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- To the left of each month are radio buttons (April should be selected since you set the date to 1st April, 1991). From this requester you can set the start date for your financial year. Select March (the year is already set to 1991). This is used whenever you create a new file, or open or save existing files. PAGE 31 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click the drawer text box and enter MYDATA: and press the Return key. When prompted insert the disk titled MYDATA. If the system continues to ask for volume MYDATA then this indicates the disk has not been renamed correctly. Rename the disk and try again. Click the "File name" text box and enter MYFILE and press the Return key. Click OK. The form shown on the screen is an alert box and is used to ask simple questions or give warnings where only a button click response is necessary (requesters are used where more information, such as a date, is required). It provides the option to load an existing configuration from another Home Accounts2 file. You would normally use this to load a configuration from a previous year's file. Notice that the No box is surrounded by a black line. This indicates that it is the default choice, and therefore may also be selected by pressing the Enter key. Press the Enter key or click No. PAGE 32 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Accounts2 now asks you to confirm that you wish to create a new file, which starts in March 1991. Click OK. You will notice that the requesters always appear close to the current position of the mouse pointer. This is a feature of the HIP interface and reduces unnecessary mouse movement. These are the standard icons which appear on the desktop: Printer, Help, Calculator, Types, Markers, Regular, Budget, Investment and Trashcan. 4.3 Asking for Help ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At any time you want information about a command or option, you can ask Home Accounts2 for help. If you are using a single disk drive system, an alert box may appear asking you to insert your Home Accounts2 disk into the disk drive. Hold down the Alt key and press the Help key. Notice the pointer changes to a question mark (?). PAGE 33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Choose a command from the menu, for example "Add account" from the "Set up" menu. Information appears in a box, which you can scroll through like a normal list box. To the right of the list box are several buttons. The Next and Prev buttons will display the next, or previous topic of Help, and the Topics button will display the topics list. Click the Topics button, this lists all the topics for which Help is available. Click any topic with which you need help. Click Exit to return to the desktop. You can also ask Home Accounts2 for help by double-clicking the Help icon on the desktop or pressing the Help key. PAGE 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.4 Setting Up Accounts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the "Set up" menu choose "Add account". This is used to set up bank accounts, credit card accounts and so on. The Name box should be highlighted, enter Natwest Current Account and press the Return key. Enter 77777 in the Number box and press the Return key. Remember, when in edit mode you can use the following keys: PAGE 35 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEY DOES ---------------------- --------------------------------- Left Arrow Move cursor left Right Arrow "" "" right Up Arrow Move to Previous text box Down Arrow or Move to next text box Tab or the Return key Shift-Left Arrow Move to start of text box Shift-Right Arrow Move to end of text box Right Amiga-X Clear text box Right Amiga-Q Restore text box settings Control-Right Amiga-Q Restore box to contents before editing. Backspace Delete character to the left Delete Delete current character F1 Edit contents of text box F2 Toggle between insert and overtype Enter Move to next text box and can be used to select the defualt button to exit a requester If you wish to edit an entry simply click in the appropriate box to highlight it and then press F1. The box titled Code allows you to enter a 2 character reference code that is used in other areas of the program, such as budgeting or standing orders. Enter NC (Natwest Current) and press the Return key. Enter 425.98 in the "Opening balance" box and press the Return key. The "Warning limit min" allows a minimum Account balance to be set, if the balance drops below this amount, a warning will be given. Enter -500 and press the Return key. The "Warning limit max" allows a maximum Account balance to be set, if the balance exceeds this amount, a warning will be given. Enter 1500 and press the Return key. PAGE 36 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The minimum and maximum warning limits are currently not active, so switch them on by clicking in the check boxes to the right. A tick indicates that the warning is active. The Type button is a cycle button and may be changed by clicking on the circular arrow. As the name suggests, a cycle button is used to step through a list until the desired item is found. This is currently set to Cash. The Account you have set up is a cheque Account, therefore click the box to select Cheque. The "Icon title" box lets you set the title for the desktop icon, enter NATWEST and press the Return key. The "Cheque number" box is used to enter the starting cheque number and will automatically increment by one each time you press F8. Enter 765534 and press return. Click the Add button, this adds the Account to your file and displays a second empty requester. Now enter another Account with the following information: Name : Halifax savings Number: 111111 Code : HS Opening Balance: 2500 Warning Limit Min: 500 Warning Limit Max: 0 Type: Savings Icon Title: HALIFAX Cheque Number: 0 Set the "Warning limit min" check box (a tick appears) and click Add. PAGE 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now enter another Account: Name: Access card Number: 5224 2222 3333 4444 Code: AC Opening Balance: 0 Warning Limit Min: -500 Warning limit Max: 0 Type: Credit Card Icon Title: ACCESS Cheque Number: 0 Set the "Warning limit min" check box (a tick appears). Press F10 and the Notepad will appear. This is a simple Notepad that allows up to 8 lines of additional information to be added. In the Notepad enter the following: Applied for increased credit limit press the return key to 750, letter sent 24/03/1991 press the return key PAGE 38 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Notepad is a good example of one requester overlaying another. Sometimes, you may wish to move the requester to view information in another requester behind. You do this by clicking the mouse in the centre of the bar at the top of the requester (in this case titled Notepad). Keep the Left Mouse key depressed and move the mouse pointer. When the mouse key is released, the requester will reappear in the new position. Click OK (or press Enter) to quit the Notepad. Then click Add and when a new requester appears, click Quit. The desktop should now contain three additional icons (Accounts) Natwest, Halifax and Access. 4.5 Setting up Income and Expenditure Types. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the "Set up" menu choose the "Transaction types" command. A Type (called Tran) already exists. This is used to transfer amounts between Accounts and you will learn later about this feature. Before entering transactions, you need to set up income and expenditure Types. Types consist of four character abbreviations and a reference, and are used to describe different categories of income and expenditure when entering transactions. PAGE 39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To add a Type, choose add from the Edit menu Enter SAL and press the return key. In the reference box enter SALARY and press the RETURN key. Click Add. Now add the following types and references in the same way. TYPE REFERENCE --------------- ---------------------------- HK House keeping CL Clothes PTRL Petrol MISC Miscellaneous TAX Local tax CARI Car insurance CARE Car expenses CARL Car loan ENT Entertainment CASH Cash withdraw; HOBB Hobbies and interests HOLI Holidays CDS Compact discs COMP BCHG Bank charges INT Interest GIFT Gifts PAGE 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click Quit. The types should now appear in the window. There is no Reference for Comp. To add the Reference, click Comp (to highlight it), then choose the Amend command from the Edit menu. Comp is displayed in a requester ready for amendment. (A quicker way to make an amendment is to double-click the Type.) Press the Return key to move down to the Reference box and enter Computer accessories. Press the Return key and click OK. Types are automatically displayed in alphabetical order. You can change the order by choosing the Sort command from the Edit menu. PAGE 41 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Header cycle button lets you set the heading for sorting. The second cycle button sets the order, either ascending or descending. Click Cancel, and close the Types window by clicking the window closer in the top left corner of the window. Choose "Regular transactions" from the "Set up" menu. PAGE 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Regular transactions", are transactions that occur on a regular basis, such as, for example, a standing order, direct debit, loan repayment, mortgage repayment. To add a "Regular transaction" choose Add from the Edit Imagine you have a monthly standing order for a car loan, starting on 5th January, 1991 for 12 months, for an amount of 51.37, which is debited monthly from the Account Natwest. To set this up enter the following: Start date: 05/01/1991 End date: 05/01/1992 Type: CARL (this is the Type you set up earlier) Reconciled: * (this option will be explained later) Frequency: 1 (this is the number of times the transaction occurs, in months, weeks or days, depending on the setting of the adjacent cycle button) Set the adjacent frequency cycle button to Months. PAGE 43 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The From and To boxes should contain the code for the Account the transaction is being debited From or credited To. When you set up the Account "Natwest current" you used the "Account code" NC. Since this loan is debited from "Natwest current", use the From box. From: NC (Leave the To box blank) Reference: Loan for Mini The Debit and Credit boxes are used to enter the amount to be debited or credited, in this instance the Account is being debited, so use the Debit box. Debit: 51.37 The Marker box is like a bookmark and lets you set your own lookup point. (See Chapter 7.3.5, "Transaction markers" for detailed information.) Leave the Marker box blank and click Add. Set up the following regular transaction. It represents your salary, which is paid every two weeks into your "Natwest current" Account by direct transfer. Start Date: 01/03/1991 End Date: 01/03/2000 Type: SAL Reconciled: * Frequency: 2 Set the frequency cycle button to Weeks. To: NC Reference: Salary Credit: 312.91 Now click Add. This example illustrates a transaction which is credited to an Account, whereas previously, you debited from an Account. Now set up this standing order which transfers 60.00 to "Halifax savings" from "Natwest current" on 15th day of each month. It starts on 15th March, 1991 and lasts for two years. PAGE 44 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Start Date: 15/03/1991 End Date; 15/02/1993 Type: TRAN Reconciled: * Frequency: 1 Leave the frequency cycle button to the default, Months. From: NC To: HS Debit: 60.00 Click Add. The Type titled Tran is used exclusively for transferring funds between Accounts. When using Tran, you need to tell Home Accounts2 which Account you are posting from, and which Account you are posting to. Home Accounts2 only recognises the first three characters, that is TRA. The fourth character is discretional. This gives you the opportunity if you wish to 13budget against several Types of TRAN transactions (for example, TRAl, TRA2). If you leave the Reference box blank, Home Accounts2 automatically enters the details of the transaction. Click Quit. The "Regular transactions" window will now be updated with the new transactions: PAGE 45 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Close the window by clicking on the close box. Like Types, there is a desktop icon, titled Regular which you can double-click to re-open the window. 4.7 Saving Information ---------------------- When you created this file, you named it Myfile. As you enter information into Home Accounts2, the information will remain in the computer's memory. Therefore, it is wise to regularly save this information onto your data disk. Remember to do this at regular intervals (about every 30 minutes is ideal). To do this choose "Save" from the Project menu. Home Accounts2 has an auto-save facility, whereby you set the time interval between automatic saving. (See Chapter 7.5.1, Preferences for detailed information.) 4.8 Setting up Budgets ---------------------- Choose the Budget command from the "Set up" menu. With Home Accounts2 you can set up budgets for each Type. To enter budget figures choose Add from the Edit menu. PAGE 46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- To set up a budget of £60.00 a month for petrol, paid by Access credit card, enter the following: Type: PTRL (this is the Type you set up earlier) Code: AC (this is the "Access card" Account you set up earlier) For each of the months, enter 60.00. The cycle button allows you to budget either income or expenditure Types. Leave this set to Expendi~ure. Click Add. Now set up another budget of 30.00 a month for clothes: Type: CL Code: NC Rather than entering the same figure for each month, you can just enter one figure and then let Home Accounts2 copy it into every month for you. To do this, enter 30.00 and press the Return key. Now highlight the first month by clicking it and then click Replicate. 30.00 should now appear in each month. Leave the cycle button to the default, Expenditure, and click Add. You can budget on multiple Accounts by typing :k:~: in the Code box. PAGE 47 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now you need to budget for personal cash withdrawals, say £80.00 a month. If you forget the Types you set up, press F9. This provides a simple reminder of the Types and their descriptions (you can also press F9 to remind you of the Codes). From the list you can see that the Type you need is titled Cash. Click Cash. The Type requesters disappear returning you to the "Add budget item" requester. In the Code box enter ** Enter 80.00 in the first month and press the Return key. Now higlllight tlle first month and click Replicate. Leave the cycle button to the default, Expenditure, and click Add. Now enter the following budgets, leaving the cycle button to the default, using the replication facility where possible. Remember to click Add after each budget. PAGE 48 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Code Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb HK NC 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 TAX NC 0 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 0 HOBB NC 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 COMP NC 12 12 12 12 12 20 20 20 20 12 12 12 CARE ** 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 HOLI NC 0 0 0 0 0 200 0 0 0 0 0 0 CDS NC 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 0 0 GIFT NC 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 80 20 20 ENT NC 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Click Quit; the budget window will reappear with all the new budget figures you have entered. If you have made any mistakes, double-click the appropriate budget to display the "Amend budget item" requester, from which you can make any corrections. Close the budget window. As before, there is a desktop icon representing Budget . PAGE 49 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the System menu you will notice the Calculator command. On the right side of the command appears the keyboard shortcut, <AMIGA>C. This means that you can choose Calculator without using the mouse by holding down the Right Amiga key and pressing C. Many of the menu commands may be chosen this way. Choose Calculator from the System menu, or press Right AMIGA c Click the the buttons 1 2 3 * 7 + 100 = The top box is the calculator display. The box below shows the history of the last 5 calculations. It's just like a printing electronic calculator. You can also enter numbers using the keyboard. Try typing 56 * 24-17 and then press the Return key (or Enter). Click C to clear the display. Now click AC to clear the history window. PAGE 50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.10 The Interest Calculator ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With the Calculator still displayed, click the I button. This is a simple loan calculator and provides estimates of loan costs. Because credit card companies, finance companies and banks use a multitude of ways to calculate interest, such as daily interest, monthly, compound and so on, it may not be precisely accurate. "Opening balance" is for entering the starting balance for the transaction, Periods is the time period measurement (either years, months or weeks), "Interest rate %" is the interest rate % per period and the Payment is the payment per period. For example, if you had a credit card balance of -600 (that ist you owe £600), and you can afford to pay off the debt at £40 a month. The interest rate is 1.76% a month. You want to estimate the outstanding balance after five months. Enter the following: "Opening balance": -600.00 Periods: 5 "Interest rate %": 1.7600 Payment: 40.00 PAGE 51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now click Calc, the calculated balance will be -443.88. This represents the outstanding balance after five months. Click Exit and then Quit to return to the desktop. Double-click the Natwest icon on the desktop. The entries are postings of the "Regular transactions" you set up earlier. The transactions have been automatically back- dated to 1st March, 1991. Notice the opening balance is displayed in the window title. Choose Add from the Edit menu. PAGE 52 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This requester is used to enter the day-to-day transactions which go through your bank Account. In this example, the transaction relates to a pair of trousers costing £24.87 that you purchased using your Natwest Current Account. When entering transactions, enter the date of the transaction, as opposed to the current or system date. Enter the following: Date: 01/03/1991 Type: CL Reconciled: Leave this box blank. The Reconciled box tells Home Accounts2 whether or not a transaction has been reconciled with a bank statement. It may be used in a number of different ways which will be covered later in this tutorial. Reference: New jeans The "Chq number" box is used if the transaction was paid by cheque. You can enter this manually, or press F8 to automatically insert the next consecutive number. "Chq number": Press the F8 key. This will insert the cheque number you set up earlier when you created the Account "Natwest current" (765534). Debit: 24.87 PAGE 53 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leave the Credit box empty (you use the Debit box to pay out money, or the Credit box to pay in money to your Account). Leave the M box empty (this is for setting your own reference marker). (See Chapter 7.3.5, "Transaction markers" for detailed information.) Click Add, and then enter these transactions: Date Type Reconciled Reference Chq No. Debit Credit M ---------- ----- ---------- ------------ -------- ----- ------ - 03/03/1991 CASH Cash Machine 20.00 05/03/1991 CARE New Battery 765535 23.67 06/03/1991 GIFT John Birthday 765536 12.94 08/03/1991 HK Housekeeping 765537 50.00 12/03/1991 CDS Compact Discs 765538 10.99 13/03/1991 CASH Cash Machine 20.00 15/03/1991 HOBB Fishing Rod 765539 22.91 18/03/1991 CASH Cash Machine 20.00 27/03/1991 CASH Cash Machine 20.00 Click Quit; the new transactions appear in the window. PAGE 54 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amending a transaction is simple. First, click the transaction with the reference "Fishing rod" to highlight it. Then either choose Amend from the Edit menu or click the Amend button. (You can also amend a transaction by double- clicking.) From the requester select the Debit box, and change the amount to 26.91 and click OK. Choose the Add command and enter this transaction: Date: 20/03/1991 Type: BOOK Reconciled: Reference: Great Expectations "Chq number": Debit: 8.95 Credit: M: Click Add. An alert box appears to tell you that the Type Book has not been set up. Click OK. You can set up the new Type from this window. Press F9. Click Add and then enter BOOK and Literature books for the Reference. PAGE 55 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click Add and then click Quit. The Types will appear with Book added to the list. Now click the Type Book. The new Type will appear in the "Add manual transaction" requester. Now click Add. The F9 key shortcut is available in a numbers of areas of the program (such as "Regular transactions" and Budget requesters). (See Chapter 7.3.6, "Regular transactions" for detailed information.) Imagine this scenario... You visit a store and purchase some motor oil and a bottle of wine (a birthday gift). You pay by cheque. You have purchased two items with one payment, therefore the transaction needs to be split over two Types, namely CARE (Car Expenses) and GIFT (Gifts). Home Accounts2 has a special Type called SPLT, which allows you to do this. Using this example, enter: Date: 21/03/1991 Type: SPLT As you can see more than one Type may be entered, so you can spread one transaction over a maximum of 20 Types. PAGE 56 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the the top Type box highlighted enter: Type Reference Amount ------ ---------- ---------- CARE Oil 7.95 GIFT Wine 6.25 The "Total entered" should be 14.20. Leave the Debit radio button selected. Click OK. As the "Add manual transactions" requester reappears notice that the figure 14.20 has been inserted into the Debit box. Leave the Reconciled box empty. Reference: Hamilton Store "Chq number": 765540 Click Add, then click Quit and close the window. Double-click the Access icon and add these transactions: Date Type Reconciled Refererence Chq Number Debit Credit M ---------- ----- ----------- ------------ ----------- ------ ------- - 03/03/1991 PTRL * Petrol 12.96 11/03/1991 PTRL * Petrol 14.77 17/03/1991 PTRL * Petrol 8.93 24/03/1991 PTRL * Petrol 17.41 Click Quit. The transactions appear in the "Access card" window. They are displayed in red (only on colour systems), this indicates that the balance for this Account is below zero. Click the window scroll bar to display the right side of the screen. Notice the balance is negative, with a total balance of - 54.07. Scroll the window to the left back to its original position and add this transaction: Date Type Reconciled Refererence Chq Number Debit Credit M ---------- ----- ----------- ------------ ----------- ------ ------- - 03/03/1991 CARI * Insurance 500.00 Click Add. When you originally set up the "Access account" you set the "Minimum balance" to 500, therefore the alert tells you the Account has dropped below that balance. Click OK, then click Quit. Now delete the previous transaction. Click the transaction (to highlight it) and then choose Delete from the Edit menu. You will be asked to confirm the deletion, click Proceed. PAGE 57 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.12 Setting Transaction Window Display Headers. ------------------------------------------------ When displaying the Access Account, the "Chq number" column is irrelevant. With Home Accounts2 you can customise the display to your preference. To remove the "Chq number" column choose "Window headers" from the "Set up" menu. The check boxes allow you to switch the headers (and their contents) on or off. Switch the headers "Chq Number" and M off by clicking the check boxes (the ticks should disappear). Click OK; the window reappears in the new style. You can customise every window if you wish and Home Accounts2 will automatically remember the header settings for each Account. However, the information contained in each heading will be retained, although it is not displayed. Choose Sort from the Edit menu. Like Types, you can set the box with which you wish to sort, and the sort order. This is the same for Types, Markers, "Regular transactions", Budget, Investments and "VAT codes". Click Cancel. PAGE 58 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previously, when you set up the Access Account, you used the Notepad facility. The Notepad is also available for Types, Markers, "Regular transactions", Budget, Investments and "VAT codes". Click the first transaction and choose Amend from the Edit menu. With the "Amend manual transaction" requester displayed, press F10. The Notepad allows you to make notes for this transaction. Click Cancel, and then click Cancel again to leave the requester Close the window and choose the "Add or amend" command from the Trans menu. Click "Natwest current account". As you can see, this operates the same way as double-clicking the desktop Natwest icon. 4.13 Finding Transactions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the Edit menu choose the Find command. PAGE 59 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the Reference box enter Cash Machine and press the Return key. Set the Reference check box to on (this tells Home Accounts2 you wish to search only the Reference part of your transactions). Click OK. Home Accounts2 will now search through all transactions in "Natwest current account" which have the word Cash Machine in their Reference box. The first transaction found is highlighted. To search for the next transaction choose "Find again" from the Edit menu. Repeat this procedure until the screen flashes, indicating there are no more entries. Choose the Find command and from the "Find manual transactions" requester, experiment with different search combinations. This command is particularly useful, especially when you have been using Home Accounts2 for several months and you wish to search through hundreds of transactions. 4.14 Finding and Replacing Transactions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose "Find and replace" from the Edit menu. A box similar to the Find requester will appear. On the right side of the title bar (find) is displayed, indicating that this is where you enter your search criteria. Notice that Home Accounts2 has remembered your last search criteria (when using the Find command). Click OK. Another similar box appears. In the title bar (replace) is displayed, indicating that this is where you enter the information you want to replace. In the Reference box enter Cashpoint machine and set the corresponding check box on. The three radio buttons at the bottom of the requester perform these operations: PAGE 60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUTTON DOES ------------------ --------------------------------------------- "Replace once" Find first transaction and replace it. "Confirm replace" Find all transactions, but confirm each replace. "Replace all" Replace all transactions. Click "Confirm replace" and then click OK. Click Yes to confirm the replacement and the word Cash Machine will be replaced with Cashpoint Machine and the same alert box will reappear to confirm each replacement. Click Yes at each alert. The screen will flash to indicate that no more transactions can be found. 4.15 Reconciling Transactions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notice that some of the transactions have not been included in the running balance figure. This is because these transactions are not reconciled, and therefore are not included in the total balance. Unreconciled transactions appear without an asterisk (*) in the left column. There are ways to customise reconciliation to suit your personal preference and this is explained a little later in this tutorial. In principle, you should reconcile each transaction as it appears on your bank or credit card statement. You then have a method of monitoring which transactions have cleared and those which are still outstanding. Therefore, you know the true balance of your Account. To reconcile an individual transaction (when it appears on your statement), highlight the transaction and then use the Amend command (Edit menu), and enter * in the Reconciled box. A quicker method is to press and hold the Alt key and click the transaction you wish to reconcile. Try this with the transaction Fishing Rod . Notice an asterisk (*) appears to indicate the transaction is now reconciled and the balance is updated to reflect the value. Repeat the process, as this is a toggle command, the transaction will revert to being unreconciled. PAGE 61 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Choose Reconcile from the Trans menu. This command is used to search transactions between date ranges and then globally reconcile or unreconcile. You also have the option to confirm each transaction for reconciliation if you wish (particularly useful for bank statements). Enter the following: Start Date: 01/03/1991 End Date: 05/03/1991 The Reconcile radio button should be selected and the check box to "Confirm each one" set on. Click OK and, as prompted, click Yes to confirm each reconciliation. You can also ask Home Accounts2 to calculate which transactions should be reconciled. Your own bank statements, will contain the following information: The date of first transaction ("Start date"). The date of last transaction ("End date"). The Account balance ("Target balance"). The number of transactions ("Number of transactions"). PAGE 62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Choose "Auto balance" from the Trans menu and enter: Start Date: 01/03/1991 End Date: 15/03/1991 Target balance: 322.04 Number of Transactions: 10 Click OK. Notice that some of the transactions are now reconciled. Home Accounts2 has evaluated all of the transactions you entered, between the two dates, and established a combination of 10 transactions that total the "Target balance" figure. Occasionally, a reconciliation may be wrong, particularly if you have several transactions of the same amount. In this case, you use the "Auto balance again" command (Trans menu) and Home Accounts2 will attempt to reconcile again, using a different combination (unless there are no more combinations possible). If the "Auto balance" fails, this is probably because you made a mistake when you entered transactions. (See Section 4.6, "Setting up Regular Transactions" and Section 4.11, "Entering Transactions"). 4.16 Setting Transaction Defaults ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose "set defaults" from the Trans menu. PAGE 63 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- With a program like Home Accounts 2 you spend much of your time entering transactions. To make this process as efficient as possible, Home Accounts 2 offers many defaults, which you can personalise to your requirements. With the Type, Reconciled, Amount and M (Marker) boxes you have three options : No default. Your own Default. Default to the entry of the previous transaction "last entered" For example, to set the default type to HK, enter HK in the text box and leave the adjecent check box ("last entered") off. To set the default type to the previous entry, switch the "Last entered" check box on. The Date and Reference boxes have associated cycle buttons and check boxes. With these you have four options : No default Your own default Default to entry of previous transaction OR Default to "system date" (Date box) DEfault to type reference (Reference box) The "system date" is the date you set when you first start home account 2. The type reference is the reference you enter for each type. For example, ealier when you set up the type CL, you entered the reference for clothes. Click Cancel. PAGE 64 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.17 Function Keys ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the "Set up" menu choose "Function keys". This is another time-saving facility. You can program up to 20 common words or phrases. Ten for the key combination Control-Function key and ten for Alt-Function key. You cannot program a direct Function keypress (for example, F3), as these contain Home Accounts2's keyboard shortcuts. For example, the reference Cash Machine may be used regularly, and you can program this word into a Function key so that whenever you wish to enter Cash Machine you just press the appropriate Function key combination. In the Control box enter Cash Machine and in the Alt box enter House keeping. Control-F1 is now set to Cash Machine and Alt-F1 to House keeping. To change the Function key (currently set to F1), click the Function key icon and overtype in the appropriate text box. Now click OK. PAGE 65 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click the Add button (or choose Add from the Edit menu), and in the "Add manual transaction" requester move down to the Reference box using the Down Arrow, or press the Return key. With the Reference box highlighted, press Control-F1. Home Accounts2 will automatically enter Cash Machine into the box. Press the Return key and highlight the Reference box again. Now press Alt-F1, the word House keeping appears. Press the Return key, click Quit and then close the window to return to the desktop. 4.18 Setting up Investements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose Investments from the "Set up" menu. This is a simple way to keep track of investments, such as Company shares, unit Trusts and so on. Choose Add from the Edit menu and enter the following: Reference Quantity Unit Price ----------------------- ------------ ------------------ Acme PLC 100 2.37 Banana plantation 300 8.27 FiscomFLC 500 1.97 Click Quit; the window will display the list of the investments and their current value. This figure will be included when calculating a "Net worth" report. 4.19 Multiple Windows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose "Transaction types" command from the "Set up" menu and choose Budget from the "Set up" menu. Resize and move the Budget window downwards by dragging its title bar. The Types and Investment windows behind should now be visible. Home Accounts2 lets you have many windows open simultaneously. PAGE 66 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Choose the Add command from the Edit menu, and, as you would expect, since the Budget window is the front-most window, the "Add budget item" requester appears. Now click Quit. Click the front-to-back gadget in the Types window to bring it to the front and choose Add again from the Edit menu. Now the "Add types" requester appears. Click Quit. The menu commands always operate on the active window. 4.20 Arranging Windows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Occasionally, if you open multiple windows, the desktop can become muddled. Home Accounts2 has a command which lets you decide the window arrangement. Choose "Arrange windows" from the Options menu. Select "Tiled vertically", and then click OK. The windows will now appear one above the other. Try experimenting with the "Arrange windows" command. PAGE 67 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Close each window using the window closer. Home Accounts2 remembers the dimensions of each window, so when you re-open a window it will appear the same size as when you closed it. 4.21 Workbench Icons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Home Accounts2 you have the option to display icons on the desktop for menu commands and Accounts. The default icons are: Printer, Help, Calculator, Types, Markers, Regular, Budget, Investment and Trashcan. As you set up Accounts, further icons appear to represent them: Bank, Savings, Credit Card and Cash. Another icon, Tax, appears if you are tax or VAT registered. You double-click the icon to select the Account or command. Experiment by dragging a few of the icons around the screen, but take care not to drag icons over the Trashcan or Printer icons. Now choose "Clean up desktop" from the Options menu. This command neatly rearranges the icons. PAGE 68 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.22 Setting up your Printer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before you can experiment with the reporting options, you need to set up your printer. Choose Preferences from the Options menu. These are the preset options for Home Accounts2. At the moment you are using the default settings, but you can change these to suit your preference. For example, you can change the desktop colours, hide the desktop icons, switch on autosave and so on. Click Printer and then click Edit. PAGE 69 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Accounts2 uses the printer preferences as you have set up in your Amiga System Preferences. "Spooler buffer size": This lets you set aside memory for background printing. By default, this is set to zero. If you have IMB or more of RAM, set this to about 20 (Kb). Background printing, as the name suggests, lets you use Home Accounts2 and print, simultaneously. "Page length": Set this to the number of lines per page for the paper you are using, 11" paper is 66 lines, 12" paper is 72 lines, A4 paper is 70 lines. "Top margin": Set this to the number of lines to feed at the top of each page before printing. "Bottom margin": Set this to the number of lines to skip over at the bottom of each page. "Page width": Set this to the width of your paper (characters), in 10 Pitch you would use 80, or 132 for a wide carriage printer. "Left margin": Set this to the number of characters space for the left margin. "Cut sheet": Pauses printing at the end of each page. "Print quality": Select required print quality (draft or NLQ). Click OK. PAGE 70 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now click Use on the "Set preferences" requester. From the Reports menu choose Types. Whenever you choose a command from the Reports menu, you have the option to view the report on the screen, print it or save the report as a file on disk. With this tutorial, set the radio button to Screen or Printer. Click OK. A list of the Types (for income and expenditure) you set up earlier will appear. Experiment with the Budget and "Regular transactions" reports. The only reports not selectable (they are ghosted) are Markers, "VAT codes", VAT. This is because you have not entered any information relating to these commands. Choose "Account summary" from the Report menu. This reports lists the Accounts and provides two balances: "Reconciled balance": The current balance of the Account. "Unreconciled balance": The Account balance with all transactions reconciled. PAGE 71 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Choose "Account statement" from the Reports menu. This requester provides more facilities for searching and displaying transactions. You can search for transactions based on information entered into one or all of the boxes. The first two boxes "Start date" and "End date" let you set a date range to search within. The Reference box allows a full or part of a reference to be entered. The first cycle button has three options: "Include reconciled and unreconciled transactions", "Include reconciled transactions only" or "Include unreconciled transactions only" The second cycle button has three options: "Include debits and credits", "Include debits only" or "Include credits only". The Style cycle button has three display options: "List", "Line graph" or "Scatter graph". Click the Types button. PAGE 72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can use this list box to select the Type on which you wish to search. Click on individual Types to highlight them or click "Select all". "Reset all" will deselect all Types. If the "All types" check box is selected, then all Types will be included in the search, regardless of the selection in the list box. The same selection principle applies to the Accounts and Markers (the Markers button should be ghosted since no Markers have been set up). Experiment with the various search options. From the reports menu choose "Income and expenditure". The requester is similar to the "Account statement". Experiment with the various options. You will find this particularly useful to calculate totals for income and expenditure. From the Reports menu choose "Budget progress". With this report you can compare your budgeted and actual expenditure. At the end of each report, a forecast Account balance appears. PAGE 73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Reports menu choose Portfolio. This report gives a summary of all investments and their current value. From the Reports menu choose "Net worth". Click the Assets button. You can enter up to 20 assets and their value. Enter the following: Reference Amount ----------- ------- House 120000 Boat 10000 Click OK and then click Liabilities. Enter: Reference Amount ----------- -------- Outstanding loan 75200 Car Loan 850 Click OK. On the "Net worth report" requester click OK. This report provides a list of all assets (investments and positive Account balances), and all liabilities (loans and negative Account balances). Assets and Liabilities will be automatically saved with your file. PAGE 74 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferences are provided to let you personalise Home Accounts~. Choose Preferences from the Options menu. Preferences are grouped like this: General: For file options, screen saver, dates, VAT, playtime and so on. Icons: To show or hide desktop icons and change their titles. Printer: To set the page settings (you covered this earlier). Colours: To select your preferred cocktail colour palette. Select the preference you wish to change and then click Edit. When you have completed the changes, click OK to return to the "Set preferences" requester. On the right the buttons are: Use: For this session only. Save: Save preference changes on disk permanently. Open: Open a previously saved preference file. Cancel: Disregard any preference changes and return to the desktop. PAGE 75 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are six demonstration files supplied on your program disk which will illustrate how Home Accounts2 may be configured. They include: DEMO.HA2 - The tutorial file you have just run through. SINGLE.HA2 - Single person, living with family at home. MARRIED.HA2 - Married couple, with own home. BUSINESS.HA2 - Self employed, small business person. STUDENT. HA2 - Student living in rented accommodation. TEENAGER.HA2 - Teenager, living with parents. PAGE 76 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5 Looking After Your Finances ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "One of the mysteries of human conduct is why adult men and women . . . are ready to sign documents which they do not read . . . binding them to pay for articles which they do not want, with money which they have not got" SIR GERALD HURST This chapter provides basic guidelines for good financial housekeeping, handling debt and ideas on how to set up and use Home Accounts2. The secret to good housekeeping. Getting credit. Credit guide. Tips for better borrowing. Cancelling a loan. General tips. Debt--a survival guide. Using Home Accounts2. Once upon a time . . . 5.1 The secret to good housekeeping ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The best way to ensure that you live within your means is to work out your personal budget. Use Home Accounts2 to budget and monitor all your spending. The money coming in and a budget planner of all your expenditure. Home Accounts2 will work out how much you have left over at the end of each month or week. Remember that you will probably want to spend some of the money 'left over' on other things. If you borrow or get a loan, you will have to pay for it from this available money. If you borrow money, the repayment may mean you cannot afford something else. Remember, if you get behind with repayments on a loan, you'll find it hard to borrow again. Not just to buy things, but for something as important as a mortgage. Most people get into debt because things change. Suddenly there's not as much money coming in and they can't repay their loans. For example, you may have to find extra cash if the interest rates go up. Study this simple checklist... PAGE 79 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Complete this form with your monthly fig~ures. You can then calculate your monthly surplus income. YOUR INCOME AMOUNT ======================================================================== Wages- your pay Wag~es-overtime Wages-your partner's pay Social Security Benefits Maintenance Payment Retirement Pension Other Pension Any Other Income (for example, from a lodger) Total Net Monthly Income (A) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- YOUR HOME ~~~~~~~~~ AMOUNT Mortgage/Rent Community Charge Water Rates Insurance Sub Total Monthly Outgoings (B) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ YOUR BILLS AMOUNT ~~~~~~~~~~ Gas/Oil Electricity Credit Card Telephone Rental Agreements (for example, TV, video) Other (for example, hire purchase) Sub Total Monthly Out~oings (C) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PERSONAL EXPENSES AMOUNT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food and Clothing Travel/Holidays Savings TV Licence Car Tax/lnsurance/Maintenance Life Insurance Entertainment (for example, cinema, videos) Others (for example, cigarettes, pocket money) Sub Total Monthly Outgoings (D) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (B+C+D) Total Monthly Outgoings (E) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY AMOUNT NET MONTHLY INCOME (A) TOTAL MONTHLY OUTGOINGS (E) (A-E) SURPLUS MONTHLY INCOME =========================================================================== PAGE 80 5.2 Getting Credit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you ask for credit, you will probably have to fill in a form about yourself, your income and your outgoings. Answer honestly. You are doing yourself no favours, and breaking the law, if you make out that you're better off than you really are. You'll be the loser if you take on more credit than you can manage. If you are on a tight budget, make sure your loan is a fixed interest loan, so that you will know exactly how much you will have to repay each month. Shop around for credit terms, like you shop around for the goods. Check there isn't a catch. You may be able to buy more cheaply elsewhere. And take your time--you can't back out of an agreement signed in a shop. Look out for the APR. As a general guide, the lower the APR, the less the deal will cost you. If someone is offering interest free credit, the repayments must not add up to more than the cash. Use Home Accounts2 to add up all your regular outgoings. Allow for extras like presents, holidays and emergencies, such as a car or washing machine repairs. If you act as a guarantor for somebody else's loan, you will have to pay all they owe if they stop paying. Don't be a guarantor unless you can afford the risk. If you agree to be one make sure that you see all the papers. PAGE 81 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.3 Credit Guide ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HP -- You pay a deposit and monthly or weekly payments. The goods belong to you when you make the last payment. Credit Sale ----------- Like HP but you own the goods at once. Credit deals are tricky. Don't just accept what the sales staff say. Ask for a written quotation (you must be given one if you ask). Then read it at home. It will tell you all you need to know and make it easier to compare deals. Credit Cards ------------ The credit card company sends a monthly account for what you've bought. You can pay it off or make a minimum repayment and pay interest. It can be an expensive way of borrowing. Company credit cards: Beware, you may be liable for the debt if the company is unable to pay the bill. Charge Cards ------------ You use it like a credit card but you must pay the bill in full each month. Store Cards ----------- Like credit cards, but for use in a particular store or group of stores. It can be an expensive form of credit. Bank Loans ---------- If you have a bank account, an overdraft can be a quick, easy, but not necessarily a cheap loan. You have to pay bank charges and there may be other costs. Beware of hidden charges, such as arrangement fees. Banks can also offer personal and other loans. The costs of borrowing will vary from bank to bank, so shop around. Building Society Loans ---------------------- If you are buying your home, you might be able to raise cash by increasing your mortgage. If you're not happy with the interest charges, see if it's worth switching your mortgage somewhere else. This can be expensive though. Some societies offer unsecured loans. PAGE 82 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finance Company Loans --------------------- Shops, car dealer and gas and electricity boards may offer to arrange a finance company loan if you're buying a big item. Shop around first to see if you can get a better deal. Mail Order Catalogs ------------------- Saves time and travelling. You usually get at least 20 weeks interest free credit. You may have to pay interest if you want to pay over a longer period for more costly items. Pawnbroking ----------- You leave an article such as a piece of jewellery in return for a loan. You get the item back when you've repaid the loan plus interest over an agreed period. If you don't repay the money, the article will be sold. It can be an expensive way to borrow. Small Moneylenders ------------------ Can be expensive way to borrow because of the cost of collecting the repayments from your home each week. However, it should be cheaper if you pay at the lender's office. Credit Unions ------------- Money co-ops run by people in the same church, club, street or with something else in common. Members save regularly and can get cheap loans. PAGE 83 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.4 Tips for better borrowing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DONT ! ^^^^^^ Over-commit your budget before you take out a loan, work out a monthly budget to be sure you are not over- stretching your income. Anticipate a future increase in income. Be pressured to take finance by a salesman. Offer security without knowing what happens if you cannot repay. Take credit on impulse. DONT SIGN ANYTHING UNLESS YOU KNOW: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What the repayments are and how many you must make. The total amount you must repay, including fees. What may happen if you cannot afford the repayments. DO ! ^^^^ Budget your spending: Know how much you need to spend each month and work out how much you will have left. Remember that if interest rates go up, your repayments may increase. Shop around for the best deal. Make sure the lending institution is reliable and has a good reputation. Consider taking out finance insurance. Read the fine-print if you don't understand it, say so. Keep all documentation relating to your borrowing, you may need it. Check your statements to monitor your spending. Tell your finance company if your circumstances change. Find out whether the agreement can be cancelled. Ask yourself - can you afford it? PAGE 84 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.5 Cancelling a Loan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can cancel some agreements and not others. It is vital to check the credit form. If you can cancel there should be a box titled "Your Right To Cancel" which tells you what to do. You can't cancel if you signed in the trader's shop, office or other business premises such as an exhibition stand. You can cancel if you met the trader to discuss the deal and you signed at home. REMEMBER ^^^^^^^^ Unless you can see the cancellation box on the agreement, don't believe anyone who says you've got time to think the deal over. Beware of phone calls. You can't cancel a deal arranged on the phone, even if you signed at home. If you cancel a loan tying you to buy, for example, double glazing, you don't have to have the double glazing. You can still cancel after the goods have arrived. If you've paid a deposit, you'll get it back. Hire purchase: You cannot end an HP agreement unless you're up to date with your payments. You will have to pay at least half of the total amount that you owe. You cannot sell HP goods until the agreement has been paid off. Credit cards: If you use a British credit card to purchase something over £100, you have extra rights if something goes wrong. If you lose your card, tell the card company at once by phone and then in writing. This will limit your liability to £50 if someone else is using your card. Settling a loan Facility ------------------------ If you want to settle early, ask the loan company how much it will cost. This will depend on what you owe, the interest rate and how long the agreement is meant to last. You'll probably have to pay some of the interest you would have paid if the agreement ran its full length. PAGE 85 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.6 GENERAL TIPS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5.6.1 Load Insurance -------------------- This offers protection to cover your monthly repayment in the event of illness, accident, involuntary unemployment or even death. If you want this kind of insurance, you might get it cheaper elsewhere. Some policies don't cover self-employed, part-time workers or certain age groups (for example, pensioner). 5.6.2 Annual Percentage Rate ---------------------------- APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate of charge. All lenders must work it out in the same way so you can make a fair comparison. APR doesn't just cover the interest rate, but also all the charges associated with the loan. 5.6.3 What to do if you are Turned Down for Credit --------------------------------------------------- Traders don't have to give you credit or tell you why. They may have checked your details with a Credit Reference Agency. These firms collect financial information about people and businesses. Agencies don't say whether you should have credit, or not. That decision is taken by the trader. Ask the trader in writing which agency was consulted, but act quickly. Ask the agency for a copy of the information they have about you. If there are any mistakes, you can have them put right. Many traders have a credit scoring system. They give you points depending on the answers you give to their questions. You'll get credit if you score enough points. You may pass with one firm but not another. PAGE 86 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.7 Debt - A Survival Guide ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't stop paying. Even if you have a major complaint about the goods, don't stop your payments. See the trader at once. 5.7.1 If you get into too much Debt ----------------------------------- Contact your creditors. Don't ignore their letters or demands. Provided you tell them what's happening, you should find them quite reasonable. Consider their point-of-view. If they hear nothing, you become a statistic, a bad debt. Their legal department takes over. However, if you keep them informed and illustrate that you recognise that there is a problem and that you are trying to sort it out, you should find them accommodating. You should be treated like a person, not a legal statistic. By co- operating with your creditors, you may be able to even pause or re-schedule your repayments 5.7.2 Six step Emergency Plan ----------------------------- Work out your income. This is how much money you have coming in each month. Include your take-home pay, any social security payments and money from other sources. Work out your outgoings. Calculate the cost of your essentials each month. Include your rent or mortgage, gas, electricity, food and so on. Don't forget occasional payments like shoe repairs or haircuts. List luxury items like video rentals or cigarettes. Also note your present instalment payments on any hire purchase or credit arrangements. Compare your income total with the money you have left over to offer creditors. PAGE 87 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still more going out that coming in ???? If you spend more than your income, try to cut down. You'll have to make sacrifices. Is there anything you can sell to pay your debts (do not sell anything on which you still owe money). You coukd contact a creditor with a view to returning any items being bought on hire-purchase. Can you increase your income ???? Are you receiving all the income you are entitled to ?? Are you paying too much tax? Can you claim Social Security benefits ?? Can you get an extra part-time job for a while ??? Find out how much you owe. List all arrears payments, loans and credit commitments. Seomdebts can cause more trouble than others. Deal with them first. The priorities are: 1. Rent/Mortgage arrears. 2. Community Charge. 3. Fuel Debts (IE - Gas, Electricity) 4. Hire Purchase. Talk with your creditors. Send them your budget checklist showing them your income and outgoings. Explain what offer you can make to pay off the debt, but don't make an offer you cant afford. A small but regular payment is better than no payment at all, or one that you cannot keep up. If the first person in a company you speak to is unhelpful, be persistant and go higher up. Don't give up. 5.7.3 Borrowing Again to get out of Debt ---------------------------------------- You may be tempted by newspaper advertisements offering loans to payoff existing debts. Rates of interest for this type of borrowing can be high. Don't do this unless you are sure that you can keep up the repayments. In most cases you have to offer your house as security. If you fail to pay you could lose the roof over your head!!! PAGE 88 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.7.4 Coping with Debt ---------------------- Never ignore demands for payment. It only means worse trouble. Tell the lender as soon as you know you are in difficulties and try to work something out. If you're in serious debt now, consult your consumer adviser. 5.7.5 Loan Sharks ----------------- Beware of loan sharks. The cost will be sky-high and if you can't repay they'll turn nasty. Some will use 'press gangs' to threaten you and your family. Some will try to take your benefit book. This is illegal. Some will force you to have a second loan to repay the first. Your money problem will become a nightmare. PAGE 89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.8 USING HOME ACCOUNTS 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This section is designed to guide you through setting up your own file and to give some pointers as to how Home Accounts2 can help with specific areas of maintaining your finances. Starting Your Financial Year ---------------------------- Before setting up your file you will need the following information: The start month and year. A list of headings for your income and expenditure (Types). For example, salary, food, car expenses. Details of your standing orders and direct debits ("Regular transactions"). Details of all the accounts you want to monitor (Accounts). For example, bank accounts, credit cards, savings. Details of any investments, such as unit trusts or shares. Once you have assembled this information you are ready to set up your file. Important: Whenever you load Home Accounts2, be sure to set the current date correctly. Before using Home Accounts2, you will need to have prepared a blank formatted disk. Give the file a meaningful name, and try to include the year in the filename so it can be easily located in the future. For example, Myfile91. If you are tax (VAT) registered, use the Preferences command (Option menu), and from "General Preferences" select the "VAT registered" check box. Then set up code and rates for tax (VAT). PAGE 90 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once you have created your file, set up the following: Income and Expenditure Types. ("Transaction types" command, "Set up" menu ) Accounts. ("Add account" command, "Set up" menu.) "Regular transactions". ("Regular transactions" command, "Set up" menu.) Now set up your budget. Make a list of the headings on which you regularly spend money (for example, motoring expenses, clothing, holidays). Remember to include any "Regular transactions" (for example, mortgage, loan repayments); Then make a sensible estimate of the monthly expenditure of each heading. Now enter this information into Home Accounts2 using the Budget command ("Set up" menu). Before going any further, save your file using the Save command (Project menu). Before entering any transactions, go through the preferences and customise them for your needs. (Preferences-General command, Options menu.) Now open each Account window (by double-clicking the Account icon) and configure the window headers for each Account. ("Window headers" command, "Set up" menu.) Set up the transaction defaults to the most suitable for your requirements. For example, if you are entering transactions on a daily basis, set the Date to "System date". ("Set defaults" command, Trans menu.) PAGE 91 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Guidelines ------------------ Produce reports, such as the Statement and "Budget progress" regularly, so any financial problems are illustrated early. Use the "Interest calculator" to estimate the interest due on credit card bills, loans and so on. This will help you plan your finances. During the financial year you may wish to adjust your budget. Use the "Budget progress report" as a guide--it illustrates the difference between your original budget and your actual expenditure to date. Experiment with what-if calculations on your budget figures. For example, if you are considering a hire purchase, BEFORE you sign the agreement, enter the figures into your budget and see how do the repayments will effect your monthly disposable income. When you receive a statement for an account (for example, a current account bank statement), use one of the methods provided with Home Accounts2 to reconcile the transactions and check that the statement is correct (banks can make mistakes!) It's also a good idea to produce a statement of "Unreconciled transactions" to make sure that a transaction is not taking an unreasonable time to clear (and to remind yourself of any payments you have made, but which have yet to clear). If your statement includes a charge or interest payment, you will need to account for this by entering the amount as a separate "Manual transaction". Always monitor the "Account summary" and "Budget progress" reports--these provide actual and predicted balances. It should provide a timely warning if you are getting into too much debt. Use the "Income and expenditure" report regularly--this will illustrate the total you are spending and receiving by Type. It provides a quick method of seeing if, for example, you are paying to high bank charges. If you are tax (VAT) registered, produce a VAT report at the end of each VAT period--this should provide the totals to complete your VAT Return. PAGE 92 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What to do at the end of the year --------------------------------- When you wish to start entering transactions for a new financial year, create a new file for the year using a new blank formatted disk. (New command, Project menu.) You will be asked if you wish to load an existing configuration from another file. Click Yes and select the previous year's file from the requester. When the new file has been created, it will include all the previous year's information, except "Manual transactions". You will need to reconcile the remaining transactions in the old file as your Account statements arrive. Adjust the opening balance of the Accounts in the new year accordingly. It is a good idea to keep a copy of the old file so that you can use Home Accounts2's year-to-year comparative facility ("Open comparatives", Project menu). PAGE 93 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.9 Once upon a Time.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a reply to a fictional debt collector's final demand from a farmer in Melbourne. Dear sir, Your heated letter arrived this morning in an open envelope with a penny stamp on it. My son and I would have gained much pleasure from it, had it not arrived to us during a melancholy reflection of what had gone before. You say you thought the account could have been settled long ago and could not understand why not. Well here is the reason... In 1954 I bought a saw mill on credit, in 1955 I bought a team of horses, two ponies, a timber wagon, a double barrelled shotgun and two razor back pigs, all on credit. In 1956 the mill was burnt to the ground. One of my ponies ran off, and I loaned the other to a thoughtless colleague who emigrated. I then joined the ranks of the unemployed. In 1959 my wife ran off with a sheep shearer and left twins as a souvenir. I employed a housekeeper and later married her to keep my expenses down. I wanted to avoid having any other children (to save money) so I went to see my doctor. He advised me to use some protection. That night I took my shotgun to bed with me, but in all the excitement I fell off the wardrobe and accidentally fired the gun out of the window. The result, I ruptured myself and shot the best bull I have ever owned. In 1960 I took to drink. I carried on drinking until all I had was a pocket watch and a weak bladder. After a year I once again took heart and bought on credit a manure spreader, reaper, binder and a car. The floods came and washed the lot away. I was not insured. PAGE 94 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once again I was religated to the unemployment office. Fortunately, I met a kind young man who introduced me to a particularly potent white powder. For a few weeks a travelled around in this amazing spaceship and met the occupants. But things took a turn for the worst ,as when I was refuelling one day with the crew, I sneezed and blew the white powder straight out the window. Unfortunately, the crew didn't see the funny side and now say I owe them £2,000, and if I don't pay up. they're going to take me to see Jacques Cousteau. You can imagine my surprise on reading your letter and that you will cause me trouble if I do not pay up. If you can think of any trouble that I have missed out on I would very much like to know about it. Yours for more credit, Captain 'Lucky' Happifield The persons and events in this letter are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or events, past, present or future, is coincidental. PAGE 95 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6 General ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it" BOB HOPE This chapter gives a detailed explanation of the on-screen items. The desktop and menus. The requesters. Editing windows. The Notepad. The file selector. 6.1.1 The Menu Bar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Menu Bar is shown at the top of the screen when the Right Mouse key is depressed. To choose a menu, move the arrow pointer over the appropriate menu (Project menu, for example). The full menu list will pop down. PAGE 101 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the full menu list displayed, move the pointer downwards over the command required. Each command will be highlighted as the pointer moves down the list. Release the Right Mouse key to choose the required command. 6.1.2 Icons ~~~~~~~~~~~ When you create a new file with Home Accounts2, these icons appear on the desktop. TITLE DOES ------------- ------------------------------------- Printer Print command Help Help command Calculator Calculator command Types "Transaction types" command Markers "Transaction marker" command REgular "Regular transactions" command Budget Budget command Investment Investments command These icons provide an alternative way to choose the menu commands. PAGE 102 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you create your own Accounts, for items like your bank Account, for example, these icons will appear (the Tax icon appears if you set your preferences to tax registered): Tax Tax, or VAT command Cheque Cheque Account Savings Savings Account Credit Card Credit card Account Cash Cash Account An icon will appear for each Account you set up, the title of which you decide when you create the Account. You can arrange all of these icons to your preference. To do this, highlight each icon and then drag it. Alternatively, choose "Clean up desktop" (Options menu) and the icons will be arranged automatically. You can hide or rename the icons by choosing Icons-Preferences command from the Options menu. PAGE 103 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.1.3 The Trashcan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Trashcan icon appears at the lower left of the screen. The Trashcan works in a similar way as the Trashcan on the Workbench. You can set Home Accounts2's Trashcan to remember its contents (General-Preference command, Options menu). Then, if you need to retrieve anything, you simply double- click the Trashcan and drag the item out of the Trashcan window (if the item is a transaction, it will be replaced automatically into the Account from which it was originally removed). If the Trashcan contains information, it will look like this: PAGE 104 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The contents of the Trashcan will not be saved with your file and will be emptied if you choose the New command, or open another file. To empty the Trashcan, choose "Empty Trashcan" from the Options menu. You can hide or rename the Trashcan icon by choosing Icons-Preferences command from the Options menu. Figure 6--7 Requester PAGE 105 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.2 THE REQUESTERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With requesters, you will notice that they appear next to the mouse pointer. This is Digita's HIP working to save you unnecessary movement with the mouse. To move a requester click the white bar at the top and drag the box to the new location. 6.2.1 Text Entry Boxes ----------------------- These are boxes into which information can be typed. Delete and Backspace can be used as normal along with the left and right arrow keys. If the box is highlighted, whatever you enter will replace the contents. If you wish to edit the contents of a highlighted box, press Fl. PAGE 106 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Editing: KEY DOES ---------------------- --------------------------------- Left Arrow Move cursor left Right Arrow "" "" right Up Arrow Move to Previous text box Down Arrow or Move to next text box Tab or the Return key Shift-Left Arrow Move to start of text box Shift-Right Arrow Move to end of text box Right Amiga-X Clear text box Right Amiga-Q Restore text box settings Control-Right Amiga-Q Restore box to contents before editing. Backspace Delete character to the left Delete Delete current character F1 Edit contents of text box F2 Toggle between insert and overtype Enter Move to next text box and can be used to select the defualt button to exit a requester 6.2.2 Radio Buttons -------------------- These are groups of buttons where only one may be selected. Selecting another radio button will deselect the previous one, similar to the buttons on some radios, hence their name. They are used for presenting a variety of options, only one of which may be selected. For example, the Preferences requester (Options menu). When clicking radio buttons it is unnecessary to position the pointer precisely over the button. You will notice that clicking the title is just as effective. 6.2.3 Check Boxes ----------------- These are small, square boxes which can be turned on or off by clicking, their status being shown by a check (tick) mark within the box. For example, the General-Preferences dialog box (Options menu). 6.2.4 Cycle Buttons ------------------- These are buttons which show their currently selected format and, when clicked, cycle through a sequence of format options. For example, the Header and Order boxes in the Sort requester (Sort command, Edit menu). PAGE 107 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.2.5 List Boxes ---------------- These are large boxes which present a list from which a selection is made by clicking on one item. If the list contains more items than can be shown, you can scroll through the list using the scroll bars and scroll arrows on the right of the list box. For example, the Help requester (System menu). In some list boxes, you can select an item and perform a command at the same time by double-clicking the item. For example, if you double-click a file from the list box in the "Open file" requester, Home Accounts2 will open the file. Some list boxes, mostly those which appear in the report options, let you make several selections. For example, using the "Account Statement" command, you can configure the report to print from several Accounts by selecting each Account from the list box. Requesters may have other buttons which can be clicked to perform certain operations. One of these buttons will have a double border, which is the default. The default button can be selected either by clicking or pressing Enter. The Cancel button will always close the requester and will disregard any information entered. 6.2.6 Alert Boxes ----------------- Alert boxes appear to display warnings, errors or simple questions which require a simple response. For example, "Warning file already exists do you want to overwrite?" PAGE 108 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.3 Editing Windows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In many parts of Home Accounts2, a window appears which lists the current transactions or entries These windows all operate in the same way. ACTION DOES ---------------------- ------------------------------------------ Single click Highlight Entry Double-click Edit Entry Shift-Double-click Add Entry Down Arrow Scroll Down Up Arrow Scroll Up Shift-Down Arrow Scroll Down a Page Shift-Up Arrow Scroll Up a Page Toggles entry reconciled Alt-single-click or unreconciled (Account windows only) To move a window, click the bar at the top and drag the window to the new location. When you close a window, Home Accounts2 remembers the size and position. If you re-open the window, it appears the same size and in the same location as when you closed it. PAGE 109 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.4 The NotePad ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Notepad facility is provided so that you can enter extra information. For example, you may wish to add a few notes about your bank Account (the manager's name, phone number and so on). Notepads are available by pressing F10, whenever you Add or Amend: Accounts "Transaction types" Markers "Regular transactions" Budget Investments "VAT codes" The Notepad requester appears. Up to eight lines of information may be typed for each Notepad. One Notepad is provided per item. You can call up the Notepad by pressing F10. To print a Notepad, select "Show Notepad" in the appropriate report configuration requester. PAGE 110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.5 The File Selector ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The large list box shows all files and drawers (subdirectories, labelled (Drawer)), in the currently selected drawer. The lower list box shows all currently available disks, volumes and assigned devices. Below this are three boxes, Filter, Drawer and Filename. To the right are three buttons: OK, Cancel and Parent. To select a file click the filename in the large listbox, this will update the Filename text box. Clicking a Drawer in the large list box will show the contents of that drawer and the Drawer text box will be updated to show the disk and drawer names separated by a colon (:). Further drawers may be accessed in the same way and will be separated by a slash (/) when added to the Drawer text box. To move back to the previous drawer level click the Parent button. Another way to select the drawer or filename is to type the drawer and filename directly into the appropriate boxes. The Filter box allows you to set a filter to show specific files in the large list box (this follows the standard Amiga file pattern conventions). In the Filename text entry box you enter the name of the file you wish to open. However, you can insert a filename automatically by clicking the name you require in the list box. If you double-click a filename in the list box, Home Accounts2 will automatically open the file. PAGE 111 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7 Menu Commands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The universal regard for money is the one hopeful fact in our civilisation, the one sound spot in our social conscience. Money is the most important thing in the world. It represents health, strength, honour, generosity and beauty as conspicuously and undeniably as the want of it represents illness, weakness, disgrace, meanness and ugliness." GEORGE BERNARD SHAW This chapter gives a detailed explanation of each menu command, in logical order from left (Project-About) to right (System-Open a New Shell). Project menu. Edit menu. "Set up" menu. Trans menu. Options menu. Reports menu. System menu. 7.1 The Project Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose About command (Project menu). Shows the creator, copyright, the version number of Home Accounts2 and the amount of free memory available. 7.1.2 New... ------------ Choose New command (Project menu), or press Right Amiga-N. Creates a new file. You set the start month and year and then the filename. Home Accounts2 organises all your information in date order, month by month. You cannot add transactions with dates outside the range you set. Therefore, it is very important to set the correct month and year dates. It is impossible to change them later. Whenever you start Home Accounts2, you will be requested to enter the current date (unless you have a built-in clock). When you create a new file, you can load an existing configuration from another file. This loads the Account titles, the Types and the Preferences, but no figures or transactions. When you reach the end of your financial year, Home Accounts2 will ask you whether you wish to start a new financial year. This provides the option to carry-forward data from a previous year automatically and create a new year. 7.1.3 Open... ------------- Choose Open command (Project menu), or press Right Amiga~. Shows a requester to open an existing file. PAGE 115 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The large list box shows all files and drawers (subdirectories, labelled (Drawer)), in the currently selected drawer. The lower list box shows all currently available disks, volumes and assigned devices. Below this are three boxes, Filter, Drawer and Filename. To the right are three buttons: OK, Cancel and Parent. To select a file click the filename in the large listbox, this will update the Filename text box. Clicking a Drawer in the large list box will show the contents of that drawer and the Drawer text box will be updated to show the disk and drawer names separated by a colon (:). Further drawers may be accessed in the same way and will be separated by a slash (/) when added to the Drawer text box. To move back to the previous drawer level click the Parent button. Another way to select the drawer or filename is to type the drawer and filename directly into the appropriate boxes. The Filter box allows you to set a filter to show specific files in the large list box (this follows the standard Amiga file pattern conventions). In the Filename text entry box you enter the name of the file you wish to open. However, you can insert a filename automatically by clicking the name you require in the list box. If you double-click a filename in the list box, Home Accounts2 will automatically open the file. When you open a file, Home Accounts2 will check if any "Regular transactions" are due and process them if necessary. If, as a result, an Account exceeds the minimum or maximum balance warnings you set, a warning will appear. 7.1.4 Open... -------------- Choose Save command (Project menu), or press Right Amiga-S. Saves the current file, under the same path, replacing the previous version. Files are saved with the extension .HA2 If you have selected the "Backup files" option (General-Preferences command), the existing file on disk will be renamed with the extension .BAK, and the current file will be saved with the extension .HA2. PAGE 116 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.1.5 Save As .... ------------------- Choose "Save as" command (Project menu), or press Right Amiga-V. Shows a requester to save an existing file. The large list box shows all files and drawers (subdirectories, labelled (Drawer)), in the currently selected drawer. The lower list box shows all currently available disks, volumes and assigned devices. Below this are three boxes, Filter, Drawer and Filename. To the right are three buttons: OK, Cancel and Parent. To select a file click the filename in the large listbox, this will update the Filename text box. Clicking a Drawer in the large list box will show the contents of that drawer and the Drawer text box will be updated to show the disk and drawer names separated by a colon (:). Further drawers may be accessed in the same way and will be separated by a slash (/) when added to the Drawer text box. To move back to the previous drawer level click the Parent button. Another way to select the drawer or filename is to type the drawer and filename directly into the appropriate boxes. The Filter box allows you to set a filter to show specific files in the large list box (this follows the standard Amiga file pattern conventions). PAGE 117 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the Filename text entry box you enter the name of the file you wish to save. However, you can insert a filename automatically by clicking the name you require in the list box. If you double-click a filename in the list box, Home Accounts2 will automatically save the current file. If the file already exists, a warning will appear. 7.1.6 Delete ... ---------------- Choose Delete command (Project menu). Shows "Delete file" requester. The large list box shows all files and drawers (subdirectories, labelled (Drawer)), in the currently selected drawer. The lower list box shows all currently available disks, volumes and assigned devices. Below this are three boxes, Filter, Drawer and Filename. To the right are three buttons: OK, Cancel and Parent. To select a file click the filename in the large listbox, this will update the Filename text box. Clicking a Drawer in the large list box will show the contents of that drawer and the Drawer text box will be updated to show the disk and drawer names separated by a colon (:). Further drawers may be accessed in the same way and will be separated by a slash (/) when added to the Drawer text box. To move back to the previous drawer level click the Parent button. PAGE 118 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another way to select the drawer or filename is to type the drawer and filename directly into the appropriate boxes. The Filter box allows you to set a filter to show specific files in the large list box (this follows the standard Amiga file pattern conventions). In the Filename text entry box you enter the name of the file you wish to delete. However, you can insert a filename automatically by clicking the name you require in the list box. If you double-click a filename in the list box, Home Accounts2 will automatically delete the file. You will be requested to confirm any file you selected to delete. 7.1.7 Open Comparitives ----------------------- Choose "Opencomparatives" (Projectmenu). Shows a requester to open comparatives from an existing file. Comparatives are the monthly totals of Income and Expenditure Types, which are loaded from an existing file. The comparative figures will be displayed alongside actual figures in the "Budget progress" report and included in various budget graphs. Comparatives are ideal for comparing current Income and Expenditure figures with a previous year. The large list box shows all files and drawers (subdirectories, labelled (Drawer)), in the currently selected drawer. The lower list box shows all currently available disks, volumes and assigned devices. Below this are three boxes, Filter, Drawer and Filename. To the right are three buttons: OK, Cancel and Parent. To select a file click the filename in the large listbox, this will update the Filename text box. Clicking a Drawer in the large list box will show the contents of that drawer and the Drawer text box will be updated to show the disk and drawer names separated by a colon ( ) Further drawers may be accessed in the same way and will be separated by a slash (/) when added to the Drawer text box. To move back to the previous drawer level click the Parent button. Another way to select the drawer or filename is to type the drawer and filename directly into the appropriate boxes. PAGE 119 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Filter box allows you to set a filter to show specific files in the large list box (this follows the standard Amiga file pattern conventions). In the Filename text entry box you enter the name of the file from which you wish to loan comparatives. However, you can insert a filename automatically by clicking the name you require in the list box. If you double-click a filename in the list box, Home Accounts2 will automatically open the file. You can load figures from an existing file for inclusion in the "Budget progress" report or the graphs. It is particularly useful for comparing one year's expenditure with a previous year. 7.1.8 Clear Comparitives ------------------------ Choose "Clear comparatives" (Project menu). This command will be dimmed unless you have used the "Open comparatives" command. "Clear comparatives" command will remove the comparative figures you previously opened. 7.1.9 Quit ---------- Choose Quit command (Project menu), or press Right Amiga-O. Closes open file and quits Home Accounts2, returning to the Workbench. PAGE 120 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.2 Edit Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You use the Edit menu to process transactions and items. 7.2.1 Add... ------------ Choose Add command (Edit menu), or press Right Amiga-A Adds a transaction or item to the current window. 7.2.2 Amend ... --------------- Choose Amend command (Edit menu), or press Right Amiga-M. Highlight the transaction or item you wish to amend and choose Amend. Alternatively, double-click the transaction or item. 7.2.3 Delete ------------ Choose Delete command (Edit menu), or press Right Amiga-D. Highlight the transaction or item you wish to delete and choose Delete. You can also delete by pressing the Delete key or by dragging the transaction or item to the Trashcan. Deleted transactions and items can be recovered from the Trashcan (by dragging them into the appropriate window). However, if "Automatically empty Trashcan" is selected (GeneralPreferences, Options menu), they will be permanently removed. PAGE 121 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.2.4 Sort.. ------------ Choose sort command (Edit menu) or press Right Amiga T The Sort requester appears. From the cycle buttons, select the Header on which you wish to sort, and then the Order (ascending or descending) on the top edit window and re-sort the items. 7.2.5 Find .. ------------- Choose Find command (Edit menu), or press Right Amiga-F. Home Accounts2 provides comprehensive searching facilities. PAGE 122 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A requester displays the boxes available on which you can search. You enter in the text entry boxes what you wish to search for and then click the appropriate check boxes to switch them on. Home Accounts2 does not discriminate between upper and lower case when searching. In this way, you can search on more than one box at a time. For example, you wish to find a transaction of Type HK which occurred on 31/03/1991. In the Type box you enter HK and in the Date box you enter 31/03/1991. You then click the Type and Date check boxes and then click OK. But imagine you wanted to search for a transaction and all you remembered is that the Reference contained a name, Mr Smith. But you can't remember how the name was spelt. Was it Smyth or Smith? With Home Accounts2 you can use 'wildcards'. These are special letters which you use when you can't remember exactly what you want to find. They work like this: LETTER MEANS ? Matches any character * Matches zero or more occurrences of the preceding character + Matches one or more occurrences of the preceding character In the case of Mr Smith, you would enter Mr Sm?th. This means Home Accounts2 will find every word Mr Sm th. Here are a few more examples: PATTERN FINDS ------------- -------------------------------- fund fund, funds, refund, refunds mil*ward millward, milward, milllward a?c abc, afc, azc If you wish to find one of the wildcard letters (that is ?, *, +), you can do this by preceding the letter with a backslash (\). For example, to search for Smith? you would enter Smith\?. When you have set your search criteria, click OK. The first transaction to match the search criteria will be highlighted. If no transactions can be found the screen will flash. PAGE 123 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.2.6 Find Again.. ------------------ Choose "Find again" command (Edit menu), or press Right Amiga~. This will find the next transaction to meet the search criteria you set using the Find command. 7.2.7 Find and Replace ---------------------- Choose "Find and replace" command (Edit menu), or press Right Amiga-R. Use this command to search for transactions in which you wish to replace some of the information. For example, you may have typed several transactions with the Reference Business expense and wish to replace this text with Business expenses for company A. It works in the same way as the Find command. A requester appears and you enter your search criteria. However, when you click OK, another requester appears for you to enter your replacement criteria. Additionally, there are three radio buttons at the bottom of the requester which operate as follows: BUTTON DOES ------------------- ------------------------------------- "Replace once" Finds and replaces one entry "Confirm replace" Finds and you confirm each entry "Replace all" Finds and replaces all entries. When using "Confirm replace", each transaction will be highlighted and an alert will appear with the options: BUTTON DOES -------------------- -------------------------------------- Yes Replace item No Do not replace, continue finding Cancel Abandon "Find and replace" command PAGE 124 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3 SETUP ~~~~~~~~~ Choose "Add account" command ("Set up" menu). Creates a new Account. Accounts are used for items such as your bank Account, building society Account, savings, credit Name: The name of the Account (for example, Natwest Current Account). Number: The Account number (for example, 6894732). Code: Your own two letter reference (for example, NC for Natwest Current). This reference will be used throughout Home Accounts2. "Opening balance" The account's opening balance. "Warning limit min": A warning for the minimum Account balance. "Warning limit max": A warning for the maximum Account balance. You can set a maximum and minimum figure and then Home Accounts2 will tell you whenever the balance goes outside these thresholds. This is particularly useful to warn you of bank charges or if you exceed your credit card limit. You enter the maximum and minimum figures and switch on the facility by clicking the check boxes. The warnings allow for all manual transactions and regular transactions. PAGE 125 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warnings can operate on Reconciled or Unreconciled balances. (See Section 7.5.1.1, "General Preferences".) Type: This is a cycle button from which you select the type of Account. This can be Cash, Cheque, "Credit card" or Savings. For clarity, each Type has a different style of icon: "Icon title": This is the title for the icon on the desktop. "Cheque number": If appropriate, enter your current cheque number from your cheque book. When you add a transaction to this Account, if you press F8 when editing the cheque number box, Home Accounts2 will add the cheque number. When adding transactions, the number automatically increases by one each time you press F8. To activate the Notepad press F10. You can enter up to eight lines of information pertaining to the Account. The number of Accounts you can set up is only limited by the memory of your Amiga. However, there is a maximum limit of 40 icons on the desktop. (See Appendix A, "Memory And Home Accounts2", for further information.) PAGE 126 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3.2 Amend Account ------------------- Choose "Amend account" command ("Set up" menu), or Shift-double-click the desktop icon. If you have set up more than one Account, a list box appears. Click the Account you wish to amend. Press F10 if you wish to amend the Notepad pertaining to the Account. 7.3.3 Delete Account --------------------- Choose "Delete account" command ("Set up" menu), or drag the icon to the Trashcan. If you have set up more than one Account, a list box appears. Click the Account you wish to delete and a query box will ask you to confirm the deletion. 7.3.4 Transaction Types ------------------------ Choose "Transaction types" command ("Set up" menu), or double-click the Types icon. A window opens in which you can add, amend, delete and sort Types using the commands from the Edit menu. When you add a Type, you enter the abbreviation and a description. These are abbreviations, which may be up to four characters, used by Home Accounts2 to describe different groups of income or expenditure. They are always displayed in upper case. Here are a few typical examples: TYPE DESCRIPTION -------------- ------------------------------------ HK House keeping SAL Salary MORT Mortgage PTRL Petrol BCHG Bank charges CASH Cash withdrawals INTR Interest MISC Miscellaneous Types are used in various areas of Home Accounts2, including "Regular transactions", "Manual transactions" and Budget. The number of Types you can set up is only limited by the memory of your Amiga. If you are registered for VAT (tax), and have set this option using the Preferences command (Options menu), you will be prompted to enter a "VAT code" (see "VAT code" command). If you press F9 a requester appears which displays the VAT rates). Press F10 to activate the Notepad. PAGE 127 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3.5 Transaction Markers -------------------------- Choose "Transaction markers" command ("Set up" menu), or double-click the Markers icon. "Transaction markers" are like book marks. You set a one character code and a description. Then, when you add transactions you can enter the marker so that each transaction has an additional reference. For example, you could use one marker for your transactions relating to buying petrol, and another for your partner. Then, using commands from the Reports menu, you can print separate reports on petrol expenditure for you and your partner. Press F10 to activate the Notepad facility. 7.3.6 Regular Transactions -------------------------- Choose "Regular transactions" command ("Set up" menu), or double-click the Regular icon. A window appears listing the existing "Regular transactions". "Regular transactions" are transactions that appear regularly, like a Standing Order, a Direct Debit or mortgage repayment. When you choose Add or Amend, the following requester appears. PAGE 128 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Start date": The starting date of the transaction. Home Accounts2 will automatically post any transactions due between the "Start date" and the current system date. "End date": The expiry date of the transaction. Type: The income or expenditure Type you set up. Reconciled: Transaction reconciled. The box should contain an asterisk (*) if the transaction is considered reconciled. A transaction becomes reconciled when you have confirmation that the transaction has been completed (for example, when a cheque payment appears on your bank statement). If a transaction is not reconciled, you should leave this box blank. By identifying the difference between reconciled and unreconciled transactions, Home Accounts2 gives you both methods. You have an accurate Account balance (reflecting every transaction), and an actual Account balance (reflecting only transactions which have been completed). (See Section 7.4.3, "Reconcile...", for further information.) Frequency: The frequency is in two parts, in the cycle button you select the units (either days, weeks or months), and in the text entry box you enter the number of units. For example, if you wanted to set a payment once a quarter, you would set the cycle button to Months, and enter 3 in the Frequency text entry box. From: The "Account code" from where the transaction is debited. To: The "Account code" to where the transaction is credited. If you forget the "Account codes" you set up, press F9 for a simple memory jogger. A requester will appear listing the available "Account codes". Simply click your selection from the list box and the "Account codes" will be automatically entered. If the "Account code" you require is not displayed (and therefore does not exist), you can add another Account by clicking Add. Reference: Your own reference for the transaction. Debit: The amount to be debited, or Credit: The amount to be credited. Marker: The marker code. VAT: The VAT code. PAGE 129 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press F10 to activate the Notepad facility. "Regular transactions" are handled automatically. Every time you start Home Accounts2, it is essential to enter the correct date, as this date will be compared with the previous date (when you previously saved the file), and then any "Regular transactions" falling between the dates will be posted. If you amend a "Regular transaction", the previous postings will be unaffected. The number of "Regular transactions" you can set up is only limited by the memory of your Amiga. There are a couple of important points to remember when entering "Regular transactions": They are instantly back-dated to the "Start date" as soon as you finish entering the transaction. They cannot be back-dated beyond the start of your financial year. 7.3.7 Budget ------------ Choose Budget command ("Set up" menu), or double-click the Budget icon. A window appears listing the existing Budget. You can set up a budget for each income and expenditure Account entered. By setting a monthly budget, you can compare your actual expenditure. When you choose Add or Amend, the following requester appears. PAGE 130 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type: The income or expenditure Type you wish to budget. "Account code": The income Account you wish to budget (enter ** for all Accounts). Each month of the financial year you set is displayed. Enter the value of your budget amount into the boxes. Expenditure/Income cycle button: Set as appropriate. Replicate: Click this button to copy the highlighted value to the remaining months. Calculate: This operates the budget calculator. The Budget Calculator --------------------- This provides a simple method to allow for fluctuations, such as inflation, for example. "Start month" cycle button: The starting month for budgeting. "End month" cycle button: The expiry date of the budgeting. "Start value": The figure to start budgeting. "Inc/Dec": The monthly value to increase or decrease the previous month's figure. If you select the % check box, the value will be assumed a percentage. "Divide over months": This divides the "Start value" by number of months. "Add values': Adds "Inc/Dec value" to "Start value". PAGE 131 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Subtract value": Subtracts "Inc/Dec value" from the "Start value". Click OK to calculate the monthly budget figures. If you forget the "Account codes" you set up, press F9 for a simple memory jogger. A requester will appear listing the available "Account codes". Simply click your selection from the list box and the "Account code" will be automatically entered. If the "Account code" you require is not displayed (and therefore does not exist), you can add another Account by clicking Add. Press F10 to activate the Notepad facility. The number of Budgets you can set up is only limited by the memory of your Amiga. 7.3.8 Investements ------------------- Choose Investments command ("Set up" menu) or double click the Investment icon. A window appears listing the existing Investments. If you own Company Shares or any other form of investment, you enter the details using this command. Home Accounts2 will calculate their total value and this figure will be included in the "Net worth" report. When you choose Add or Amend, the following requester PAGE 132 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reference: The description of investment. Quantity: The number of units (the number of company shares for example). "Unit price": The current unit value. Press F10 to activate the Notepad facility. The number of Investments you can set up is only limited by the memory of your Amiga. 7.3.9 VAT Code -------------- Choose "VAT Code" command ("Set up" menu), or double click the Tax icon. This command is for business users who are registered for VAT (tax). It allows you to define the VAT (tax) element when you enter transactions. "VAT code": A single character reference code. Reference: A reference for the VAT code. "VAT %": The current VAT percentage. If Function Key F10 is pressed the Notepad will be activated. PAGE 133 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3.10 Window Headers --------------------- Choose "Window headers" command ("Set up" menu). You can only use this command with "manual transactions". From the requester, you can select to show or hide the various transaction headings. This means that you can remove any surplus columns and reduce the display width to fit the window. Home Accounts2 will store the entire transaction information you enter, regardless of which headings are displayed. The heading settings are independent for each Account and stored automatically with your file. PAGE 134 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3.11 Function Keys.. ---------------------- Choose "Function keys" command ("Set up" menu). You can program up to 20 common words or phrases. Ten for the key combination Control-Function key and ten for Alt-Function key. You cannot program a direct Function keypress (for example, F3), as these contain Home Accounts2 keyboard shortcuts. To set the Function key, click the key required (Fl to F10). The current value for the key will be displayed in the boxes Control and Alternate. These boxes represent the two keys used in combination with the Function keys. Once defined, the Function keys work with the boxes of any requester. Function key settings are automatically saved with your file. 7.3.12 Password.... ------------------- Choose Password command ("Set up" menu). You can set a password which will be requested each time the file is opened. To change a password, enter the existing password and then you will be given the option to change it. IMPORTANT: Make a note of your password. Digita may be able to recover your file, but there will be a handling charge. PAGE 135 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.4 Trans Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose "Set defaults" command (Trans menu). Most of the information you enter into Home Accounts2 will be "Manual transactions". To make this process as fast and simple as possible a number of defaults are provided. Date: Either enter a date in the box, or select "System date" or "Last entered". If you use the cycle button, switch on the check box. Type: Either enter a Type in the box, or select "Last entered" by switching on the check box. Reconciled: Either enter * in the box, or select "Last entered" by switching on the check box. Reference: Either enter a reference in the box, or select "Type reference" or "Last entered". If you use the cycle button, switch on the check box. Amount: Either enter a figure in the box, or select "Last entered" by switching on the check box. The figure is assumed to be credit, unless you switch on the Debit check box. Marker: Either enter a marker in the box, or select "Last entered" by switching on the check box. PAGE 136 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "VAT code": Either enter a VAT code in the box, or select "Type VAT code" or "Last entered". If you use the cycle button, switch on the check box. With Home Accounts2, VAT options only appear if you have switched on the VAT facility (Preferences command, Options menu). 7.4.2 Add or Amend.... ---------------------- Choose "Add or amend" command (Trans menu), or double click the appropriate Account icon. You use this command to enter "Manual transactions". If you have set up more than one Account, a list box appears. Click the Account for which you wish to enter transactions. The Account window appears, showing the current transaction details together with a running balance. If a transaction you entered is not included in the balance, this is probably because it has not been reconciled (by entering an asterisk in the reconciled box). If you prefer to display all of the transactions, regardless of reconciliation, there is an option in General-Preference (Options menu). You can modify the columns to your preference using the "Window headers" command ("Set up" menu). When you choose Add or Amend, the following requester appears. PAGE 137 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transactions will be displayed in colour on colour systems, if the balance for the Account is below zero. (If you are using the "Distinctly Digita" cocktail palette and a colour system, these transactions will be coloured red.) Date: The date of the transaction. Type: The income/expenditure Type. There are two reserved types: TRAN for transferring between Accounts. If selected, a list box appears and you can click the Account to which you wish to transfer the amount. Home Accounts2 only recognises the first 3 characters, that is TRA. The fourth character is discretional This gives you the opportunity to Budget against several Types of TRAN transactions (for example, TRAN, TRA2). SPLT for splitting a transaction across up to 20 different Types. If selected, a requester appears and you can enter the allocations. Reconciled: The Reconciled box tells Home Accounts2 whether or not a transaction has been reconciled with a statement. You enter an asterisk (:~ ) if the transaction is reconciled. Reference: Your own reference. "Chq number": The "Chq number" box is used if the transaction was paid by cheque. You can enter this manually, or press F8 to automatically insert the next consecutive number. Debit: Enter amount. Credit: Enter amount. You use the Debit box to pay out money, or the Credit box to pay in money to your Account. M: Your Marker code. VAT: Your VAT code, if applicable. When editing either the Type, Marker or "VAT code" boxes, if you press F9, a list box reminder appears. Click on the item in the list box to make your selection. If, however, the item does not appear in the list box, click Add to set up the item. Press F10 to activate the Notepad facility PAGE 138 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7.4.3 Reconcile --------------- Choose Reconcile command (Trans menu). Once you have opened an Account window (double-click an Account icon), you use this command to identify Reconciled or Unreconciled "Manual transactions". "Start date": Enter the starting date of period. "End date": Enter the end date of period. Set the radio button to Reconcile or Unreconcile. "Confirm each one": If this check box is selected, Home Accounts2 will ask you to confirm each reconciliation or unreconciliation. 7.4.4 Auto Balance ------------------ Choose "Auto balance" command (Trans menu). Once you have opened an Account window (double-click an Account icon), you use this command to determine which transactions should be reconciled. PAGE 139 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Home Accounts2 to work correctly, you will need to make a note of the following information on your bank (or other) statement: The date of the first transaction. The date of the last transaction. The closing balance. The number of transactions. Now enter this information like this: "Start Date": The first transaction date. "End date": The last transaction date. "Target balance": The closing balance. "Number of transactions": The number of transactions. If you have a large number of transactions, this command may take several minutes. If you wish to interrupt and cancel the command, press the Esc key. 7.4.5 Auto Balances Again .... ------------------------------ Choose "Auto balance again" command (Trans menu). If the previous "Auto balance" calculation was incorrect, you can use this command to try again. Home Accounts2 may not get the auto balance correct first time if there is more than one way of reconciling your transactions. However, Home Accounts2 will tell you when there are no more combinations for auto balancing. PAGE 140 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.5 THE OPTIONS MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose Preferences command (Options menu), or press Right Amiga-#. This shows a requester to set up various preference settings for use with Home Accounts2. Once changed, you select Use, to use preferences for this session only, Save, to save preferences permanently on your Home Accounts2 disk, Open, to open another preference file, or Cancel, which disregards any changes you have just made and returns to the desktop. Click the radio button corresponding to the preferences you wish to change and then click Edit. 7.5.1 General Preferences ------------------------- "Confirm deletes": If selected, an alert appears requiring confirmation of each delete operation. "Automatically empty Trashcan": If selected, entries will be automatically deleted once they are placed in the Trashcan. Autosave: If selected, Home Accounts2 will automatically save the current file (with the extension .TMP) after a given period of time which you enter in the box (minutes). If you do not require this facility, enter 0 . "Screen saver": If selected, Home Accounts2's screen saver will automatically operate after a given period of time which you enter in the box (minutes). If you do not require this facility, enter 0 . The built-in screen saver can protect your monitor. When information remains static on screen for long periods, this can cause the monitor to "burn-out" in certain areas. It works by dividing the desktop into small squares, and then continually moves each square around the screen (if you do not have enough memory for the screen saver to work, Home Accounts2 will just blank the screen). The screen saver will start from the time you stop typing (or use the mouse) plus the time delay you set. The screen is restored as soon as you press a key or move the mouse, and you will be returned to the desktop, just as you previously left it. "Desktop clock": If selected, a digital clock is displayed in the top right corner of the screen. PAGE 141 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Backup files": If selected, when you save a file, the previous version on disk is renamed with the suffix .bak. This keeps a backup of the last revision just in case the new file is corrupted. However, this uses about twice the disk space (since you will be storing two copies of each file). Click Next to show the second requester (click Prev to return to the first requester). Resolution: Select either Medium or High resolution screen modes. To use high resolution effectively you will need a flicker fixer. Colours: The number of colours you will need (4, 8 or 16). "VAT registered": If selected, the VAT (tax) commands in Home Accounts2 will be available and where appropriate, VAT boxes will appear in the requesters. "Date format": Set your preferred date style. "Include unreconciled transactions in balance": If selected, any unreconciled transactions will be included in the Account window balances. "Show account warnings on unreconciled balance": If selected, all Account balance warnings will appear for Accounts with unreconciled balances. "Default drawer": The default drawer for the file selector when opening or saving files. 7.5.1.2 Icon Preferences ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can change the titles for the desktop icons and set which icons you wish to be displayed in the desktop. "Snap to grid": If selected, Home Accounts2 will automatically align the icons to the nearest character boundary. 7.5.1.3 Printer Preferences ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Spooler buffer size": A print spooler is provided which lets you continue using the Home Accounts2 during printing. However, the efficiency of the spooler depends on the size of the spooler buffer. The spooler size is defined in Kilobytes (if set to O the spooler is switched off). "Page length": The number of lines per page, normally set to 66 for 11 inch paper, or 72 for 12 inch paper, or 70 lines for A4. PAGE 142 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Top margin": The number of lines to skip at the top of each page. Usually set to four. "Bottom margin": The number of lines to skip at the bottom of each page. Usually set to four. "Page width": The width of each page in 10 Pitch, normally 80, or 132 for a wide carriage printer. "Left margin": The left margin in characters. "Cut sheet": Pauses printing at the end of each page. "Print quality": Select the required print quality (draft or NLQ). 7.5.1.4 Colours Preferences --------------------------- This shows a requester to set the screen colours. The list box shows the cocktail colour schemes which are available. To change the colour scheme, click the title you require. The colours will revert to the default, Distinctly Digita, on re- opening Home Accounts2. However, if you wish to permanently save your own colours, you can do this by clicking Save on the "Set preferences" requester. When an Account falls below zero, the transactions are displayed in the fourth colour (the available colours are displayed below the list box). Using the Distinctly Digita palette, the fourth colour is red, and so negative balances are displayed in red. If you change the palette, the fourth colour will change accordingly. 7.5.2 Arrange Windows --------------------- Choose "Arrange windows" command (Options menu). This command lets you decide how the windows are arranged. Stacked: Overlaid, which works like the Workbench desktop. "Tiled vertically": Windows stacked one above the other. "Tiled horizontally": Windows displayed side by side. 7.5.3 Cleanup Desktop ---------------------- Choose "Clean up desktop" command (Options menu). This command rearranges the desktop icons in a neat order. The Trashcan will be positioned in the bottom left of the desktop. 7.5.4 Empty Trashcan -------------------- Choose "Empty Trashcan" command (Options menu). This command clears any items in the Trashcan. PAGE 143 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.6 REPORT MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before printing, it is always a good idea to save your file. Then check your printer for the following: That it is properly connected to your Amiga. That paper is loaded. That it is plugged in and turned on. That it is "on-line". Home Accounts2 uses the printer driver and settings as configured in your Amiga System Preferences. With Home Accounts2, you can print graphs and save them as IFF format. To interrupt a report whilst printing, or being displayed on the screen, press the Esc key. When you choose a command from the Report menu, there are several options common to each command: Screen radio button: Displays the report on the screen. Printer radio button: Prints the report. File radio button: Saves a graph on disk in IFF format, or ASCII format for a list report. The file selector requester appears for you to enter the path and filename. Config button: This lets you change the configuration for the report header, footer and body. Configure Header and Footer --------------------------- Headers are printed at the top of each page after the top margin, and footers are printed at the bottom of each page before the bottom margin. This requester appears, which is the same for configuring the header or footer: PAGE 144 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Text: This is where you enter the text for the header (up to 132 characters if you are using a wide carriage printer). You can also use these special codes: CODE DOES --------------- -------------------------------------------------- -PAGENUM Page number -DATE System date -TIME System time -ACCNAME Name of the report Account -ACCNUMBER Account number of the report -ACCCODE Account code of the report -ACCOPENBAL Opening balance of the report Account -STARTDATE Start date, if defined in the search criteria -ENDDATE End date, if defined in the search criteria The last two codes are used when you are producing a report based upon a date range. Codes and text may be mixed in headers and footers. You can then set the justification, pitch and style for the Text line using the boxes below. If you wish to add more than one Text line, click Insert. If you enter multiple lines, you use the buttons at the bottom of the requester: PAGE 145 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous: Go to previous Text line. Next: Go to next Text line. Delete: Delete the line which appears in the Text box. Insert: Insert another Text line before the current line in the Text box. The justification, pitch and style settings are independent for each Text line. You can add any number of header and footer lines, provided you leave sufficient space for the report body. Configure Report Body --------------------- This requester appears, which is used to configure the body of the report. The list box displays the column headings, which you can select, or deselect by clicking the headings. To include the Notepad facility, click the check box below the list box. You can then set the justification, pitch and style for the report body using the boxes to the right of the list box. Some reports will naturally extend beyond the width of your printer. However, using these configuration options, you can customise every report to best suit your printer. PAGE 146 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.6.1 Types.. ------------- Choose Types command (Reports menu). Produces a list of all income and expenditure Types. 7.6.2 Markers ------------- Choose Markers command (Reports menu). Produces a list of all transaction Markers. 7.6.3 Budget. ------------- Choose Budget command (Reports menu). Produces a list of all monthly budget entries. 7.6.4 Regular Transactions -------------------------- Choose "Regular transactions" command (Reports menu). Produces a list of all "Regular transactions". 7.6.5 VAT Codes ---------------- Choose "VAT Codes" command (Reports menu). Produces a list of all "VAT codes". 7.6.6 Account Summary --------------------- Choose "Account summary" command (Reports menu). This produces a list of all Accounts, including, "Account name", "Account number", "Number of transactions entered", "Reconciled balance" (the current balance) and "Unreconciled balance" (balance when all entries have been reconciled). 7.6.7 Account Statement ----------------------- Choose "Account statement" command (Reports menu). PAGE 147 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This requester provides enormous flexibility. You can elect to see your information as figures or graphs, even produce your own statement to mirror a bank or credit card statement. First, you enter your search criteria for the report: "Start date": The starting date of the date range you are searching. "End date":The end date of the date range you are searching. Reference: Only entries matching the contents of this box will be included. You can use 'wildcards'. These are special letters which you use when you can't remember exactly what you want to find. They work like this: LETTER MEANS ------ -------------------------------------------------------- ? Matches any character * Matches zero or more occurrences of the preceding character + Matches one or more occurrences of the preceding character In the case of Mr Smith, you would enter Mr Sm?th. This means Home Accounts2 will find every word Mr Sm th. Here are a few more examples: PATTERN FINDS ---------- --------------------------------------------- fund fund, funds, refund, refunds mil*ward millward, milward, milllward a?c abc, afc, azc If you wish to find one of the wildcard letters (that is ?, *, +), you can do this by preceding the letter with a backslash (\). For example, to search for Smith? you would enter Smith\?. First cycle button: Select all transactions, reconciled transactions, or unreconciled transactions. Second cycle button: Select debits, credits or both. Style cycle button: Select report style, either list, line graph or scatter graph. If you click one of the buttons at the bottom of the requester (titled Types, Accounts, Markers, "VAT codes"), a requester appears which lets you select which items to include in the search. Each requester works in the same way. PAGE 148 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Individual Types appear in the list box. Click the Type to select or deselect. The selected Types will be included in the report "Select all" button selects all Types. "Reset all" button deselects all Types. To include all Types, regardless of selection, switch on the "All types" check box. On the Markers and "VAT codes" requester, an additional check box "Include blank entries" appears. This lets you include or exclude transactions with no Marker or "VAT code". PAGE 149 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.6.8 Income and Expenditure ---------------------------- Choose "Income and expenditure" command (Reports menu). First, you enter your search criteria for the report: "Start date": The starting date of the date range you are searching. "End date":The end date of the date range you are searching. Reference: Only entries matching the contents of this box will be included. You can use 'wildcards'. (See Chapter 7.6.7, "Account statement" for detailed information.) First cycle button: Select all transactions, reconciled transactions or unreconciled transactions. Second cycle button: Select debits, credits or both. Style cycle button: Select report style, either list, line graph, scatter graph, pie chart, bar graph, 3D bar graph, stacked bar graph, stacked 3D bar graph and overlaid bar graph. If you click one of the buttons at the bottom of the requester (titled Types, Accounts, Markers, "VAT codes"), a requester appears which lets you select which items to include in the search. (See Chapter 7.6.7, "Account statement" for detailed information.) PAGE 150 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.6.9 Budget Progress --------------------- Choose "Budget progress" command (Reports menu). This shows your progress comparing your budget with your income or expenditure. First, you enter your search criteria for the report: "Start date": The starting date of the date range you are searching. "End date":The end date of the date range you are searching. Reference: Only entries matching the contents of this box will be included. You can use 'wildcards'. (See Chapter 7.6.7, "Account statement" for detailed information.) First cycle button: Select all transactions, reconciled transactions or unreconciled transactions. Second cycle button: Select debits, credits or both. Style cycle button: Select report style, either list, line graph, scatter graph, pie chart, bar graph, 3D bar graph, stacked bar graph, stacked 3D bar graph and overlaid bar graph. If you click one of the buttons at the bottom of the requester (titled Types, Accounts, Markers, "VAT codes"), a requester appears which lets you select which items to include in the search. (See Chapter 7.6.7, "Account statement" for detailed information.) PAGE 151 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the end of the report an estimated Account balance is shown for each of the Accounts. To include comparative figures (from another file) in the "Budget progress" graphs, choose the "Open comparatives" command. Then from the "budget progress" configuration option (edit report body), select Comparatives from the list box. 7.6.10 VAT ---------- Choose VAT command (Reports menu). This produces a list of all "Manual transactions" in date order showing their VAT element and calculating the total VAT First, you enter your search criteria for the report: "Start date": The starting date of the date range you are searching. "End date":The end date of the date range you are searching. Reference: Only entries matching the contents of this box will be included. You can use 'wildcards'. (See Chapter 7.6.7, "Account statement" for detailed information.) PAGE 152 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First cycle button: Select all transactions, reconciled transactions or unreconciled transactions. Second cycle button: Select debits, credits or both. If you click one of the buttons at the bottom of the requester (titled Types, Accounts, Markers, "VAT codes"), a requester appears which lets you select which items to include in the search. (See Chapter 7.6.7, "Account statement" for detailed information.) 7.6.11 PORTFOLIO ---------------- Choose Portfolio command (Reports menu). Produces a list of investments and their current value. Choose "Net worth" command (Reports menu). On the requester you will notice two new buttons, titled Assets and Liabilities. If you click one of the buttons, a requester appears. Each requester lets you enter up to 20 assets and 20 liabilities. The values are then included in the "Net worth" report. The "Net worth" report includes Assets, Liabilities, Investments and Account balances. PAGE 153 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.7 SYSTEM MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7.7.1 Help ---------- Press the Help key. Choose Help command (System menu). Click Help icon on the desktop. For "interactive" help, press Alt-Help, the pointer will change into a question mark, and then choose the menu with which you need help (press the Esc key to cancel). Shows the list of topics in Help. Click the topic heading with which you need help. Click Topic to return to the topic headings. Click Prev to show the previous page of Help. Click Next to show the next page of Help. Single disk drive users: If you choose Help, you may be prompted to insert your Home Accounts2 program disk into the disk drive. PAGE 154 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.7.2 Calculator ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose Calculator command (System menu), or press Right Amiga C. To make a calculation either enter directly from the keyboard or click the individual buttons with the mouse. This operates like a pocket calculator. The large box displays the history of your calculations, just like a printing pocket calculator. Press the Esc key or click C to cancel an entry. Click AC to clear all calculations. Click I to open the "Interest calculator". 7.7.3 Interest Calculator ------------------------- Choose "Interest calculator" command (System menu), or press Right Amiga-I. This is a simple loan calculator and provides estimates of loan costs. Because credit card companies, finance companies and banks use a multitude of ways to calculate interest, such as daily interest, monthly, compound and so on, it may not be precisely accurate. PAGE 155 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The boxes operate as follows: "Opening balance", enter starting balance for transaction Periods, the time period unit (either years, months or weeks) "Interest rate %", for each period unit (for example, a monthly rate of 2%) Payment, per period unit (for example, 40.00 per month) If you owe money, the "Opening balance" should be entered as a negative figure. 7.7.4 Set Date Time ... ----------------------- Choose "Set date time" command (System menu). This command lets you set the date and time for Home Accounts2. IMPORTANT --------- Beware of changing dates with an open file. If the wrong date is set and then saved with the file, when you r~open the file, Home Accounts2 will re-post any "Regular transactions" which appear to be overdue. PAGE 156 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.7.5 Playtime ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose Playtime to relax with the simple puzzle from Home Accounts2. CLICK DOES -------------------- ------------------------- Left Mouse key Moves Squares Close gadget Quit Puzzle 7.7.6 Workbench Open ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose "Workbench open" command (System menu). Toggles the Workbench screen on or off (indicated by a check mark). Switching the Workbench off will provide at least 32K extra memory for Home Accounts2 to use. To close Workbench there must be no open windows, for example other programs, Shell (CLI) windows (the Workbench disk drawer windows are not affected). If you want to close the Workbench on opening Home Accounts, turn Workbench off with this command, and then save Preferences from the Preferences command (Options menu). 7.7.7 Open a New Shell ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose "Open a New Shell" command (System menu). This will send the Home Accounts2 windows behind Workbench and open a new Shell (or CLI), ready for direct DOS commands. This is useful for formatting a new data disk, deleting files on a disk, and so on. To quit the Shell (CLI) enter Endcli and click the screen front to back gadgets to bring the Home Accounts2 screen to the front. (For further information on Shells (CLI) see your Amiga owners guide.) PAGE 157 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendices ========== The Appendices give a detailed explanation of specific subjects: Memory and Home Accounts2. Keyboard shortcuts. File formats. Troubleshooting. APPENDIX A - MEMORY AND HOME ACCOUNTS 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Memory is used by Home Accounts2 for storing the program, its information and the files created with it. The following explanations should help you understand where memory is used, how much memory various commands might need and what to do if the computer runs out of memory. Memory, sometimes referred to as RAM (Random Access Memory) can be thought of in terms of a large box of a certain volume. The more that is put into the box, the less space there is free. When commands are removed from the box, more space is made. Thus, the more programs and information that are stored in a computer's memory, the less space is available for storing information. Freeing up information, or quitting a program, will free more space for use by other programs. The amount of memory is measured in bytes. The larger the number the more memory is available. A Kilobyte is 1024 bytes. A Megabyte is 1024 Kilobytes. A Kilobyte is often referred to as a "K" and Megabytes are sometimes called a "Meg." Home Accounts2 requires 1 MB (Megabyte) of memory. To maximise on the available memory, do not load other programs. Run Home Accounts2 from the boot disk. The print spooler buffer should be kept to the default. If necessary, the spooler can be switched off. If the program does run out of memory, you will be given the opportunity of saving your information before the program quits. PAGE 161 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- How Home Account 2 uses memory ------------------------------ To check how much free memory is available, use the "About Home Accounts2" command (Desk menu). The amount of memory used by each item is: ITEM MEMORY REQUIRED (in bytes) --------------------- -------------------------------- Type 64 Marker 58 "VAT code" 62 Account 172 Budget 82 "Regular transaction" 82 "Manual transaction" 74 "Split transaction" 38 Investment 64 Every Notepad will occupy one byte for each character you enter, plus a further 8 bytes added to the total. Remember, items (such as report header and footer lines) will occupy additional memory. Generally, 1MB of memory provides plenty of space for a typical full year of transactions. Sometimes, you may experience a inexplicable problem with low memory. if this happens, Home Accounts2 will prompt you to save your file. Inexplicable low memory can be due to fragmentation. To overcome this, save your file, quit Home Accounts2, and then re-load. Full memory should be restored. PAGE 162 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix B - Keyboard Shortcuts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MENU COMMANDS KEY DOES ------------------- --------------------------------------- Right Amiga-N Create a new file Right Amiga-O Open an existing file Right Amiga-S Save the open file Right Amiga-V "Save as" the open file Right Amiga-Q Quit Home Accounts Right Amiga-A Add transactions Right Amiga-M Amend Transactions Right Amiga-D Delete Transactions Right Amiga-T Sort Transactions Right Amiga-F Find Transactions Right Amiga-G Find the next transaction Right Amiga-R Find and replace Transactions Right Amiga-# Preferences Right Amiga-C Calculator Right Amiga-I Interest Calculator EDITING REQUESTERS KEY DOES -------------------- ---------------------------------------------- KEY DOES ---------------------- --------------------------------- Left Arrow Move cursor left Right Arrow "" "" right Up Arrow Move to Previous text box Down Arrow or Move to next text box Tab or the Return key Shift-Left Arrow Move to start of text box Shift-Right Arrow Move to end of text box Right Amiga-X Clear text box Right Amiga-Q Restore text box settings Control-Right Amiga-Q Restore box to contents before editing. Backspace Delete character to the left Delete Delete current character F1 Edit contents of text box F2 Toggle between insert and overtype Enter Move to next text box and can be used to select the defualt button to exit a requester PAGE 163 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOVING IN WINDOWS KEY DOES ---------------------- ------------------------------------------ Down Arrow Scroll down one Window Up Arrow Scroll up one Window Shift-Down Arrow Scroll down a page Shift-Up Arrow Scroll up a page SPECIAL KEYS When appropriate, "hot key" presses are provided. KEY DOES ----------------------- -------------------------------------------- F10 Add Notepad. F9 Displays list box of defaults F8 Inserts next Cheque number. Esc Aborts printing or screening of a report PAGE 164 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDIX C - FILE FORMATS ========================= Home Accounts2 can create standard text and graphics files when using commands from the Reports menu. Select File from the requester. Set the report Style toggle box to List. Text files are created in standard ASCII file format with a carriage return and line feed at the end of each line. Set the report Style toggle box to Graph. Graphic files are created in IFF format, which is supported by many ART and DTP packages. If you have upgraded from Digita's original Home Accounts, a program is provided to convert your old files to the new Home Accounts2 file format. To do this: Load Workbench as normal. Insert the Home Accounts2 disk and double-click the icon. Double click the HomeAccounts2 drawer and then double click the program HACONV. A file selector appears. Enter the filename of your old Home Accounts file and click OK. Now enter a new filename for the converted file and click OK. From the requester, set the starting month and the year of the old file. Click OK. Important: ---------- Be sure to enter the correct starting month and year of your old Home Accounts file. This is essential for the conversion to work correctly. When the conversion is complete you will be given the opportunity to convert another file or return to the desktop. PAGE 165 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDIX D - TROUBLESHOOTING ============================ Q After Home Accounts2 prompts for Name, Organization and License Number, it quits and I am returned to the desktop. A Home Accounts2 needs to be personalised before you can use it. You need to type your Name, Organization and License Number. Thereafter, this information is shown every time you use the program, confirming that you are the licensed user of Home Accounts2. Q How can I transfer money between 2 Accounts. A Use the Type TRAN- Q When entering transactions, the running balance is not updated. A To be included in the running balance, the transaction should be Reconciled. If you require all transactions to be included in the running balance, then switch on "Include unreconciled transactions in balance" in the General- Preferences command, Options menu. Q My "Regular transactions" have not been posted. A This means that at some point, the correct date has not been set. Find out the date that the first "Regular transaction" should have gone through, and then set the system date to the day before. Open your file and then immediately save it. Now set the system date to the current date and re-open your file. All entries should now be posted up-to-date. PAGE 166 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q The same "Regular transaction" has been posted twice. A At some point the incorrect system date has been entered. Simply delete one of the duplicate entries. Q As I type the screen flashes. A The keys you are pressing are invalid. For example, trying to enter letters in a date box. Q As I print, unusual characters appear. A The incorrect printer driver has been installed. Q I can't print any graphs. A Check that you have installed the correct printer driver. Q When configuring reports the different pitches and print modes do not work. A The incorrect printer driver has been installed. Q Some reports overflow a line. A Try configuring the report and adjusting the pitch, also check the margins and page width are correct in the printer preferences. PAGE 167 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q When in a requester, how do I edit a box without having to retype it's contents. A Select the box and press Fl. Q How do I print the Notepad. A To print a Notepad, select "Show Notepad" in the appropriate report configuration requester. Q Home Accounts2 keeps running out of memory. A Make sure the print spooler is set to O and try removing any resident programs. If there is still not enough memory, either start a new file or obtain a memory upgrade from your local Amiga supplier. PAGE 168 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GLOSSARY ============ APR --- see Annual Percentage Rate of Change ACCOUNT ------- In Home Accounts2, this refers to your own sources of money. For example, a bank account, a credit card or charge card, a store card, an investment or building society account. ACRONYM ------- A word formed from the initial letter or letters of the main parts of a compound term, such as ROM (from read-only memory or HIP from Human Interface Protocol). ACTIVE WINDOW -------------The frontmost window on Workbench; the window where the next action will take place. An active window's title bar is highlighted. ALERT ----- A warning or report of an error in the form of an alert box, a sound from the computer's speaker, a screen flash or any combination. See also alert box. ALERT BOX --------- A box that appears on the screen to give a warning or to report an error message. Its appearance is usually accompanied by a sound warning such as a beep. ALT KEY ------- A modifier key that gives a different meaning or action to another key you press or to mouse actions you perform. AMIGA KEYS ---------- Two modifier keys which give a different meaning or action to another key you press or to mouse actions you perform. These keys are situated left and right of the space bar and marked with a A symbol. Each key has separate meanings or actions. AMIGADOS -------- Amiga Disk Operating System. It normally consists of Kickstart and Workbench. ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE OF CHARGE -------------------------------- This rate reflects the true cost of borrowing, taking into account all charges made, the frequency of repayments and the effective interest rate. The APR calculation is laid down in the Consumer Credit Act and all lenders must, in most cases, indicate the APR on a credit agreement. Generally speaking, the lower the APR, the lower the cost of borrowing money. ANSI ---- Acronym for American National Standards Institute, which sets standards for many technical fields and provides the most common standard for computer terminals. APPLICATION ----------- Computer program, such as Home Accounts2, so called because you apply the computer to the task in hand. PAGE 171 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARROW KEYS ---------- The four directional keys in the lower-right corner of the keyboard. You can use the arrow keys to move around in an application. ASCII ----- Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange (pronounced "ASK-ee") A standard that assigns a unique binary number to each text character and control character. ASCII code is used for representing text inside a computer and for transmitting text between computers or between a computer and a peripheral device. AUTO-REPEAT FEATURE ------------------- A feature of keys on computer keyboards; when a key is pressed down and held, the computer will automatically repeat that key's character until the key is released. BACKSLASH(\) ------------ The "backward slash" character; often used as an escape character. BACKSPACE --------- To move to the left in a line of text, erasing the character or selection; thus synonymous with delete. BACKSPACE KEY ------------- A key that backspaces over and erases the previously typed character or the current selection. BACKUP ------ (n.) A copy of a disk or of a file on a disk. It's a good idea to make backups of all your important disks and to use the copies for everyday work, keeping the originals in a safe place. (Some program or startup disks cannot be copied.) BACK UP ------- (v.) To make a spare copy of a disk or of a file on a disk. Backing up your files and disks ensures that you won't lose information if the original is lost or damaged. BOOT ---- Another way to say start up. A computer boots by loading a program into memory from an external storage medium such as a disk. Starting up is often accomplished by first loading a small program, which then reads a larger program into memory. The program is said to "pull itself up by its own bootstraps"--hence the term bootstrapping or booting. BUG --- An error in a program that causes it not to work as intended The expression reportedly comes from the early days of computing when an itinerant moth shorted a connection and caused a breakdown in a room-sized computer. BUDGET ------ In Home Accounts2, this refers to the amount you estimate you will be spending. For example, a budget for a summer holiday. PAGE 172 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- busy icon --------- The Amiga changes the pointer into a bubble when it is busy processing information. button ------ A pushbutton-like image in requesters where you click to designate, confirm, or cancel an action. Compare mouse button. byte ---- A unit of information consisting of a fixed number of bits. On Amiga systems, one byte consists of a series of eight bits and can take any value between 0 and 255. The value can represent an instruction, number, character, or logical state. See also kilobyte, megabyte. cancel button ------------- A button that appears in a requester. Clicking it cancels the command. Caps Lock key ------------- A key that, when engaged, causes subsequently typed letters to appear in uppercase; its effect is like that of the Shift key except that it doesn't affect numbers and other nonletter symbols. Carriage return --------------- A nonprinting ASCII character (decimal 13, hexadecimal $0D) that ordinarily causes a printer or display device to place the next character on the left margin; that is, to end a line of text and start a new one. It's used to end paragraphs. A carriage return, however, does not move the print head or cursor down to the next line; the line feed (LF) character does that. Even though you can't see carriage returns, you can delete them the same way you delete other characters. Case sensitive -------------- Able to distinguish between uppercase characters and lowercase characters. Character --------- Any symbol that has a widely understood meaning and thus can convey information. Some characters--such as letters, numbers, and punctuation--can be displayed on the monitor screen and printed on a printer. See also control character. Character key ------------- (1) Any of the keys on a computer keyboard--such as letters, numbers, symbols, and punctuation marks--used to generate text or to format text; any key except Caps Lock, Amiga, Control, Alt, Esc, and Shift. Character keys repeat when you press and hold them down. Check box --------- A small box associated with an option in a requester. When you click the check box, you may change the option or affect related options. PAGE 173 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Choose ------ To pick a command by dragging through a menu. You often choose a command after you've selected something for the program to act on; for example, selecting a disk and choosing the Open command from the Project menu. CLI --- Acronym for Command Line Interface, a program contained in Workbench which allows users to enter commands directly using the keyboard, by-passing the desktop. Compare Shell. Click ----- (v.) To position the pointer on something, and then press and quickly release the mouse button. (n.) The act of clicking. Close box --------- The small white box on the left side of the title bar of an active window. Clicking it closes the window. Context Sensitive ----------------- Able to perceive the situation in which an event occurs. For example, Home Accounts2's help system can present help information specific to the particular task you're performing, rather than a general list of commands; such help is context sensitive. Control Character ----------------- A nonprinting character that controls or modifies the way information is printed or displayed. Control characters have ASCII values and can be typed from a keyboard by holding down the Control key while pressing some other key. Control Code ------------ One or more nonprinting characters--included in a text file-- whose function is to change the way a printer prints the text. For example, a program may use certain control codes to turn boldface printing on and off. See also control character. Control Key ----------- A specific key on Amiga keyboards that produces control characters when used in combination with other keys. CR -- See carriage return. Crash ----- To cease to operate unexpectedly, possibly destroying information in the process. Compare hang. Credit Reference Agencies -------------------------- These are independent organisations which collect publicly available data and financial information from subscribing credit institutions. The information they provide to the credit industry reflects the details supplied to them and is not subject to any interpretation opinion. Under the Consumer Credit Act you have rights to access to data held about you by Credit Reference Agencies. PAGE 174 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cursor ------ (1) A symbol displayed on the screen marking where the user's next action will take effect or where the next character typed from the keyboard will appear. (2) A mark on the screen that indicates your position on the command line or inside a file. The cursor is usually a small box or an underscore, and it usually blinks. (3) The term used in technical manuals for the pointer on the screen. Data ---- Information, especially information used or operated on by a program. The smallest unit of information a computer can understand is a bit. Data Format ----------- The form in which data is stored, manipulated, or transferred. Default ------- A value, action, or setting that a computer system assumes, unless the user gives an explicit instruction to the contrary. Default values prevent a program from stalling or crashing if no value is supplied by the user. Del --- See delete character. Delete ------ To remove something, such as a character or word from a file, or a file from a disk. Keys such as the Backspace key can remove one character at a time by moving to the left. Delete key can remove one character at a time by moving to the right. The Cut command removes selected text and places it on the Clipboard; the Erase command removes selected text without placing it on the Clipboard. (The Undo command can reverse the action of Erase and of the Backspace or Delete key if it is used immediately.) Deselect -------- A command to a device such as a printer to place it into a condition in which it will not receive data. A deselect command has an effect opposite to that of a select command. Desktop ------- Your working environment on the computer--the menu bar and the gray area on the screen. You can have a number of windows on the desktop (Workbench) at the same time. Desktop Environment ------------------- A set of program features that make user interactions with an application resemble the way people work on a desk top. Commands appear as options in pull-down menus, and material being worked on appears in areas of the screen called windows. The user selects commands or other material by using the mouse to move a pointer around on the screen or by using keyboard equivalents. PAGE 175 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digit ----- (1) One of the characters 0 through 9, used to express numbers in decimal form. (2) One of the characters used to express numbers in some other form, such as 0 and 1 in binary or 0 through 9 and A through F in hexadecimal. Directory --------- (1) A pictorial, alphabetical, or chronological list of the contents of a draw or a disk. (2) A file that contains a list of all the names and locations of other files stored on a disk. These other files may themselves be directories (called subdirectories). A directory is sometimes called a catalogue. Directory Requester ------------------- A type of requester you use to work in the hierarchical file system from within an application. Such requesters appear whenever you choose the Open or Save As commands from within an application. Directory File -------------- (1) A file that contains the names and locations of other files. Related files should be grouped together into a single directory file. Directory Window ---------------- The window that shows you the contents of a disk or draw. Disabled -------- Describes a menu item or menu that cannot be chosen; the menu item or menu title appears dimmed. A disabled item in a dialog or alert box has no effect when clicked. Disk ---- A flat, circular, magnetic surface, serving as a medium for storing information. See also hard disk. Disk capacity ------------- The maximum amount of data a disk can hold, usually measured in kilobytes (K) or megabytes (MB). For instance, Amiga 3.5-inch disks have a disk capacity of 880K. Disk directory -------------- An index of a disk's contents. It holds the names and locations of every file on its disk. Disk drive ---------- The device that holds a disk, retrieves information from it, and saves information to it. Disk space ---------- The amount of space available on a disk for storing or processing a file or an application. Double click ------------ (n.) Two clicks in quick succession, interpreted as a single command. The action of a double click is different from that of a single click. For example, clicking an icon selects the icon; double-clicking an icon opens it. (v.) To position the pointer where you want an action to take place, and then press and release the mouse button twice in quick succession without moving the mouse. PAGE 176 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drag ---- To position the pointer on something, press and hold the left mouse button, move the mouse, and release the mouse button. When you release the mouse button, you either confirm a selection or move an object to a new location. Drag region ----------- Drag Bar. A region in a window frame; usually the title bar. Dragging inside this region moves the window to a new location and makes it the active window. Drawer ------ A holder of files, applications and even other drawers on the desktop. Drawers act as subdirectories, allowing you to organise information logically. Drive number ------------ A number used to identify a disk drive. The internal floppy disk drive is number DF0, the internal hard disk drive is number DH0, and any additional drives will have larger numbers. ENer key -------- A key that confirms an entry or sometimes a command. Error code ---------- A number or other symbol representing a type of error. Error message ------------- A message displayed or printed to tell you of an error or problem in the execution of a program or in your communication with the system. An error message is often accompanied by a beep. Escape character ---------------- ASCII character $1B (ESC). Pressing either the Esc key or Control-[ generates an escape character. Escape code ----------- A sequence of characters that begins with an escape character and constitutes a complete command. Escape codes are used to control the video firmware and to send certain commands to a printer. Usually synonymous with escape sequence. Escape key ---------- A key that generates the escape character. In many applications, pressing Esc allows you to return to a previous menu or to stop a procedure. The Esc key can be used with other keys to generate escape codes. Fatal Error ----------- An error serious enough that the computer must halt execution. File ---- (1) Any named, ordered collection of information stored on a disk. Application programs and operating systems on disks are examples of files. You make a file when you create text or graphics, give the material a name, and save it to disk. PAGE 177 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Filename -------- The name that identifies a file. The maximum character length of a filename and the rules for naming a file vary under different operating systems. Compare pathname. ~' Firmware -------- Programs stored permanently in read-only memory (ROM). Such programs are built into the computer at the factory. They can be executed at any time but cannot be modified or erased from main memory. Compare hardware, software. Format ------ (n.) (1) The form in which information is organised or presented. (2) The general shape and appearance of a printer's output, including page size, character width and spacing, line spacing, and so on. (v.) To divide a disk into tracks and sectors where information can be stored. Blank disks must be formatted before you can save information on them for the first time; synonymous with initialise. Function Key ------------ Special keys, usually identified as F1, F2 and so on. Many applications use these for special functions. Gadget ------ An Intuition managed object such as a button, icon or sliding knob. The title bar on most Intuition windows doubles a drag gadget. Garbage ------- A string of meaningless characters that bears no resemblance to your file. It's an indication that your computer and peripheral device are using different transmission rates or data formats. GUI --- Pronounced "Goo-ey"; abbreviation for Graphical User Interface. Applications which allow the computer to be controlled by manipulating graphical images rather than typing commands. HAM --- Acronym for Hold And Modify. Special screen mode used by the Amiga to display 4096 colours at once, using only a fraction of the amount of memory required by normal methods. Hang ---- To cease operation because either an expected condition is not satisfied or an infinite loop is occurring. Compare crash. Hard Copy --------- Information printed on paper, as opposed to being stored on disk. Hard Disk --------- A disk made of metal and sealed into a drive or cartridge. A hard disk can store very large amounts of information compared to 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch disks. PAGE 178 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hard disk drive --------------- A device that holds a hard disk, retrieves information from it, and saves information to it. Hard disks made for microprocessors are permanently sealed into the~drives. Hardware -------- Those parts of the computer that you can see and touch. The computer and the machines that attach to it the disk drive, printer, and other peripheral devices. Compare software. Hardware reset -------------- The act of resetting the printer to its default settings by turning the printer off and back on. A hardware reset clears any data in the print buffer. High-resolution graphics ------------------------ The display of graphics on a screen as a sixteen-colour, 640 columns wide and 512 (400 NTSC) rows high. Human Interface Protocol (HIP) ------------------------------ A set of software protocol guidelines designed by Digita International to enhance the desktop concept. See also desktop. Icon ---- An image that graphically represents an object, a concept, or a message. Icons on the outside of the computer can be used to show you where to plug cables, such as the disk drive icon on the back panel that marks the disk drive connector. Screen icons in mouse-based applications represent disks, files, application programs, or other things you can select and open. IFF --- Abbreviation for Interchange File Format. A standard file format covering graphics and animation, sound and music, even formatted text. Initialise ---------- (1) To set to an initial state or value in preparation for some computation. (2) To prepare a blank disk to receive information by organising its surface into tracks and sectors; same as format. Initialised disk ---------------- A disk that has been organised into tracks and sectors by the computer and is therefore ready to store information. Installation ------------ The process of adding or changing information of a disk. interface PAGE 179 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interface --------- (n.) (1) The point at which independent systems or diverse groups interact. The devices, rules, or conventions by which one component of a system communicates with another. Also, the point of communication between a person and a computer. (2) The equipment that accepts electrical signals from one part of a computer system and renders them into a form that can be used by another part. (3) Hardware or software that links the computer to a device. (v.) To convert signals from one form to another and pass them between two pieces of equipment. Intuition --------- The core of the Amiga's WIMP system. Item ---- In dialog and alert boxes, a control, icon, picture, or piece of text, each displayed inside its own display rectangle. See also menu item. Item List --------- A list of information about all the items in a dialog or alert box. Kbyte ----- See kilobyte. Keyboard -------- The set of keys, similar to a typewriter keyboard, used for entering information into the computer. See also numeric keypad. Keyboard Equivalent ------------------- The combination of the right Amiga key and another key, used to invoke a menu item from the keyboard. Also called a Amiga-key equivalent. Keyboard Equivalent Key ----------------------- A key you press in conjunction with the right Amiga key to issue a menu command. Keyboard Shortcut ------------------ A keystroke that you can use instead of a mouse action to perform a task. For example, in Home Accounts2 pressing the right Amiga and the O keys at the same time is the same as choosing the Open command from the Project menu. Key Caps -------- A desk accessory that shows you the optional character set available for a given font family. Key code -------- An integer representing a key on the keyboard or keypad, without reference to the character that the key stands for. Kickstart --------- The Amiga's Operating System (OS), usually contained in a ROM (or on disk). kilobit (Kbit) -------------- A unit of measurement, 1024 bits, commonly used in specifying the capacity of memory integrated circuits. Not to be confused with kilobyte. PAGE 180 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kilobyte (K) ------------ A unit of measurement consisting of 1024 (210) bytes. Thus, 64K memory equals 65,536 bytes. The abbreviation K can also stand for the number 1024, in which case Kbyte is used for kilobyte. See also megabyte. load ---- To transfer information from a peripheral storage medium (such as a disk) into main memory for use; for example, to transfer a program into memory for execution. Lo-Res ------ The lowest-resolution graphics mode on the Amiga computer, consisting of 32 colours, 256 (NTSC 200) rows high by 320 columns wide. low resolution graphics ----------------------- The display of graphics on a display screen as a 32-colour array of blocks, 320 columns wide and 256 (NTSC 200) rows high. low resolution mode ------------------- See low-resolution graphics. main menu --------- The top level of options in a program having several levels of options. Making a choice from a main menu takes you to another menu. Manual transaction ------------------ In Home Accounts2, this refers to a money transaction which occurs once. For example, writing a cheque to buy some food, buying a radio using a credit card. Margin ------ Blank area surrounding printed matter on a page. Medium Resolution Graphics -------------------------- The display of graphics on a screen sixteen-colours, 640 columns wide and 256 (NTSC 200) rows high. Medium Resolution Mode ----------------------- A graphics mode that can display information using a rectangular array of 256 (NTSC 200) horizontal by 640 vertical dots. Megabit ------- A unit of measurement equal to 1,048,576 (216) bits, or 1024 kilobits, commonly used in specifying the capacity of memory ICs. Not to be confused with megabyte. Megabyte (MB) ------------- A unit of measurement equal to 1024 kilobytes, or 1,048,576 bytes. See also kilobyte. memory ------ A hardware component of a computer system that can store information for later retrieval. Menu ---- A list of choices presented by a program, from which you can select an action. In the desktop interface, menus appear when you click the right mouse button. Dragging through the menu and releasing the mouse button while a command is highlighted chooses that command. PAGE 182 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Menu bar -------- The horizontal strip at the top of the screen that contains menu titles. Displayed by pressing the Right Mouse key. Menu Item --------- A choice in a menu, usually a command to the current application. See also item. Monochrome Monitor ------------------ A monitor capable of displaying in only one colour; a black- and-white, amber-and-black, or green-and-black monitor. Mouse ----- A small device you move around on a flat surface next to your computer. The mouse controls a pointer on the screen whose movements correspond to those of the mouse. You use the pointer to select operations, to move data, and to draw with in graphics programs. Mouse based Application ----------------------- An application that accepts input from a mouse, as compared with a keyboard-based application. Mouse Buttons ------------- The buttons on the top of the mouse. In general, pressing the left mouse button initiates some action on whatever is under the pointer, and releasing the button confirms the action. Pressing the right mouse button displays the menu on the title bar. Compare button. Multitasking ------------ A process that allows a computer to perform two or more tasks during a given period of time; it is accomplished by alternating the actions of the computer between tasks. The method by which operating systems, such as Workbench, allow the user to open and run several applications at the same time. NotePad ------- A desk utility that allows you to enter and edit small amounts of text while working on another file. NTSC ---- (1) Abbreviation for National Television Standards Committee, which defined the standard format used for transmitting broadcast video signals in the United States. (2) The standard video format defined by the NTSC, also called composite because it combines all the video information, including colour, into a single signal. Numeric Keyboard ---------------- A calculator-style keypad, either built-in or peripheral, that you can use to type numbers. The layout of numbers on the keypad makes it easier and faster to use than the regular keyboard. Some application programs designate the keys of a numeric keypad as special function keys. See also keyboard. on-line help ------------ Assistance you can get from an application program while it's running; for example, Home Accounts2's disk-based Help system. PAGE 182 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Open ---- To make available. You open files in order to work with them. A file may not be read from or written to until it is open. In the desktop interface, opening an icon causes a window with the contents of that icon to come into view. You may then perform further actions in the window when it's active. Open File --------- A file with an access path. Open files can be read from and written to. Operating System ---------------- (1) A program that organi~es the actions of the parts of the computer and its peripheral devices. (2) Low-level software that controls a computer by performing such basic tasks such as input/output, memory management, and interrupt handling. See also disk operating system. Option ------ Something chosen or available as a choice; for instance, one of several check box or radio button options. Output ------ (n.) Information transferred from a computer to some external destination, such as the display screen, a disk drive, a printer, or a modem. (v.) To transfer information in such a way. Override -------- To modify or cancel an instruction by issuing another one. For example, you might override a DIP switch setting on a printer with an escape sequence. overscan -------- Special screen mode used by the Amiga where the picture has no visible borders, filling the entire monitor screen display. Page ---- (1) The text and/or graphics that fits on a sheet of paper when printed, depending on the page format. (2) A screenful of information on a video display. In the Amiga family of computers, a page consists of 24 lines of 40 or 80 characters each. (3) (usually Page) An area of main memory containing text or graphic information being displayed on the screen. (4) A segment of main memory 256 bytes long and beginning at an address that is an even multiple of 256. Memory blocks whose starting addresses are an even multiple of 256 are said to be page-aligned. PAL/SECAM --------- TV system in use in the UK and Europe. Gives 256 or 512 lines on a full screen. 312 or 625 lines in overscan mode. Palette ------- The full set of colours available for an individual screen pixel. The Amiga has 4096 colours, shades and intensities from which to choose. Parent ------ For a given file or directory, the directory immediately above it in the tree. PAGE 183 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Partition --------- (n) A portion of a memory device--such as a hard disk or tape--that is treated like a device itself. For example, if you select the 50% partition scheme provided by Amiga HD SC Setup, your Amiga volume, will take up about half your hard disk. (v) To create partitions. Password -------- (1) A secret word that gives you, but no one else, access to your data or to messages sent to you through an information service. Pathname -------- The complete name of a file beginning with the name of the disk (also called the volume name), the name of the subdirectory it's in (if it's in one), and the name of the file. The pathname begins with a slash, and the parts of the pathname are separated by slashes. It's called a pathname because it describes the route to the file. Compare filename. Peripheral ---------- (adj.) At or outside the boundaries of the computer itself, either physically (as a peripheral device) or logically (as a peripheral card). (n.) Short for peripheral device. Pointer ------- (1) A small shape on the screen that follows the movement of the mouse or shows where your next action will take place. The pointer can be an arrow, an I-beam, a crossbar, or a stopwatch. Prefix ------ (1) The first part of a pathname--the name of the disk and, if you like, the name of a subdirectory. Applications that ask you to type a pathname usually let you set a prefix so you don't have to type the complete pathname every time you want to work with a file on a particular disk or in a particular subdirectory. Once the prefix is set, all you do is type the rest of the pathname. (2) A designation for a place that an application can store files. Many applications require the prefix to be the same as the pathname. Some applications allow you to set the prefix from within the application. Press ----- (1 ) To position the pointer on something on the screen and then hold down the mouse button without moving the mouse. (2) To push a key down and then release it; you hold a key down only if you want to repeat a character or if you are using a modifier key with another key. Printer ------- A device that produces a paper copy of the text or graphics you create using your computer. Printer command --------------- One or more characters sent to the printer to control some function, such as turning boldface printing on or off, or to cause some action, such as a line feed. PAGE 184 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Printer Driver -------------- A program that controls the exchange of information between a printer and the computer. You must have a separate printer driver for each type of printer that you want to use. Program ------- (n.) (1) A set of instructions describing actions for a computer to perform to accomplish some task, conforming to the rules and conventions of a particular programming language. (2) A file containing coded instructions to the computer. A compiled program is a file first created in source code and then transformed by the compiler into object code. A shell program is a text file that does not need to be compiled, because it is interpreted by the shell. (v.) To write a program. Program Disk ------------ A disk that contains a self-starting application program. Project Menu ------------ A menu in mouse-based applications that lists commands that affect whole file--commands like Save, Print, and Quit. Prompt ------ A message on the screen that tells you of some need for response or action. A prompt is usually in the form of a symbol, a message, a requester, or a menu of choices. Prompt line ----------- A specific area on the display reserved for a prompt. Pull-down menu -------------- A menu that is hidden until you press the right mouse button and move the pointer to its title. QWERTY Keyboard --------------- The standard layout of keys on a typewriter keyboard; named for the first six letters on the top row of letter keys. RAM --- See random-access memory. random access memory (RAM) --------------------------- The part of the computer's memory that stores information temporarily while you're working on it. A computer with 512K RAM has 512 kilobytes of memory available to the user. Information in RAM can be referred to in an arbitrary or random order, hence the term random-access. (As an analogy, a book is a random-access storage device in that it can be opened and read at any point.) RAM can contain both application programs and your own information. Information in RAM is temporary, gone forever if you switch the power off without saving it on a disk or other storage medium. An exception is the battery RAM, which stores settings such as the time and which is powered by a battery. (Technically, the read-only memory (ROM) is also random access, and what's called RAM should correctly be termed read-write memory.) Compare read-only memory. PAGE 185 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read ---- To transfer information into the computer's memory from a source outside the computer (such as a disk drive or modem) or into the computer's processor from a source external to the processor (such as the keyboard or main memory). Read me Document ---------------- A plain text document that is included on application and system software disks and provides you with late-breaking information about the product. Read Only memory (ROM) ---------------------- Memory whose contents can be read but not changed; used for storing firmware. Information is placed into read-only memory once, during manufacture. It remains there permanently, even when the computer's power is turned off. Compare random-access memory. Reconciled ---------- In Home Accounts2, this refers to any money transaction which you know has been processed. For example, if you paid for something by credit card, the transaction is considered Reconciled when the money has been transferred out of your account. (Normally you would only know this when you receive your statement and the transaction appears on it.) By differentiating between Reconciled and Unreconciled transactions, Home Accounts2 can provide you with both up-to-date account balances, and actual balances to match the statements you receive. Compare Unreconciled. Regular Transaction ------------------- In Home Accounts2, this refers to a money transaction which occurs regularly. For example, standing order to pay off a loan, a monthly mortgage payment. Requester --------- (1) A box that contains a message requesting more information from you. Sometimes the message warns you that you're asking your computer to do something it can't do or that you're about to destroy some of your information. In these cases, the message is often accompanied by a beep. (2) A box that an Amiga application displays to request information or to report that it is waiting for a process to complete. Reset ----- To restore all the default settings for a device with one action or command. Resolution ---------- The degree of clarity of your display. A monitor has better resolution than a television set used as a monitor. Resolution is usually specified in dots per inch (dpi). The higher the value, the finer the detail of the image. PAGE 187 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return key ---------- A key that causes the cursor or insertion point to move to the beginning of the next line. It's also used in some cases to confirm a command. Right Amiga key --------------- A modifier key that gives a different meaning or action to another key you press or to mouse actions you perform. ROM --- See read-only memory. Root ---- (1) Short for root directory. (2) Short for root user; the user with unlimited system privileges. Also called the superuser. Root directory -------------- The directory at the base of a file catalogue. Written as a slash ( / ), it is the first element in every absolute pathname. Routine ------- A part of a program that accomplishes some task subordinate to the overall task of the program. Run --- (1) To execute a program. When a program runs, the computer performs the instructions. (2) To load a program into main memory from a peripheral storage medium, such as a disk, and execute it. Save ---- To store information by transferring it from main memory to a disk. Work not saved disappears when you switch off the computer or when the power is interrupted. Screen ------ The part of the monitor where information is displayed. Like a movie screen, it's the place where things are projected. Also called the display screen. Scroll Arrow ------------ An arrow at either end of a scroll bar. Clicking a scroll arrow moves a document or directory one line. Pressing a scroll arrow moves a document continuously. Scroll Bar ---------- A rectangular bar that may be along the right or bottom of a window. Clicking or dragging in the scroll bar causes your view of the document to change. Scroll Box ---------- The white box in a scroll bar. The position of the scroll box in the scroll bar indicates the position of what's in the window relative to the entire document. Select ------ (v.) To designate where the next action will take place. To select using a mouse, you click an icon or drag across information. In some applications, you can select items in menus by typing a letter or number at a prompt, by using a combination keypress, or by using arrow keys. (n.) A command to a device such as a printer to place it into a condition to receive data. PAGE 187 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selection --------- (1) The information or items that will be affected by the next command. The selection is usually highlighted. (2) A series of characters, or a character position, at which the next editing operation will occur. Selected characters in the active window are inversely highlighted. Also called selection range. Shell ----- A program contained in Workbench which allows users to enter commands directly using the keyboard, by-passing the desktop. On the Amiga this is called the CLI. Shift-Click ----------- A technique that allows you to extend or shorten a selection by positioning the pointer at the end of what you want to select and holding down the Shift key while clicking the mouse button. Shift Key --------- A key that, when pressed, causes the subsequent letter you type to appear in uppercase or the top symbol on a two- character key to be produced. The Shift key can also modify mouse actions. See Shift-click. Size box -------- A box in the lower-right corner of some windows. Dragging the size box resizes the window. Small Computer System Interface ------------------------------- A specification of mechanical, electrical, and functional standards for connecting peripheral devices such as certain kinds of hard disks, printers, and optical disks to small computers. Software -------- A collective term for programs, the instructions that tell the computer what to do. Software is usually stored on disks. Compare hardware. Space bar --------- The long, unlabelled bar along the bottom of the keyboard that you press to generate a space character. Start up -------- To get the system running. Starting up is the process of first reading an operating-system program from the disk and then running an application program. Synonymous with boot. Startup disk ------------ A disk with all the necessary program files--such as the Workbench for the Amiga--to set the computer into operation. Sometimes called a boot disk. subdirectory ------------ A directory within a directory; a file (other than the volume directory or root directory) that contains the names and locations of other files. Equivalent to drawer in some systems and applications. syntax ------ The rules governing the structure of statements or instructions in a language. PAGE 188 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Syntax error message -------------------- A message you get when the computer can't understand a command. The cause could be anything from mistyping a word to using a nonexistent command. system ------ A coordinated collection of interrelated and interacting parts organised to perform some function or achieve some purpose--for example, a computer system comprising a processor, keyboard, monitor, and disk drive. Text box -------- A small box associated with an option in a requester. When you click in the box, you may edit the value. Text file --------- A file that contains information stored in the form of readable characters encoded using the ASCII format. On the Amiga, they are known as Text Only documents. Title Bar --------- The horizontal bar at the top of a window that shows the name of the window's contents. You can move the window by dragging the title bar. Toggle Option ------------- A setting that may be turned on or off. Total Amount Payable -------------------- This is an amount expressed on a Consumer Credit Agreement Form. It is made up of the total charge for credit plus the amount of the loan itself. Total Charge for Credit ----------------------- This is an amount expressed on a Consumer Credit Agreement Form. It shows the total charges to must pay under that agreement and consists of the interest payable, together with all fees.. Trashcan -------- An icon on the desktop that you use to discard files, drawers, and applications. Type ---- In Home Accounts2. this refers to the groups into which you allocate your income and expenditure. For example, you probably want to analyse your spending over different headings, such as Food, Petrol, Housekeeping. Unreconciled ------------ Unreconciled In Home Accounts2, this refers to any money transaction for which you have not received confirmation that it has been processed. For example, you may have written a cheque for something, but it has not yet gone through to your bank account. Compare Reconciled. User Interface -------------- user interface The rules and conventions by which a computer system communicates with the person operating it. PAGE 189 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version ------- A number indicating the release edition of a particular piece of software. Version numbers for most software are available through the Project-About option. Virus ----- A program which is stored in the boot section of a disk and affects your computer system This can vary from harmless screen effects to a system crash. wildcard characters ------------------- A character that may be used as shorthand to represent a sequence of characters in a pathname. A common wildcard characters is the asterisk (~). WIMP ---- Acronym for Windows, Icons, Mice (or Menus) and Pointers (or Pull-downs). The specific characteristics of a GUI and many modern application interfaces. window ------ (1) The area that displays information on a desktop; you view a file through a window. You can open or close a window, move it around on the desktop, and sometimes change its size, scroll through it, and edit its contents. (2) The portion of a collection of information (such as a file, picture, or worksheet) that is visible in a viewport on the display screen. Each window is internally represented in a window record. Workbench --------- The Amiga's desktop where applications can be opened and files and disks copied. Write ----- To transfer information from the computer to a destination external to the computer (such as a disk drive, printer, or modem) or from the computer's processor to a destination external to the processor (such as main memory). PAGE 190 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX ~~~~~ ~~~~~ About Home Accounts2 command 115 Account adding 35,125 amending 127 balance 61,139 code 35,125 deleting 127 icons 102 statement report 71,147 summary report 147 Type 39,147 warning limits 35,125 Active window 66,109 Add command Account 35,125 Budget 46,130 Investment 66,132 Manual transaction 52,121 Marker 128 Notepad 39, 110 Regular transaction 42,128 Type 39,127 VAT 133 Alert boxes 32,108 Amend command Account 127 Budget 130 Investment 132 Manual transaction 121 Marker 128 Notepad 110 Regular transaction 128 Type 127 VAT 133 Amiga Printer Preferences 70 Arrange windows command 66,143 Arrow keys 107,163 ASCII text format 165 Assets 153 Auto balance again command 63,140 Auto balance command 63,139 Autosave--see "General preferences" backup--see "General preferences" Bank Account icon 103 Bottom margin--see "Printer preferences" Budget adding 46, 130 amending 130 calculator 131 checklist 80 deleting 130 icon 102 progress report 151 Calculator Budget 131 icon 102 interest 51, 155 normal 50, 155 Cash Account icon 103 Changing colour 143 date 29, 156 display 142 password 135 preferences 75, 141 printers 70 Check boxes 107 Clean up desktop command 143 Clear comparatives command 120 CLI 157 Clock--see "General preferences" Close file---see saving Colour display cocktail palettes 143 graphics 144 preferences 75, 143 printing--see "Printer preferences" Command check boxes 107 choosing from menus 101 keyboard shortcuts 163 radio buttons 107 text entry boxes 106 toggle boxes 107 Comparatives clear 120 open 119 Configure report body 146 footer 144 header 144 Confirm deletes--see "General preferences" Conventions used in this book 15 Copyright ii Creating a new file 30,115 Credit card Account icon 102 Current date 29, 156 time 29, 156 Cycle buttons 107 Date changing 156 format--see "General preferences" Default preferences 75,141 Delete Account 127 Budget 121, 130 confirm--see "General preferences" Manual transaction 121 Regular transaction 121,128 text 107 Type 121, 127 VAT 121, 133 Deluxe Paint, graphics file format, saving 144 Desktop clock see "General preferences" icons 70, 102 menu bar 101 scroll arrows 109 scroll bars 109 Trashcan 104 Direction keys--see arrow keys Directory 176 Disk installing Home Accounts2 21 Distinctly Digita, colour palette 143 Drawers 177 Editing Account 127 boxes 106, 163 Budget 121, 130 Investment 121, 132 Manual transaction 121 Marker 121, 128 Notepad 110, 121 Regular transaction 121,128 Type 121, 127 VAT 121, 133 windows 66, 110 Edit boxes 29,106,163 Edit menu add 121 amend 121 delete 121 find 122 find again 124 find and replace 124 sort 122 Empty trashcan automatic--see "General preferences" manual 105 Entering transactions 52 Erasing Account 127 Budget 121, 130 confirm--see "General preferences" Investment 121, 132 Manual transaction 121 Marker 121, 128 Regular transaction 121,128 Type 121, 127 VAT 121, 133 File autosave see "General preferences" naming 30, 116 open 30, 115 open comparatives 119 print 69, 144 save 46, 116 save as 46,117 selector 31, 111 start year 30,115 File formats ASCII 165 IFF 165 Home Accounts 165 Home Accounts2 (normal) 116 Find find 59, 122 find again 59,124 find and replace 60,124 Footer, configuring 144 Function keys 65,135 General preferences automatically empty autosave 141 backup files 142 colours 142 confirm deletes 141 date format 142 default drawer 142 desktop clock 141 resolution 142 screen saver 141 VAT registered 142 Graphics creating 72, 144 exporting 144 palette 143 printing 144 Header, configuring 144 Help command 33, 154 icon 33, 102 key 33, 154 on-line 33, 154 High-resolution mode 142,179 Highlight 29, 106 Home Accounts format, loading 165 Home Accounts2 disk, personalising 22 files, opening and saving 46,115 installing 21 starting 22 Hot-line support 202 Human Interface Protocol (HIP) 179 Icon preferences change title 142 show/hide 142 snap to grid 142 Icons bank Account 102 Budget 102 calculator 50, 102 cash Account 103 credit card Account 103 help 33, 102 Marker 102 printer 102 Regular transaction 102 savings Account 103 tax (VAT) 103 Trashcan 104 Types 102 lFF graphics, saving 165 Income and expenditure report 150 Installing Home Accounts2 21 Interest calculator 51,155 Investments 66, 132 Keyboard choosing menu commands 101 combinations 163 hot keys 163 shortcuts 163 Learning Home Accounts2 13 Leaving Home Accounts2 120 Left margin--see "Printer preferences" Liabilities 153 License number 22,203 List boxes 108 Load comparatives 119 files 115 Home Accounts files 165 Machine requirements 14 Manual transaction general 52 icon 102 report 144 Markers general 128 icon 102 report 147 Medium-resolution mode 142,179 Memory and Home Accounts2 161 how Home Accounts2 uses 162 what is memory? 161 Menu bar 101 commands 101 keyboard shortcuts 163 Menu commands 101 Mouse 101 Multiple windows 66,109 Multitasking 182 Naming files 30,117 Net worth report 153 New command 30,115 Notepad 39, 110 On-line help 33,154 Open comparatives 119 files 115 Home Accounts files 165 Workbench 157 Open a New Shell command 157 Options menu arrange windows 67,143 clean up desktop 143 empty trashcan 104,143 preferences 75, 141 Page--see "Printer preferences" Palette 143 Paper type continuous 143 cut sheet 143 Password 135 Playtime command 157 Portfolio report 153 Preferences changing 75, 141 colour--see "Colour preference~" general see "General preferences" icon--see "Icon preferences" printer--see "Printer preferences" Preparing to use Home Accounts2 20 Printer icon 102 preferences spooler--see "Printer preferences" Printer preferences Amiga preferences 70 bottom margin 142 colour 142 left margin 143 page length 142 page width 143 paper type 143 report body 146 report footer 144 report header 144 spooler buffer size 142 top margin 143 Product registration card 203 Product support 202 Project menu about 115 clear comparatives 120 delete 118 new 30, 115 open 115 open comparatives 119 quit 120 save 46, 116 saveas 117 Quickstart 25 Quitting Home Accounts2 120 Radio buttons 107 Random-access memory (RAM) 161 READ.ME file 20 Reconcile command 61,139 Reconciled transaction 61,139 Registration card 218 Regular transactions general 42, 128 icon 102 report 147 Report menu Account statement report 147 Account summary report 147 Budget report 147 Budget progress report 151 income and expenditure report 150 Markers report 147 net worth report 153 portfolio report 153 Regular transactions report 147 Types report 147 VAT codes report 147 VAT report 152 Reports body 146 footer 144 header 144 Requesters check box 107 editing 107 list box 108 radio button 107 text box 106 toggle button 107 Saving ASCII files 165 autosave--see "General preferences" backups--see "General preferences" default 165 format 165 Home Accounts2 (normal) 46,117 IFF 165 Save as command 46,117 Save command 46,116 Savings Account icon 103 Screen display icons 68, 102 menu bar 101 scroll arrows 109 scroll bars 109 Trashcan 104 Screen mode colours 143 high-resolution 142 medium-resolution 142 Screen saver 141 Scroll arrow 109 bar 109 box 108 Searching--see Find Set date time command 29,156 Set defaults command 63,136 Set up Accounts 35, 125 Budgets 46, 130 Home Accounts2 91 income and expenditure Types 39,127 investments 66, 132 menu 125 preferences 75, 141 printer 69, 142 Regular transactions 42,128 transaction defaults 136 transaction window display headers 58,134 Set up menu add Account 35,125 amend Account 127 Budget 46, 130 delete Account 127 function keys 65,135 investments 66, 132 password 135 Regular transactions 42,128 transaction Markers 128 transaction Types 39,127 VAT code 133 window headers 58,134 Shell 157 Sort Budget 122 command 122 Investment 122 Manual transaction 122 Marker 122 Regular transaction 122 Type 122 Splitting transactions 138 Spooler size--see "Printer preferences" Starting financial year 30,115 Home Accounts2 22 System menu calculator 50, 155 help 33, 154 interest calculator 51,155 open a new shell 157 playtime 157 set date time 29,156 Workbench open 157 Tax code 90, 133 general 90 icon 103 report 152 switching on--see "General preferences" Terminology used in this book 16 Terms and conditions of sale 200 Time, changing 29,156 To start Home Accounts2 22 Top margin--see "Printer preferences" Trans menu add or amend 52,137 auto balance again 61,140 auto balance 61,139 reconcile 61, 139 set defaults 63,136 Transaction adding 52, 121 amending 121 defaults 63, 136 deleting 121 icons 102 Markers 128 Manual 52, 121 reconciling 61, 136 Regular 42, 128 reports 71, 144 sort 121 splitting 138 Type 39, 128 Trashcan automatically empty--see "General preferences" full 105 icon 104 recovering contents 104 Troubleshooting 166 Tutorial 29 Types general 39,127, 138 icon 102 report 147 Unreconciled transaction 61,139 Using Home Accounts2 90 VAT--see tax Version number 115 Wildcard character 123 Window arranging 66, 143 scrolling 164 setting headers 58,134 Workbench Open command 157 -=- THE END -=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- GREETS TO THE WORLDS BEST DOC TYPERS AND FIXERS (IN NO SPECIFIC ORDER) - PAZZA AND SIDEWINDER/LSD, SCOOTER/SKID ROW, MR.SCARFACE/EVERYONE!, BRYNN ROGERS OF -THG- AMD RYGAR (IT'S HISTORY OK MATE ??). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NOW CALL THE ALLIANCE HQ: UNKNOWN PLEASURES : +44 (0) 823 322 891. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ OR TRY ONE OF THESE OTHER KEWL BOARDS THAT OBVIOUSLY GOT THIS FILE BEFORE YOU DID !!! .............................................................