Loadstar 25/025.d81/t.file cabinet 1

Text File | 1986-01-01 | 6.5 KB | 438 lines

            FILE CABINET
                by
          D. J. B. Shibley


  Yes, we know your New Year's

resolution.  It was the same as ours.

This was going to be the year that

you finally got ORGANIZED.  The year

that you got your ducks all in a row.

The year that your rolodex stopped

being a collection of initials and

phone numbers scribbled on Juicy Fruit

wrappers.


  Look around.  It's almost summer.

Have your goals brought order to

chaos?  Or have they slunk off to

where old diets go to die?


  Well, there are no more excuses--

LOADSTAR brings you FILE CABINET, the

perfect database to organize every

thing from your stamp collection to

your favorite addresses.


FIRST THINGS FIRST....


  FILE CABINET can be used to store an

unlimited number of files on different

disks, but before you start creating

new files, you must have an

initialized disk-- which you will

learn how to make when we discuss the

COMMAND ENTRY option of the MAIN MENU.


  Some other points.... Shibley has

included two sample files, PHONE and

ALBUMS, for you to practice using

FILE CABINET.  Also, remember to

press RETURN when you wish to enter

file and field names.


     *** MAIN MENU OPTIONS ***


NEW FILE

  Choosing the NEW FILE option allows

you to set up the parameters of the

new file.  The program first asks you

to enter the filename, which may be

up to sixteen characters long.  Then

you are asked to enter the number of

fields-- variables like names, zip

codes, and addresses that you want to

keep track of.  You may have up to

eight separate fields.


  The program then prompts you to

enter the field names, which may be

up to eight characters long.  If you

do not enter a field name, the program

will assign you one.


  Here is an example of what you

would enter if you were keeping track

of phone numbers:


Filename: PHONE
# Of Fields: 4
Field 1: NAME
Field 2: STREET
Field 3: CITY/ZIP
Field 4: PHONE#


  Pressing RETURN after each entry

moves the cursor to the next field.

Once you have established the fields,

you then set up your initial records.

After you have completed entering

records, pressing RETURN for each

field in a record will take you to

the FILE MENU, whose options will be

discussed later.


NOTE: You may have a maximum of

thirty files on one disk.


            * * * * *


  All of your files need not take the

same format as PHONE; you may also

set up VARIABLE FILES.  Variable

files have only one field, but can

have up to ten entries per field.


  ALBUMS is an example of a variable

file.  The author wanted to start a

file of record albums to be listed by

group.  He named the field ALBUMS,

then chose "1" as the number of

fields.  VARIABLE FILES MUST HAVE ONLY

ONE FIELD.


  The author named the field *ARTIST;

the "*" in front of the field name

tells the program that this is a

variable file.  Then the author

entered his artists' names, then their

albums.


  You may set up your own variable

files in the same manner.  If you

have less than ten entries for a

particular record, merely press RETURN

on a blank line to move on to the

next record.

            * * * * *


EXISTING FILE


  Once you have created a file, this

option allows you to manipulate the

data within it.  When you choose this

option, you are first prompted to

enter the complete filename.  After

you have entered the filename, you

will see the FILE MENU screen.


DISPLAY DISK


  This options lists all of the

filenames of the disk currently in

your drive.


COMMAND ENTRY


  The COMMAND ENTRY option of the

MAIN MENU has a number of options

that allow you to manipulate your

data files-- initialize disk, copy

files, etc. These options will be

discussed in detail later on.


    *** FILE MENU OPTIONS ***


DISPLAY


  The DISPLAY option allows you to

index any record in the file you are

working with.  For example, if you

wanted to view a record in the PHONE

file, you would enter it's filename

when prompted.  The program would then

display the file's fields.  An entry

in any of the fields will display the

record you are looking for.


  For example, if you entered PHONE,

fields like NAME and STREET would be

displayed.  Then, entering JOHNSON

in the name field would access the

record for Bill Johnson.


  If you do not know the entry for

that record's NAME, pressing RETURN

will move the cursor to the NUMBER

field, allowing you to access the

record with the phone number.  You do

not have to enter the full name to

access a record; the program will

display the first match it finds.


  You may also "scroll" through the

records by entering single letters

until you get a match.  Once you get a

match, pressing RETURN repeatedly will

display the records.  To exit the

records, press N for NEXT.  This

will send you to a blank record

screen.  Entering nothing in each

field (pressing RETURN repeatedly)

will return you to the FILE MENU.


ADD RECORDS


  This option allows you to add a

new record to a file, entering it as

you did the records in the NEW FILE

option.  At the upper right hand

corner of the screen is total number

of records in that file.  The number

may not exceed 200.  Pressing RETURN

for each field of a record, again,

will return you to the FILE MENU.


EDIT RECORDS


  This option allows you to make

changes to existing records after

you have accessed them.  Once the

record you want to alter is displayed,

you may use the DELETE key to move the

cursor to the left hand margin and

then type in the new entry.  Once you

have made the changes, you may

return to the FILE MENU as you have in

other options.


DELETE A RECORD


  This option will eliminate an

entire record from the file you are

working on.  After you have accessed

the record, you will be asked if this

is indeed the record you want to

erase.  Respond with either (Y)es or

(N)o. If you answer "no", the program

will continue to search for another

match and restate the question if one

is found.


PRINT


  To use this option, you must have a

printer attached and ready to run.

The program will print the entire

file in the order in which it was

entered (unless you have performed a

sort by using an option from the

COMMAND ENTRY option.)  You may also

alter the format of the printout by

using the SET PRINT command that will

be discussed later.



EXIT FILE


  This option exits to the MAIN MENU.

Pressing RUN/STOP will also exit.  If

you have altered the file, you will

be asked if you wish to save those

changes; respond with (Y)es or (N)o.

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