═══ 1. Overview ═══ Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 is a personal home inventory program. It's capable of keeping track of individual items by serial number, purchase price, replacement cost, date of purchase, place of purchase, manufacturer, warranty, insurance company insured with, and policy number. There is a comments field which allows you to give verbose description of the item, and there is a "hook" for a best of breed picture viewer (not provided, but any Presentation Manager viewer should work if it accepts command line arguements). The picture viewer can be useful to view scanned-in images of the item for safekeeping. It will allow you to group your possessions into categories such as electronics, antiques (pictures can be especially useful here), etc. This program should assist you determining the amount of insurance coverage you need (by making you think about what you own), and it should aid in gathering critical information should a catastrophic disaster occur. It can also be used to keep track of warranty information for your purchases (did that 1GB hardrive have a 1 year or 5 year warranty?). Nonetheless, it should be useful in tracking your possessions. However, Please, keep copies of both the program and data, including pictures, at 2 or more trusted OFFSITE locations. It just wouldn't due for a fire to destroy your property (including your records) and have no way of accounting for it, or to have a burglar steal your computer (with your only copy of your inventory on it). Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 is provided "as is" without any warranties (or conditions), expressed or implied with respect to the software, including the implied warranties (or conditions) of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk arising out of use or performance of the program remains with you. In no event will the copyright holder be liable for any lost profits, lost savings, incidental or indirect damages or other economic consequential damages, even if I have been advised of the possibility of such damages. In addition, I will not be liable for any damages claimed by you based on any third party claim. ═══ 2. Tips for using Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 ═══ o Please make backup copies of both the program and data (including picture files) and store them at 2 trusted OFFSITE (close friend, safe deposit box, etc) locations to ensure that you have the information when you need it (fire or theft destroys or eliminates computer data!). o To copy data into the clipboard (COPY) Highlight the data to be copied and press o To copy data from the clipboard (PASTE) Click on the region where the data is to be pasted and press ═══ 3. Icon Bar ═══ Open a database Save current database to disk Add a record Delete a record Change a record Search for something Repeat search (up) Repeat search (down) View a photo Print highlighted record Copy highlighted record to clipboard Show total price and replacement cost of assets Help ═══ 4. File ═══ The File menu contains commands that allow you to create, open, and save data files. The following commands appear in the File menu: New Creates a new untitled file Open Opens an existing file Import Brings data into Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 from an external source Export Transfers data out of Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 into another format Save Saves any changes to the current file Save As Saves the current file under a different title Quit Exits Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 ═══ 4.1. File New ═══ You can create a new inventory database by using the File New command. To create a new inventory database, do the following: o Select the File menu item and choose the New command. The word "Untitled" will then appear in the title bar of the Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 window. ═══ 4.2. File Open ═══ You can open an inventory database that exists on any drive in any directory by using the File Open command. To open a file, do the following: 1. Select the File menu item and choose the Open command. 2. A dialog box will then appear showing you a list of files in the current directory. 3. Select the file to be opened by clicking on the appropriate directory and file names. ═══ 4.3. File Save ═══ You use the File Save command to save changes you've made to your inventory database. To save changes to the current file, do the following: o Select the File menu item and choose the Save command. ═══ 4.4. File Save As ═══ You use the File Save As command to name and save your database in a new file. To do this, perform the following: 1. Select the File menu item and choose the Save As command. 2. A dialog box will then appear showing you a list of files in the current directory. 3. Select the appropriate directory folder and then type in the new file name. ═══ 4.5. Quit ═══ To exit Personal Inventory Gatherer/2, do the following: o Double Click on the Icon in the upper left-hand corner of the Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 screen. o Or, Select File Quit from the menu bar. ═══ Help for Open ═══ ═══ Help for Open ═══ 1. Select the down arrow to the right of the Drive list to display all the drives on your system. 2. Select a drive from the Drive list. 3. Select a directory from the Directory list. 4. Select a file name from the File list or type in a file name and select the Open pushbutton to display the file you want to edit. For specific help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Open pushbutton ═══ Help for File name ═══ ═══ Help for File name ═══ Type the name of the file you want to open in the File name field and select the Open pushbutton. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Open pushbutton General help ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ Select the down arrow to the right of the Type of file field to display the available file types. The sample has set this field for all file types. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Drive ═══ ═══ Help for Drive ═══ The Drive list displays the drives on your system. Select the drive that contains the files you want to edit. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for File ═══ ═══ Help for File ═══ The File list displays all the files in the directory you selected from the Directory list. Select the file you want to open. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Directory ═══ ═══ Help for Directory ═══ The Directory list displays the directories on the selected drive. Select a directory to display the list of files from that directory in the File list box. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Open ═══ ═══ Help for Open ═══ Select the Open pushbutton to display the file you want to edit. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Save ═══ Use Save to store the file you are editing. After the file is saved, the text remains in the window so that you can continue editing it. Note: If you are editing a new file, select the Save or Save as choices to display the Save as pop-up so that you can name the file you are editing. A file must have a title to be saved. ═══ Help for Save as ═══ Use Save as to name and save a new file or to save an existing file under a different name, in a different directory, or on a different disk. ═══ Help for Save as ═══ ═══ Help for Save as ═══ 1. Select the down arrow to the right of the Drive list to display all the drives on your system. 2. Select a drive from the Drive list. 3. Select a directory from the Directory list. 4. Type the name of the file you want to save in the File name field and select the Save pushbutton. For specific help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Save pushbutton ═══ Help for File name ═══ ═══ Help for File name ═══ Type the name of the file you want to save in the File name field and select the Save pushbutton. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Save pushbutton General help ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ Select the down arrow to the right of the Type of file field to display the available file types. The sample has set this field for all file types. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Drive ═══ ═══ Help for Drive ═══ The Drive list displays the drives on your system. Select the drive that contains the files you want to save. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for File ═══ ═══ Help for File ═══ The File list displays all the files in the directory you selected from the Directory list. Select the file you want to rename and save. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Directory ═══ ═══ Help for Directory ═══ The Directory list displays the directories on the selected drive. Select a directory to display the list of files from that directory in the File list box. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Save ═══ ═══ Help for Save ═══ Select the Save pushbutton to save the file to the drive and directory you selected and with the file name you specified. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ 5. Update ═══ The Update menu has commands which allow you to create new records, delete unneeded records, and change existing records. The following commands appear in the Update menu: Add a record Creates a new entry in the database Delete a record Removes an unneeded entry in the database Change a record Changes an existing record in the database ═══ 6. Add a record ═══ You can create a new entry in the database by using Add a record. To do so, perform the following steps: 1. Select the Update menu item and choose the Add a record command. 2. Fill-in the record as appropriate 3. Select whatever group the person is a member of. 4. Press Add to update the database or press Cancel to abort the procedure. 5. If you do not want the data which is selected in any of the pull-down entry fields simply press the key while it is highlighted. 6. You may continue adding records until all items are entered, press Add after you have entered the data for each record (including the last) and then press Cancel to take you back to the main menu. ═══ 7. Delete a record ═══ You can permanently remove an entry from the database by using Delete a record. To do so, perform the following steps: 1. Select the record you wish to delete by highlighting it with the horizontal scroll bar. 2. Select the Update menu item and choose the Delete a record command. Warning: Once a record is deleted there is no method of retrieving it. ═══ 8. Change a record ═══ You can change the contents of a record by using the Change a record command. To do so, perform the following steps: 1. Select the record you wish to change by highlighting it with the horizontal scroll bar. 2. Select the Update menu item and choose the Update a record command. 3. Change the data as appropriate 4. If you do not want the data which is selected in any of the pull-down entry fields simply press the key while it is highlighted. 5. Press Change to update the database or press Cancel to abort the procedure. 6. You may continue changing records until you have made all desired changes, press Change after each record is changed (including the last) and then press Cancel to take you back to the main menu. ═══ 9. Search ═══ The Search menu has commands which allow you to locate a record which has as any field or substring within any field the string specified. Find Specify a substring to search for, and locate the next occurance within the database. Find Prev Locate the substring specified by the Find command closest to the current pointer in the reverse direction. Find Next Locate the substring specified by the Find command closest to the current pointer in the forwards direction. Find First Locate the first occurance in the database of the substring specified by the Find command. Find Last Locate the last occurance in the database of the substring specified by the Find command. ═══ 10. Find ═══ Specify a substring to search for, and locate the next occurance within the database. o The substring is initially set to a blank value on program initiation, however, once it is entered the program will remember that value until it is either changed or the program is terminated. o The default value for searches is case insensitive, for example the search string abc will match the string This is a test of our ABC's. o Case sensitive searches may be turned on by placing a check mark in the Case Sensitive block. In this case the prior example would NOT produce a match. o Only the group currently displayed on the screen is searched, data which does not belong to this group is not searched. o All records within a database entry are searched for a match, not just those displayed on the screen. Searches should not be made which span more than one record within a database entry, said searches will produce unreliable results. ═══ 11. Find Prev ═══ Locate the substring specified by the Find command closest to the current pointer in the reverse direction. ═══ 12. Find Next ═══ Locate the substring specified by the Find command closest to the current pointer in the forwards direction. ═══ 13. Find First ═══ Locate the first occurance in the database of the substring specified by the Find command. ═══ 14. Find Last ═══ Locate the last occurance in the database of the substring specified by the Find command. ═══ 15. Print ═══ The Print menu allows you to print either the currently highlighted entry or all entries in the currently displayed group. All Records Prints all records using specifications determined by the Setup Printing function. All Records to Clipboard Copies all records using specifications determined by Setup Printing function to the Clipboard where the data can be copied into other applications. Individual Record Prints the entry currently highlighted using specifications determined by the Setup Printing function to the printer. Individual Record to Clipboard Copies the entry currently highlighted using specifications determined by the Setup Printing function to the Clipboard where the data can be copied into other applications. ═══ 16. Print All Records ═══ Prints all records using specifications determined by the Setup Printing function. ═══ 17. Print All Records to Clipboard ═══ Copies all records using specifications determined by Setup Printing function to the Clipboard where the data can be copied into other applications. ═══ 18. Print Individual Record ═══ Prints the entry currently highlighted using specifications determined by the Setup Printing function to the printer. ═══ 19. Print Individual Record to Clipboard ═══ Copies the entry currently highlighted using specifications determined by the Setup Printing function to the Clipboard where the data can be copied into other applications. ═══ 20. Setup ═══ The Setup function is responsible for how information is displayed on the screen and how information is printed. Display Determine record types (and their sequence) displayed, set group names, and determine which group(s) is displayed. Printing Determine printing parameters and set printer port. Sort Order Determine display, printing, exporting order of the database. Photo Viewing Set photo viewing parameters and directory path for photo files Register Software Load key provided to registered users which enables telephone support and disables program termination messages. This feature is grayed-out once a key has been successfully loaded as it is no longer needed. Print Registration Form Print a registration form to be mailed in for payment for software. ═══ 21. Setup Display ═══ Determine field types displayed, set group names, and determine which group(s) is displayed. o Select the order that you wish to see a field displayed in the Display Sequence section. If you do not want a certain field displayed (such as Manufacturer) place a 0 by it and it will not be shown on screen. This is for the quick display view only, you may still use this field to hold data. It does not affect the data, searches upon the data, or printing. o The Printing/Viewing Categories section allows you to create separate, logical groups within the database for assigning people. These groups may have names such as Antiques, Electronics, or Appliances. Items may be assigned to zero or more (up to 5) groups for display. This feature is intended to help you keep your data organized, and to allow you to do mass printing for any one group. o The Group to View section allows you to specify which group is curently the active one for viewing. You may of course, select All to see all items regardless of their group membership. o In the event that you need more groups than 5, Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 fully recognizes the ability to have more than 1 database file. The database filename is of the format *.PIG with its associated configuration in the form *.cnf (please do not attempt to modify the *.cnf file with an editor, if it somehow becomes corrupted just delete it, you will lose no data, just your preference settings). o Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 remembers the last database you were working on the last time you were in the program, and opens the most recently used database the next time the program is run. To swap to a different database file use the File Open command to open a new database file. ═══ 22. Setup Printing ═══ This is an extemely powerful feature of Personal Inventory Gatherer/2. It enables you to print out a database on paper which has the field placement and size of your choosing. It does NO ERROR CHECKING. In order to get it right you will usually have to do this several times (don't get frustrated), this is because of its total flexibility which enables you complete control over your output. o The Line # column is used to establish multi-line records (or you can put just the fields you want on a single line). o The Column column is used to set where on each line you would like a specific field to begin printing, however it says nothing as to where a field ends (you must know your own data, this is what is sometimes frustrating). o If you do not want a specific field(s) printed, just leave a 0 in its Line # column, it will subsequently be ignored. o Lines Per Page establishes how many lines are on each page before a formfeed is sent to your printer. If you a blank page occassionally on your printer then reduce this number by 1, sometimes printers and software disagree on somethings... o Lines Between Records sets the number of blank lines printed between records when printed. o The Print Labels At Top option adds column titles at the top of each page. o The Autowrap Description feature is useful for when long descriptions are used. This option is recommended to be checked because it also better control over what is printed. o The port selection feature effects where everything is printed. Suggestions: o Setup Sort Order before you print, otherwise you could get some very wierd results in the order that things are printed. o Setup Display before you print and select the group for display, it will be the same one printed, else you might find that your printed book is missing some people. ═══ 23. Setup Sort Order ═══ Changing the sort order for your data is easily accomplished by selecting Setup Sort Order. In this window simply click on the the primary, secondary, and tertiary keys (that is the most important sort criteria to least important) in the window, and then select Accept. As an example, if you want to organize your good by Item, Serial Number, and Price select the following: o Select Item as your Primary key o Select Serial as your Secondary key o Select Price as your Tertiary key Normally, Item would be selected as the primary key, usually the other keys don't matter in this case because Items tend to be unique. ═══ 24. Setup Photo Viewing ═══ You can store and view photos of your goods in Personal Inventory Gatherer/2. Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 does NOT provide any multimedia tools, rather, it is MultiMedia Aware. What this means is that it relies on other applications to perform the task required. This also means a high degree of flexibility, you can choose the best of breed of the application you wish to use (be it sound or video), and Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 can feed that application the data to produce the desired effect. Only native OS/2 Presentation Manager applications can be spawned as a child process and used by this program for MultiMedia effects. The Video File Directory entry should contain the full pathname of the directory where pictures are stored, it may contain up to 255 characters. NOTE 1 If you use the Find button for this field you must click on a file name within the desired directory to select that directory. NOTE 2 When you specify the video file in the data entry/update screen it can only contain 32 characters. This limit does not apply to the directory, just the filename. This only works if the pathname is specified in the above fields. If it is not then you are limited to 32 characters total for the path and filename. Following this is a set of 4 entry fields which allow you to associate multimedia players with filename extensions. The extension should be exactly 3 characters and be something like BMP, ICO or other multimedia type. The full pathname of the player including the extension should be included to the left of the appropriate multimedia extension. The Full Pathname of the multimedia player may be 255 characters long. NOTE 3 If you use a single asterisk * in an extension field then all unrecognized file types will default to the viewer with the asterisk. This means that if you have an exceptionally good photo viewer which can view any type of file simply use that viewer and an asterisk in the extension field and it will work with all file types (that it can handle of course). ═══ 25. Setup Register Software ═══ Registration Data Setup is only used to register a paid user of Personal Inventory Gatherer/2. Once the software is registered the feature is grayed-out and no longer reachable. This is so you can't accidentally destroy your key. To register the software merely type in your name EXACTLY as written in the license provided and type in the checksum EXACTLY as written. Ensure there are no trailing spaces or it may give you an error message. For registration information see Help Register. ═══ 26. Setup Print Registration Form ═══ This feature is designed to make it easier to register the software. Merely select this from the menu and fill it out. The Name field is the name to mail the license to. The Name software should be registered in field can be a person's name or a company name, This is the name that will appear on the license The Company name field is useful if needed as part of the address. The Address field can contain up to 256 characters and can be multiple lines, what you type (exactly) is what you get (exactly). The Phone Number, FAX Number, and E-Mail Address fields are useful in the event I need to contact you in response to a question that you may have. The Where did you obtain this copy of PIG/2? field helps me to ensure that the latest version of the software is available where people such as yourself can find it. The # of copies field (1 to whatever) determines the number of licenses desired. The Floppy check box determines whether a copy of the software and license(s) is desired on floppy, or whether just the key should be sent (via letter). When everything is filled out the way you want it merely select Print to LPT1, Print to LPT2, or Print to Clipboard. The clipboard feature is useful if you wish to put the letter into a word-processor for some reason. Thank-you for registering! ═══ 27. Help ═══ Internet: jjohnson@us.net Fidonet: James Johnson@1:109/347 Registered users may request help at a phone number provided by selecting Help Telephone Support. Note: This feature is enabled upon software registration, it is the only disabled feature within Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 (If someone is to cheap/dishonest to pay for inexpensive good-quality shareware, then I am to cheap/busy to talk to them about it). ═══ 28. Product information ═══ Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 Version 1.1 Copyright (C) 1994 All Rights Reserved. by James E. Johnson Jr. Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 is shareware and must be registered for continued use. ═══ 29. Mail-In Registration ═══ Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 may be registered by mailing a check for $15 to: James E. Johnson Jr. 6924 Vancouver Road Springfield, VA 22152 Upon registration you will receive a registration key which is your license to use both the current and all future versions of Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 software. This key turns off the encouragement to register when you exit Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 and turns on the Telephone Support switch. The $15 registration does NOT include the software, just the license, the assumption is that you have downloaded the software previously from a BBS or other source. In the event you would like to receive the current version on floppy (and not just the key), please send $20 to the above address. Future versions of the software must be downloaded from your favorite BBS at your own expense. ═══ 30. Online Registration ═══ Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 may be registered by using your VISA or Mastercard online at the OS/2 Shareware BBS. The price is $15 and includes a single-user license for all future versions of this software, however no floppy is provided. Pete Norloff's OS/2 Shareware BBS contains a comprehensive collection of OS/2 programs and information. All the latest operating system patches from IBM as well as freeware and shareware programs from around the globe may be downloaded from the BBS 24 hours a day. The system is connected to five computer networks offering conference areas on a large variety of OS/2 topics. Currently the system has 18 telephone lines all operating on a single OS/2 PC. The OS/2 Shareware BBS is freely available to the public within limits. Subscriber access is also available. The BBS can be reached at 703-385-4325. ═══ 31. Shareware Concept ═══ Shareware is the try it before you buy it concept of software marketing. It is freely available by downloading it from various BBS's or one can easily and legally give a copy to a friend. If you like the software and intend on continuing to use it after the trial period of typically 30 - 45 days, you are expected to register the software with the author. Shareware is not freeware. It's continued use implies that it is a viable and needed tool. Registration encourages the author to enhance the software's features, making it a better tool for you the user, and also to create new software in the future. ═══ 32. Telephone Support ═══ Telephone Support is available to registered users. The panel and phone number are grayed-out if the software is unregistered. This is the only feature within Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 which is not available unless you are registered. ═══ 33. Fields ═══ Fields have a maximum length of 32 characters*. They may contain any combination of upper or lower case alphabetic characters, numbers or other printable characters such as #, *, %, etc. What you type is what you get, there is no character conversion. Fields are larger than the box they are in on screen, the box size is irrelevant. All fields within Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 are 32 characters regardless of the size allocated on screen. *The 1 exception to this is the description field which has a maximum of 256 characters. ═══ 34. Records ═══ Records are a conglomeration of fields. o They are made up of Item name, serial number, and other information about about the goods being inventoried. o When Adding or Modifying a record the Photo field should contain the filename of the multimedia effect desired. It may be a BMP, ICO or whatever other type of multimedia file for which you have an appropriate player. The field is only 32 characters wide and is intended only for the filename of the multimedia file. Use Setup Photo Viewing to establish the proper relationships between file types and players. o If there is no information for a given field within a record, leave it blank, there is no harm in doing so. ═══ 35. Groups ═══ A Group is a logical entity which is used to designate a subcategory within your Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 database. o A group would be such entities as Electronics, Antiques, Furniture, Appliances, etc. o The purpose of using groups is to limit what is displayed on screen to a single category of goods to simply the database's usage. o You may select the All groups displayed feature to deal with the database as a whole. o Both the group name and the active group may be set by using the Display Setup function. ═══ 36. Trademarks ═══ The following are trademarks of their respective corporations: o IBM, OS/2 and Presentation Manager are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation. ═══ 37. Import ═══ The Import function is responsible for bringing data into your Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 database from an outside source. The outside source may be either in a plain text ASCII format where the data is aligned in columns with no embedded special characters, or the data may be in a comma-delimitted (again straight ASCII) format. Import Comma Delimitted Import Column Formatted ═══ 38. Import Comma Delimited ═══ The Import Comma Delimitted feature is useful for bring data into your Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 database from another database. This is easily done by exporting your other database in comma delimitted format, and then having this application read that data in. The field order of the file to be imported is unimportant to this program so long as you know what it is, merely give the field order of the file to be imported to the corresponding field in the import procedure. For example, if ITEM was your first record element in the file to be imported, put a 1 by ITEM, if it were the fifth item in the record then put a 5. Fields that are not used by Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 are just ignored in the file being imported. If a field in PIG/2 is not present in the file being imported, then leave the corresponding value by it as 0 and it will receive blank values in your new database. ═══ 39. Import Data in Columns (ASCII) ═══ Importing data from a file where the data is in columns is a little more difficult than importing it Comma Delimitted and that method should be used if your data is available in that format. To import columns of data, first determine the character starting position of each element type (e.g. ITEM, SERIAL NUMBER, etc), and the number of characters that field is wide (not the ending column). Then fill in the blanks on the form and select IMPORT, this will allow you to choose the appropriate file. If the data does not align properly there may be unprintable characters in your file being imported such as s, just remove them with your favorite editor and try again. Fields in Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 which are not present in your file to be imported should be left with 0 in their starting position and also in their width field, they will then be ignored during the import. Fields which are present in your file being imported but not in Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 are harmless and will be ignored during the import procedure. ═══ 40. Export ═══ The Export function is useful for transfering data from your Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 database to an outside source. The outside source may be either in a plain text ASCII format where the data is aligned in columns in tabular format, or the data may be in a comma-delimitted format suitable to be transported to another database. Export Comma Delimitted Export Column Formatted ═══ 41. Export Comma Delimited ═══ The Export Comma Delimitted feature is useful for transfering the contents of your Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 database to another database. This is easily done by selecting Export Comma Delimited and then selecting the export order from your database to the new database format. For example, if ITEM was your first record element in the file to be exported, put a 1 by ITEM, if it were the fifth item in the record then put a 5. If you do not wish to export a data element then put a 0 in it's field. In the event that any of the data fields you are exporting contains comma's "," they will be converted to semicolons ";" for export purposes. This is necessary so as not to create mal-aligned data in the program which will later import this data file (extra comma's would screw up the data). Please note that both Setup Display and Setup Sort Order will affect both what is exported and it's order. Warning: When you select EXPORT be careful not to select an existing file unless you wish to overwrite it, because once you select EXPORT (within the file select box), everything is exported and the existing file (which you selected) is overwritten (if it exists), if it does not exist then it is created. ═══ 42. Export Columns of Data ═══ The Export Columns of Data feature is useful for transfering the contents of your Personal Inventory Gatherer/2 database to either a spreadsheet, a document to be imported by a word processor, or even just printed for an easily readable report. This is easily done by selecting Export Columns of Data and then filling in the blanks on the form. First determine the order of the data elements and fill that in on the left column on the form (if a data element is not desired in the output file then put a 0 in it's column), then fill-in the right column stating the data element's width (including spaces). Then select Export, you'll be prompted for a data file name, after you enter it your exporting will be accomplished. If you leave the column width set to 0, then the computer will decide the minimum width needed to display all of your data in that field. Therefore, unless you have a special requirement, leave the width field set to 0 on all columns and the computer will determine all field widths, this will produce the most aestetically pleasing report. If the column width which you specify is not wide enough to hold the elements in a given field then that element will be truncated at the specified character count. Please note that both Setup Display and Setup Sort Order will affect both what is exported and it's order. Warning: When you select EXPORT be careful not to select an existing file unless you wish to overwrite it, because once you select EXPORT (within the file select box), everything is exported and the existing file (which you selected) is overwritten (if it exists), if it does not exist then it is created.