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DOC2COM (Dan K. Nelson) | 1992-09-09 | 22.6 KB | 412 lines

THE TALKING CHECKBOOK - VERSION 5.03 By Charles Crawford and Donald Barrett Special thanks to Marshall Dudley for letting us use his "Send.exe" program to run these notes. Also to Eric Bohlman for his kindness in helping Charlie Crawford understand a really difficult Clipper routine for input error trapping, and to Donna Veno and Scott Marshall for their work on testing the programs. Most of all, special THANKS to you for using the program! We like it and hope you will find it as helpful as we have. While no formal documentation has been developed for the Talking Checkbook, here's some information that should help. The program has been written to be user friendly and should not be a problem to run without extensive documentation. 1: What you need. If you have an I.B.M. or clone that works with DOS, and a printer and hopefully some money after you've bought all that stuff, then you are all set. A speech synthesizer is necessary for folks who do not see the screen, as the "Talking" Checkbook was written to work with speech synthesis. If you can see the screen, then your in good shape with our color selection menu option. 2: Getting started. Just make a sub-directory on your hard disk or unzip the Talking Checkbook to a floppy and go there. Type "Checks" (without the quotes) and you are on your way. The Talking Checkbook has been designed to look for the files that it needs and will create them if they are not present. Also users of older version will not have their databases blown away by installing this version of the Talking Checkbook since we have created failsafe databases that can be used when first running the program or will serve as replacement new databases in case of alien attack of your computer. 3: Menu options. The "Talking Checkbook" is completely menu driven. After a couple of questions and set up automatic functions, you'll be at the main menu. The set up questions are there to help you decide if you want to just see your balance and leave or to have your balance reported each time you bring up the main menu. It's nice to have the balance every time you get to the main menu, but it can drive you up a wall fast. Once you are in the main menu, we think you'll agree that the thing is pretty easy to understand and move around, but here's some hints. Option 1 is the heart of the program. What good is a checkbook that talks, but has nothing in it? Well, here's the menu option that lets you enter checks, withdrawals, credit card charges, deposits savings account info or fixed bills, etc. The most important thing here is to get your checkbook started with a deposit that will be your initial balance. That starting figure will become the figure against which all calculations are basically made. Figure out what you will start the checkbook with and go ahead and enter number one at the main menu and then pick the deposit option and put it in there. As you enter checks, deposits, credit card charges, Savings account transfers (if you like) and the other options under the main menu option one, you'll see how some of the nifty questions asked save time and make your life easy. We also recommend that you enter your savings account balance as a deposit within the savings account menu option. This will ensure that you start with a proper checkbook and savings account balance for future entries to be seen against. Use the Personal Comments field for each record wisely. You have 75 characters to write down exactly the type of transaction you are entering. This can be invaluable for tax or other purposes at the end of the year. Whether or not you enter the information in this field in upper or lower case, it will be stored in upper case. This is so that records can easily be found using this field even if you forget the case of your original entry. You may want to take a bit of time before running the Talking Checkbook and think about what comment lines you might be using. For example, if you were to use the personal comment line of "Food:Joe's Market" each time you wrote a check to the Market, then you'd be able to tell in an instant how much you spent at Joe's through our utilities that are in the checkbook program. We can't stop bankruptcy; but short of that, we try! Option 2 at the main menu lets you edit records that you may have made mistakes in entering. No problem for the Talking Checkbook to keep your records up to snuff. Version 5.03 now has a browse function where you can either edit or just browse through the checks and other entries. the Browser is written in the more database interface fashion where using your arrow keys or page-up and page-down buttons make the program work. If you would rather use the straight line oriented display mode, the Talking Checkbook still offers that as well. Option 3 gives you your balance and also lets you reconcile against bank statements. Once you've used the other menu option of verifying checks, then the balance should agree with your bank or maybe your bank has gotten into the S&L thing and the Talking Checkbook is trying to tell you something. Option 4 is great! It allows you to print out lists of your checks and so forth. Now if you are told that your check was never received, then you can print out a statement including that check you wrote. You can choose not to print out the listings in hard copy, but rather to create an ascii file of them. No problem for the Talking Checkbook. Say, don't we think of everything; probably not, but we work at it. Version 5.03 offers two new features that 1) let you choose a printer port in the event you have a braille printer and a regular one and 2) lets you list your ascii text file option in sequential lines of information that makes it much easier to understand. Say, we are getting to the point of thinking of everything, but we will confess that you folks have given us some great ideas to act upon. Option 5 gives you the opportunity to check out your fixed bills. This option helps folks who have a number of bills that have to be paid in the same amount on a fixed basis. Option 6 lets you verify your records against the bank statements. You simply take your bank statement and run the menu option and you'll be shown which checks, deposits and withdrawals have been entered in the database but not verified. If you find a match between the records that come up on the screen and your bank statement, then you can tell the program that the record can be verified and it will do that for you. When you later search for checks and so forth, it will be handy to know that the record was verified and you can easily say that the bank notified you that the check was cashed, the deposit made or withdrawal happened. It helps you know where everyone agrees and hopefully there will not be times when they don't. Option 7 brings up these notes. Many thanks to Marshall Dudley who wrote the Doorway.exe programs for letting us use the "send.exe" command program that allows us to write this long- winded rambling commentary and send it to you from within the program. If you like the way the program is sent to the screen, you can use the "Send.exe" program to do it with any ascii file. Simply type "Send" a space and the name of the ascii file on the command line and there it is. Thanks, Marshall for the great Doorway program and this little utility that does a lot for us. Also if you like reading this so much that you have a crazy desire to read it outside of the talking checkbook, then just type "Mono.doc" and press enter to read it in mono or "Color.doc" to read it in color with one of the self display .com files that run right from DOS. Option 8 gets you more information on the records in the database. It's fun and check it out. Version 5.02 of the Talking Checkbook now allows you to sum and display your credit card charges either as a whole or by credit card. Nifty, huh. You can also see the activity of your savings account transfers relative to your checkbook. Later versions of the Talking Checkbook will give you more data relative to your savings account itself. Option 9 makes writing checks fun again. Just go ahead and print out the checks and life is eezee! Well, you'll need to use option 11 first, since computers are really stupid and have no idea where to send the info to the check itself. Option 10 contains a number of utilities we have written to get displays of information and other pieces to a checkbook management program together. Check out the many utilities here. My favorite is the calculator and the ability to archival your checks into smaller database of chunks of time. If you take your checkbook over a period of three years, then it's a lot of stuff for the program to review each time it has to do that, so just archival your database into smaller yearly ones and your checkbook will run faster. You can always use the same program to bring back all the records into a massive database if you like. We also wrote the code to do the same thing for your savings account. Option 11 tells the computer where to write information on your checks. Not all checks were created equal and so the Talking Checkbook must get your help in setting up the printer settings. Fortunately you will only have to do this once if you use the same checks and printer. Option 12 lets folks with low vision or any vision to set screen colors that are most comfortable. Option 13 is for those of you who have not updated your Talking Checkbook since the first versions. I can understand that since I loved the "Doggy Dollars" field, but if you ever decide to update your database, then here's the program to let you do it. Option 14 is brand new. It's a security packing program that either saves current information in memory to your database each time you enter the option or saves the information every time you enter the main menu. I recommend that folks use the auto pack function here. If you keep archival data of your checkbook through the archival option within the utilities at main menu option 10, then this auto packing will be quick and afford you max protection. Say, does that sound like an advertisement or what! 4: What programs should be in with the Talking Checkbook. Well, the older versions needed all kinds of stuff, but now here's what should be in your sub-directory and the rest you can forget: 1. Checks.exe - the main program that operates the checkbook. 2. Checkboo.dbf, savings.dbf and bills.dbf which are databases that you should have with older versions or will be installed by this one. Just keep any files with the extension ".dbf" for your new version unless you already have them from older versions. The Talking Checkbook will look for the proper databases and if found, then you move right along, but if not, then the Talking Checkbook will convert the failsafe database files that came with it. A new database called fs-save.dbf is included with version 5.02 which is copied out by the program to initialize the new savings account feature. These failsafe files will remain but they will also have produced what you need when you first run the Talking Checkbook. Don't worry about them. 3. CB-notes.txt is this file and should remain in the sub- directory with the Talking Checkbook. It is accessed by menu option 7. You can also run it by typing "send cb-notes.txt" or "cb-notes" from the DOS command line. The file "CB-NOTES.COM" is the same file as this, but runs stand-alone in DOS. 4. Send.exe is also necessary. It sends the notes to the user to the screen. If your type of DOS does not support the sending of the file from within the program, then the use of "cb- notes.com" will be necessary to see this file. 5. You might want to keep the other files in the sub- directory as well since they can help. The one about Clipper is real necessary if the checkbook does not run. It deals with a memory environment statement that might be necessary, but I've only seen 2 cases of all users where that has been true. 5: Other important stuff. Don Barrett and I wrote this program to be useful to us as users of speech synthesis. We release it to the public domain since it is a great program in our humble and prejudiced opinions. That does not mean that anyone or anything is responsible for the results of it's use except for you if you use it. We have had no problems with it, but can't be responsible if you or anyone else does. If you'd like to call me, Charlie Crawford about the program then please do so at area 617-727-5550 ext: 4503, or call the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind Bulletin Board at area 617-451-5327. The BBS uses 8,n,1 and support up to 9600 BPS using a .32 standard or Hayes modem. slower modems work fine down to 1200 BPS. Well, if you think that was long, then play around with the many options in the checkbook and see if we could have written a book about them. Feel free to upload the programs (as long as you don't change anything) to Bulletin Boards or send them to your friends. If you want to add your own information to the zip file to share with others, then fine. You might even write better docs than these. If you do write user information, then please send us the ascii file as well. You can write to: Charles Crawford The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind 88 Kingston Street Boston, MA 02111. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 1. Can I crash the Talking Checkbook A: Yeah, if you like. Does not seem like the most productive use of time, but if you input a character rather than a number or character or don't use slashes when the program is looking for a date, then the program will not know what to do and exit to DOS. We will work on error trapping for these problems, but if you do it, then you'll have to re-enter the program and do what you were doing all over again. In the four years that I have used this program, I have not had that problem and suspect that you only would if you choose to crash it. In other words, don't worry if you seriously want to run the program since it will work fine with proper data entry. 2. Do I have to pay for it. A: No, it is free of charge and released to the public domain without any liability to the authors, their families, dogs, cats and any other living thing or entity within the Universe. 3. How come there are no environment variables to call the program from anywhere but it's default drive and subdirectory? A. We have given some thought to passing DOS parameters and really have not come up with much reason to do so. If you can suggest some DOS environment variables that you think are needed and would not be a problem for the average user, then send us your suggestions. One thing that the average user may want to consider is using a batch file to call the program up. Here's what you would write if your checks program and other files were in a sub- directory called "Checks" on your C:\ drive. First you go to the root directory by typing without the quotes "cd\" and press enter. Do this until you see the "C:\" prompt if you have your DOS prompt set to "prompt=$p$g". Next type "copy con:checks.bat" and press enter. This will set DOS ready to accept your information. Next type "Echo off" and press enter. This tells DOS not to babble away as it is getting your files up and running. Next type "cd\Checks"and press enter. This creates a second line of the batch file to change the directory to where the checks.exe and associated programs are. Next type "Checks" and press enter. This third line of text now tells DOS to execute the command Checks program. Next type "cd\" and press enter. this tells DOS to return to the root directory of the C: drive when it is done. remember not to use the quotes above when writing the batch since they were used only as a way of placing exactly what you will have to write on the appropriate lines. You don't have to write a batch file to get the program to run, but it might make some sense if you want to be up and running quickly from your root directory. I have a few lines in my batch that go to the sub-directory in which my speech program resides so I can run speech before running the checkbook. 4. What is check verifying? A. When you get your banck statements and cancelled checks, then you can check your checks, deposits and withdrawals against the statement. You can verify what you've entered into the checkbook and add any interest you may have received or charges made against you. Once you've made the entries of any new deposits or withdrawals in the form of interest or charges from the bank statement within menu option 1, then use the verify menu option to mark your records as verified. This helps when you are browsing around and want to see if something really got cashed or whatever. 5. I keep geting a different amount when I use the reconcile program than what is really the case with my bank. This was a great program a friend gave me, but the reconcile is not right; why? A. We had a case where a person received a copy of the Talking Checkbook from a friend and kept getting a mistaken reconciliation amount. The problem was that the memory variable used to check on what the bank amount was from his friends program never was erased and the current checkbook kept adding in that amount. The fix is to erase the .mem files from any copy of the talking checkbook you may get from someone else. We recommend that you type "del *.mem" if if you get the program from someone else. If you are using a Talking Checkbook for the first time with a brand new copy that nobody else has used or you are updating your own copy, then do not erase the .mem files! 6. I run the program and after a bit, it dies. Why? A. This is not at all likely to happen and we have had no reports of it. However, some folks may be running exspanded memory managers or other memory resident programs that impact upon memory allocation. If you experience the Talking Checkbook simply stopping work, place the line "set clipper=E000" in your autoexec.bat file to keep Clipper from looking for expanded memory. Again, we have had no reports of any such problem, but we also know never to say never. 7. the program is running along and I get a "Proc error at ... run time error" and it stops. You should never see this out of memory error with our new library routines. If you do, then get in touch with us. Good luck and enjoy your use of the Talking Checkbook in good health. Talking Checkbook update: Well, wouldn't you know it! Don Barrett could not resist developing a print to printer or file utility that would provide information for tax purposes based upon your personal comments lines. OK Don, I think you really put something nice in here that will help folks out if they arrange their personal comments by categories that will relate to tax preparation time. The tax print utility is in the utilities menu option #10. Check it out. Also in this new version 5.03, Don has added the ability to place in a starting figure for retirement management to help those like me who are getting older by the minute. Enjoy and look forward to version 5.04 when I might even try to do some automatic budgeting information generation! If you have suggestions for program improvement, then please try to let us know and make you and everybody else happy! -Charlie Crawford: June 25, 1992.