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CATALOG-ON-A-DISK
For viewing/making a catalog on your computer.
Version 3
EmmaSoft Software Company, Inc.
PO Box 238 Lansing, NY 14882
Voice: 607-533-4685
BBS: 607-533-7072
CompuServe: 71460,2644
GENIE: D.VEANER1
Copyright ■1991-1992, EmmaSoft
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 2
===================================================================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LICENSE AGREEMENT AND WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ABOUT THIS MANUAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1 WHAT IS THIS THING FOR????!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 SETTING UP THE PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 USING THE PROGRAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 CATALOG STYLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 WHO USES CATALOG-ON-A-DISK?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.6 DEFINITIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
CHAPTER TWO: VIEWING A CATALOG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1 HOW TO READ A CATALOG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 VIEWING CATALOG INFORMATION AND ORDERING . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 THE EXIT MENU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4 THE HELP BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.5 PRINTING THE CATALOG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.6 SEARCHING FOR PRODUCTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CHAPTER THREE: MAKING A CATALOG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1 CATALOG FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 FILES IN YOUR CATALOG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 THE MAIN MENU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.31 "CAT" COMMANDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.32 SPECIAL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.33 VIEWING A FILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.34 HIGHLIGHTING A MENU ITEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 USING COLOR PALETTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.5 PUTTING YOUR TEXT ON THE INFO SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . 19
CHAPTER FOUR: CATALOG FILES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.1 HOW TO MAKE AN OPENING (FIRST) SCREEN FILE . . . . . . . 20
4.2 HOW TO MAKE A HEADER FILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3 HOW TO MAKE A CATEGORY FILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.31 PRODUCT BLOCKS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.42 DESCRIPTION BLOCKS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.43 PUTTING IT TOGETHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.4 SAMPLE CATALOG FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.5 HOW TO MAKE AN EXIT SCREEN FILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.6 HOW TO MAKE ORDER INFORMATION FILES. . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.7 HOW TO MAKE COUPONS AND OTHER SPECIAL FORMS. . . . . . . 24
4.8 AUTOMATING SALES TAX AND SHIPPING/HANDLING . . . . . . . 25
4.9 CHANGING HELP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.10 CODING THE ORDER FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.11 HOW TO ASK SPECIAL QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.12 HOW TO CHANGE INTERNAL PROGRAM TEXT IN CATALOG.EXE. . . 28
4.13 FORMATTING THE ORDER FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 3
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CHAPTER FIVE: THE COMPANION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.1 COMMAND LINE FUNCTIONS:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.2 INTERACTIVE MODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.21 NAVIGATING CATCOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.22 CATCOM MENUS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.3 THE SETUP MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.31 COLORS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.32 HELP BAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.33 NATIONALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.34 TAX ONE OR ALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.35 WHAT TO TAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.36 CURRENCY CHARACTER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.37 DATE SETUP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.4 THE FILES MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.41 COMPRESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.42 IMPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.43 EXPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.44 DELIMITERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.55 VIEW CATALOG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.5 THE OPTIONS MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.51 COLORS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.52 FRAMES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.53 SOUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.54 PATHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.55 REVIEW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.6 THE QUIT MENU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.7 THE HELP MENU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
CHAPTER SIX: COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.1 COMMAND SUMMARY (CATALOG.EXE): . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.2 COMMAND LINE FLAG SUMMARY (CATCOM.EXE):. . . . . . . . . 41
CHAPTER SEVEN: ADVANCED FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
7.1 PRICING TECHNIQUES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
7.2 ADDING SPECIAL FUNCTIONS TO THE MENU. . . . . . . . . . 42
7.3 RUNNING PROGRAMS FROM YOUR CATALOG. . . . . . . . . . . 43
7.4 MULTI-DISK CATALOGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.5 DECOMPRESSING FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.6 DISCOUNT MULTIPLIER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.7 LAST AND SPECIAL ORDERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
APPENDIX A: DISTRIBUTING CATALOGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
APPENDIX B: FILES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
APPENDIX C: PROGRAM LIMITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 4
===================================================================
LICENSE AGREEMENT AND WARRANTY
License
1. You may use the program on a single computer at one time. You
may not copy the program and accompanying materials. See Appendix
A for Catalog Distribution License.
2. You may not make copies of the program for sale.
3. This software is copyrighted, and all rights therein are
reserved for EmmaSoft. Registration or purchase of this product
does not transfer any right, title, or interest in the software
except as specifically set forth in this agreement. You are
hereby notified that the software product is protected by United
States Copyright Law, and you may be held by responsible by
EmmaSoft for any infringement of such rights or violations to
this agreement.
4. This license is effective until terminated. You may terminate
it at any time by destroying the program and all copies of it.
It will also terminate if you fail to comply with any term or
condition on this agreement. You agree upon termination to
destroy the program together with all copies of the program.
See Appendix A for Catalog Distribution License Information.
Warranty
1. This program is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind,
either expressed or implied, including any warranty of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In no
event shall EmmaSoft be held liable for any loss of profit,
special, incidental, consequential, or other similar claims.
2. EmmaSoft does warrant that the magnetic media on which the
software is furnished is free of defects of materials and
workmanship under normal use for 60 days, provided that
EmmaSoft provided your copy of the program on such media.
If during this period the diskette should become defective it
may be returned to EmmaSoft for replacement without charge.
Governing law shall be that of New York State.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 5
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ABOUT THIS MANUAL
We have tried to keep the manual as simple as possible. You probably
don't need the manual to view a catalog. If you can find the (Enter)
and (Escape) keys, and the arrow keys, you can browse for products
and order them with no instructions. You will need the manual to
make your catalog, but you'll find that once you get the hang of it
this will go very smoothly.
You will find Chapter 3 very important because it tells you how to
make your own catalog. Another important section is 5.41, which
tells you how to compress your catalog files. Almost every file
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK uses must be compressed.
We suggest you read Chapter 1 to get set up. Then browse Chapter 2
while you try out the sample catalog. Chapters 3 tells you how to
make your own catalog. Chapter 4 tells the file formats you must use
for each type of catalog file. Chapter 5 is a guide to using the
Companion program to compress your files and to set your catalog
settings. Use Chapter 6 as a quick reference for CATALOG and
CATCOM. Finally, Chapter 7 covers some advanced topics that will
help you fine tune your catalog.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 6
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 WHAT IS THIS THING FOR????!
CATALOG ON A DISK makes it easy for your customers see your catalog
on their computers and order from it. It is so easy to use that
customers won't put off ordering from you. They can find items by
browsing or searching, and generate an order form that can be mailed,
faxed, or sent to you by modem.
You can configure your catalog to give it your company's distinctive
look. You make your catalog files using your favorite text editor.
These files are then compressed and distributed with the catalog
reader to your customers. Compressed files let you fit more products
on a disk and provide security for your prices and other data.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK is perfect for any product oriented company. It
gives you a lot more flexibility than a print catalog in maintaining
updates, and is less expensive to produce. It offers more distrib-
ution options as well, because the disk catalog can be sent by modem
as well as through the mail. Your customers will order more often
because CATALOG-ON-A-DISK doesn't place obstacles in the way of
ordering from you.
1.2 SETTING UP THE PROGRAM
Use SETUP.EXE to install CATALOG-ON-A-DISK on your hard disk. To
start the program type:
SETUP (Enter)
Simply follow the prompts to install the program. At the main menu
you can read updates about this version of the program, brand your
copy, and install it.
Updates: Information that didn't make it into this manual will be
found here. SETUP makes it easy for you to view these
files.
Branding: CATALOG-ON-A-DISK requires a Custom Message which appears
at the top of the catalog screen and on the order form.
Registered users can install their own message using SETUP.
This is often your company name, a slogan, and/or a phone
number. This is not an option on evaluation copies.
Install: When you install CATALOG-ON-A-DISK the SETUP program does
the following:
1. Copies and/or decompresses files to the drive and
directory you specify.
2. Decompresses the catalog files to make text versions
that you can use as examples when creating your own
catalog.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 7
===================================================================
The SETUP program does not touch your system configuration
files, and in most cases you do not have to do anything to
your system to run CATALOG-ON-A-DISK. In some cases you
may have to add a line to AUTOEXEC.BAT if CATCOM doesn't
run. The line should say:
SET TEMP=C:\
This is NOT necessary for the catalog reader, CATALOG.EXE,
that your customers use.
1.3 USING THE PROGRAM
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK is two programs.
The first, CATALOG.EXE is a catalog reader. This is what you send to
your customers. It displays your catalog, and lets your customers
browse or search for items to order. It prints out order forms,
coupons, and it can even print the catalog on a printer. To start
the catalog type:
CATALOG (Enter)
CATCOM.EXE is the companion program that assists you in creating and
maintaining your catalog. It is for your use only and you do not
send this to customers. To start CATCOM type:
CATCOM (Enter)
For building and maintaining catalogs you should have a catalog
directory on your hard disk (you may do this on a floppy disk if it
is large enough). You should keep all of the text files you use to
make your catalogs here as well as the CATALOG and CATCOM programs,
the compressed (.CM) files, and any related files. You then copy the
files you need onto a master disk (a floppy) which you will then
duplicate for your customers' copies of the catalog.
CATALOG.INI is a very important file for both programs. It is the
initialization file that tells CATALOG.EXE which screen colors to
use, and holds other important information the program needs
internally (such as date and country format, help bar and tax
settings). CATCOM.EXE is used to set these values, so it is VERY
IMPORTANT that both CATALOG and CATCOM are accessing the same version
of CATALOG.INI.
1.4 CATALOG STYLES
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK has many options. You can make all kinds of
screens, using all kinds of characters and all kinds of colors.
This can result in an exciting catalog that sells well for you. It
can also result in a confusing mess!
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 8
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We suggest that you keep it simple. Use the same principals you
would use in creating a print catalog. Here are some ideas to help
you make the best looking catalog:
__ Remember that in most cases you don't know what equipment your
customers have. Make sure you build your catalog for the lowest
common denominator. OK, so you think everyone has 3 1/2" drives.
What about the potential customer who doesn't? So you think
everyone has 640KB or lower RAM memory. What about the sale you
may loose because you made a category too big to fit into 512KB of
RAM? Above all you want your customers to buy from your catalog.
It's up to you to produce a catalog they can all access, no matter
what configuration their computer has.
__ Tell your customers how your catalog works. Put the instructions
on the screens you create. Don't be afraid to be redundant about
this: people forget what to do and they like it when you help
them along. Space permitting we suggest using all the available
help files to give the best possible context sensitive help.
Also, put the keystrokes in your header screen. (Note: we
don't do this internally in the program because you may not want
to use every capability of the program. Tell your customers
about the ones you want them to use.)
This advice also applies to the disk label. Use your company
logo and put instructions on the label about how to run the
catalog.
__ Make sure your colors work together. Don't use colors that
clash. Use color combinations that are striking, but readable.
If the text on the screen is too bright people may not like
reading it.
__ Use color combinations that can be read on a monochrome screen.
It is always a good idea to test your catalog on machines with
several different configurations before sending it out.
__ Using upper ASCII characters can enhance the look of your
catalog. Be aware that 1) some printers can't print these
characters correctly (or aren't set to do so), and 2) that
these characters are not necessarily the same in different
countries (so if you send your catalog outside your own country
you should avoid them).
__ Test, Test, TEST! Always test your catalog on as many different
systems as you can get your hands on before sending it to
customers. If you have set the catalog up incorrectly it will
affect the calculations or appearance of the order form. Make
sure the colors you have chosen will show up on all systems (or
at least tell customers they can start the program with "CATALOG
-m" to force a monochrome catalog.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 9
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__ Keep each screen simple. Each screen should make a point
clearly, and not try to jam a lot of unrelated information
together. You can have quite a few individual screens in
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK, so arrange the information where it is
easy to find and in a way that is easy to read.
__ Smaller categories are recommended. Customers can zero in on
these to find products or information they want. Also, if you
are distributing your catalog on a floppy disk (especially
5 1/4") the disk access time to read the category file can be
several seconds for large files, even compressed ones.
A lot of people believe in the "KISS" ("Keep it simple, Stupid!")
theory. We suggest applying it to your catalog. The simpler it is
the more sales you will get from it.
This doesn't mean your catalog should be dull. Many of our customers
have sent us their very striking catalogs with interesting, creative
screens, that are clear and informative.
1.5 WHO USES CATALOG-ON-A-DISK?
Many different kinds of company use CATALOG-ON-A-DISK, and they
distribute it in many different ways.
Many companies provide the catalog on floppy disks, which they
inexpensively mail to their customers.
One notebook computer manufacturer puts a catalog of related hardware
and accessories on the hard disk of each machine they sell.
One software company is distributing their catalog on Bernouli
cartridges.
Salespeople take their notebook (or laptop) computers with them.
CATALOG- ON-A-DISK lets them take orders at any site. They can print
out the order form (if they have a portable printer), plus a copy to
their hard disk. The disk copies can all be uploaded to the company
in the evening when the phone rates are lower.
Some companies (including a travel company) put their catalogs on a
BBS for customers to download. This makes it easy to provide up-to-
date catalogs, and these customers can upload their orders to the BBS
as well.
You can find many creative ways to distribute your CATALOG-ON-A-DISK.
1.6 DEFINITIONS
Ascii Delimited A file that has been saved in pure ascii (American
Standard Code for Information Exchange) format
(most word processors, data bases, etc. can do
this), that has one or more data fields delimited
by quotation marks and commas.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 10
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Catalog File Files containing catalog information. Almost all
the catalog files are compressed (these files have
the ".CM" extension) so you can fit more in your
catalog, and for security for your prices and other
catalog information. With the exception of
"category files" these files may be a maximum of
500 lines long.
Category File Files that contain Product Blocks and/or
Description Blocks are called "Category" files.
It is suggested that you use them as such: they
make a convenient way to divide your catalog into
categories to make it easier for your customers to
find your products. The length of these files is
determined by the amount of memory available.
Description Block This appears like a product, but is simply text
that explains something. You can put Descriptions
all together in one category file, or mix them
with products. A description block can be a
maximum of 500 lines long.
Exit Menu At the main menu if you press the (Esc) key the
"Exit" Menu is displayed. This menu lets the
customer print or review the current order, go
back to the catalog to order more products, view
or print special forms or coupons, or exit the
program.
Exporting CATCOM can read the text version of a Category
file and export the data in ascii delimited form.
The original file is not changed. The new data
file can be imported into a data base program, if
that program accepts data in this format.
Field A database term meaning a type of information
(such as a name, address, etc.).
Importing CATCOM can write the text version of a Category
File using data in an ascii delimited data file.
Main Menu This menu contains the list of product categories,
and optionally can contain files to read or
program function choices.
Menu A box in CATALOG ON A DISK containing several
items that are chosen by placing the menu bar
over the item you want.
Palette The colors that can be used to display files in
your catalog. Each palette has a Normal Color and
a Bold Color. In the text versions of your files
you tell CATALOG.EXE to display a block of text in
the Bold Color by surrounding it with a single
quote symbol `. (Do not use the unquote symbol by
mistake '.)
Product Block A Product is a listing in a category in your
catalog. It consists of four parts:
1. The Order Number --- These three equal
2. The Short Description |- a total of 76
3. The Price --- characters maximum
4. The Long Description --- Up to 500 lines max
Products can be together in a category, or mixed
and matched with Descriptions.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 11
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Special Forms A type of catalog file that appears on a special
menu that is accessed from the Exit Menu. This
can be any text you want. Many companies use
these files to describe their company, important
ordering information, or for discount coupons that
customers can print out and send with their
orders.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 12
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CHAPTER TWO: VIEWING A CATALOG
2.1 HOW TO READ A CATALOG
Start the program by typing CATALOG (Enter).
The Opening Screen Comes on. This will be one or more screens full
of company information, instructions, or other information. To go to
the next screen press any key until you get to the main menu screen.
At any menu you may use the following keys:
(Alt) (x) Exit the program
(F10) Exit the program
(F1) Context sensitive help
(Esc) Back out of current window or
toggle between main and exit menus
(F1) Help
(Alt) (i) Program Information
(Alt) (p) Print the whole catalog
(Alt) (h) Display a Help Bar
(PgUp) More Categories or Products
(PgDn) More Categories or Products
If you are at the Main Menu press (Esc) to get to the Exit Menu.
Press (Esc) again to return to the Main Menu.
When viewing the category menu or categories that are larger than one
screen the arrow keys work as follows:
(Up) Up one choice. Scrolls to next screen full. Stops at
first choice.
(Down) Down one choice. Scrolls to next screen full. Stops
at last choice with a message.
(Left) Same as up arrow, but wraps to the bottom of the window
instead of scrolling.
(Right) Same as down arrow, but wraps to the top of the window
instead of scrolling.
2.2 VIEWING CATALOG INFORMATION AND ORDERING
The Main Menu Screen may have information on the left of the screen
and a menu at the right. The menu shows up to twenty categories of
items at a time you may look up and order. If there are more than
twenty use the arrow keys, (Home) (End) (PgUp) and (PgDn) to view
more.
To choose a category place the menu bar over it, using the arrow keys
to move the bar and press (Enter).
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 13
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Now you will see a screen full of catalog items. If there are more
items than you can see on one screen use the (PgUp) (PgDn) (Home)
(End) keys to see more items. When you see an item of interest place
the menu bar over it and press (Enter). (To return to the main menu
press (Esc).)
You may search for an item by pressing (alt) (s). This is not a case
sensitive search. If you are looking for an item called "widget"
type "widget" when prompted. Type (Enter) to search forward from the
current item, or (b) to search forward from the beginning of the
file. This search will find "WIDGET" or "Widget".
The search function looks through the entire catalog entry. This
means that if a word, or part of a word exists anywhere in the order
number, short description, price, or long description
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK will find it. This is perfect for product listings
that use key words in the long descriptions.
Now you will see a product description (if it is present in the file).
To order this product press (Enter), or press (Esc) to back out.
Type the quantity you want to order. CATALOG-ON-A-DISK confirms your
order and gives you the total for that number of items. To accept
press (Enter) . To change the quantity press (r) and re- enter the
quantity you want. To exit without ordering this item press (Esc).
You may back into the main menu screen to choose other categories to
order from. When you are done ordering go to the main menu screen
and press (Esc) to go to the Exit Menu. You may order up to 200
different items in one session.
2.3 THE EXIT MENU
Now you see the Exit Menu. From Here you may print an order form,
view your order, go back to the main menu screen to order more items,
enter your name and address, or leave the program.
Printing an Order Form:
You can print the order form to your printer (to mail or fax) or to a
file on your disk (to send by modem if the company accepts orders
this way). If printing on your printer MAKE SURE YOUR PRINTER IS ON
LINE AND READY.
When printing to a file you will be prompted for a file name.
A catalog can be set up to work in a few different ways that affect
how you must deal with sales taxes and shipping/handling charges.
If the order form prints without asking you for any information you
may have to fill in the taxes and shipping/handling charges by hand,
and add the final total yourself.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 14
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A catalog may be set up so it will check the state or province you
entered in your address (see section on name and address below), and
if it finds a match it automatically charges the appropriate sales
tax. If you are ordering from a different state or province it will
not charge the tax.
Another way a catalog may be set is to ask you how much tax to charge.
In this case a window pops up, and you fill in a percent. Press
(Enter) for no sales tax.
Some catalogs will have a menu of shipping and handling options. If
so, a menu of these options will pop up while the order form is
printing, so you may make the appropriate choice.
Reviewing Your Order:
Here you can see what you have ordered with the subtotal for the whole
order (tax, shipping, etc. is not included here). If there are more
items than can be seen on one screen you may view the rest by using
(PgUp) (PgDn) (Home) (End).
To delete an item press (Del) and type the number of the item you want
to delete. The subtotal will be adjusted. Press (Ctrl)(Del) to
delete the entire order.
Go Back To Catalog:
If you want to add items to your order you can go back to the main
menu screen and order more products.
Name and Address:
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK will remember your name and shipping address, and
print it on your order form whenever you order if you enter it here.
This is great if you order from the catalog a lot, or even if you
only order once. If set to tax one state (or specific states)
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK looks for a match in the State/Province field.
Special Forms:
If special forms, coupons, company descriptions,and so on have been
included with a catalog this menu item will appear on the exit menu.
When you choose it a menu appears with a choice of forms to print
out. First make sure your printer is ready, then place the menu bar
over your choice and press enter.
Exit:
You may exit the program by choosing this option.
You may exit to DOS at any menu by pressing (Alt) (x).
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 15
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2.4 THE HELP BAR
To display a bar at the bottom of the screen with reminders of the
most used keystrokes press (Alt) (h). To get rid of it press (Alt)
(h) again.
2.5 PRINTING THE CATALOG
You can print the whole catalog on your printer, or you can print
individual categories.Make sure your printer is ready (and has
plenty of paper). This takes some time, so you should be sure you
want to do it before starting. Catalogs can only be printed on
printers attached to LPT1.
To print one category go to the main menu, place the menu bar on the
category you want to print and press (Alt) (p).
To print the whole category go to the Exit menu and press (Alt) (p).
You can also put printing the entire catalog as a choice on the main
menu. See section 7.2 for instructions.
2.6 SEARCHING FOR PRODUCTS
The search function lets you find any text in a category file
including the long and short descriptions, order number and price.
Use (Alt) (s) to search for any text while viewing a category menu,
or from the main menu. A window pops up asking for the text to
search for. After typing it in, press (Enter) to search from the
current location, or (b) to search from the beginning. If text is
found you may view the long description, and if found in a Product
Block you may order the product. The search string will be
highlighted on the screen.
You may want to use key words to identify groups of products. This
gives customers a way of finding special interest products.
If searching in a category menu you will be returned to the product
found.
If searching from the main menu you can search across the whole
catalog. If the search string is not found in one category you can
press (n) to search the next category.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 16
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CHAPTER THREE: MAKING A CATALOG
To make your catalog you create catalog files, and use the companion
program (CATCOM) to compress them. You also use CATCOM to configure
your catalog.
Catalog files are compressed files that either contain product data
and information, or tell the program how to behave. They are created
in two steps:
Step 1: Create the text files using your favorite text editor.
This chapter describes the format of the various kinds
of files.
Step 2: Compress the files using CATCOM.EXE. The catalog reader
only reads compressed files. (See section 4.1)
In your working directory you will have two versions of each catalog
file. The text version is the one you can create and edit. The
compressed version is the one the catalog can read. You only
distribute the compressed version of each file when you send out your
catalog.
When you make a catalog the main part of your work will be creating
the category files with your product information in them. You will
also create special forms, informational files, and help files that
display on the screen.
In addition you will create other catalog files that tell the catalog
how to deal with shipping and sales tax, how to format the order
form, and what text to display inside the program.
An important part of making your catalog is creating the disk label.
Make sure that it has instructions for starting the program. For
example: "To start type CATALOG and press the Enter key. (Type
CATALOG -m for monochrome)"
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT rename CATALOG.EXE or CATALOG.INI. The
program looks for itself under these names.
3.1 CATALOG FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS
As you create your catalog you MUST observe certain file naming
conventions. CATCOM processes files in different ways depending on
their extensions, so you must use the following file extensions when
you name your text files:
.TXT Use this for category files. A "category file" is any file
that contains your product information or Description
blocks. These files are automatically added to
the main menu (the file CATALOG.TL).
.FRM Use for "Special Forms" and "Coupons." These files are
automatically added to the "Special Forms" menu (the file
CATALOG.FM).
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 17
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.CAT Any file that is shown on the screen in CATALOG.EXE, but is
not a category or "special form" gets this extension.
FIRST.CAT is an example.
.CTF Files that are used to configure the catalog, but are not
displayed on the screen get this extension. TOTAL.CTF is
an example.
Any ASCII characters may be used in these files. However, you should
be aware that some printers don't print the upper ascii characters
(128-255) as expected. If printing catalogs is very important for
your customers you'll want to stick to the lower 127 (of course
upper and lower case letters, normal punctuation, and numbers are all
contained within the lower ascii set). For more information see your
printer manual and your DOS manual.
You could note in a prominent place in your catalog that if a printer
has an "IBM" setting it will probably print all the ascii characters.
Daisy wheel printers will not print the upper characters.
3.2 FILES IN YOUR CATALOG
When making a catalog these are some of the text files you should
create:
FIRST.CAT You first screen or screens
HEADER.CAT The text that appears next to the main menu
CMOSHLP.CAT The main help screen
EXIT.CAT A 10 line message for the exit menu screen
XXXXXX.TXT At least one category file. Replace the Xs with your
own file name.
XXXXXX.FRM If you want the Special Forms menu you should create at
least one form. Replace the Xs with your own file name.
(Special Forms are optional).
TOTAL.CTF The file that controls sales tax and shipping
After you create these files they are compressed. All compressed
files have the ".CM" extension.
3.3 THE MAIN MENU
There are two text files that CATALOG.EXE reads to create menus (they
are not compressed). CATALOG.TL contains the titles for the main
menu, and CATALOG.FM for the "Special Forms" menu.
When you compress your category files and forms files they are
automatically added to the appropriate one of these menu files, and
alphabetized.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 18
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CATALOG.TL an be edited to add many powerful features to your
catalog. Use your favorite text editor to edit this file.
First, a word about the format: each line contains the text that
actually appears on the menu plus the name of the file to be read if
that menu choice is chosen. The menu text and the file name are
separated by a vertical line (|). Example:
Boating Accessories | BOATACC.CM
The files all have the extension ".CM" because they are compressed
files. Any file with a ".CM" extension on this menu is a Category
File. That means it contains Product Blocks or Description Blocks,
or both.
3.31 "CAT" COMMANDS
If the file name on a line in CATALOG.TL has the ".CAT" extension
CATALOG.EXE will treat it as a "Special Catalog Command." Special
Catalog Commands either add a function to the menu, or tell it to
show a file in the catalog viewer. Section 7.2 explains how to put
these commands on the menu. You can also look at the original
CATALOG.TL that came with your distribution disk to see how "CAT"
commands are used.
3.32 SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
There are several special functions that can be attached to your
menu. These can be used in addition to the key combinations that
call the functions. See section 7.2 to learn how to add these menu
items.
3.33 VIEWING A FILE
You can also put files to view on the main menu as long as they do
not have any of the reserved names from section 7.2. Even though
you give these files the ".CAT" extension in CATALOG.TL, the real
files have the ".CM" extension. So, for example, if you wanted to
view a file that describes your shipping policy from the main menu
this line would call a compressed file called "SHIP.CM":
Shipping Information | SHIP.CAT
In fact you can display files from your special forms menu, a help
file, or even redisplay your FIRST file. Notice in the sample
catalog on your distribution disk that we do just that.
3.34 HIGHLIGHTING A MENU ITEM
If you want a menu item to stand out from the rest you can use the
highlight color from the MAIN palette. Just use the ` symbol on
either side of the text you want highlighted. Examples:
`Specials of the Month | SPECIAL.CM
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 19
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The above example highlights "Specials of the Month" on your menu.
`Specials` of the Month | SPECIAL.CM
The above example highlights "Specials" and displays "of the Month"
in the regular menu color.
3.4 USING COLOR PALETTES
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK uses 6 color palettes (see section 5.31), and each
palette has two colors in it, a Normal color and a Bold color. When
typing your catalog files you use the single quote mark (`) on either
side of the text you want to appear in the Bold color. This symbol
is on the same key on your keyboard as the tilde (~) character.
Example: This is normal. `This is Bold!` This is normal again.
You choose which color palette you want associated with each file
when you compress it.
3.5 PUTTING YOUR TEXT ON THE INFO SCREEN
When a user presses (Alt) (i) the information screen pops up. This
is used to show your custom message, the program version number, and
ESC's copyright notice.
Registered Users can also show up to six lines of informational text
here. Normally this will contain your company name, address and
phone number so if your customers have a question about their order
they can contact you.
To insert your own text into the information screen:
Type your text in lines on lines 152-157 in the file CATALOG.CTF.
(We strongly suggest using CATTXT.EXE for this purpose to make sure
this file is not corrupted. If you are CAREFUL you can do this with
an ascii text editor.)
Use CATCOM to compress CATALOG.CTF. (see section 5.41, "COMPRESS"
below).
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 20
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CHAPTER FOUR: CATALOG FILES
4.1 HOW TO MAKE AN OPENING (FIRST) SCREEN FILE
The Opening Screen file is the first information your customer sees
when he or she starts the catalog program. This can be your company
name, a brief general description of how to order, something about
your products or whatever. You will want to keep this fairly short.
Using an ASCII text editor you can create the opening screen(s) that
your customers will see. This information will be shown, a screen at
a time, to your customers when they first start the program.
Make sure that no line is wider than 76 characters, and that you
press Enter at the end of the last line to put a newline character
there (otherwise the last line won't show up on the screen).
Each screen has 23 lines (rows), so if you have more than one screen
you should start screen 2 on line 24, screen 3 on line 47, and so on.
When the file is finished you must compress it (see section 5.41,
"COMPRESS" below). The name of this file MUST be "FIRST.CAT".
4.2 HOW TO MAKE A HEADER FILE
The HEADER is the information that appears on the menu screen, just
beside the menu choices.
Use an ASCII text editor to create a file. This can have your company
name, a slogan, special help, advertising, or whatever you want.
Make sure that no line is wider than 40 characters, and that you
press (Enter) at the end of the last line to put a newline character
there (otherwise the last line won't show up on the screen). This
information appears on the left of your screen, while the categories
menu appears on the right. If you only have a few categories you may
make the lines below the menu 78 characters wide to give additional
information. Experiment with how this looks.
This file should be 23 or fewer lines long.
When the file is finished you must compress it (see section 5.41,
"COMPRESS" below). The name of this file MUST be "HEADER.CAT".
4.3 HOW TO MAKE A CATEGORY FILE
Using an ASCII text editor it is easy to make a category file. There
are three parts of a catalog file: The category title, the header
line, and product or description blocks. Just follow this format:
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 21
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Title: Line one of the file is the category title. Type your
title, and if you want to password protect your file
type a vertical line and your password. Example:
Art Books|mypassword
Header Text: Line two can be a line for the category header. This is
optional, and it can contain any text. It should begin
with a double tilde symbol so CATALOG-ON-A-DISK will
know it is for your header. These symbols will not
appear on the screen. For example you might want the
header to say:
~~Order #: Product Description: List: Your Price:
Another choice is to use it for an advertising banner:
~~===WIDGETWARE is Your Choice In Tee Shirts!===
Product These are followed by one product or description block
and per item in your catalog. A product or description
Description block consists of from 1 to 501 lines. On the top line
Blocks: is the marker, item number, a short product description,
and the price. These items must be in this order. This
is followed by a zero to 500 lines of text (long
description).
4.31 PRODUCT BLOCKS
Marker: You have to use a tilde (~) symbol at the beginning of
the top line of each product or description block. It
must be the left most character on the line with no
other characters or spaces in front of it. This is
mandatory.
Order Number Can be any combination of numbers, letters and
punctuation. Must have NO blank spaces. If you do not
use order numbers you must leave one blank space at
the beginning of the line, after the marker. Order
numbers are optional.
Short Desc: Can be any number of letters, numbers and words as long
as it fits with the Order Number and Price on 1 line
(75 characters total maximum). This is mandatory.
Price: Must be numbers and decimal point only. The best
format to use is XXX.XX where you show two numbers
after the decimal point, even if it is an even dollar
figure. This is mandatory. Some good examples:
.55 132.12 12.00
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 22
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Freight: You can attach a freight charge to each product. If
you do it will be multiplied by the quantity of that
product that is ordered, and added to the subtotal
for the product. You do two things to attach a
freight charge:
First type two vertical lines and then the price of
the freight. Use only numbers and a decimal point -
do not include the currency character. ( | | 12.95).
The second step is to tell your customer this charge
is being added. Make sure to put this information
near the top of your long description for this product
so it can be seen in the first screen of your
description.
Long This can be any text, from 0 to 500 lines long. If you
Description: don't want to use long descriptions, you don't have to.
This is optional.
EXAMPLE:
~ABT147-730 Industrial Metal Shelving 77.95
The long description goes here, and can be from 0 to 500 lines
long.
4.42 DESCRIPTION BLOCKS
Marker: You have to use a ~+D+ symbol at the beginning of the
top line of each product or description block. It must
begin with the left most character on the line with no
other characters or spaces in front of it. This is
mandatory.
Title: Any Text can be used. This is what will appear on the
category menu. If this were a Product Block the order
number, short description and price would appear here.
Long
Description: This can be any text, from 0 to 500 lines long.
EXAMPLE:
~+D+All About Widgets...
The long description goes here, and can be from 0 to 500 lines
long.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 23
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4.43 PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Line# What To Type: # of chars Description
------+----------------------------+-----------+-----------------
1 |~Menu Title | Password |28 | 20 |Title | Password
------+----------------------------+-----------+-----------------
2 |~~Header Text (optional) |76 |Category Header
------+----------------------------+-----------+-----------------
3 |~Order# Short Desc Price |75 |Product
4 |Product Description |75 |Block
5 |Product Description |75 |
6 |Product Description |75 |(500 Line Maximum)
etc. | | |
------+----------------------------+-----------+-----------------
3 |~+D+Text |75 |Description
4 |Description |75 |Block
5 |Description |75 |
6 |Description |75 |(500 Line Maximum)
etc. | | |
------+----------------------------+-----------+-----------------
Etc.
A category text file may be any length, depending on disk space and
memory available. Because you don't know what equipment your
customer may have it is best to keep the size down. For example, a
2000 line category file (with long lines of text) will run fine if the
computer has 640KB of RAM memory, but is too much for a machine with
only 512KB.
Make sure that you press Enter at the end of the last line to put a
newline character there. When the file is finished you must compress
it (see section 5.41, "COMPRESS" below). The file name MUST have the
".TXT" extension (ex: SINKS.TXT).
4.4 SAMPLE CATALOG FILES
See the sample files that come on your distribution disk for
examples of category files. Each example provided shows a different
way you can use these files, but the basic format is identical in all
of them. Category Text Files have the ".TXT" extension.
4.5 HOW TO MAKE AN EXIT SCREEN FILE
The Exit Screen File controls what your customer sees beneath the
exit menu when it is displayed on the screen.
Use an ASCII text editor to create this file. This can have your
company name, a slogan, special help, advertising, or whatever you
want. You may want to talk about special forms, or give ordering
instructions.
When the file is finished you must compress it (see section 5.41,
"COMPRESS" below). The name of this file MUST be EXIT.CAT.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 24
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4.6 HOW TO MAKE ORDER INFORMATION FILES
When CATALOG ON A DISK prints an order form it can print extra
information on your order form. This can be any information you want
including shipping information, your company name and address, and
special ordering information.
It uses two files to do this. You should keep these files short, to
keep the order form to one page, if possible. Normally, one of these
files will be printed at the top, and one at the bottom of the order
form.
Make sure that no line is wider than 78 characters, and that you
press Enter at the end of the last line to put a newline character
there (otherwise the last line won't show up on the screen).
When the file is finished you must compress it (see section 5.41,
"COMPRESS" below).
The name of the files MUST be:
PHEADER.CTF Normally printed at the top of the form.
ORDERINF.CTF Normally printed at the bottom of the form.
4.7 HOW TO MAKE COUPONS AND OTHER SPECIAL FORMS
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK can display a menu of special forms, coupons and so
on. These can contain special offers, company description, special
instructions, and so on.
If forms exist CATALOG-ON-A-DISK adds a special menu item to the Exit
Menu that reads Special Forms. The customer can choose from a menu
of forms and print them to a printer (the printer must be attached to
LPT1 for this to work: this prevents coupons from being printed to a
file and changed by the customer).
Using an ASCII text editor you can create a Form file. Type any
printable ascii characters to make your form.
Make sure that no line is wider than 78 characters, and that you press
Enter at the end of the last line to put a newline character there
(otherwise the last line won't show up on the screen). It is
suggested that you keep forms below 60 lines. (59 lines is one
printed page. These files can be a maximum of 500 lines long.)
When the file is finished you must compress it (see section 5.41,
"COMPRESS" below). The name of this file MUST have the extension
.FRM in order for CATALOG-ON-A-DISK to place it in the Forms menu and
treat it as a form. Example: COUPON.FRM
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 25
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4.8 AUTOMATING SALES TAX AND SHIPPING/HANDLING
You may choose the way your catalog handles sales taxes and shipping
and handling charges on the order form. The simplest way to handle
this is to do nothing. CATALOG-ON-A-DISK will print out blank spaces
for sales taxes, S&H, and the final total that your customers can
fill in manually. In this case be sure to put your tax and S&H
information in the ORDERINF file.
If you include a file called TOTAL.CM you can have CATALOG-ON-A-DISK
figure sales tax and/or S&H automatically or semi-automatically.
+--------------------------------------+
| t NY | 7 |
| s USPS (US) 3.00 | 3.00 |
| s USPS (Canada) 5.00 | 5.00 |
| s USPS (Elsewhere) 9.00 | 9.00 |
| s UPS Ground (US) 3.00 | 3.00 |
| s UPS BLUE (48 Sts) 6.00 | 6.00 |
| s UPS BLUE (AL HI PR) 8.00 | 8.00 |
| s UPS RED (US) 15.00 | 15.00 |
| s UPS RED (AL HI PR) 19.00 | 19.00 |
| s Customer Pick Up 0.00 | 0.00 |
| |
+--------------------------------------+
This file must use a specific format.
If you want to automatically charge a specific sales tax percent for
your state or province include a line that has a t at the beginning
of the line (no spaces before it), then the name of the state or
province (if a US state you should use the two letter indicator
recommended by the post office. Example: NY for New York). Next
there should be a pipe symbol (|) with a space on either side of it.
Finally the sales tax percent age that applies to your state.
Example:
t NY | 7
Some states have different taxes in their various regions. If this
is the case in your state you set your tax line to 999.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK will ask the customer to enter the tax rate only if
he or she resides in the chosen state.
Example:
t NY | 999
If you collect tax in multiple states, or if you think your customers
may type variations of the state/province name in their address you
can use as many "t" lines as needed.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 26
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Example:
t NY | 999
t New York | 999
t N Y | 999
t NJ | 999
t N J | 999
t New Jersey | 999
To include shipping and handling options you use a similar format.
You start with the letter s at the beginning of the line. Next you
type in the shipping option you want to appear on the shipping menu
(it is recommended that you include the price here so your customers
can see what they have to pay for various shipping options. Follow
that with a pipe symbol (|) with a space on either side of it. And
then type in the shipping price for that entry.
Example:
s FedEx 8.50 | 8.50
You may have up to 12 options on this menu. You are not required to
have any if you don't want the shipping menu to appear in your
catalog.
CATALOG-ON-A- DISK can be set to charge sales tax in just one state,
or in all states. You set this using interactive menus or by calling
CATCOM with the -sa flag (for all) or the -so (for one) from the DOS
command line as follows:
catcom -so (Enter)
If you set CATALOG-ON-A-DISK for ALL states a window will pop up
asking the customer to fill in the correct percentage of sales tax
for his or her state. (Any states or provinces set up in the TOTAL
file will have the tax automatically added.)
You may still set one state to automatically charge a set percentage
(using the total file) if you want to. If you do the sales tax will
automatically be figured in without asking for input from customers
in that state (or in any state in the tax list in the TOTAL file).
Some states charge sales tax on shipping and handling as well as
merchandise. Use interactive menus or the -mo flag for merchandise
only, or the -mb flag to set CATALOG-ON-A- DISK to charge tax on
both.
When you are done typing this file you must compress it using the -c
option (see section 5.41, "COMPRESS" below). The name of the file
must be TOTAL.CTF.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 27
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4.9 CHANGING HELP
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK can have context-sensitive help if you create more
than one help file. Minimally you must have two help files:
The first, CMHLP.CM, holds the text you see if you ask for help at
the command line (by typing "CATALOG -h").
The second, CMOSHLP.CM, has the text you see when you press (F1)
while viewing a catalog.
If you want to customize your own help files, create text files
containing your help information. When they are as you want them
compress them. (see section 5.41, "COMPRESS", below). It is
suggested that you use the "HELP" palette when compressing these
files so all your help files will have the same appearance.
Help text file names MUST be:
CMHLP.CTF Help from calling -h
CMOSHLP.CAT General Program Help
MMNUHLP.CAT Main Menu Help
CMNUHLP.CAT Category help
EMNUHLP.CAT Exit menu help
PRNTHLP.CAT Printing help
FINDHLP.CAT Text search help
CRVWHLP.CAT Review screen help
CMOSHLP.CAT will be used if any or all of the other files do not
exist.
4.10 CODING THE ORDER FORM
In some circumstance you may want to code your order forms. This is
most often done when a commission is involved and you want to know
which salesman generated that form.
You can add such a code using a 1 line ascii file called "UNIQUEL".
In your favorite text editor type up to one full line of text, press
(Enter) at the end of the line, then save the file. DO NOT compress
the UNIQEUEL file.
4.11 HOW TO ASK SPECIAL QUESTIONS
Every business has special information they want on their order
forms. It may be a credit card number and expiration date. Software
vendors might want to know what disk size the customer uses. Others
may ask for a purchase order number.
You can set up your own questions so they will be asked when an order
is about to be printed. CATALOG-ON-A-DISK can be set to always ask
about tax and shipping. If a file called EXTRA.CM is present it will
ask additional questions as well.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 28
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Each line in the EXTRA file contains four pieces of information,
separated by a vertical line (|):
1. The question to appear on the screen. (Mandatory)
2. A header to appear before the answer on the order form (optional)
3. A number (1-80) indicating the maximum allowed length of the
answer (mandatory)
4. A number (0-79) indicating how many spaces to the right to indent
the answer on the order form (optional)
Example:
Visa # (Enter for None) | CC Number: | 20 | 40
The above example places "Visa # (Enter for None)" on the screen and
gives the customer a 20 character space to put the number in. When it
prints the credit card number on the order form it indents to the
middle of the page, then prints "CC Number: " and the number. 29
When you are done typing this file you must compress it using the -c
option (see section 5.41, "COMPRESS", below). The name of the file
must be EXTRA.CTF.
4.12 HOW TO CHANGE INTERNAL PROGRAM TEXT IN CATALOG.EXE
If your catalog is not in English you will want to translate the
internal program text to the language you are using. You can also
rephrase the text in English if other words are more appropriate for
your business.
To change the text, copy the file CATALOG.CTF from your distribution
disk. ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL FILE. You can edit the
original file using your favorite text editor, or use the utility
program CATTXT.EXE to edit the file.
Do NOT create this file from scratch. Always edit a copy of the
original.
-----------------------------
IMPORTANT NOTE!!! CAUTION!!!
-----------------------------
The format of this file is very specific, and if CATALOG.EXE doesn't
find the text in the correct order and length it could cause severe
problems with the operation of the program. For this reason we
strongly suggest you use CATTXT to safely edit the file. If you do
use a text editor you must be VERY CAREFUL to keep each line of text
on the same line you found the original version on, AND do not exceed
the length of the original text. (CATTXT is a bonus utility that is
provided to registered customers.)
When you are done editing this file you must compress it using the -c
option (see section 5.41, "COMPRESS", below). The name of the file
must be CATALOG.CTF.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 29
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4.13 FORMATTING THE ORDER FORM
You can set the order in which items appear on your order form using
a file called CATPRINT.
You create this file in your favorite text editor. It consists of
several key words, all typed in UPPER CASE letters. Each key word
refers to a section of the order form, and the sections will be
printed in the order you place them in this file.
If you want blank lines to appear after a section you use the BLANK#
keyword, replacing "#" with the number of blank lines you want
printed.
Here is list of the keywords:
ORDRTOP Prints "ORDER FORM" (or whatever is on line 147 of
CATALOG.CTF)
HEADING Prints the PHEADER file if it exists
MESSAGE Prints the custom message
PRNDATE Prints the date
ADDRESS Prints the customer's Address
PNPHONE Prints the customer's phone number
PNORDER Prints the order (item, quant ordered, price, etc.)
PNTOTAL Prints the total, tax and shipping information
ANSWERS Prints the answers to the questions asked in the file
EXTRA.CM, if it exists
UNIQUEL Prints the UNIQUEL file if it exists
ORDRINF Prints the ORDERINF file if it exists
CTITLE1
CTITLE2 Optionally you can have a one or two line header above
the order section of your order form. Typically the
first line tells what the columns are for,
"NUM ORDER # DESCRIPTION"
and so on, and the second line is used to underline these
choices. You can put anything you want on these lines. The
text that appears should begin right after the "1" or "2"
with no spaces (unless you want the header to begin with
spaces).
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 30
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You can also determine the spacing of the order information in the
PNORDER section by adding a line to the bottom of this file that
begins with the keyword "OCONFIG". On the same line follow this with
the following key words (replace the # with the number of spaces from
the left margin you want each piece of information to start on):
OINM# The order item number
ONUM# The order number
ODES# The short description
OQNT# The quantity ordered
OPRI# The price
OSUB# The subtotal for that item
At the end of the last line in this file press Enter, then save the
file. For an example of how to make this file see the sample file
called "CATPRINT.CTF" on your distribution disk.
When you are done editing this file you must compress it using the -c
option (see section 5.41, "COMPRESS", below). The name of the file
must be CATPRINT.CTF.
EXAMPLE:
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|ORDRTOP BLANK1 |
|HEADING |
|MESSAGE BLANK1 |
|PRNDATE BLANK1 |
|ADDRESS |
|PNPHONE BLANK1 |
|PNORDER BLANK2 |
|PNTOTAL BLANK2 |
|ANSWERS BLANK1 |
|UNIQUEL BLANK1 |
|ORDRINF |
|OCONFIG OINM1 ONUM7 ODES17 OQNT50 OPRI68 OSUB77 |
|CTITLE1# ORDER NO. DESCRIPTION QUANT PRICE TOTAL|
|CTITLE2--- --------- ----------- ----- ----- -----|
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 31
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CHAPTER FIVE: THE COMPANION
The CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Companion (CATCOM) is a program that helps you
make your catalog. It sets the parameters of your catalog, and acts
on catalog files that you have created with your word processor or
data base program.
Catalog parameters include the nationality settings, the colors in
your catalog, tax and date setups, and help bar setup.
When building your catalog you make catalog files in a text editor or
word processor that has the capability to save text in pure ascii
format. Then you use CATCOM to compress your files into a form that
CATALOG.EXE can read, and that take up less space on your disk. You
can also use CATCOM to import and export catalog files to a data base
or other program.
CATCOM can be run in two ways. Command line mode lets you use
CATCOM'S capabilities using flags on the DOS command line. For
example, to compress a file you would type:
catcom -c myfile.txt (Enter)
CATCOM also has an interactive mode that allows you to perform tasks
interactively within a menu driven program. If you are new to
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK you'll probably want to start with interactive
mode.
To start the Companion in interactive mode type:
CATCOM (Enter)
If CATCOM does not start you may have to set a TEMP variable.
Although you can do this from the DOS command line you should load it
each time you start your computer, using the autoexec.bat file. Add
a line to that file that reads:
SET TEMP=C:\
Then reboot your computer so the command will take effect.
5.1 COMMAND LINE FUNCTIONS:
CATCOM's catalog making functions can be called from the command
line. It is very easy to use these functions. You call CATCOM as
follows:
catcom [flags] [filename] (Enter)
NOTES:
■The flags can be upper or lower case (ex. -E or -e).
■You may use / instead of - in flags (ex: -e or /e).
■The filename may come before or after the flag. (You only specify a
file name with -c, -e, or -i)
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 32
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-c Compress a text file to make a catalog file
-e Export a compressed catalog file to ascii delimited format
-i Import an ascii delimited file to a text file
-t# Expand tabs to # spaces
-h+ Set Help Bar On (-h- Sets Help Bar Off)
-nu Set Nationality address format to US style
-ne Set Nationality address format to European/Canadian style
-so Charge Sales Tax in One State
-sa Charge Sales Tax in All States
-mo Tax merchandise only
-mb Tax both merchandise and Shipping & Handling
-*a Set currency character using ascii number (numbers in
decimal. 32 for blank) EX: -*a36
-*s Set currency character using symbol EX: *s$
5.2 INTERACTIVE MODE
CATCOM is a fully interactive program with easy to navigate menus,
context sensitive help, and mouse support. You can configure it to
your preferences.
5.21 NAVIGATING CATCOM
You can use your keyboard and/or mouse to navigate CATCOM. The
program uses pull-down menus to access its functions. You can use
the following keys at any time:
(Enter) Chooses a menu choice or accepts a setting
(Esc) Backs out of a menu item, or aborts a setting (when
this happens your old setting is preserved).
(F1) Help.
(Alt) (r) Shows the Review screen with a summary of all current
settings.
(Alt) (x) Exits to DOS.
If you have a mouse use the following buttons:
Left Chooses a menu item
Right Backs out of a menu item (same as (Esc) )
5.22 CATCOM MENUS
When you first start CATCOM you see a menu bar at the top of the
screen and a message bar at the bottom.
The Menu Bar contains choices, each of which has a pull down menu
with more choices.
The Message Bar is used to tell you when something you tried to do
worked or did not work.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 33
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On the extreme left of the menu bar is a triple line. This choice
gives you information about CATCOM, including the version number.
The other menus do the following:
Setup: Sets CATALOG.EXE parameters such as color, nationality,
help bar.
Files: Lets you act on catalog files, plus view the catalog.
Options: This is for setting CATCOM, and viewing the review screen.
Quit: Exit to DOS.
Help: You may get general help or choose from an index.
5.3 THE SETUP MENU
The Setup Menu is used to set the parameters of your catalog. When
you change an item in this menu the information is written to the
file "CATALOG.INI." This is the file that CATALOG.EXE reads to know
how to behave. Make sure you copy the right version of CATALOG.INI
with your final catalog files. Also check your CATCOM setup (in the
Options Menu) to make sure the correct path, if any, is set for this
file.
You set colors, the help bar, nationality format, tax format, the
currency character, and date format from this menu.
5.31 COLORS
CATALOG.EXE supports six color palettes. The first three are used
for specific purposes in the program. These and the other three
palettes can also be assigned to each catalog file that appears on
the screen.
You set the actual colors for each palette here. When you compress
catalog files you are prompted to select one of the palettes for that
file.
NOTE: If you decide to change the colors in a palette AFTER you have
already compressed files using that palette you do NOT have to
compress those files again. They will automatically be displayed in
the new colors.
Here is a list of the palettes and what they are used for:
Palette |Program Use |Your Use
--------+-------------------+------------
MAIN |Screen, menus |Your files
HELP |Help screens |Your files
HILIGHT |Special Messages |Your files
ONE | |Your files
TWO | |Your files
THREE | |Your files
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 34
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When you pick a color to choose you are presented with a screen
showing examples of all the possible color combinations. Using the
arrow keys (or your mouse) place the box over the color you want for
each palette choice and press (Enter). Or press (Esc) to keep the
old color.
5.32 HELP BAR
The help bar appears at the bottom of the catalog screen. It
contains text that you determine, usually reminding the customer of
the functions of the most used keys. Pressing (Alt) (h) toggles it
on and off.
You use the "Set Help Bar Default" choice to tell the catalog to
display the help bar when CATALOG.EXE is first started (ON) or not
(OFF).
Choose "Help Bar Text" to change the text that appears in the Help
Bar. When you are finished typing your help text press (Enter) to
accept it, or (Esc) to keep the old text.
5.33 NATIONALITY
The "Nationality" function affects the address format. On the Exit
Menu of the catalog the customer is asked to type in his or her name
and address. This is saved and printed on each order form. If you
choose "US Style" United States state and area code formats will be
used. Choose "International" for a more free- form approach that
allows for many styles of address and phone number (you can choose
"International" if you are in the US).
5.34 TAX ONE OR ALL
Depending on your obligation you can set the catalog to add sales tax
for one state or province, all states or provinces, or none.
When the customer fills in his or her address CATALOG.EXE looks at
the State/Province line and tries to match it with a list set up in
the TOTAL file. If you have set your catalog to tax ONE state it
will automatically fill in the tax (or pop up the tax box for the
customer to fill in) if it finds a match.
If you are not obligated to collect sales tax there is a simple trick
to setting the catalog. Choose "One State or Province" on this menu.
Then, in your TOTAL file define a nonsense state ("ghasgqfvs", for
example) with a tax of 0. Because there will never be a match the
tax is never added.
5.35 WHAT TO TAX
As of this writing most states in the US only charge sales tax on
merchandise. Recently the New York State tax department required
businesses to also tax shipping/handling. Make the choice that
matches your tax collecting obligation.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 35
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5.36 CURRENCY CHARACTER
If you want your currency character (the "$" sign in the US) to
appear you can set the one for your country here. If you do not want
it to appear make it blank.
5.37 DATE SETUP
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK tries to accommodate itself to any country format.
You can set up the date display that appears on the order review
screen and on the order form.
"Month Style" lets you use a number (5) or text (May) to represent the
month. (Note: Month text is stored in CATALOG.CTF.)
"Order" lets you choose between Month-Day-Year, and Day-Month-Year
"Separator" is the symbol, if any, that separates the Day, Month,
and Year.
5.4 THE FILES MENU
The Files Menu has the functions that act on your catalog files,
including compressing, importing and exporting. In addition it
allows you to view your catalog without leaving CATCOM.
If you need to import or export text, the best way to see how this
works is to export one of the sample text files, and then to import
it again.
5.41 COMPRESS
Compressing your catalog files is the most important function of
CATCOM. CATALOG.EXE cannot read your files unless they are
compressed. This allows a much larger catalog to fit on a disk than
would otherwise, and provides some security for your catalog data.
DOS file names are made of a name and an extension, separated by a
period. The name may be from 1 to eight characters long, and the
extension (which is optional) begins with a period followed by 1 to 3
characters.
There are four kinds of catalog files. CATCOM recognizes them by
their three-letter file extensions, and embeds special codes in them
that tell your catalog how the file is to be displayed. In the case
of Category Files it also tells how prices should be calculated, how
many products are contained in the file, and other information
CATALOG.EXE needs.
When you choose this option you are first asked for a "File Mask."
This is the three letter extension.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 36
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For: Type:
--------------------------------------------------
Category Files TXT
Special Forms FRM
Other files that Display On The Screen CAT
Files that DO NOT Display On The Screen CTF
When you press (Enter) you are presented with a list of all the files
with the extension you chose. Use the arrow keys (or point and click
with your mouse) to highlight the file you want to compress and press
(Enter) (or press the left mouse button).
Since the first three kinds of file all display on the screen you
have to assign a color palette to each one. A box pops up showing
samples of each palette. Type the number of the palette (1 through
six) that you want to use when displaying this file.
Now the screen will change and information on the progress of the
compression is displayed. It tells you the size of the original text
version of the file, and the reduced size of the compressed version.
this does NOT erase your text file. It creates another file with the
same name, but with ".CM" for its extension.
If you have compressed a category file it will tell you how many
products were compressed. Press any key, when prompted, to return to
CATCOM. You may choose another file mask, or press (Esc) to return
to the "Files" menu.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: You may notice some codes have been added to the very first
line of your text file. Other than this no changes are made to the
file. You can ignore the codes, or erase them. If you re-compress
the same file, but choose another palette the old codes are ignored,
and replaced with new information.
If the codes are driving you crazy use an ascii text editor to edit
the file called CATCOM.INI. Go down to the line that says "KEEPFLG"
and replace the "1" with a "0" - DO NOT make any other changes to
this file!!! This causes your original file to stay the same, but a
copy that contains the codes is created with the ".TTI" extension.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
5.42 IMPORT
If you have product data in a database that stores the data in ascii
delimited files CATCOM can convert the data to the text version of a
category file. Before importing make sure that the delimiters set
(in the "Files" menu) are the ones used for the ascii delimited file
you are importing.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 37
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When you first choose "Import" you have to fill in the Menu Text
(this is what appears on the main menu of your catalog), and the
Header (when you view a category this appears on the top of the
screen). If you have processed the file before CATCOM remembers your
old settings and displays them on the screen. You may press (Ctrl)
(Enter) to accept the old text or edit it first.
Your data base may not have saved the fields in the order CATCOM
expects them. CATCOM will display the fields from the first record
so you can mark them as the order number field, price field, and so
on.
A window entitled "Set Data Fields" is displayed, showing the first
data field. Press (s). Now you are asked to mark the field. Type
one of the following symbols and press (Enter):
n if the field is the order number
s if the field is the short description
p if the field contains the price
x if the field is not to be used for the catalog
xx if the current field and every field following it are not used
You can handle the long description fields one of two ways:
If all the fields are in the order you want them displayed, just
leave them blank.
If they are mixed up number each field, starting with "1".
After you have marked the first field you use the arrow keys, (Home),
and (End) to view and mark the other fields.
When you are finished marking the fields press (Esc). A window will
appear that tells you the name of the new ".TXT" file and reports on
each record as it is imported.
If there was already a file of that name with the ".TXT" extension it
will be backed up with an extension of ".001" If that file exists
".002" will be used and so on.
5.43 EXPORT
You can export your catalog data to an ascii delimited data file,
which can then be imported into most popular data base programs.
Before proceeding check to make sure CATCOM is using delimiters
compatible with your data base (see your data base manual for this
information).
When you choose "Export" from the menu you are presented with a list
of files with the ".TXT" extension (category files). Once you have
chosen a file to export you are asked how many long description lines
to use. It is important that you type the number of lines in the
LONGEST long description in the file. It's OK to specify extra
lines. If you specify fewer you will loose some data. Type the
number and press (Enter).
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 38
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A new file with the same name and the ".ASC" extension will be
created, containing the data fields, separated by the delimiters you
specified.
If there was already a file of that name with the ".ASC" extension it
will be backed up with an extension of ".001" If that file exists
".002" will be used and so on.
5.44 DELIMITERS
Ascii Delimited data files are supposed to be a standard format, but
in the computer world the word "standard" is often loosely used! The
standard should be a quotation mark (") to delimit the beginning of a
field and a quote with a comma (",) to mark the end of a field.
Some data bases, however, use different symbols, and some even use
different delimiters for text than they do for numbers or currency.
Because of the differences in the "standard" CATCOM lets you fill in
the delimiters in as flexible a way as possible. You set delimiters
for numbers, text, and currency.
For each of these you set three delimiters:
Before Used to begin a field
After Used to end a field
Last Used to end the last field in a record
Check your data base manual to see what delimiters are needed.
If your data base ends the last field in a record the same as all the
other fields, be sure to fill the "After" and "Last" boxes
identically.
"Spaces" sets how many blank spaces go between each field. Normally
this is set to 0.
5.55 VIEW CATALOG
While setting up your catalog with CATCOM you can view your catalog as
you go along. CATCOM swaps out to memory (or disk, if there is not
enough memory) and shows the catalog. When you are done with the
catalog you are returned to CATCOM.
5.5 THE OPTIONS MENU
The Options Menu lets you set up CATCOM. These settings affect
CATCOM only, and are not used in your catalog. In addition you may
view the Catalog Settings Review Screen.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 39
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5.51 COLORS
If you don't care for the colors in CATCOM you can change them with
this menu choice.
When you choose to change a color a screen is displayed showing all
the possible color choices. Using the arrow keys (or your mouse)
place the box over the color you want for each choice and press
(Enter). or press (Esc) to keep the old color.
5.52 FRAMES
This sets the kind of frame that appears around your CATCOM menus.
5.53 SOUND
When CATCOM sends a message on the message bar it sounds an alarm.
You can turn off this alarm by choosing "Off."
5.54 PATHS
Normally you will keep your catalog - in - progress on the same drive
and directory as CATCOM. If you decide to put them in separate
directories you must explicitly tell CATCOM where to find them.
You are asked to fill in three paths - under normal circumstances
they will be identical. For example, if the catalog is kept on drive
C: in a directory called \CATALOG you would type:
C:\CATALOG
If your catalog IS in the same directory as CATCOM you can either
fill it in, or leave it blank.
Note: When compressing from the command line you should have NO path
set for "Files To Compress."
5.55 REVIEW
This choice displays the Review screen, which reports on all your
current settings (that you set using the "Setup" menu). It is
identical to pressing (Alt) (r).
The review screen shows all your catalog settings on one screen.
This lets you see at a glance if anything needs to be changed.
5.6 THE QUIT MENU
Choose "Yes" to exit to DOS, or "No" to return to CATCOM.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 40
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5.7 THE HELP MENU
If you choose "General Help" you will be shown basic information on
getting around CATCOM with your keyboard and mouse. If you choose
"Index" you will be shown an index of topics from which to choose.
With your keyboard:
(Tab) Next topic
(Shift) (Tab) Last Topic
(Enter) Choose a topic
(PgUp) Up 1 page
(PgDn) Down 1 page
(Home) 1st press: Top of screen
2nd press: Top of help topic
(End) 1st press: Bottom of screen
2nd press: Bottom of help topic
(Esc) Leave help
With your mouse just point to the topic or action you want and press
the left button.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 41
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CHAPTER SIX: COMMANDS
6.1 COMMAND SUMMARY (CATALOG.EXE):
Command Line:
-h Help
-m Force black and white color display
In the program:
(Esc) Exit
(alt) (i) Program Information
(alt) (x) Exit
(Alt) (p) Print the whole catalog
(Alt) (h) Display a Help Bar
(F1) Help
(PgUp) (PgDn) See more than 20 Categories or Products
(Up) (Dn) Up or Down 1 Category or Product
(Lt) (Rt) Up or Down 1 Category or Product
6.2 COMMAND LINE FLAG SUMMARY (CATCOM.EXE):
-c Compress a text file to make a catalog file
-e Export a compressed catalog file to ascii delimited format
-i Import an ascii delimited file to a text file
-t# Expand tabs to # spaces
-h+ Set Help Bar On (-h- Sets Help Bar Off)
-nu Set Nationality address format to US style
-ne Set Nationality address format to European/Canadian style
-so Charge Sales Tax in One State
-sa Charge Sales Tax in All States
-mo Tax merchandise only
-mb Tax both merchandise and Shipping & Handling
-*a Set currency character using ascii number (numbers in
decimal. 32 for blank)
-*s Set currency character using symbol
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 42
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CHAPTER SEVEN: ADVANCED FEATURES
7.1 PRICING TECHNIQUES
For most applications you want CATALOG-ON-A-DISK to multiply the
price of each item by the quantity ordered, and add this sum to the
total order. To use this "normal" pricing option type the word
"NORMAL" (upper case required) on line 142 of CATALOG.CTF, and
recompress the file. (NOTE: CATALOG-ON-A-DISK ships with this option
enabled, so if you haven't changed this line you do not have to do
anything.)
You can set CATALOG.EXE to simply count items, and multiply the
quantity by a single price. This might be useful in a shareware
business where all the disks cost the same, but some programs are on
multiple disks. Instead of prices you would type the number of disks
per product in the category files. Then, to enable this pricing
option, type "COUNTUP 4.95" (upper case required) on line 142 of
CATALOG.CTF, and recompress the file. Replace "4.95" with your own
disk price.
Finally, you can set CATALOG.EXE to not use prices. This is useful
when you are using the program to generate requests for estimates.
The customer goes through the catalog as usual, "orders" products and
prints an order form. This is sent to the company, and returned with
the estimate for those products. To set this option type "NOPRICE"
(upper case required) on line 142 of CATALOG.CTF, and recompress the
file.
Note that these are GLOBAL pricing options. This means that they
affect all categories in your catalog. You can't use NORMAL for one
category and NOPRICE for another, for example.
NOTE: It is strongly suggested that you use the CATTXT utility to
change your CATALOG.CTF file.
7.2 ADDING SPECIAL FUNCTIONS TO THE MENU
There are several special functions that can be added to the main
menu besides viewing category files. These are easy to set up using
the CATALOG.TL file, which contains the menu information. This is an
ascii file that is NOT compressed.
When you look in this file you'll notice the format is simple: the
text that will appear on the menu is first, followed by the name of
the category file that menu choice calls. These are separated by a
vertical line. Example:
Aviation Supplies | AIRCRAFT.cm
All the file names end with the ".CM" extension which indicates they
are compressed category files. To add special functions you type any
menu choice you want, the vertical line, and a file name ending with
the ".CAT" extension.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 43
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".CAT" file listings are not real file names. They are instructions
to the catalog to perform certain tasks. There are just a few
reserved names that attach internal functions to your menu. These
are:
STRDORD.CAT When this is chosen a standard order is added to the
current order if the standard order file exists. (See
section 7.7)
SPECIAL.CAT This calls the SCMD file and performs any dos commands
contained in it. This is a way of running other
programs from inside your catalog. (See section 7.3)
LASTORD.CAT When this is chosen the last order is added to the
current order if the last order file exists. (This
file is automatically created when printing an order
form IF this menu choice is in your CATALOG.TL file.
(See section 7.7)
PRINTER.CAT This choice is for printing the whole catalog to a
printer attached to lpt1 (it is identical to choosing
alt-p from the "exit" menu.
EXITMEN.CAT This lets you go to the exit menu by choosing it on
the main menu. It is identical to pressing Esc at the
main menu.
You can also view compressed files that have a ".CM" extension using
the ".CAT" extension in CATALOG.TL, as long as they do not have any
of names listed above.
Good examples:
The following lets the customer view FIRST.CM by choosing "View
Opening Screens" from the main menu:
View Opening Screens | FIRST.CAT
The following lets the customer go to the exit menu from a main menu
choice:
Quit and Order | EXITMEN.CAT
7.3 RUNNING PROGRAMS FROM YOUR CATALOG
You can actually run other programs from inside your catalog. This
is done using one or more of four small "command" files. Each file
contains a command or a list of commands. If the file exists and
enough memory is available the catalog will run the commands in it,
one at a time.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 44
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If you want more than one program to be run you must put each dos
command on a line by itself. For example, lets say you want to show
a pcx of your company logo, then an animation with music right after
your "First" screen appears, but before the main menu. You would
create a file called "ACMD" with two lines in it:
CATPCX LOGO.PCX
ESHOW -n0 -c0 -b0
These are the file names to use and when the catalog runs them if they
are present on the disk.
BCMD Before the opening screen appears.
ACMD After the opening screen appears.
ECMD When "Exit" is chosen from the "exit" menu.
SCMD A choice on the main menu.
If you use the SCMD file you also need to add it to the menu file,
CATALOG.TL. Place it in that file like this:
Run A Slide Show | SPECIAL.CAT
The menu title can be whatever you want it to be, but after the
vertical line you must type SPECIAL.CAT (it can be in upper or lower
case).
If you like you can create versions of each of these files for
monochrome use. Just add a "M" to the file name and call your
programs from that file with their monochrome flags. When
CATALOG.EXE is called using the -m flag to force monochrome it will
look for the monochrome version of your command file and run it if
present. Otherwise it will run the color version (if it is present).
Example:
In SCMD: eshow mybanner
In SCMDM: eshow mybanner -m
7.4 MULTI-DISK CATALOGS
If your catalog is too big to fit on one disk you can use multiple
disks. When CATALOG can't find a category on the current disk it
asks the user to insert another.
There are a few considerations when you distribute multi-disk
catalogs.
First, CATALOG.EXE and CATALOG.INI should be on disk one along with
all the most used files. When entering the "Exit Menu" the program
looks for itself. This insures that all the files it needs for
ordering are present.
Second, any file used for ordering (like TOTAL.CM and CATPRINT.CM)
should be on the same disk with CATALOG.EXE. In addition, any
special forms files should be on that disk.
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK Page 45
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Third, some files should be on all disks in the catalog. These
include the help files, the CMD files (see 7.3), and any utilities
that are run from CMD files.
7.5 DECOMPRESSING FILES
A utility called CATCM.EXE is included with your package. You can
decompress your catalog files using it. the syntax is:
CATCM [-d -pxxxxx] newfilename
-d Tells CATCM you are decompressing a file
-pxxxxx Only used if the file was compressed with a password.
Replace the xs with the password.
newfilename The name of the uncompressed file (Note: CATCM expects
a file of the SAME name with the ".CM" extension as the
file to decompress.
Decompressing does NOT affect the original .CM file.
Examples:
CATCM -d FIRST.CTF
The above example decompresses FIRST.CM into FIRST.CTF
CATCM -d -pSECRET WIDGETS.TXT
The above decompresses a file called WIDGETS.CM that was originally
compressed with the password "SECRET." The resulting file is called
WIDGETS.TXT.
7.6 DISCOUNT MULTIPLIER
Some businesses give their customers an across the board discount, or
a discount that increases as the customer buys more. You can set up
CATALOG.EXE to do this for up to three levels of discount.
To enable this feature you create a small ascii file called
MULTI.CTF. For each discount level you type two numbers, separated
by a single space. The first number is the order total, and the
second is the percent of the discount.
Here's an example file:
+-------+
|20 5 |
|50 15 |
|100 20 |
+-------+
(note: the +,-, and | symbols are just a border in this manual and do
not go in the actual file.)
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Line one means if the order is $20 or more give a 5% discount.
Line two means if the order is $50 or more give a 15% discount.
Line three means if the order is $100 or more give a 20% discount.
Remember, you can have a maximum of three levels. If the file
contains more than three lines they will be ignored. Also, make sure
the levels progress from line one (lowest value) through line
three(highest value. Reversing lines 2 and 3 could cause problems.
Now use CATCOM to compress the file. If the file is present on the
Catalog disk the program automatically uses the multiplier(s) it
contains. If not the full price is charged for all totals.
If you do use this feature you should change the text on line 23 of
CATALOG.CTF to say that the discount is not included (this is for the
review screen only).
If you give different discounts to different customers you can use
the same catalog for all customers, only changing the MULTI file for
each one.
7.7 LAST AND SPECIAL ORDERS
You can set up CATALOG.EXE to add products to the current order.
There are two ways to do this. You can use either or both in a
catalog.
The first method saves the order information from the last ordering
session. The customer can choose, from the main menu, to include his
or her last order in the current one. Each time the customer orders
the old "last" order is replaced with the new one. All you have to
do to enable this option is add the LASTORD.CAT option to the menu
file (CATALOG.TL). See section 7.2 for instructions on how to do
this.
The second method lets you provide a standard order for your
customers. Perhaps this is a special kit that your company offers,
or a specific collection of products. Enabling this involves three
steps:
1. First set up your catalog to use the LASTORD feature. Go through
the catalog yourself, ordering the products you want included.
2. Exit the catalog, and rename the file LASTORD to STRDORD.
3. Add the STRDORD.CAT option to the menu file (CATALOG.TL) as shown
in section 7.2. If you don't want the LASTORD feature in your
catalog, delete the option from CATALOG.TL at this time.
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APPENDIX A: DISTRIBUTING CATALOGS
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK is protected by US Copyright law. This section
tells how you may distribute catalogs. Distribution of your catalog
must follow these rules to avoid infringement of EmmaSoft's
copyright. If you have any questions about catalog distribution
requirements, call EmmaSoft Software Company, Incorporated (ESC) for
clarification.
First, some definitions:
CATALOG-ON- The software package including CATALOG.EXE,
A-DISK CATCOM.EXE, and their accompanying files as
shipped from ESC.
Your Catalog Your company's catalog which included CATALOG.EXE,
CATALOG.INI, and the files you have created to
display your catalog using CATALOG.EXE.
1. A registered user is an individual or company who has paid a
registration fee to ESC and received a registered copy with
a valid serial number from ESC.
2. Only registered users may distribute catalogs using CATALOG.EXE.
If you are a registered user you may make unlimited copies of
your catalog, including CATALOG.EXE and CATALOG.INI.
Associated individuals or companies not part of the registered
user must be registered users before distributing catalogs with
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK. For example, each member of a franchise must
individually buy a copy of the program. An easy way to
distinguish: if you or your company can receive catalog orders
directly from a customer you must be a registered user.
3. If you charge a fee for your catalog it should be explicitly
understood that you are not selling a copy of the CATALOG-ON-
A-DISK product, but are simply charging for a copy of your
catalog.
4. When distributing catalogs CATALOG.EXE MUST be included,
unchanged from its original form. In addition you must
include the file CATALOG.INI for the program to work correctly.
Your FIRST, HEADER, ORDERINF, TL, FM, help, and CM files should
be included as needed. Other parts of the package including
CATCOM.EXE, CATCM.EXE, and the manual must not be sent with your
catalogs.
5. Unregistered Users: Unregistered users are invited to
experiment with a trial copy CATALOG-ON-A-DISK for no
longer than 30 days to see if the program meets their needs.
However it is a violation of EmmaSoft's copyright for an
unregistered user to distribute catalogs using the program.
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APPENDIX B: FILES
B.1 WHAT MAKES A CATALOG?
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK has many features, and you probably don't want to
use all of them in a single catalog. Minimally you MUST have the
following files in a catalog:
CATALOG.EXE The catalog reader.
CATALOG.INI The initialization file.
CATALOG.CM The catalog program text file.
CMOSHLP.CM The default help file.
CATALOG.TL The title file for the main menu
PLUS you must have at least one category file.
In addition you can have many other files, listed below.
When you want to look at a catalog, CATALOG looks for files have the
.CM extension, indicating they have been compressed.
Special Forms files are optional. They contain anything: an
explanation of your company policies, special coupons, whatever you
want to use them for. These compressed files have the .CM extension,
and they are listed in the file CATALOG.FM, along with the menu title
used to call them. Important NOTE: if CATALOG.FM does not exist on
your disk, the Special Forms menu item in the exit menu does not
appear.
B.2 FILE NAMES
As you create your catalog you should observe certain file naming
conventions. Use the following file extensions to take maximum
advantage of CATALOG-ON-A-DISK's automatic file compression features:
.TXT Use this for category files. These files are automatically
added to the main menu.
.FRM Use this for "Special Forms" and "Coupons." These files are
automatically added to the "Special Forms" menu.
.CAT Any file that is shown on the screen, but is not a category or
"special form" gets this extension.
.CTF Files that are used to configure the catalog, but are not
displayed on the screen get this extension. TOTAL.CTF is
an example.
When these files are compressed they are all given the extension:
".CM"
IMPORTANT NOTE: When naming your catalog files do NOT use any of the
file names listed below except for the purpose listed. For example,
don't name a category "TOTAL.TXT" or "CATALOG.TXT".
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The following files are used to show or create your catalog:
CATALOG.EXE The main program (THIS FILE MUST BE PART OF YOUR
CATALOG)
CATALOG.INI Contains initialization data, name, address, help bar
(THIS FILE MUST BE PART OF YOUR CATALOG)
CATCOM.EXE The catalog building companion program
(Do NOT include this with your catalog!!!)
information such as
color
The following files are small ascii files that are not compressed.
The inclusion of these files with your catalog is optional.
BCMD, BCMDM Contains DOS commands to be executed before the
opening screen appears.
ACMD, ACMDM Contains DOS commands to be executed after the
opening screen appears.
ECMD, ECMDM Contains DOS commands to be executed when "Exit"
is chosen from the "exit" menu.
SCMD, SCMDM Contains DOS commands to be executed from a
choice on the main menu.
The following files are your catalog. They should be created in a
text editor capable of saving files in ascii format. Before
CATALOG.EXE can read the files they must be compressed using
CATCOM.EXE.
The following files should have the ".TXT" extension (example:
WIDGET.TXT):
All category files.
The following files should have the ".FRM" extension (example:
COUPON.FRM):
All special forms/coupons files.
The following files should have the ".CAT" extension (example:
FIRST.CAT):
FIRST.CAT The opening screen(s) in your catalog
HEADER.CAT The Text that appears on the main menu screen
EXIT.CAT The 10 line closing message on the exit menu
screen
CMOSHLP.CAT General Help (THIS FILE MUST BE PART OF YOUR
CATALOG)
MMNUHLP.CAT Help for the main menu
CMNUHLP.CAT Help while in a category
EMNUHLP.CAT Help for the "exit" menu
PRNTHLP.CAT Help for the "print" menu
FINDHLP.CAT Help for the "search" function
CRVWHLP.CAT Help for the "Review Order" screen.
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In addition, any file you want to display in a catalog that appears
on the screen not counting category and "Special Forms" files
(accessed on the main menu by using a .CAT extension in the
CATALOG.TL file) should have the ".CAT" extension.
The following files should have the ".CTF" extension (example:
ORDER.CTF) All but CATALOG.CTF are optional files.
CATALOG.CTF Contains all internal text that appears in
CATALOG.EXE
(THIS FILE MUST BE PART OF YOUR CATALOG)
CATPRINT.CTF Configures the way the order from is printed
CMHLP.CTF The help file displayed when catalog is called
with the -h flag from DOS
EXTRA.CTF A configuration file that defines extra
questions to be asked when printing the
order form. (Charge card information,
for example)
ORDERINF.CTF Text that appears in the order form.
PHEADER.CTF Text that appears in the order form.
TOTAL.CTF Configures S&H and sales tax
MULTI.CTF Discount multiplyer data
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APPENDIX C: PROGRAM LIMITS
Maximum Number of Categories: 500
Maximum Lines in Category File: Limited by memory only*
Maximum Lines in Product Block: 500
Maximum Lines in Description Block: 500
Maximum Lines in any catalog file
(not including category files): 500
Maximum products ordered in 1 session: 200
*More specific information may be in the readme file.
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INDEX
Animation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Ascii. .8-10, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 31, 32, 36-38, 41, 42, 45, 49
Bold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 19
Branding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Catalog File . . . . . . . . . . .5, 10, 11, 16, 20, 32, 33, 41, 51
CATALOG.EXE. . . . . . . 7, 10, 16-18, 28, 31, 33-35, 41, 42, 44-50
CATALOG.INI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 16, 33, 44, 47-49
CATCM.EXE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 47
CATCOM.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7, 16, 41, 47, 49
Category File. 8-10, 12, 15-18, 20-23, 27, 35-37, 41, 42, 44, 48-51
CATTXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 28, 42
Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 10, 19, 31, 33, 39
Command line mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Companion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 16, 31, 49
Compress 5,16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26-28, 30-33, 35, 36, 39, 41, 46
Countup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Currency symbol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 32, 33, 35, 38, 41
Decompressing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Delimited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 10, 32, 36-38, 41
Description block. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 21, 22, 51
Discount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 45, 46, 50
Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4, 18, 23, 28, 30, 47
DOS. . . . . . . . . . . .14, 17, 26, 31-33, 35, 39, 43, 44, 49, 50
Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Exit . . .10-15, 17, 23, 24, 27, 33, 34, 39, 41, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49
Exit Menu. . . . . . . . .10-15, 17, 23, 24, 27, 34, 43, 44, 48, 49
Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 14, 37, 38
File naming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 48
First. . . . . .7, 12, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 27, 29, 32-37, 42-47, 49
Freight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Header . . . . . . . . . . . .8, 17, 20, 21, 23, 28, 29, 37, 47, 49
Help bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 12, 15, 31-34, 41, 49
Highlighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Interactive Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 32
Last order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43, 46
License. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Main Menu. . . . . . . . . . 6, 10, 12-18, 27, 37, 42-44, 46, 48-50
Monochrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8, 16, 44
Multi-disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Multiplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 46
Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Nationality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31-34, 41
Order Form . . . 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16, 24, 25, 27-29, 34, 35, 42, 50
Order Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 30, 46
Order Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 13, 15, 21, 27, 30, 37
Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 18, 19, 27, 33, 34, 36
Price. . . . . . . . . . .10, 13, 15, 21-23, 26, 29, 30, 37, 42, 46
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-15, 17, 27, 43, 50
Product block. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 15, 22, 51
Running programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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Sales Tax. . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 16, 17, 25, 26, 32, 34, 41, 50
Scrolling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7, 13, 15, 27, 49
Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 14, 16-18, 24-27, 29, 32, 34, 41
Special Forms. . . . . . . 10, 11, 14, 16-18, 23, 24, 36, 44, 48-50
Special Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 42
Special Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Standard order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9, 38, 43, 46
Total. . . . 10, 13, 17, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 34, 42, 44, 45, 48, 50
Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Viewing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1, 12, 15, 18, 27, 33, 42