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1994-09-03
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S A N D D ' S B O O K G U I D E
Version 3.0 September 1994
Book Catalog & Library Software
Sandd Software Copyright 1992..1994
Written by: Bertrand LaMarche Jr.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0
What is Book Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1
SETTING UP BOOK GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.0
Distribution Diskettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1
Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2
Installing Book Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3
Using the Mouse Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1
Program Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4
Screen Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.1
Speaker Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.2
DOS Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.3
Auto Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.4
Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.5
Printer Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.6
VGA Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.7
Book Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.8
Auto Increment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.9
FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.0
Select Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1
Verify Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2
Modify Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4
Quit Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5
USING BOOK GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0
Adding Information to Your Data Base . . . . . . . . 4.1
Changing/Updating Information in Your Data Base . . 4.2
Finding Information in Your Data Base . . . . . . . 4.3
Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.
Book Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.
Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.
Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.
Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.
REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.0
Report Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1
Report Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.A
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.B
Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.C
Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.D
Select Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.E
Select Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.F
Heading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.G
Print Page Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.H
Left Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.I
Print Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.J
Lines / Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.K
Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.L
Begin Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.M
Quit Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.N
File Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2
MULTIMEDIA FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.0
Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
Paste Multimedia file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2
Multimedia Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3
Multimedia Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4
Viewing Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5
PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.0
Backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2
Compatability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3
*** IMPORTANT WARRANTY INFORMATION ***
Sandd warrants the physical diskette(s) and physical documentation
provided with registered versions to be free of defects in materials
and workmanship for a period of ninety days from the date of order.
If Sandd receives notification within the warranty period of defects
in materials or workmanship, and such notification is determined by Sandd
to be correct, Sandd will replace the defective diskette(s) or documentation.
The entire and exclusive liability and remedy for breach of this Limited
Warranty shall be limited to replacement of defective diskette(s) or
documentation and shall not include or extend to any claim for or right to
recover any other damages, including but not limited to, loss of profit,
data, or use of the software, or special, incidental, or consequential
damages or other similar claims, even if Sandd has been specifically advised
of the possibility of such damages. In no event will Sandd Software's
liability for any damages to you or any other person ever exceed the lower of
suggested list price or actual price paid for the license to use the software,
regardless of any form of the claim. Sandd specifically disclaims all other
warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to, and implied
warranty of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.
1. INTRODUCTION
Sandd's Book Guide "Book Guide" program for Personal Computers (PCs) allows
you to catalog your library of reading information. You can use Book Guide
to create one or more relational data bases that contain information about
books, or series of books, that you want to keep track of. Book Guide lets
you apply your own extended comments about the books it contains, so you can
be as detailed as you like. Sandd has built great deal of flexibility into
the program that allows you to find your data quickly.
Book Guide uses relational data bases that allow you to add, update, and
retrieve information. Book Guide will manipulate information from these data
bases that you put into the program. The data that you keep in these data
bases is entirely up to you, and you can change the information as often as
you like, and build reports for viewing on the screen or printing on your
printer. With the purchase of Book Guide 3.1, you should have a 3/12 or
5 1/4 inch diskette. This diskette contains the programs that set up, run,
and maintain Book Guide. You will use files stored on this diskette to
install Book Guide on your personal computer (note that these files are in a
compacted format; contained on the diskette is a program which will install
the files and then un-compress them). We recommend, as does anyone else who
sells you software, that you make backup copies of the files that we send you
in case some disaster with your computer causes a loss of files.
1.1 What Is Book Guide
Sandd developed Book Guide to enable you to keep track of the Books, Authors
and Editors you are interested in. Book Guide's relational data bases are
interconnected, so after you enter information into the "Book" data base,
it's available to the other sections, too ie. Authors and Editors. You don't
have to build, say, a data base containing information about Book Editors;
the program will extract the information about Editors from its relational
data bases and display it (or print it) at any time, for you.
Sandd's Book Guide is a PC based library that can catalog information that
relates book collecting and tracking. Data look-up is simple and strait-
forward. Each record holds information about each book.
2.0 SETTING UP AND USING BOOK GUIDE
2.1 Distribution Diskettes
Book Guide from Sandd is distributed on 3-1/2 or 5-1/4 diskettes. As with
any software you purchase, you should make backup copies of your diskettes
before you begin to work with Book Guide. See your DOS manual for more
instructions on how to make backup copies of diskettes. If you are upgrading
always back up your data files before installing the newest version of the
program.
2.2 Files
The Installation diskette contains the following files:
* BOOK.LZH - Book Guide program files
* BOOKDAT.LZH - Book Guide sample data files
* INSTALL.EXE - Install Book Guide to the hard disk
* LHA113.COM - Part of the install program
2.3 Installing Book Guide
On the disk labeled Book Guide Program, there is an install program called
INSTALL.EXE.
Put this disk into your floppy drive and type "A:INSTALL". Follow the
instructions to install Book guide onto your Personal Computer.
Type B:INSTALL if the program is being installed from your B:\ drive.
If you have the shareware version simply unpack the program to a directory
on your hard disk and type "BOOK" to run the program.
2.3.1 Using the Mouse Interface
If you have a mouse connected to your Personal Computer, you can tell Book
Guide to use it by starting the program with a parameter. The parameter is
the word "mouse". Type BOOK MOUSE to enable the mouse to run in the program.
Simply move the cursor around with the mouse to highlight the selection you
want, then press the left-hand mouse button to select. If you press the
right-hand mouse button, you back up, one level at a time. Whenever this
document tells you to use the left and right arrow keys to move your cursor,
you can use the mouse instead. Just use the mouse to move the cursor around
on the screen, then click the left-hand mouse button to make your selection.
The right-hand mouse button always exits you from the current Book Guide panel.
Both buttons (at the same time) are equal to the page down key.
2.4 Program Settings
Once Book Guide has been installed onto your PC, take a few moments and review
the settings Book Guide uses. Run Book Guide and select SETTINGS from the
FILES menu to view or change the settings. This feature allows you to alter
the configuration that Book Guide uses. Use the arrow keys to highlight
"Settings" under the "FILES MENU" and press <Enter>. Book Guide displays a
pop-up panel in the center of your screen called "Configuration".
The program settings are described below.
2.4.1 Screen Display
Autodetect, Color, or Monochrome. Normally you can leave this setting to
Autodetect, this will sense the type of monitor you have and adjust the colors
accordingly. If you are using a VGA White monitor or a Portable computer,
you may want to experiment with the monochrome setting. This setting may be
easier to read if you don't have a color screen or color portable.
2.4.2 Speaker Sound
This will control sounds from your internal PC speaker. Book Guide will
produce clicks and other sounds when you navigate throughout the program.
2.4.3 DOS Version
Use the left and right arrow keys to let Book Guide know if the DOS version
you are running is prior to version 3.0 or after.
2.4.4 Auto Save
Use the left and right arrow keys to turn Auto Save on and off. Auto Save On
will automatically save any database changes to disk. Autosave Off will ask
to save any changes before they are saved.
2.4.5 Printer
select the type of printer you own. Choose Laser Printer or Dot Matrix printer.
If you have a laser printer then be sure to set the Lines Per Page option to
60 lines for your reports. Dot Matrix printers should use 66 Lines Per Page.
2.4.6 Printer Port
Select from LPT1, LPT2, or PRN. If you have problems printing, try changing
this item to PRN. This will allow DOS to handle all printing requests.
This may be necessary if you are on a LAN or have re-directed the output to
a serial printer through dos.
2.4.7 VGA Support
Enable or disable VGA support. If this is active and you have a VGA monitor,
Book Guide will fade screens in and out. There are two speeds of fading,
choose whichever you like. If you are running in a partition such as windows
set this to off.
2.4.8 Book Number Sort
Use the right and left arrow keys to select the sort type. Options include
Automatic/Standard. If Automatic is selected then the program will try to
sort book numbers by Dewy Decimal. If Standard is selected then the program
will do a standard sort by book number. If you change this option then the
database must be re-sorted for the change to take effect. Re-sort the data
with the verify files option. Now that you have installed and configured
Book Guide for your PC you are ready to select a file.
2.4.9 Auto Increment
This option is usefull for adding books. If Auto Increment is off then
regular adding will be in effect. If on then the program will display
a menu during the ADD function, this menu will show the greatest book number
entered in the database for a particular series. To display a book number
select a series and the greatest number for that series will be displayed.
The display of the last book number entered for a given series helps to
avoid duplicate numbers in the database. Also by using this feature you
can avoid gaps in your numbering system.
3.0 FILES
Use the FILES PANEL to select your Book Data files and change directory paths,
make sure the your data files are not corrupted, modify the series, change
the program settings, and exit the program.
3.1 Select Files
To access the Select Files panel, use the arrow keys to highlight the FILES
on the Main Panel. The Select Files panel appears. The Book Path Directory
is highlighted. To select the current directory path press <Enter>.
To add a new Book directory path, press the down arrow key to highlight a
blank line and press the <Spacebar> key. Type the path name for the new
directory. Make sure that you start with the drive name (e.g., a:\pictures
in our example).
Book Guide will add the final backslash "\" if you do not type it. Press <Tab>
to highlight the blank line below "Multimedia Data Path Directory", then press
the <Space bar>. Enter the path name of your multimedia files. To select a
directory highlight the one you want and press <Enter>. The selected or active
directory where the program will find the files is the top item displayed.
Press <Esc> or <Enter> on the first entry after the file is selected.
3.2 Verify Files
If you suspect that your directories have become corrupted back them up first!
Next move the cursor to the "Verify Files" and press <Enter>. Book Guide
displays the "VERIFY DATA FILES" panel, which gives you some reasons why
catalogs can become corrupted. If you select a new sort method, from the
settings menu then use this to rebuild the index files. Choose to update and
rebuild your data or multimedia files. Highlight your choice and press <Enter>
to begin. After you see the message "Recovery Process Completed," note if
there were any errors. If there are errors run verify again to see if they
were fixed in the first run. Press <Escape> to return to the Main Menu.
*********** HERE ***************
3.3 Modify Series
Use the "Modify Series" selection to add/edit/delete a series name to
your Book series list. For example, to add the series "History" then
move the cursor to a blank item and type in "History". Press <Esc>
and the program will ask if you wish to save this series. Now when
you add or edit a book the new series will be displayed as one of your
choice's for series. To add a series name, access the "Modify Series"
panel. The screen shows all 43 choices. Use the arrow keys to move
the highlight to a blank area on the panel. Type the name that you
want to use, then press the <Esc> key. Book Guide will update its
data base so that it contains the new series.
3.5 Quit Program
Use the EXIT selection to leave the program. Note that before you
turn off your PC, you should use the EXIT function to be certain that
the program saves any changes that you made to your data bases.
4.0 USING BOOK GUIDE
The following are some general rules to keep in mind when you are
using Book Guide. Move to the next field on a panel by pressing the
down arrow key or the <Enter> key, and move to the previous field
by pressing the up arrow key. Use of the <Spacebar>, <Insert>,
<Delete>, <PgUp> <PgDn>, <Enter> and of course <Escape>
are the main control keys in the program.
If you want to erase characters in a field, you can just type over the
letters that already occupy the space. Be aware, however, that any
characters already in a field will stay in the field unless you overtype
them, with other characters or with spaces. Note that the spacebar
will delete characters after the cursor, and the backspace key will
delete characters before the cursor.
Along the top of this Entry Panel are four selections:
* FILES
* LIBRARY
* REPORTS
* MULTIMEDIA
Each of these selections are described in a separate section in this
document. Use the left and right arrow keys to change selections, and
the up and down arrow keys to highlight the choices in the pop-up
panels that appear below each selection.
4.1 Adding New Information to Your Data Base
Sandd's Book Guide allows you to make your data base as large as
your PC will allow. You can include a great deal of information about
each Book.
You add new information to Book Guide from the "Books" selection
on the Main Menu Panel under "Library". Book Guide's relational
data base structure automatically keys the information you enter to
the appropriate places in its data base structure. Use the following
procedure to add information to Book Guide. When you are working
with Sandd's Book Guide, you can erase characters that you have
typed by using the backspace key, or use the left arrow key.
You move to the next field blank by pressing the <Enter> key.
Under "Library" on the Main Menu, highlight "Books" and press the
<Enter> key. There is a brief delay while the software loads.
In a few seconds, the "Book Guide File Maintenance" panel appears.
Now press the Insert key and Book Guide will add a new Book and
let you begin to edit it.
NOTE: You cannot type information into the fields that are pre-
populated. Information is selected by using the <Spacebar> or
the right and left arrow keys. To view all of the choice's at
once press <Enter> on the field. Use the up and down arrow keys
to select your choice and press <Enter>, to abort press <Esc>.
Book Guide highlights the "Book Title" field. Type the name of the
Book. Press <F5> to modify the sort title. The sort title is
created automatically, but at times needs to be changes to reflect
your preference for sorting.
If you know the name of the Editor, type that name into the high-
lighted field and press <Enter>. If you don't know the Editor's
name, just press <Enter> to move on.
Book Guide highlights the "Year" field. Type the year in which the
Book was released and press <Enter>, or press <Enter> to skip.
Book Guide highlights the "Series" field. This field is prepopulated
with a number of selections; you can see all the options by repeatedly
pressing the <Spacebar>. To view all the choices press <Enter>
and use the up and down arrow keys to select the series for this record.
When Book Guide displays the series that you want, press <Enter>.
Selections here are created from the "Modify Series" Menu.
Book Guide accepts your selection and highlights the "Authors" field.
Type the names of the Authors who appear in the Book, up to 20
characters and ten authors are allowed. After you type each name,
press the <Enter> key. When you have added all the names you want
to, press the down arrow or <enter> key to move to the next field.
To select the book format(s) use the <Spacebar> key. First select if
the book is Fiction or Non-Fiction. Further define the book format
with the next field, your choices include:
Hard Cover
Paper Back
Library
Cassette
Magazine
Paper
Other
Next there is a place to rate the book with a star rating. This field
is pre-populated, use the <Spacebar> to toggle each field. Press the
<Spacebar> repeatedly until you see the rating you want to use for
this book, then press <Enter>.
1/2
*
* 1/2
**
** 1/2
***
*** 1/2
****
****1/2
The edition of the book can be toggled with the <Spacebar>. The
range is: 1st edition to the 99th edition.
The number of pages in the book can be typed in by you. Only numbers
are allowed in this field. Press <Enter> to go to the Edition field.
Type in the price (numbers only) into this field. If you want to track
the value of your collection enter a number in the value field. Next
to the value field is the condition field. With this field you can
toggle between NEW to WORN with more choices in between.
The book number is important in two ways. First the book number is
used as a way to lookup your books (Sorting). Second this can be used
to track if the book is in your personal library, since usually only books
you own would be assigned a book number. You can input letters or
numbers in this field. To use the book number with a Dewy decimal
sort use standard Dewy input. If you want to use your own cataloging
system the program will still sort by book number. You can use letters
and numbers and dashes to distinguish your catalog.
In the settings part of the program you can choose the sort type.
Usually it can be left in the "Automatic" mode. If automatic is selected
then the program will try to determine if the book number is Dewy or
standard and sort each differently.
The ISBN (International Book Number) is optional.
Type the publisher's name in the publisher field.
The Reading field is unique in that is reveals the status of your
involvement with the book. Choose between:
Finished reading this book
I want to read this book
Have not read this book
To add date read information type in the date when you started to
read the book and the date when you finished reading the book.
Book Guide highlights "Description". Add any description you want.
Be sure to press the <Enter> key at the end of each line. Also, if
data already existed in this field, be careful when you are typing.
The new letters you type will overlay the existing characters; If your
new entry does not completely change the old, use the <Spacebar>
to erase the old characters, or you will end up with extraneous
characters in the field.
Book Guide highlights the bottom block on the screen, this is the
"Description" field in which you can enter your own description
(and opinion!) of the Book. Type a brief description of the Book.
You can type anything you want to, but be sure to press the
<Enter> key at the end of each line, since Book Guide does not
automatically wrap the text for you.
If what you want to type more than 7 lines, do not despair! Sandd
provides a facility that allows you to type up to 800 lines in the
Description field with the Extended Description field. If more than
seven lines are in the record than using the up and down arrow keys
while viewing the data will scroll the extended description in the
seven line field.
The book description
Press the <TAB> key to start editing in "Extended Description".
Book Guide then shows you the "Extended Description" panel. Type
to your heart's content, but remember that the text does not wrap
automatically; press the <Enter> key to begin each new line. The
number of lines that you have typed appears in the lower right-hand
corner of the panel. To insert a new line press <F5> or to delete
a line press the <F6> key.
After you have made the changes, press <Esc>. Book Guide opens
a panel on your screen that says "This Book has been modified,
Save changes?" Press "Y" to alter your relational data base, or
press "N" to abort the procedure. If autosave is on then changes
are saved automaticly and no prompt is given.
When you have finished entering the text, press <Esc>. Book Guide
saves what you have typed (there is a short pause while the program
saves your changes), and returns to the book lookup screen. Note
that the Description section on the Book Data Base panel shows only
the first seven lines of the description if the description contains
more than seven lines. Everything is still there--press <TAB> to
edit the entire description. If you are viewing a book the description
will scroll by using the up and down arrow keys.
4.2 Changing and Updating Information in Your Data Base
After you have typed information into Book Guide's relational data
base, you can, of course, go back and change any or all of the
information, or delete information that you have already entered.
Use the following procedure to make changes to the book data bases.
Use the left and right cursor keys to highlight "Books" under "Library."
Press the <Enter> key to start file maintenance.
Book Guide displays the list of Books currently in its data base,
beginning with the letter "A" (or as close to the letter "A" as it
can get). Move around in this list by using one or more of the
following methods.
Press the Spacebar and type Twain, Book Guide will search for this
book title. You can also type a phrase or as little as one letter.
Whatever you type will be highlit where it is in the title. Press
<Ctrl> + L to find the next occurrence of the phrase you typed
in the search string.
Use the left and right arrow keys to jump, one letter at a time,
either forward or backward in the alphabet. Along the bottom of
the panel, from left to right, are the letters of the alphabet, with
the letter that begins the highlighted Book highlighted.
Press the first letter of the first word in the Book title to jump to
that letter. For example, press "c" to jump to those books in the
data base whose first letter begins with "c".
Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to jump one screenfull of
information at a time. Use the up and down arrow keys to move the
cursor one book title at a time.
When the cursor is highlighting the Book Title you want, press
the <Enter> key. Book Guide will search its data base, then
display the information it has for the book you selected. If more
than three authors are entered than the authors scroll. To view more
of the description use the up and down arrows.
4.3 Finding Information in Your Data Base
While you are looking at the Main Panel, use the left or right cursor
keys to highlight "Library". Book Guide automatically highlights
"Books". Press the <Enter> key. Book Guide displays the "Book
Guide File Maintenance" screen, which contains an alphabetical list
of the Book titles currently in your data base.
Note the following features of this screen.
In the center of the screen is the cursor bar, which highlights the first
Book in the list. At the top of the screen, Book Guide shows you
information about the Book:
Below the list is a bar showing the letters of the alphabet; the
highlighted letter is the first letter that appears in the book title.
At the bottom of the screen appears information about navigating in
the data base. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to jump, one
screen at a time, backward or forward in the data base. The <Esc>
key, as usual, backs you up one level, in this case back to the Book
Guide Main Menu screen.
The up arrow key moves the cursor up one selection on the screen.
The down arrow moves the cursor forward on the screen, or forward to
the next screen.
The left and right arrow keys move to the next letter in the alphabet.
The current letter is highlit when compared to the other letters.
When you press the <Enter> key, Book Guide displays the detailed
information that it has about the Book that is highlighted (the
information contained in the Book Data Base). Use the list to locate
a particular Book in your data base, highlight the name with the
cursor bar, and press the <Enter> key. Under the "Library" selection
at the top of the screen are the following selections.
* Books - Books sorted by title
* Book Numbers - Books sorted by book number
* Authors - Alphabetical listing of all Authors and Editors
* Series - Lists Books by a particular series
* Search - Search the Book database
A. Books
Use the "Books" selection to find Books by title. This is also where
you can add, change, or delete Books in the file.
B. Book Numbers
Use the "Book Number lookup" selection to find Books sorted by
number. Books without a book number are shown after the books with
a number. From this area of the program one can add, change, or
delete books in the file. Use the arrow keys to select the book
you want. Press <Space> to search for a book number, after the
book is found then press the <Enter> key to view more about the book.
To edit the book press the <Tab> key. This is a good place to view
only books you own if you only add a book number to any book that you
do own. Since books without a book number will be displayed after
book with a book number your collection will be at the "top of the file".
C. Authors
Use the "Authors" selection to find the Authors and Editors that the
data base contains. To access this portion of Book Guide's data base,
use the arrow keys to highlight "Library", then move to the menu that
displays "Authors" and press <Enter>. Book Guide displays a panel
that contains up to three columns.
At the left side of the panel are the names, listed in alphabetical order.
Near the center of the screen is the number of times that a name
appears in the relational data bases. In the third column is the name
"Author" or "Editor or Both".
Use the up and down arrow keys to move the cursor bar forward
(toward the beginning of the alphabet) or backward (toward the end
of the alphabet). To search for a person press <Space> and input the
search string. Partial search strings are allowed.
You can also use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to jump, one screen
at a time, in either direction. When you have highlighted the Author,
Editor you want, press <Enter> to see a screen containing more
details about the books that person is connected with. This screen
shows the person's name in the upper right, and the book titles
associated with the Author/Editor found.
Use the cursor keys to highlight these books and press <Enter> to see
the book or event that pertains to the Author/Editor found.
D. Series
When you highlight "Series Lookup" and press <Enter>, Book Guide
shows a list of all series names under which the Books have been
entered. Use the arrow keys to highlight the series you are interested
in, then press <Enter> to see the Books in the data base that
were entered with that series name.
If you press <Enter> while a Book name is highlighted, Book Guide
shows you the Book Data Base panel for that Book. If you have added
more Authors than the screen can show, Book Guide will scroll the
names from right to left, showing you all the authors in the book.
E. Search Books
Use the "Search Books" selection to query your data base. When you
highlight "Search Books" and press <Enter>, Book Guide shows you
the "Search Book File" screen. Each of the fields shown enables you
to limit the search.
Fill in as few or as many fields as you like and press the <F5> key to
begin the search. Note that the larger your data base, the longer the
search will take. Press <Esc> to abort the search.
After Book Guide completes its search, it displays the "Book Guide
Search" screen, which contains the results of the search just made.
In the center of the screen is an alphabetical list of the Book names.
The top portion of the screen shows some details about the Book
currently highlighted by the cursor. The bottom of the screen shows
the keys to use to move around the "Book Guide Search" panel.
Press <Enter> to see details about the Book selected, or press
<Esc> to back out of the selection. A pop-up panel appears on the
screen indicating the search is in progress. When the search is
complete Book Guide displays the number of matches found. You
can create a report from any search. After selecting the search
criteria and then searching, return to the "Report Generator" screen.
Select Last Search to print of the books that were found during
the last search.
5.0 REPORTS
Book Guide is capable of producing a number of reports, that you can
look at on your screen or print on your printer. Use the Reports
Generator selection to create and print reports about the information
you have in your catalogs. We suggest that when you specify all the
report parameters that you want, you view the report on the screen
before you print it. This can save paper, and can give you the
opportunity to ensure that the report is what you want.
5.1 Report Generator
Use the "Report Generator" selection to specify the parameters that
you want to use for your report. When you highlight the
"Report Generator" option and press <Enter>, Book Guide displays
a menu of 10 reports that you can customize or run. Press <Esc>
to view a panel that allows you to specify various parameters that can
narrow the search and change the way the report prints on your printer.
5.1.A Report Number
Press <Enter>. Book Guide can save up to 10 unique report types.
Select the number you want to print or change. Use the page up and
page down keys to change the report number. With this feature you
can set up reports the way you like and they are saved to disk. This
makes it easy to create your report at a later time since the report
format has been saved to disk.
5.1.B Description
The report description is used for your reference to give the different
reports unique names.
5.1. C Report Type
Highlight "Report Type" and press the return key. Book Guide will
display a panel on the right side of the screen that contains the
following selections. Use the up and down arrow keys to select one of
the types, then press <Enter>.
TITLE
If you select "Title", the report that Book Guide provides will be sorted
by the Book title.
BOOK NUMBER
If you select "Book Number", Book Guide will create a report sorted
by ascending numbers which you have assigned to your books.
SERIES
If you select "Series", Book Guide will create a report sorted by series.
This report is similar to catalogs used by book review magazines. Also,
you may elect to print a Table of Contents and Index with the
series report.
LAST SEARCH
Book Guide remembers the parameters that you specified for the last
search you made, and uses them to make its current search.
5.1.D Format
Use "Report Format" to select the kind of report you want.
* FULL DESCRIPTION
* SORT TITLE - YEAR - NUMBER
* TITLE - YEAR - NUMBER
* SORT TITLE - FORMATS
* SORT TITLE - PRICE - CONDITION
If you select "Full Description", Book Guide will print all the
information that it has in its data base. All the reports are shown
below. These five formats will print a single line per Book, except
the full description report.
5.1.E Select Books
You can use this setting to tell Book Guide which Books to print. All
Books, only Books with numbers, or Books without numbers. By using
this feature, you can print only Books in your library that have book
numbers by selecting the Books with numbers.
5.1.F Select Series
You can use this feature to tell Book Guide which series to print.
You can select any or all series. If the series has an asterisk next
to it than it will be selected.
5.1.G Heading
Whatever you enter in this area will be printed at the top of each
page printed.
5.1.H Print Page Number
You can elect to print page numbers on each page or omit them.
5.1.I Left Margin
You may set the number of characters as a left margin. Set this so the
reports are aligned on the page to your liking.
5.1.J Print Guide
This option only takes effect when you select a single line report.
You can turn on a guide which your eye can follow when reading
across the reports.
5.1.K Lines / Page
You can select the number of lines per page you want your reports to
be printed. Laser printers use 60 lines per inch and dot matrix use 66
lines per inch. If you want to print in laser book format use about 45
lines per inch.
5.1.L Output
You can choose four ways to view or print the reports. Select from the
following choices.
PRINTER
This is the normal report format which directs the report directly to
your printer. This works for laser and dot matrix printers.
LASER 4 UP
If you have a laser printer, you can drastically reduce the number of
pages required to print the reports. Select this to print 2 pages on a
single side of paper. You will need to reload the paper when asked, so
the back side of the page can be printed. The report now folds neatly
giving you a handy report similar to a book.
SCREEN
It is a good idea to view the way the report will look before you print
it. Use this feature to view and scroll through the report before you
actually print it. Once you are happy with the way the report looks
and you want to print it, select either PRINTER or LASER 4 UP.
FILE
Printing to a file will create a file called BOOKREP.TXT . This
File will be re-written each time a new report is generated. This can
be used to format/spell check your report with your word processor.
The file created is a standard DOS text file.
5.1.M Begin Report
After you have filled in the fields discussed below, highlight the
"Create Report" option and press <Enter>. Book Guide will
create the report that you have asked for.
5.1.N Quit Reports
When you have finished generating, viewing, or printing the reports
you want, use the arrow keys to highlight "Quit Reports" and press
the <Enter> key. Book Guide returns to the main menu. The <Esc>
key also quits to the main menu.
5.2 File Statistics
This screen displays information about your data. Totals are fun to
view for comparison uses.
6.0 MULTIMEDIA FILES
Multimedia files are pictures or digitized images, sound files, or text
files stored electronically. If you have images associated with your
collections, or sound files, you can use Book Guide to display them.
Use the cursor keys or mouse to highlight "Multimedia Files" and press
<Enter>. Book Guide displays a list of the file names that have the
extension PCX,ROL,GIF,FLI. You can select any of these files for
viewing or animating on your computer.
6.1 Database
Use this area to add and modify the multimedia files. This is where
you assign multimedia events to Books in your database. To add a
new record press <Insert>. From the Edit screen input the file you
wish to tag to a book record. Use the function keys listed at the
bottom of the screen to help you paste the necessary information.
6.2 Paste multimedia file
If you have picture files that match a record in the database then you
will have the option to view the data or a picture. To setup a picture
press <F6> from the multimedia edit screen and a listing of books
will be displayed. Select the book that is related to the picture and
press "P". Paste will attach the picture to the book in the database.
Now if a Book title, Author or Editors is found in the database then
the associated picture can be displayed.
6.3 Multimedia Search
This will search your drive(s) for any multimedia files that may work
from inside the program. This information is stored in the multimedia
file. Book Guide displays a panel that allows you to specify the drive
where you have the files. Type the drives you wish to search and press
<Enter>. Book Guide searches and catalogs all the multimedia type
files found on the drive(s).
6.4 Multimedia Setup
Multimedia setup is for adding extra picture viewers, animation and
sound to your book collection. To add: Type the file extension
of the new multimedia format you want to use. Next type the name
and directory of the player used to view/hear. A one to one relationship
is established between the new extension and the player. Book Guide will
look for the player added under the player name. When you select a book
and there is a multimedia file associated with that book then the program
will allow you to use the new player. The following formats are built
into the program (PCX/GIF/FLI/ROL/BMP/ICO).
6.5 Viewing Pictures
After a picture is loaded to memory and displayed on the screen you
can change the resolution if a VESA driver is present. Select <F7>
320x200 <F8> 640x480 <F9> 800x600 <F10> 1024x768. To move
the picture use the arrow keys. To control the movement increments
press minus & Plus. Click the right mouse button to move the picture
to that location.
7.0 Performance
There are a few ways to customize and enhance the performance of
the program. Since this is a database program disk cache is the best
way to speed up the feel of the program. If you have VGA then set
VGA Support to quick or slow fades, fading can be easier on the eyes.
If you like to use a mouse then start the program as "BOOK MOUSE"
to enable the mouse. Turn Autosave on to add or edit data without
being prompted to save your data. When editing notes about the book
use the full screen view of notes. This view allows adding and deleting
of lines and is easier to use.
To run Book Guide in a Dos partition set a minimum of 512K, to
view any pictures full screen mode would be required.
7.1 Backups
To perform a full backup of your data files copy all files with an
extension of .DAT to your backup disk. From these files Book Guide
can recover your database with a simple rebuild from the Verify Files
menu. We recommend that you compress the "*.DAT" files
first and then store them to your backup disk to save disk space.
If you use a full backup program then that program will most likely
compress and store the data files on it's own.
To copy the data files to your A drive use the DOS copy command.
COPY *.DAT A:\
7.2 History
Nov 1992 - Version .9 is beta tested by computer people, librarians
and book collectors.
Feb 1993 - Version 1.0 is released as shareware
May 1993 - Version 1.1 is released with enhanced lookup feature.
All problems with reports are solved.
Sept 1993 - Version 1.3 released with automatic last tape number
lookup for adding. A value field is added and a
value report is added. A new report called
Title-Author-Edition is added.
Improved searching now includes all fields.
Greatly enhanced picture support for higher
resolutions and full GIF viewing.
Nov 1993 - Version 2.0 released
Fixed known bugs
Added Print to File feature
Added Multimedia file setup feature
Sept 1994 - Version 3.1 released
Improved Sorting
New fields added
File conversion added
Added File statistics screen
Added search from report screen
7.3 Compatability
All Book data files are fully compatible with the newest version of
Book Guide. To update data files from an older version to the newest
release follow the four steps below.
1) Backup your data files
2) Run the program BOOK2NEW to convert from the old data format
to the new data format.
2) Run the new version and select the file directory where your old files
are located, select "VERIFY FILES" from the "FILES" menu.
3) Select "VERIFY" and run "VERIFY BOOKS"
After the books have been verified your database should be updated
to the latest version.