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1992-11-19
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AUTO MANAGER 2.1
Vehicle Management System
by
Merideth Systems Inc.
(c) Copyright 1992
All Rights Reserved
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.................................... 3
Disclaimer...................................... 3
Registration.................................... 3
Files............................................4
Installation.................................... 4
Running the system.............................. 4
Data storage.................................... 5
Data relationships.............................. 6
Backup copies................................... 6
System environment.............................. 6
Main menu....................................... 7
Configuration................................... 7
Master update................................... 7
Data entry...................................... 8
Reports......................................... 9
Reorganization..................................10
Manual..........................................10
AUTO MANAGER Page 3
INTRODUCTION
AUTO MANAGER 2.1 is a complete rewrite of the original AUTOMANAGER
system. The original was written mainly as an experiment and
programming exercise. This version is a more serious attempt to
create truly useful software.
The system allows tracking of costs and mileages for up to 500
vehicles, with 500 maintenance categories. The number of history
records allowed is theoretically unlimited. A purgeing mechanism
is employed to delete history records after a certain period of
time if performance becomes degraded due to a large number of
history records.
The programs are menu driven, employing 'drop down' menus which
are mouse aware.
These programs were written in Microsoft BASIC 7.1.
DISCLAIMER
The author disavows responsibility for losses of any kind
incurred as a result of using this software. You assume all the
risk. I make no warranty of any kind for this system.
REGISTRATION
The author reserves all rights to this software. Registered users
will will receive a diskette containing the latest version of AUTO
MANAGER. To register, send $25 to:
Merideth Systems, Inc.
3317 E. 67 Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136-2636
DATA FILES
VEHICMST.DBF vehicle master
VEHICNDX.NDX vehicle master index
CATEGMST.DBF category master
CATEGNDX.NDX category master index
VHCATMST.DBF vehicle category master
VHCATNDX.NDX vehicle category index
HISTFILE.DBF history file
HISTINDX.NDX history index
INSTALLATION
Use the DOS copy command to copy the AUTO2.EXE file to the
directory of your choice. Enter the command AUTO2 to unpack
the files.
RUNNING THE SYSTEM
Enter the command AUTOMENU.
DATA STORAGE Page 5
Each vehicle is tracked by name. Up to 15 characters can be used
to assign a name to each vehicle. Lengthier description fields
are provided, but the 15 character name is the 'key' to each
record. Put some thought into naming the vehicles, as once
history is added for that vehicle, if the vehicle name is changed,
the history records for the original name will not be accessible
unless the name is changed back to exactly its original form.
The initial mileage should be entered on the vehicle master
record.
Up to 500 categories can be set up in the category master file.
Things such as 'MAINTENANCE', 'TUNE UP', 'FUEL', 'OIL', etc. could
be set up as catagories. Information on a particular category such
as unit of volume, (such as 'QUARTS' for oil) can be added. These
categories are global in that they apply to all vehicles.
If you have a category such as 'RESTORATION' that applies to only
one or a few of the vehicles, you could set that category up on
the 'vehicle category master'. These categories apply only to
selected vehicles.
DATA RELATIONSHIPS Page 6
VEHICMST.DBF is indexed on the field named 'VEHICLE'.
CATEGMST.DBF is indexed on the field named 'CATEGORY'.
VHCATMST.DBF is indexed on the fields named VEHICLE' and
'CATEGORY'.
HISTFILE.DBF is indexed on the fields named 'VEHICLE', 'CATEGORY',
and 'DATE'.
These files are dBASE compatible.
BACKUP COPIES
None of these programs or data files are copy protected. You
should protect yourself by making backup copies.
SYSTEM ENVIRONMENT
The programs use the left, right, up and down arrow keys to move a
light bar over the function or menu item that you wish to select.
Once you have made your selection, press the 'enter' key.
Depending on the program, a menu will appear, or some other action
will be taken. To return to a previous menu, press the 'escape'
key. Help is often available by pressing the F1 key. Use the
space bar to select/deselect a vehicle or category, or the F4 key
to select/deselect all vehicles or categories. Mouse support is
built into the programs.
MAIN MENU Page 7
This is the menu that you will see after starting the system.
All system functions are accessible from this menu. To select an
option, position the light bar over your choice and press enter.
MASTER UPDATE
These menu options allow you to set up vehicles, categories, and
vehicle categories. The first option on the update menu is to
'ADD A RECORD'. After updating a record, press the PG DN key to
update the record. The screens are generally intuitive, with
instructions for their use on the screens themselves.
When you see a check mark on a category menu, you will know that
the 'checked' category is set up in the vehicle category master.
'Unchecked' categories are global categories set up in the
category master.
UPDATE HISTORY Page 8
Once you have set up your vehicles and service categories, you are
ready to enter historical data to the system. Select 'UPDATE
HISTORY' from the main menu to do this. You will then see the
vehicle selection menu. After selecting the vehicle from this
menu, the category selection menu for the selected vehicle will
appear. You will then be prompted for the beginning and ending
dates to appear on the next menu. These dates were included to
allow filtering of the historical data by date. If you leave the
dates blank, all records will be displayed on the menu (up to a
limit of 500). If there are over 500 historical transactions
eligible to be displayed, you will see a message to that effect,
and you can supply beginning and ending dates to cause the
transactions you wish to be displayed. The data entry screen
will appear after you select the transaction that you want.
REPORTS Page 9
All the reports allow selection of all or any combination of
vehicles, and where applicable, categories. Some of the reports
allow a summary option which shows totals only with no historical
detail. All reports are displayed on the screen with an option to
send to the printer when finished viewing.
Note that when the current mileage is needed for certain
calculations, the program makes a pass through the history file
searching out the highest mileage figure for each vehicle.
VEHICLE REPORT lists the historical transactions sorted in vehicle
and category sequence. Total cost and cost per mile are
calculated at the vehicle, category and run levels. Mileage per
volume is calculated at the category level.
CATEGORY REPORT lists the historical transactions sorted in
category and vehicle sequence. Total cost and cost per mile are
calculated at the category, vehicle and run levels. Mileage per
volume is calculated at the category and vehicle levels.
VENDOR REPORT lists the historical transactions sorted in vendor,
category and vehicle sequence. Total cost and cost per mile are
calculated at the vendor, category, vehicle and run levels.
Mileage per volume is calculated at the category and vehicle
levels.
MAINTENANCE REPORT scans the historical transactions to determine
if maintenance is overdue by comparing the last maintenance with
the pre-determined mileage and date intervals set up on the master
files. If maintenance is overdue, a message to that effect is
printed.
VEHICLE MASTER LIST prints a listing of selected vehicles and the
categories set up for them.
REORGANIZATION Page 10
Reorganization is the process of physically removing records
marked for deletion, and re-building the indexes.
It is a good idea to run this program periodically.
BROWSE MANUAL
The system documentation may be read on the screen by selecting
the 'BROWSE MANUAL' option from the main menu. Use the page up
and page down keys to move through the file. Press 'escape' to
return to the main menu. You have the option to print the manual
at this point. You can use the F3 key to search for a character
string.
PURGE FILES
You can use this option to remove outdated records from the
history file. Select the vehicle(s) you wish to purge, and supply
a year (i.e. '91'). In the case of year 91, all records up to and
including 1991 for the selectied vehicle(s) would be dropped from
the file.