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**********************************************************
* *
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* S A M *
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* S C H E D U L E *
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* a n d *
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* A P P O I N T M E N T *
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* M A K E R *
* *
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* Abbreviated User Manual *
* *
* Shareware version *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* ArkanSoftware Publishing *
* 1585 Thornhill *
* Fayetteville, AR 72703 *
* 501/444-7443 *
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**********************************************************
About This Guide
SAM is an organizing, scheduling, and marketing assistant
for professional offices, clinics, and service agencies.
SAM looks and works much like the familiar office
appointment book and client folders. What you see on the
screen will be similar to what you would write in the
appointment book or in a file. The term "Provider" is used
throughout this manual as a generic reference to the service
provider who is being scheduled. "Client" refers to the
person who is being given an appointment with a Provider.
This manual discusses the installation of SAM, getting
started and using SAM with the sample data files, setting up
the configuration file, setting up the maintenance files, and
using SAM. It is intended to be used in conjunction with the
extensive Help screens available throughout the program by
pressing F1.
User Manual Copyright 1995 by ArkanSoftware Publishing.
All Rights reserved.
Schedule and Appointment Maker (SAM) Copyright 1987-1995
Digital Hearing Systems Corporation. All Rights reserved.
"Schedule and Appointment Maker" and "SAM" are trademarks of
Digital Hearing Systems Corporation.
INSTALLATION
SAM (tm) requires an IBM PC compatible computer with at least
a 286 processor and a hard disk. To install the program,
put the SAM Install disk into your A: (or B:) disk drive and
type:
C:\>A:<Enter>
A:\>INSTALL<Enter>
Install asks you for specific information and then creates a
subdirectory on your hard disk and copies the necessary programs
and files into that subdirectory. You'll need about 800K of
available disk space. The CONFIG.SYS file is a special DOS file.
There should be minimum recommended entries of FILES=25 and
BUFFERS=15 in this file. The use of a disk cache such as
DOS/Windows SmartDrive will noticeably speed up parts of SAM.
We strongly recommend that the "delayed write" option be turned
OFF.
If you are operating SAM under Windows, there are two files
included to assist you - SAM.ICO and SAM.PIF. Open the group
where you want the SAM icon installed. Then open the Program
Manager and under File, click on New Program Item. Under
Properties Description, enter "SAM", under Command enter
"SAM.COM", and under Working Directory enter "\SAM". Click
on Change Icon and, for Filename, enter "\SAM\SAM.ICO".
The SAM disk is not copy protected so you may make backups for
safekeeping or to share with others (except SAM-Plus and SAM-Net).
See the section of the READ.ME file regarding shareware and
registration. Initially you will see an "Unregistered" display
at several places in the program. When you enter the registration
number supplied by ArkanSoftware publishing, these displays and
the questions about printing various documents will no longer
appear. If the phone number or name of the registered user
changes, the "Unregistered" display will reappear until you
update your registration.
USING SAM THE FIRST TIME
RUNNING SAM
Menus are used throughout SAM to choose what you wish to do.
Selections are made either by pressing the first letter of your
choice OR by using the "arrow" keys to move a dark bar (called
the "command bar") to your choice and then press <Enter>. You may
see a sub-menu drop down to display more choices. Again, use
arrow keys or the first letter to select a choice. Look at the
bottom "prompt" line to see which keys you may use for any menu.
In this manual, specific menu choices will be designated as
"Quit:Lock" which refers to the "Quit" sub-menu and the "Lock"
choice in that menu.
The <F1> key is used to call up the electronic "Help" screen to
show you important keys and explain how functions are used in the
section of the program that you are currently accessing.
The <Esc>, or "Escape", key is very important. <Esc> is the usual
way to get back to a previous menu or screen. If needed, it will
almost always stop whatever is going on. In order to prevent
accidental loss of data, sometimes you may be asked if you really
meant what you asked for. Remember that pressing <Esc> enough
times will get you back to the main menu.
Boxes will appear as necessary to give you important messages or
ask for key information. The Prompt line will also guide you.
STARTUP
Starting SAM is easy by using the following commands:
C:>CD \SAM
C:>SAM
Sample data for evaluating and learning SAM is available by
starting SAM with the following command:
C:>SAM /S
The sample data starts at the date 08/08/88. Using the sample
data will NOT affect your regular data files.
On the opening screen a small window will appear asking for the
operator's initials. These are included in each appointment
along with the date and time for accountability.
SETUP
The first time SAM is started, it should be customized for
your computer and office. This is done using "Special:Configu-
ration". Press F1 for details when the screen appears. VERY
IMPORTANT - Providers, Services and Calendars MUST be entered
using the "Special:Maintenance" before you can run the Schedule
part of SAM and make any appointments. Information that you set
up becomes a part of each appointment.
USING MAINTENANCE
"Maintenance" is started from the "Special" menu in SAM. In order
to properly keep track of appointments and schedules, SAM needs
certain information about your office staff, services, and
schedules. This part of the program is used to set up and modify
the files which hold the lists of Providers, Services, and
Calendars.
Use <F1> to see the active keys and the specific details about
each kind of information under its file name and menu choice.
CALENDARS
Prior to making appointments for a month, it is necessary to
set up a Calendar for each Provider. This simply indicates,
for each day, the desired work time pattern as defined in the
Provider's record. This is similar to marking an appointment
book so you know when the Provider is going to be in the office.
NOTE: A Provider's record must exist BEFORE Calendars can be
created. See PROVIDERS.
PROVIDERS
Each Provider must have a record set up to identify them and
their work schedule. They will appear on SAM's screens in the
order of their assigned "code". Up to 6 Providers can be
entered.
Four characters are available for each provider code. One
possibility is to use the first two for the provider's specialty
(if appropriate for your office) and the last two for the
provider's initials. Give it some thought before starting.
Up to 5 work-time "patterns" may be created for each provider
in order to handle schedules that vary on different days. These
work time patterns will be assigned a number and then used to
make up monthly Calendars. Try to plan the patterns so that the
most common ones (like 9 to 5) have the lowest numbers and the
unique ones use the higher numbers. You may wish to enter full-
time staff first, then part-time. By standardizing as much as
possible it will be easier for you to use the pattern numbers
later. You may enter one or two starting & ending time pairs per
pattern to allow for lunch breaks or irregular work hours.
SERVICES
Each service that your office provides will be identified by
an abbreviated "code" (you may be able to use the same ones
you use now), a description used for printing, and a standard
length of time to allow in the schedule. When making an
appointment, you will select a service to appear with it and
either accept the standard length or enter a special one. SAM
checks that the requested service length will fit in the time
available.
CLIENT FOLDERS
Client information is kept in electronic "folders". Folders
are filed by last name then first name. Each folder has three
"pages" which hold the following information:
Biographical and contact information: address, phone numbers,
diagnoses, etc.
Dates: chronology of significant dates.
Notes: any other miscellaneous information.
APPOINTMENTS
This is the heart of SAM where appointments are processed.
Select "Appts:Schedule" and the first screen that appears is
the "Detail" screen which looks much like a paper appointment
book.
Top section: Shows the Provider, day, and Client with whom
you are currently working. Bottom "prompt" line shows the
active keys.
Left part of screen: The "appointment book". The specific
times which appear on the left will depend on the particular
appointments that have been made, as well as the starting
time and minimum interval for open slots which were entered
in Configuration. The vertical white bar which appears just
to the right of the times indicates the scheduled office
hours for the current Provider on the displayed day.
To the right of the Client's name will be other information
relating to the appointment.
You may press the <F2> key for an "overview" of the current
Provider's schedule. This can be helpful when looking for an
opening or to coordinate different Providers. You can use the
keys shown on the bottom line to change the current Provider and
date. Whichever day you select in this display is the one whose
Detail Screen you will return to when you press <Enter>.
SUGGESTIONS AND NOTES
Scheduling ideas:
- You can treat special rooms, equipment, or other resources as
a Provider with a code and schedule of their own.
- A client can be scheduled with more than one Provider at the
same time. SAM will point out potential conflicts to prevent
unintentional double scheduling.
- If a Provider wishes to reserve separate time periods for
certain types of services, make up several Provider records using
the same initials in the first part of the code but using the
last one or two letters of the code to indicate the differences.
Then make appropriate Calendars for each one to schedule
appointments.
- All files are dBASEIII compatible so they can be read by and
linked to other compatible applications. The "Export" menu
option allows you to create a copy of the current appointment
file in your choice of ASCII or dBASE formats.
Technical support hours are 9-5 Central Time.
THIS IS A SHAREWARE PROGRAM
You are encouraged to copy the SAM diskette and share it freely
with others. You have the luxury of trying out the program at
your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or workplace.
This is not a "demo", but an actual working version of the
program.
After you have used SAM for a maximum 30 day evaluation period
you must either discontinue use of the program or register your
copy with ArkanSoftware Publishing. Warranty only applies to
registered users.
This program is produced by a member of the Association of
Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the
shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a
shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the
member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can
help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but
does not provide technical support for members' products. Please
write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442
or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman
70007,3536.
(Release 5.1.1)
SAM User Manual Page 23