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Gold Medal Software 3
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Gold Medal Software - Volume 3 (Gold Medal) (1994).iso
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ddf606a.arj
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HELPDOC.EXE
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GETSTART.HLP
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╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
│ Getting Started │
╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
Making a Selection
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Throughout this program you will be prompted to make a selection in
either a menu or a directory of files. In either case a window will
open allowing a selection to take place. This is done by highlighting
the menu choice or file with the up and down arrow keys and pressing
<Enter>.
Menu choices and files may also be selected by pressing the first
letter or number of the menu choice or file. To save space and
redundancy in this manual, these instructions will not be given each
time a selection is to be made. This will simply be referred to as
making a "selection".
The main menu consists of 12 choices. Selecting any of these may open
sub-menus containing other menu choices or files. Pressing <Esc> from
the main menu will prompt you with "Are you sure you want to Quit?"
for quitting DDFile.
Getting Help
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
At any time within DDFile you can press <F1> to get help. A Help menu
will appear with 15 selections:
A) Introduction
B) Getting Started
C) Editing and Adding Records
D) Creating a Filter
E) Creating/Selecting Index Files
F) Printing Labels Letters Lists
G) Printing Reports
H) Searching for Duplicates
I) Importing & Exporting
J) Creating/Modifying a Database
K) File Management
L) Miscellaneous Utilities
M) General Setup
N) Appendix
O) Glossary
Selecting any one of these will display all documentaion on that
particular subject.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Select or Close a Database
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The first selection you will most always want to make upon entering
DDFile is "Select/Close Database File". Therefore, this is selected
automatically upon entering the program. If you do not wish to select
a database at this time simply press <Esc>.
The FILES statement (see Appendix A and your DOS manual) must be set
to 20 or greater in order to select a database. The FILES statement
should be located in your CONFIG.SYS file which should be located in
the root directory of your "boot" drive. If this file can be located
you can edit it from within DDFile by selecting
"Copy/Rename/Delete/Edit Files" from the main menu. Any changes made
to the CONFIG.SYS file are not made effective until rebooting the
machine. To reboot, exit DDFile then press <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del>.
Before selecting a database you are asked to enter the drive and
directory (path) in which to look for a database file. Enter only a
path. Do NOT enter a filename. The current drive and directory will
display by default. Pressing <Enter> will display any database (.DBF)
files found. At this time select the database you wish to use.
If there are no files available you will need to first create a
database or specify another drive and/or directory (path). To create
a database, see "Creating/Modifying a Database" in the on-line
documentation.
After selecting a database file, any index files that were in use
when the database was last used will be reselected automatically
unless either the index file(s) or the database file has been
modified in any way since its last usage in DDFile. For more on index
files see "Creating/Selecting Index Files" in the on-line
documentation.
If you're a sales person who needs to make call-backs, DDFile will
allow you to check your call-backs upon database selection. If a
Tickler field has been assigned (see "Field Assignment" under
"General Setup" in the on-line documentation) you will be asked to
enter a "Plus or Minus" number. A "Plus or Minus" number of 2, for
example, will locate all records with a Tickler date of 2 days prior
to today's date to 2 days following today's date. A "Plus or Minus"
number of 0 will locate only records with a Tickler date matching
today's date.
After entering a "Plus or Minus" number, the search is made. If any
records are found, you be asked if you want to tally them. Whether
you tally the records or not, the record pointer will be positioned
to the first record meeting the Tickler date specification. Upon
entering "Edid/Add Records", you will see the first record meeting
the Tickler date specification and to veiw any others, press <F3>
then <N>. This may be repeated until there are no more records
meeting the Tickler date specification. To view them again, press
<F3> then <F> to go to the First record in the database then start
over with <F3> then <N>. See "Editing and Adding Records" in the
on-line documentation.