home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Hand Picked Software
/
Hand Picked Software.iso
/
applicat
/
catalg40
/
manual.doc
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1995-03-13
|
97KB
|
2,456 lines
Catalog-On-A-Disk
Version 4
The Selling Tool of the 90s
Published by EmmaSoft Software Company, Incorporated
Copyright 1991-1994, EmmaSoft
CATALOG-ON-A-DISK is a trademark of EmmaSoft Software Company, Inc.
Page i
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
LICENSE AGREEMENT AND WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
CHAPTER ONE: Quick Start Guide Setup and Tutorials. . . . . . 1
CHAPTER TWO: All About Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CHAPTER THREE: Parts of a Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
CHAPTER FOUR: Catalog Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
CHAPTER FIVE: Catcom: Making A Catalog. . . . . . . . . . . .10
CHAPTER SIX: Alphabetical Features Reference. . . . . . . . .18
Address Setup (Name Box) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Asking Extra Order Form Questions. . . . . . . . . . . .18
Category Files (Products, Descriptions, Coupons) . . . .19
CD-ROM Catalogs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Colors and Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Command Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Configuration Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Dealer Discounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Discount Multiplier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Exit Menu Screen (Catalog Insert). . . . . . . . . . . .27
Expired Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
First Screens (Catalog Cover). . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Freight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Help Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Information Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Last and Special Orders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Menus, Submenus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Multi-Disk Catalogs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Order Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Order Form Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Pricing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Print Order Form Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Program Prompts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Program Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Review Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Screen Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Size Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Special Forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Taxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
APPENDIX A: Program Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Page ii
----------------------------------------------------------------------
LICENSE AGREEMENT AND WARRANTY
License to Use This Software
1. You may use the program on a single computer at one time.
You may not copy the program and accompanying materials
except for backup purposes.
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 International
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.
License To Distribute Catalogs
1. A registered user is an individual or company who has paid
a registration fee to EmmaSoft and received a registered
copy of the Catalog-on-A-Disk software with a valid serial
number from EmmaSoft.
2. Only registered users may distribute catalogs using
CATALOG.EXE. It is a violation of EmmaSoft's copyright
for unregistered users to distribute catalogs using the
program. Registered users may make unlimited copies of
CATALOG.EXE and CATALOG.INI to distribute with their
catalog.
Associated individuals or companies not part of the
registered user must become 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.
Page iiii
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. CATCOM.EXE, CATCM.EXE and all catalog making
programs are one license, one computer programs, and must
not be sent with your catalogs.
Warranty
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.
See the VENDINFO.DIZ file for shareware distribution requirements.
Governing law shall be that of New York State.
Page 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER ONE: Quick Start Guide
1.1 What is this thing for????!
Catalog-On-A-Disk is a flexible, innovative, cost-effective
alternative to printed product catalogs. It's easy for
customers to order from you using a few simple keys. They
can browse or search for items, order as they go along and
print the order form to printer or file. The order can then be
sent my mail, fax, modem, or called in.
You set up your catalog to give it your company's distinctive
look. The catalog files are compressed, letting you fit more
products on a disk, reducing disk access time, and providing
security for your prices and other data.
Catalog-On-A-Disk is perfect for any product-oriented
company. It gives you more flexibility than a printed catalog
in maintaining updates, and is less expensive to produce. It
offers new distribution options, and encourages customers to
order from you.
1.2 Setting up The Program
Please follow these instructions carefully to get your program
set up quickly and correctly.
The shareware version of Catalog-On-A-Disk installs from a self-
extracting ZIP file.
1. Create a directory for Catalog-On-A-Disk MD \CAT4
2. Make that the current directory CD \CAT4
3. Call SETUP from the disk it is on: A:\SETUP -D [ENTER]
NOTE! When you use -D a seperate catalog subdirectory is
created. If you want everything in one directory omit -d.
1.3 Tutorial: View The Catalog.
Go to the drive and directory the sample catalog is in (use the
DOS CD command), and start the catalog. Example:
c:
cd \cat4\catalog [ENTER]
catalog [ENTER]
The front cover shows a screen or two introducing your
company and the catalog itself. Read the first screen(s) and
press a key until you see the main menu.
The main menu is like a table of contents. You use it to
access the products and information in the body of the
catalog.
Page 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The whole catalog is menu based. It uses the [ENTER] key to go
into a menu choice, and the [Esc] key to back out. For example,
put the menu bar over Garden Catalog. Press [ENTER] to see a
listing of products.
Now place the menu bar over item A10001. Press [ENTER] to see
a description of that product.
To go back to the product list press e, or press [ENTER] to order
this plant. Type the quantity you want to order. Press [ENTER]
to accept the order. Now you are back in the product listing.
Go ahead and order more products. When you are finished
press [Esc] to go back to the main menu.
The catalog remembers each item you order. You view
categories of products and order as you go along. Try some of
the categories in the sample, and order products.
When you are finished ordering you print the order form. Go
to the main menu and press the [Esc] key. This bring you to the
Exit menu.
To print your order pick Print Order Form and follow the
prompts. The catalog will ask you to fill in your name and
address, and may ask for some other information before
printing the order. The order form may be printed to the
printer or to disk so it can be sent by mail, fax, or modem, or
it may be called in. The appropriate sales tax and shipping
charges are calculated in the total.
1.4 Tutorial: Make A Catalog.
CATCOM helps you create your catalog.
Go to the drive and directory containing the program (use the
DOS CD command), and start CATCOM. Example:
c:
cd \cat4 [ENTER]
CATCOM [ENTER]
Pick Files/Make Your Catalog/New File.
Type: WIDGET.TXT
Catcom will ask if you want it to make a sample. Type: Y
The first two lines contain special information for the category
file.
The top line starts with the text that will appear on the main
menu, followed by a vertical line, a password, and another
vertical line. Replace Sample Category with Industrial
Page 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Widgets. Then blank out the sample password (mypass) so
there is just a space between the vertical lines. Now the top
line should look like this:
Industrial Widgets | |
Line two is the category header. This is text that appears at
the top of the product listing screen. Type:
~~Num: Item: Our Low Price:
The first product begins on line three. Items are listed in
blocks, and each block can be a product, information block, or
a coupon. There is one sample of each type of item. All
blocks must begin with a tilde (~). Product blocks have the
tilde, an order number, short description and price.
Information blocks begin with a tilde followed by +D+ and
some descriptive text. Coupon blocks begin the same way,
except you use +C+.
You follow the "tilde line" with zero to five hundred lines of
free form text. To start the next block simply begin with a
tilde and repeat the process.
When you are done editing the file press u to save it. When
prompted with Compression Options? press Y. Now you are
prompted to choose a palette. Press 5 [ENTER]. From the menu
list pick Main Menus. Now pick CATALOG.TL. When asked
if you want to Compress Now? press Y. After the file has
been compressed you are returned to the menu.
Pick Files/View Catalog. Industrial Widgets has been added
to the main menu. You can choose it to view and order the
products you just added.
Page 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER TWO: All About Catalogs
2.1 Who uses Catalog-On-A-Disk?
Catalog-On-A-Disk is used by many kinds of companies all
over the world. These include computer hardware and
software companies, book sellers and publishers, office
suppliers, parts suppliers (including motorcycle parts,
hardware, funeral supplies, industrial parts), specialty
companies (including an antique maps company), travel
companies and many others.
Catalogs come from the United States, Canada, England,
Australia, France, Austria, New Zealand, Scotland, West
Indies, Brazil, Fiji Islands, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and
many other places.
Most of these companies distribute their catalogs on floppy
disks, while others are taking advantage of other methods
including removable storage devices, hard drives, and modem
transfer. One manufacturer of notebook computers puts a
Catalog-On-A- Disk catalog on the hard drive of each
computer they sell so their customers can easily order a new
peripheral or an additional machine.
Sales people keep their Catalog-On-A-Disk catalog on their
notebook computer so they can take orders as they travel from
site to site. They print the orders to their hard disks and
upload them to their home offices at night when the phone
rates are lower.
Companies post copies of their catalog on BBSs so customers
can download them. A company in England has set up a
catalog to automatically call the store and print the order
form on a printer so a clerk can fill the order immediately.
Consultants have lucrative businesses using Catalog-On-A-
Disk to build catalogs for clients.
You'll find many creative ways to distribute your catalog
using Catalog-On-A-Disk.
2.2 What Makes Up a Catalog
The original versions of catalog files are ASCII text files. Use
Catcom to compress these files into a form the reader can
understand.
The catalog you send out includes the catalog reader
(CATALOG.EXE), menu files (text files ending with .TL or
.FM), and the compressed versions of the catalog files (with
the extension .CM).
Page 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER THREE: Parts of a Catalog
Most catalogs have three main parts.
The cover makes the first impression. It often has a company
logo, a splash of enticing information, and details about what
you will find inside.
The body of the catalog contains the product listings, prices,
helpful information, hints, and so on.
The insert contains an order form, ordering information, and
coupons.
Your Catalog-On-A-Disk catalog also has these sections, and
gives you a great deal of flexibility in creating each one. The
body is required. The insert is also required. You need it to
print the order form. However, the Special Forms menu is
optional, and if you decide not to use it the menu
automatically adjusts to remove the option. The cover is
completely optional.
3.1 The Cover
The cover of your catalog can be text screens, an outside
program such as a graphics logo viewer, or both.
3.2 The Body
The body of your catalog is controlled by (and includes) the
main menu screen. Menu choices are kept in small
uncompressed files with the .TL extension. (You can see
examples of these in the sample catalog's CATALOG.TL file.
Customers can access the cover and the insert as well as
Category files, Command files, Catalog commands, Screen files,
and Submenus.
3.3 The Insert
At the main menu you can press the [Esc] key to reach the
insert, or Exit menu. This is a small menu that lets the
customer print an order form, review the current order, enter
a shipping address, and (optionally) show the special forms
menu.
The special forms menu has most of the same capabilities of
the main menu, the difference being that its menu files use
the .FM extension instead of .TL.
Page 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.4 Other Features
CATALOG.EXE was designed around two keys: [ENTER] and e.
Enter brings you in to the next level of the program, and
Escape backs you out. If you are at the main menu [Esc] takes
you to the exit menu and vice versa.
The menu takes up part of the screen - the rest is used by a
header screen you can use for company information and to
display important key-press information.
An information screen is available from anywhere in the
catalog by pressing a I or i. This is used to place your
company information, address, phone number - any
information that summarizes the catalog and your company.
The main purpose of the Exit menu is to print the order form.
It also lets you review your order and delete items you don't
really want, and to enter your name and the address you
want the order shipped to. You can always go back to the
body of the catalog to order more products.
An optional feature of the Exit menu is the Special Forms
menu. This has the same features as the main menu, though
it is usually used to hold coupons and informational files (like
The History of Consolidated Widgets, or Our Return Policy).
Page 7
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER FOUR: Catalog Features
Catalog-On-A-Disk has many powerful features to help you
sell. You probably will not use all of them in a single catalog.
When you set up your catalog you configure the features to
best work for your company. If you do not want the customer
to know about certain features - simply do not document them
in your screens.
4.1 Keys In The Catalog
Here is a complete listing of keys in the catalog and what
they do:
[Alt] [H] [Alt] [F1] Display a Help Bar
[Alt] [I] [F4] Program Information
[Alt] [S] [F2] Search
[Alt] [N] [Alt] [F2] Next search instance
[Alt] [X] [F10] Exit the program
[F1] Context sensitive help
[ENTER] Go in to the next level (category,
product, order, etc.
[Esc] Back out of current window or
toggle between main and exit
menus
[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.
[Dn] Down one choice. Scrolls to next screen full.
Stops at last choice with a message.
[Lt] Same as up arrow, but wraps to the bottom of
the window instead of scrolling.
[Rt] Same as down arrow, but wraps to the top of
the window instead of scrolling.
If you are using a mouse the left button acts like the [ENTER]
key, and the right button like the [Esc] key. If little arrows are
at the bottom of your screen, clicking on the up arrow works
like pressing [PgUp] and clicking on the down arrow like PgDn. Clicking
at the top of the screen is like pressing [Up], and at the bottom
like pressing [Dn].
Page 8
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2 Menus and Products
The [ENTER] key takes you to each level and makes it easy to
order. At the main menu use the arrow keys to place the
menu bar on a category you want. Press [ENTER].
Now you see a list of products. Place the menu bar on the
one you are interested in and press [ENTER].
Read the product description. To order that product press
[ENTER].
Ordering is that simple. At any level you can press [Esc] to go
back. This makes it extremely easy for customers to navigate
the catalog.
4.3 Products, Information, Coupons
Category files contain products, information blocks and/or
coupons. These can be mixed and matched in any category
file. They work similarly, but each has special features.
Products may be ordered as well as viewed. Size Boxes may
be added to products so the customer chooses the product in a
special size, color, or type (for example, in a clothing catalog).
Information is just that: it is viewed, but can not be ordered.
Coupons are like information blocks, except the customer can
print them while viewing them.
4.4 Search
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] or [F2] 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. 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. Press [Alt] [N] or [Alt] [F2] to
search for the next instance of the text.
When creating your catalog it may help to use key words to
identify groups of products. This gives customers a way of
finding products of interest.
If the search string is not found in the current category all
following categories on the current menu will be searched.
Page 9
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5 Order
When you are finished choosing the products you want you
print the order form. CATALOG.EXE can print it to a printer
or disk file. This is as simple as choosing Print Order Form
from the exit menu and following the prompts.
Ordering can have many features attached to it. Your catalog
can be set up to automatically charge sales tax when
appropriate, and to add shipping and handling charges.
You can add a questionnaire that asks special questions
before the form is printed. This can be used to get credit card
numbers and other important information. The answers are
printed on the order form.
4.6 Print
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 catalog go to the Exit menu and press [Alt]
[P]. Printing the entire catalog may also be a choice on the
main menu.
4.7 Help
Two kinds of help are available: a help bar can be toggled in
and out of view by pressing [Alt] [H]. The [F1] key brings up
context-sensitive help that you may create to suit you own
catalog.
Page 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER FIVE: Catcom: Making A Catalog
5.1 The Basics
A catalog is made up of the catalog reader (CATALOG.EXE),
the initialization file (CATALOG.INI), the internal text file
(CATALOG.CM) menu files, and catalog files.
Menu files are ASCII text files that contain the text that
appears on menus, and tells the reader how to access the files
or perform the functions. Minimally you must have one menu
file called CATALOG.TL. This contains the first level of the
main menu. Other main menu files must have the .TL
extension. Similarly, the first Special Forms menu is called
CATALOG.FM, with submenus sharing the .FM extension.
Catalog files start out as ASCII text files. You use Catcom to
compress them, and the compressed version goes out with
your catalog. The steps in building a catalog are:
1. Create the text versions of your catalog files.
2. Compress the catalog files.
3. Copy CATALOG.EXE, CATALOG.INI, .TL and
.FM files and your compressed (.CM) files to a
disk.
There are three kinds of catalog file. Each is identified by a
unique file name extension.
Category Files: Files that contain products. They can
also contain descriptions and/or coupons.
These files end with the .TXT extension.
Example: HARDWARE.TXT
Screen Files: Display files that appear on the screen
but do not contain product, description,
or coupon blocks. They have the .CAT
extension. Example: FIRST.CAT
Configuration Files: Any file that does not appear on the
screen that is used to configure your
catalog in some way. These files always
end with the .CTF extension. Example:
TOTAL.CTF
After they are compressed all catalog files share the extension
.CM. Examples: HARDWARE.CM, FIRST.CM, TOTAL.CM
Page 11
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2 Using Catcom
You make your catalog with CATCOM. Start the program
(replace the example drive and directory with your real one if
it is different):
C: [ENTER]
CD\CAT4 [ENTER]
CATCOM [ENTER]
There are three pull-down menus on the menu bar at the top
of the screen:
Files Create your catalog files and manipulate them.
Use this menu to compress the files (so they can
be read by the catalog program), delete them,
copy your catalog, and view it.
Setup This menu sets your catalog colors and program
settings (such as tax and address settings, help
bar and mouse).
Options This menu sets CATCOM's colors, look and
behavior. You also set the path to your catalog
so CATCOM knows where on your system to
find it.
To create or edit a catalog file choose File/Make Your
Catalog. You are presented with a list of files that are
typically included in a catalog. While all the files on the list
are not required, this list makes it easy to keep your catalog
files up to date.
Pick a file from the menu. If that file does not exist Catcom
may be able to create a sample for you. This sample can be
quite helpful as a template to edit your own catalog
information in. The sample file (or the old version of the file,
or a new blank version) is automatically loaded into the text
editor.
When you are done editing you are prompted for compression
options. You should choose Yes if this is a new file, or if you
want to compress the file right away. This insures the file is
included in the compression list, which is a list of all the files
that make up your catalog.
The internal Catcom Editor uses these keys:
[F10] Save and exit
[Esc] Exit without saving
[Alt] [S] Save
[Alt] [I] Import a file into the current file
[Alt] [C] Insert a color code
[Alt] [C] Insert a macro code
Page 12
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[F2] Search for text
[F3] Find next
[F4] Begin Block
[F5] End Block
[Ctl] [Y] Delete a line
[Ctl] [Del] Delete a block
[F6] Mark word
[Alt] [F6] Mark to beginning of line
[Ctl] [F6] Mark to end of line
[F7] Copy block
[F8] Move Block
[Ctl] [Rgt] Right one word
[Ctl] [Lft] Left one word
[Ctl] [Up] Up one word
[Ctl] [Dn] Down one word
[Ctl] [U] Top of file
[Ctl] [d] Bottom of file
[Ctl] [h] Top of screen
[Ctl] [E] Bottom of screen
[Home] Beginning of line
[End] End of line
[PgUp] Up one screen
[PgDn] Down one screen
5.3 Compressing
Catalog files do not show up in your catalog until they are
compressed. All compressed files have the same name as the
original, but the extension is changed to .CM. The
compressed version of HAMMERS.TXT, for example, will be
called HAMMERS.CM. Only the compressed (.CM) version is
used by the catalog reader.
When a catalog file is compressed special codes are added to it
that tell the catalog reader how to handle the file. The file is
also added to a menu at this stage.
When you choose compression options you are given the
choice to compress the file right away, or simply to add the
file to the catalog compression list. Whether or not you
compress the file now it will be added to the list for future
use.
You can save time by not compressing the files one at a time.
Once they are on the list you can choose Files/Whole Catalog
to compress every file listed. (To check which files are on the
list view compress.crf. Do not try to edit this file!)
Page 13
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Choose Files/Compress to compress a single file, even if it is
on the list. Catcom always checks the list to see if you have
already set options for that file. If so you may use the old
settings or choose new ones.
5.4 Managing Your Catalog
Catcom uses two catalog response files to keep lists of what
belongs in your catalog.
The first, CATALOG.CRF, is a list of non-compressed files
such as CATALOG.EXE, CATALOG.INI, menu files, command
files and the programs and files needed by them, and so on.
NOTE! Before copying your catalog you should check the
CATALOG.CRF file to make sure it contains everything it
should.
The second list, COMPRESS.CRF, is created when you
compress your catalog files. It is a compression script that
CATCOM uses when you compress choosing Files/Whole
Catalog. NOTE! You should not edit this file directly - let
CATCOM maintain it.
Together the two .CRF files comprise a master list of every
file in your catalog.
Use File/Make Your Catalog to add categories and other files
to the catalog.
Use File/Delete A Category to delete category files from your
catalog. Pick the compressed (.CM) file you want removed,
and confirm that you want to delete it. This removes the file
from the compression list, and erases the compressed file (the
text version is not deleted, so you may re-instate it later just
by compressing the text file again. Finally, the choice is
removed from the menu.
5.5 Catalog Settings
Catalog files contain the content of your catalog. Catalog
settings control its behavior. CATCOM records these settings
in CATALOG.INI.
5.51 Colors
Pick Setup/Colors to set the colors for your catalog. Three
sample views of the catalog reader are shown on the screen,
and these show you how your catalog will appear as you
change colors.
The catalog can use up to six color palettes. When you
compress a catalog file you pick one of these palettes to be
used for that file. Palette 1 is the only one required, but you
will probably want to use at least a few palettes to give types
of files a distinctive look. For example, you could use Palette
Page 14
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2 for help files. In addition you set the colors the brand
message and help bar will appear in.
As you move the menu bar the sample views show the color
combination for that palette. Press [ENTER] to set palette colors:
Main Color: Main window text
Highlight Color: Used when you use the ` symbol without
a four character color or macro code in a
catalog file. This is for compatibility
with version 3 catalog files.
Menu Color: Main Menu Color
Menu Bar: Highlights a choice on a menu
Message Box: Message text.
Warnings: Warning text (usually appears at the
bottom of a menu window).
Press [Esc] to get back to the Palettes menu, and press [Esc] again
to return to the main menu.
5.52 Settings
Choose Setup/Settings to see the Catalog Setup Screen.
Nationality:
US: Uses US conventions
International: Uses international conventions
Address Lines:
Customers type their address in the catalog so it will print on
the order form. You can specify up to twelve address fields
(such as name, street, city, and so on). Headings for these
lines are in CATALOG.CTF, lines 169-180.
City Line:
The city line is the address line you want the customer to
type his city in. When printing the address on the order form
this forces the next two fields to print on the same line.
1. Name
2. Street
3. City
4. State
5. Zip Code
6. Phone
Page 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In the above list of address fields, if you choose 3 as your city
line the address will print as follows:
Name
Street
City, State, Zip
Phone
Tax Match:
If the catalog is set to charge sales tax in one state or
province it will attempt to match the text in one address field
(example: "NY" in the state field) with text stored in the file
containing your tax setup (total.ctf). You must tell the catalog
which address field to attempt the match on. In the above
example you would choose 4 to match on the state field.
Who To Tax:
Choose All if you must apply a sales tax across the board to
all of your customers. Choose Selected if you collect taxes
from selected customers only. Choose Selected if you are not
required to charge a tax. (See the section on Taxes in the
next chapter.)
What to Tax:
This setting lets you determine whether taxes will be charged
for merchandise only, or both merchandise and shipping
charges.
Currency Character:
Set the currency character for your country's money.
Date Setup:
This setting allows you to choose from a variety of date
formats.
Name Box:
The name box is a window in which your customer types
name, shipping address, phone numbers, and so on to be
printed on the order form.
Before the order form is printed the Name Box pops up so the
customer can fill in his name and address to be printed on the
order form. The first setting determines whether it pops up
each time the customer orders, or only if the box hasn't been
filled in yet.
Page 16
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can also have the name box pop up after the First file
has been displayed, before the main menu. The second
setting enables or disables this feature.
Printing:
This setting only affects the printout of category files.
Save Session:
If a customer exits the program before printing the order form
the current ordering session could be lost. If you set your
catalog to Save Unfinished Orders the customer will be asked
whether the current session should be saved. If so, all the
products ordered so far will be included in the next session,
and the customer will be reminded of this.
Product Sort:
This setting allows the catalog to sort products by order
number. The sort is applied only to products ordered in the
current session.
Mouse:
Enable means customers will be able to use their mouse if
they have one. Disable means the mouse will not be used in
your catalog even if the customer has one.
Box Type:
This setting determines whether your catalog will use single
or double lines in window borders.
Help Bar Default:
Pressing a H toggles the help bar at the bottom of the
screen. Setting this to On means the help bar will appear
when the catalog is first started. Off means it will not
appear, but can be made to display using a H.
Help Bar Text
Enter the text you want to appear in the Help Bar at the
bottom of the screen.
5.6 Catcom Options
In the Options menu you determine the behavior of Catcom.
Colors, Frames, and Sound determine how Catcom appears
on the screen, and turns warning beeps on or off.
The most important section here is Options/Path.
Page 17
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Catalog Path tells Catcom where to look for your catalog files.
Type in the full path, with no trailing backslash. Example:
C:\CAT4\CATALOG
Editor Path lets you attach your favorite text editor to Catcom
for creating and editing your catalog files. To use the internal
editor type INTERNAL in this field.
Viewer Path lets you attach your favorite viewer to Catcom for
viewing compression and copy logs. To use the internal
viewer type INTERNAL in this field.
5.7 Copying Your catalog
To copy your finished or in-progress catalog to a disk or to
another directory on your hard disk choose Files/Copy
Catalog. When prompted type the disk (and directory) you
want to copy to. Do not type a trailing back slash.
Examples: A:
C:\FINISHED
After your catalog is copied you are prompted to view a log. It
will tell you which files were successfully copied, and note any
that were not.
NOTE: Before copying your catalog double check CATALOG.CRF
to make sure the list is complete. (See Managing Your
Catalog, above, for more information.)
Page 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER SIX: Features Reference
Address Setup (Name Box)
Customers type their name, address, and other information
you ask for in the Name Box. This information is printed on
the order form, and can be accessed by using macros in your
catalog files.
You use Catcom (Setup/Settings) to define the Name Box. It
can use up to 12 fields for address, phone number and other
information you want. Use Catcom to set up your address
lines. Adjust the headings for each line (a "heading" is the
text that appears in the "Name" window before the field, such
as "Name:" or "Street1:") starting on line 165 in
CATALOG.CTF. Line 165 is field 1, 166 is field 2, and so
on..
You must set these items to define your Name Box:
1. Number of address fields wanted (1-12).
2. The number of the "City" line. This is needed so
Catalog knows how to print the address. It assumes
that the field immediately following the "City" line is
the "State" line, and the line following that is the "ZIP"
line. When printing each field appears on its own line
except these three, which are printed as follows: CITY,
STATE ZIP
3. Tax Match field. This tells Catalog which of the 12
fields (or however many you have set up) to match for
sales tax (the matching information is contained in
total.ctf).
You also use Catcom to set when and where the Name Box
appears. It is always accessible on the Exit Menu. It also
appears when printing the order form, and it can appear right
after the First Screen, before the main menu. You decide
whether you want it to appear every time an order is printed,
or only if it has not been filled in.
Asking Extra Order Form Questions
When printing the order form you can add your own
questions for the customer to answer before the form is
printed. The answers are printed on the order form. This
feature is useful for determining method of payment, credit
card number and expiration date, and so on. There is no
limit to the number of questions you may ask.
Page 19
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Create a file called EXTRA.CTF. Each line in this file is for
one question/answer, and is divided into four parts:
1. The question to ask.
2. A heading to print on the order form before printing
the answer.
3. The maximum number of characters for the answer (do
not use more than 76 including the heading and
answer)
4. The number of characters from the left margin the
answer should be indented on the order form.
Example:
Pay By Check, MC, Visa, Amex? | Payment Method: | 8 | 0
If the customer answers "Visa" the answer will appear on the
order form this way:
Payment Method: Visa
After compressing the file the questions will appear when
printing the order form.
Category Files (Products, Descriptions, Coupons)
Category Files (.TXT) are the heart of your catalog. They
contain the products you are selling. They can also contain
much more. Each item in a category is entered in a block of
data. You use Product Blocks to list products that customers
can order. Information Blocks hold information for customers
to read. Coupon Blocks can be read on the screen, or printed
on a printer. The three types of block can be mixed and
matched in any category file.
When you choose a product from a category menu the long
description is displayed. Press the [ENTER] key to order that
product. In Information and Coupon blocks pressing [ENTER] at
this point brings you back to the category menu.
Each category file begins with two lines that set up the file.
They are followed by the blocks you want to appear in that
category.
Page 20
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The first line begins with the text you want on the menu for
that category. This is followed by two vertical lines. If you
want to protect the file against unauthorized decompression
you may enter a short password between the two vertical
lines - otherwise just leave a space between them.
Example:
Wrenches | |
The second line is the Category Header. This is one line of
text that will appear at the top of the category menu in the
catalog. This line always begins with two tildes (~~),
followed by your text.
Example:
~~No. Item Description: Our Low Price
Blocks must be a minimum of one line in the file. Each block
begins with a single tilde (~). If you want a long description
for an item you may add up to 500 lines of free-form text after
the first line. To start another block you simply begin it with
a tilde.
Product Blocks begin with a tilde (~) followed by an order
number, short description and price. If you want to attach a
freight charge to a product you follow the price with two
vertical lines and the freight charge.
NOTE! Never use a currency character when entering prices. Use
numbers and a decimal point only!
Example:
~A10005-FL Steel Crow Bar 15.95 | | 4.50
Long description text starts here.
If you do not use order numbers leave a space after the tilde
before beginning the short description. A short description
and price are required. Size Boxes (see below) may be part of
the long description in Product Blocks, and must be part of
the 500 line maximum allowed.
If you have attached a freight charge you should mention it
toward the top of the long description.
Description Blocks also begin with a tilde, followed by "+D+"
and the short description text. Follow this with from 0 to 500
lines of text. Example:
~+D+How You Can Order From Us
Long description text starts here.
Page 21
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Coupon Blocks start with a tilde, "+C+", and the short
description text. Follow this with from 0 to 500 lines of text.
Example:
~+C+Free Gift With This Coupon
Long description text starts here.
CD-ROM Catalogs
If you are distributing your catalog on CD-ROM or other
read-only media you must move certain files to a writable
medium such as a hard disk drive or floppy disk. This is
because the catalog must write certain files from time to time.
The following files must be placed on writable medium:
CATALOG.EXE (Required)
CATALOG.INI (Required)
STRDORD (Optional)
CATSEND.EXE (If you are using the Catsend Utility)
CATSEND.SC (If you are using the Catsend Utility)
Any other programs and their files that require disk
writing.
In addition you must include a file called CATLOC.COD that
contains the path to the catalog files. This should include a
drive letter followed by a colon and a backslash, with the
path, if any. Do not include a file name or trailing backslash.
Examples: g:\catalog
The SETCAT utility can be used to automatically copy the
files and create the CATLOC.COD file.
NOTE! WARNING! Before mastering your catalog on CD, test,
test, test!!! Make sure everything is working before you go to
the expense of manufacturing your CD. A mistake at this
point can't just be re-copied as it can be on floppy disk.
Colors and Macros
Colors and macros give you enormous control over the look of
your catalog. This is done by using a four-character code in
the text files. When CATALOG.EXE finds such a code it
replaces it with a value it represents. This can result in
subsequent text being printed in a new color, or in some data
(such as today's date) being inserted.
Page 22
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The CATCOM internal editor can automatically insert color
and macro codes using simple functions. Use a C for colors,
and s C for macros. The color function lets you choose the
color to insert from a color chart. The macro function lets you
pick from a list of available macros.
Colors:
In addition to the palette colors you set with Catcom you can
use any color combination in your category, form, and screen
files by using color codes. Color codes are made up of four
characters:
1. The color symbol `
2. Dark or Light DL
3. Foreground Color KBGCRMYW
4. Background Color KBGCRMYW
These letters mean the following:
D Dark L Light
K Black R Red
B Blue M Magenta
G Green Y Yellow
C Cyan W White
Foreground colors can be either dark or light. Background
colors are dark only. So `DWB means Dark (normal) White
on a Blue background. `LYK means Light Yellow on Black.
These codes are case-sensitive. They MUST be upper case
letters.
There are two other color symbols:
`DPK Returns to the Normal Color from the current palette
`DHK Returns to the Bold color from the current palette
To make the word "line" appear as light Cyan on a Blue
background, and the rest of the line in the "Normal" palette
color, type it this way:
This is a `LCBline`DPK of colored text that I have typed.
NOTE! To avoid confusion type your text files without any of the
color codes in them. When they are just the way you want
them add color codes after first making a backup copy of the
plain version.
Note that the color codes ONLY affect the line on which they
appear. The beginning of each line is reset to the Normal
(default) color for that palette, even if the ` or `DPK symbols
were not used at the end of the line. To have multiple lines
Page 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------
with the same color your will need to repeat the code on each
line. Example:
`LYBThis is my first line of text
`LYBMy second line starts here
The lone ` symbol to toggle between normal and bold has been
retained for backward compatibility with earlier versions of
Catalog-On-A-Disk. We do not recommend their use because
of possible confusion. For example:
HOW `DRY I AM!
In the above example you would expect "DRY" to appear in
the bold color. Instead, the word "DRY" would disappear, and
"I am!" would appear in Dark Red on a Yellow (brown)
background. While this is an unlikely example it illustrates
problems that can occur with older catalog files.
Color codes can be used in Catalog (.TXT) files, Forms (.FRM)
files, Screen (.CAT) files, or menu (.TL) files, and on some
lines in CATALOG.CTF. A rule of thumb is that they will
probably work unless placed in the title that appears on the
top border of a window.
Macros:
Internal Macros, when inserted into a catalog file, cause
information about the catalog to be displayed. You can
display the date, any address line, or the number of printer
lines in .CAT and .TXT files. These macros will work
anywhere in a .CAT file, and in the Long Descriptions ONLY
in .TXT files. Macros are:
`XA# Show an address line *
`XDK Show the date
`XPK Show the number of printer lines (set with catalog -l#)
`XXK Catalog Expiration Date
*Replace the # with the number of the address line you want
to show. Use 1-9, or : for 10, ; for 11, or < for 12.
When using macros leave enough space for the information to
show up in your file. Since you don't usually know how long
an address line will be (because it depends on text your
customer enters) it is good practice not to put text to the right
of the `XA# macro.
NOTE: These macro translations appear on the screen
ONLY. For a list of macros used on the order form see the
section on setting up the order form.
Page 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command Files
You can run programs from the catalog reader with command
files. Command files use the .CMD extension, and are similar
to batch files. When called command files are executed one
line at a time.
You can have two versions of each command file. The name
of the second version ends with the letter "M" and it is called
instead of the original if catalog was started with the
monochrome (-m) flag. For example you could have a pair of
command files called MYCMD.CMD and MYCMDM.CMD.
There are three reserved command file names. If these files
exist they are automatically run by the catalog.
File Name Mono Version Run When:
BCMD.CMD BCMDM.CMD Before First Screen
ACMD.CMD ACMDM.CMD After First Screen, Before menu
ECMD.CMD ECMDM.CMD Exit chosen from Exit Menu
You can pass paths in command files. For example, if you are
running a picture viewer from the same disk and directory
the catalog reader is in you want to make sure it will be
properly called even if the catalog is called from a different
directory than it resides in. You use %% to represent the
"home" directory of the catalog. This way it won't matter
what disk or directory the customer puts your catalog on - it
will always run properly. Example:
%%catpcx %%mypic.pcx -c5
Any command file can be attached to the main menu and
submenus and to the special forms menu and submenus. In
your .TL or .FM files list the file name with the extension
".CMD" after the pipe symbol to indicate this is a command
file. Example:
See A Demo | demo.cmd
Configuration Files
Configuration files are compressed files that affect the way
your catalog operates, but do not appear on the screen. The
text versions have the .CTF extension.
CATALOG.CTF Required Internal Program Text
CMHLP.CTF Optional Command line help
EXTRA.CTF Optional Extra Questions for order
form
MULTI.CTF Optional Discount Multiplier
configuration
ORDERFRM.CTF Required The order form template
TOTAL.CTF Required Tax, shipping handling
Page 25
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dealer Discounts
If you want to use the same catalog for wholesale and retail
customers you can do it using the Dealer Discount feature.
This feature lets you include a code number file that tells the
catalog to apply a discount set by you. If the file doesn't exist
the retail prices will be applied. This way you don't have to
create separate catalogs with different prices.
In CATALOG.CTF you can set up to 3 different discounts for
your wholesale customers, special customers, or whomever.
The first setting is on lines 152 and 153. Line 152 has the
code you will use, which can be any numbers, letters, or both.
Line 153 has the percent of the discount (the number 10 for
ten percent, for example). The second setting is on lines 154
and 155, and the third on 156 and 157. In each case the code
word is on the even numbered line, and the discount percent
on the following line.
You should use code words that are not easy to figure out.
A small, one-line ASCII file enables a discount. The file is
called: DCTCODE. This file is not compressed. This is
convenient, because if one of your customers has a copy of
your catalog you can explain on the phone how to create the
DCTCODE file to activate the discount (if you haven't already
included the file on that disk).
In the DCTCODE file you can type the same word that
appears on line 152 of CATALOG.CTF to activate the first
discount, match line 154 for the second, or line 156 to activate
the third.
When a DCTCODE discount is enabled the following is true:
NOTE! The regular prices still show up in the catalog. However,
in the box where a product is ordered the discounted price is
shown after the quantity is entered. In addition, a message is
displayed telling what discount is applied.
NOTE! If there is a MULTI.CM file those discounts are ignored.
Only the DCTCODE discount is used.
NOTE! If ordering from a discount pricing category, where there
are more than one price depending on the number ordered,
only the first price is used with the DCTCODE discount
applied. The logic is that the wholesale customer gets a fixed
discount on a fixed price.
NOTE! When ordering from a category set up with the "choose"
option, the discount is applied to the price the customer
chooses, as you would expect.
Page 26
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Example:
Lets say the first line of this excerpt from the catalog.ctf file
begins on line 152:
70426
10
DS402
15
Wholesale422
40
If the first line of DCTCODE says DS402 A 15% discount will
be applied.
Discount Multiplier
Some businesses give customers an across the board discount
that increases as the customer buys more. You can set up
your catalog 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
If the order is $50 or more and less than $100.00 a 15%
discount is applied.
NOTE! Remember, you can have a maximum of three levels. If
the file contains more than three lines they will be ignored.
NOTE! Make sure the levels progress from line one (lowest value)
through line three(highest value. Reversing lines 2 and 3
could cause problems.
Now compress the file. If the compressed file is present the
multiplier(s) are automatically used. If not, the full price is
charged for all totals.
If you 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.
Page 27
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Exit Menu Screen (Catalog Insert)
If text is present in catalog.ctf the following will appear
on the Exit menu:
Line 29 Print the order form to printer or screen
Line 30 Review the order and delete items
Line 31 Enter customer name and shipping address
Line 32 Return to the main menu to order more products
Line 33 Show Special Forms Menu (if CATALOG.FM is present)
Line 34 Exit the program.
Expired Prices
Some companies only guarantee catalog prices through a
specific date. If you want your catalog can handle this.
Beginning on the expiration date a box pops up each time the
catalog is started that warns the customer the prices may not
still be in effect. The customer is given the option to continue
anyway. This lets the customer know that he may be charged
different prices without preventing him from ordering.
The warning message is on lines 79 and 80 in
CATALOG.CTF. Recommended text: "Warning! Prices in this
catalog may be out of date. Please call 555-5555 for a new
Catalog. Continue? [n]" (The "[n]" means that pressing [ENTER]
is like typing N for no. Y lets the customer continue.
The expiration date is stored on line 78 of CATALOG.CTF. It
must be entered in this format: MM-DD-YYYY
If you do not want to use this feature simply enter a date that
is very far in the future such as "01-01-2999".
First Screens (Catalog Cover)
The First Screen file is the first thing your customer sees
when starting the catalog reader. It is usually used as a
"splash screen," containing your company's name, and telling
a little about the catalog before the customer begins ordering.
The top line of the FIRST file should be blank, or if you also
want it on a menu you can put the menu text on the top line
as you would in a category (TXT) file. From there use 23
lines for each screen. You may use color codes and macros.
NOTE! The file must be called "FIRST.CAT" and must be
compressed.
Page 28
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Freight
You can attach a freight charge to any product in your
catalog. This is multiplied by the number of that item
ordered, and kept in a separate subtotal that is included in
the final total on the order form. It is usually used for large
items that require a freight charge beyond the normal
shipping/handling cost.
The first line of a product block has a tilde (~), order number,
short description, and price. After the price add a piping
symbol (vertical line |), a space, another piping symbol, then
the freight charge. Use only numbers and decimal point. Do
not use a currency character. Example:
~14882-A102 Professional Tripod 39.79 | | 5.49
Help Screens
Your catalog displays a help screen when the customer
presses f. Minimally you must have one help file
(CMOSHLP.CAT). If you include more than one you get
context sensitive help. When creating a help screen leave the
top line blank. You can follow this with up to 500 lines of
text. If you think you might want to put the help file on a
menu (for instance you could have a submenu that has all the
help files on it) type the text for the menu on the top line.
Here is a list of help files and where they appear:
CMOSHLP.CAT General Help
MMNUHLP.CAT Help for Main Menu
CMNUHLP.CAT Category Menu Help
EMNUHLP.CAT Exit Menu Help
PRNTHLP.CAT Print Order Form Menu
FINDHLP.CAT Search Function
CRVWHLP.TXT Review Order Screen Help
CMHLP.CTF Command line help ("catalog -h")
Information Screen
The information screen is called when the customer presses
[Alt] [I] (it can also be a menu choice). This is a single screen
that shows vital information about your company and catalog.
You should be sure to put your customer service information
here, especially your telephone number. The text for this
screen is on lines 181-200 in CATALOG.CTF.
Pressing [Alt] [I] a second time pops up an "about box" with
Catalog-On-A-Disk information. You do not have to document
this "secret" keystroke.
Last and Special Orders
You can set up the catalog reader to add products to the
current ordering session when the customer chooses to do so.
Page 29
----------------------------------------------------------------------
There are two ways to do this. The first adds the products
that were ordered the last time an order form was printed.
This lets the customer order the same items again. The
second method lets the customer add a special order of
products predetermined by you. This could be any selection of
products you want.
To activate the Last Order feature, simply add a line to a .TL
file with the menu choice followed by a piping symbol
(vertical line |) and LASTORD.CIC. Example:
Add Last Order | LASTORD.CIC
There are two steps to setting up a standard order. First you
must create the standard order file. To do this set up the
Last Order option as described above. Order products from
the catalog as if you were a customer. Now print an order
form, and exit the catalog. You will find a file called
LASTORD (the file name has no extension.) Rename this file
to STRDORD.
The second step is to put the standard order option on the
menu. Add a line to the .TL file with the menu text, a piping
symbol, and STRDORD.CIC. Example:
Special Just For You! | STRDORD.CIC
Menus, Submenus
Menus:
The main menu can hold 500 items. If you want more items,
or if you want to organize your catalog in an hierarchal
structure you may use sub-menus.
Menu files are text files (they are not compressed), and they
always have the extension ".TL" (".FM" for special forms
menus). The main menu must be called CATALOG.TL
(CATALOG.FM for special forms). Beyond that you can use
any name for a submenu as long as it has the correct file
extension.
Each line in a menu file represents one choice on the menu.
The line contains two or three sections divided by a vertical
line (|):
Menu Text | File or Command Code | Disk Number
Menu Text is what the customer actually sees on the menu. It
is required.
Page 30
----------------------------------------------------------------------
File Command or Code tells the catalog what file to display or
action to perform. This part is also required. See the next
section for an explanation.
Disk Number is optional. It is used for multi disk catalogs
only. If a file can't be found the catalog prompts the customer
to insert another disk. If you have indicated a Disk Number
in the menu file it will specify which disk contains that file.
If no number is in the menu file the catalog defaults to 1.
Sub-Menus:
To go to a submenu you must add a line in your menu file.
Lets say you have a clothing catalog and you want a separate
sub-menu for shirts. You have named it "SHIRTS.TL." To
get there from the main menu add this line to your
CATALOG.TL file:
Shirts | SHIRTS.TL
The first part of the line is the text that appears on the menu.
After the piping symbol (vertical line) is the name of the
menu file.
If you want to return to the previous menu use a special key
word ("BACK.TL") instead of the name of the menu file.
Continuing the above example, to return to the main menu
add this line to shirts.tl:
Previous menu | BACK.TL
In any submenu you can always return to the main menu by
calling it explicitly. Example:
Main Menu | CATALOG.TL
You can have more than one of these choices in a single
menu. Example:
Jerseys | JSH.TL
Oxford Shirts |OSH.TL
T-Shirts | TSH.TL
Previous menu | BACK.TL
Main Menu | CATALOG.TL
Basic Catalog-On-A-Disk supports a maximum of two levels of
submenu. If you try to call more than two levels an error
message is displayed and you are returned to the main menu.
This does NOT mean the number of sub-menus is limited.
A "level" is the number of menus you have traversed to get to
the current sub-menu. The following chart illustrates menu
levels:
Page 31
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Level 1 Level 2
CATALOG.TL--- |SHIRTS.TL
|PANTS.TL
|SOCKS.TL
NOTE! Include copies of all Menu Files on all the disks in a
multi-disk catalog.
File Command or Code:
While the text that appears in this section of a menu line
always looks like a DOS file name (up to eight characters for
the name, and a dot followed by a one to three letter
extension), the names in a menu file do not necessarily refer
to actual files. Most catalog files are compressed and have
the .CM extension. Menu files distinguish between the types
of files as follows:
.CM Category file. (Text version uses .TXT)
.CAT Screen file. (Text version uses .CAT)
.CMD Command files run other programs from the menu.
.TL Menu Files (Main menu only)
.FM Menu Files (Forms Menu Only)
.CIC Catalog Internal Commands
Catalog Internal Commands:
Catalog Internal Commands allow you to put program actions
on menus. Reserved keywords are used for this purpose. You
should never give a catalog file the same name as one of
these words.
LASTORD.CIC If this is on the main menu the order is
saved to disk when the order form is
printed. This allows the customer to
import the last order into the current
session.
STRDORD.CIC You may provide a standard order file
containing selected products. This choice
imports those products into the current
session.
PRINTER.CIC Print the entire catalog.
EXITMEN.CIC Go to the Exit Menu ( do not use this
command in .FM menus)
INFOSCRN.CIC Display the Information screen.
Headers:
The text that appears on the screen with each menu is
contained in a "Header File." You create a file called
"HEADER.CAT" and the compressed version is displayed next
to your main menu.
Page 32
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are using sub-menus you can have a different "Header
File" for each menu. Simply create a text file that has the
same name as the menu file (.TL), but with the extension
".CAT". For example, if your submenu file is called SUB1.TL
the sub-header file for that menu should be called SUB1.CAT.
Compress the file and include SUB1.CM on your catalog disk.
If a sub-header file exists it is displayed with the submenu it
shares a name with. If there is no sub-header for a sub-menu
the main header will be shown (if it exists).
Header files are used with Main Menu screens only - do not
try to use them with the Special Forms menu.
Multi-Disk Catalogs
If your catalog is too big to fit on one disk you can use more
than one. We suggest recommending that your customers
copy a multi-disk catalog to a hard drive, because continually
changing disks can be annoying. Some customers will not
want the catalog on their hard drive, so this gives them a way
to use it from floppies.
CATALOG.EXE, CATALOG.CM, and CATALOG.INI, order
form and configuration files must be on disk 1. When
entering the Exit menu the program looks for itself to insure
it is on the same disk as the configuration files needed to
print the order form.
Certain files should go on each disk. These include the help
files, menu files (if there is more than one menu), CMD files
and any utilities that are run by those CMD files.
Order Form
The order form is controlled by three configuration (.CTF)
files.
EXTRA.CTF (Optional) Contains extra questions you
need answered as part of the order (such
as credit card number and expiration
date). See Asking Extra Order
Form Questions
ORDERFRM.CTF (Required) Contains your template
design for the form. See Order Form
Template
Page 33
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL.CTF (Optional) Contains shipping/handling
setup, tax rates and match text,
additional shipping setup. See
Shipping Also see Taxes
Order Form Template
The design for the order form is kept in a file called
ORDERFRM.CTF. This file is a template for the order form.
It consists of free form text that you devise, plus macros.
Each macro represents a type of data such as the date,
shipping address, and so on. When your customer orders the
macros are replaced by the actual data from their order. If
you look at the sample provided you will notice that it looks
very much like a finished order form.
You should try to keep the number of lines on the form to as
few as possible. Remember the order form is for you to get
the information you need, so don't clutter it with a lot of
information that could be elsewhere in the catalog. However,
you can put anything you need on the form. Take a look at
catalogs you receive in the mail for typical order form layouts.
Any free form text will be printed where you place it on the
form. When macros are inserted into the text be sure to leave
room for the largest string of replacement text you anticipate.
For example, if the shipping code follows the date, make sure
you leave plenty of room for the largest possible date string
(November 27, 1997) before placing the next text or macro.
There are two types of macro. The first kind is simply
inserted in the form to interact with the text. The second
takes a whole line to insert special sections into the form (like
the answers to the special questions from EXTRA.CTF).
These macros can be inserted anywhere in the form:
`XA1 Address line 1
`XA2 Address line 2
`XA3 Address line 3
`XA4 Address line 4
`XA5 Address line 5
`XA6 Address line 6
`XA7 Address line 7
`XA8 Address line 8
`XA9 Address line 9
`XA: Address line 10
`XA; Address line 11
`XA< Address line 12
`XDK Date
Page 34
----------------------------------------------------------------------
`SCK Shipping Code (First 2 letters of shipping text chosen
when customer is asked to pick a shipping option.
Example: If the text is "Priority Mail $4.00" the
shipping code will be PR.)
`SFK Full shipping string chosen by customer.
`XCK City, State ZIP (This macro prints the city line and the
two lines following it in standard format. This way
you don't have to know in advance how long the text
for each will be.)
`XBK Brand Message (The brand is printed at the end of the
order form unless you include it elsewhere on the form
with this macro. Notice on our sample order form it is
near the top.)
`SPK Space to bottom. (Anything following this macro will
be printed at the bottom of the page. This way you can
have text that always appears at the bottom, no matter
how many products were ordered. The macro should
be the first thing on a line, but you may have other
text after it that is printed.)
These macros begin a line - nothing else (except optional
notes that are not printed) goes on the line with them.
`EQK Extra Question answers (Inserts the answers to the
Special Questions if you included the EXTRA.CTF file.)
NOTE! Must not be used above `OMK macro.
`UNK The Salesman code (if a Uniquel file is used)
`XSK Salesman commission (if enabled)
`XFK File name (If saving to a file its name can be printed
on the form to use as an order reference. This only
appears in files - it is ignored when printing to the
printer.)
`OMK There is one special macro of the second type that
takes three lines instead of one. The `OMK macro is
used to set the tab stops for the detail and totals
sections of the order form.
First Line: Place the `OMK macro at the beginning of
the line, optionally followed by notes that are not
printed or the actual form.
Second Line: Tab settings define the spacing for the
detail order section (order number, description,
quantity ordered, price, etc.) where each product is
listed. If this line is blank the detail section will not
print.
Page 35
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Put the code where you want the data to appear on the
real order form. If you want the information to justify
on the right or left, add R or L right after the code
(Example: NR). If you want the default you only need
the single letter code.
Code Meaning Default Justification
# The count of items ( 1.) Right
N The item's order number Left
D Short Description Left
Q Quantity ordered Right
P Unit Price Right
T Subtotal for that item Right
X End of short description Right
If a code on lines 2 or 3 does not exist that information
will not be printed.
Line 3: Use this line to set the tabs for the totals
section (Subtotal:, Sales Tax:, etc.) . Two codes are
used to set the position of the headings and of the
subtotal or total price:
: Heading Right
T Total price Right
Pricing
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.
Page 36
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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. If using this option you should leave off the P and S
codes (Unit Price and Unit Subtotal) on the order form and
review screen.
NOTE! 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! Some countries use a comma instead of a decimal point in
listing prices. This will work if the Catalog is set to
International in CATCOM. It is important to note that prices
must be numbers and decimal point (or comma) only. No
currency symbol should be used, and no separator should be
used.
Good Examples: 1500.95 1500,95
BAD Examples: 1,500.95 1.500,95
Printer
CATALOG.EXE doesn't use any special printer codes to print
the catalog, order form, and so on. This insures that orders
can be printed on any printer.
Some printing uses a setting that determines the number of
lines on a page. This setting can be set by the customer, and
should be one less that the total number of lines the printer
can print on a page. For example, a Hewlett Packard
LaserJet II prints 60 lines per page, so the catalog should be
set to 59 (59 is the default setting).
You set this number using the -l# (replace '#' with the actual
number) flag when starting CATALOG.EXE. This need only
be done one time - the catalog remembers the setting.
Example (to set to 65 lines):
CATALOG -L65 [ENTER]
Other printer considerations:
NOTE! Upper ASCII characters may not print as expected on all
printers. If the look of the print out is very important avoid
using the box and other upper ASCII characters in the
material to be printed. This will limit some screen designs.
Page 37
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Print Order Form Menu
You can have from 1 - 6 items on the Print menu. Each
starts with a number (which must be the left-most character
with no spaces before it), followed by the text (contained in
CATALOG.CTF lines 15 - 21).
Example:
1Print Order Form
2Save Order To A File
1 LPT1
2 LPT2
3 COM1
4 COM2
5 Write order form to a file, prompt user for file name.
You may type in a port name to direct the order to that
port.
6 Catsend (only used if enabled and present).
NOTE! If there are no good entries LPT1 is used as the default,
and is instantly acted upon.
NOTE! If there is only ONE entry the menu is skipped, and that
choice is instantly acted upon.
NOTE! Menu Text should be 56 characters or less.
Program Prompts
Line 160 of catalog.ctf contains "hot key" letters for various
choices. These can be changed if you are making a
non-English Catalog:
y yes
n no
r reorder
b reserved
h reserved
n next
h help
m mono
l lines per page
a reserved
In addition, each alt key combination has a Function Key
alternative. They are as follows:
[Alt] [H] [Alt] [F1] help bar toggle
[Alt] [S] [F2] search
[Alt] [N] [[Alt] [F2] next search
[Alt] [I] [F4] information screen
[Alt] [X] [F10] exit to DOS
Page 38
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Program Text
The file CATALOG.CTF contains all the internal program text
for CATALOG.EXE, plus a some of the configuration setup
information. Each line in this file is used for a specific
purpose. You will find an explanation of each line in the file
CATTXT.DOC. It is very important that you do not put text
on the wrong line in this file. You should print a copy of the
CATTXT.DOC file and refer to it whenever you edit
CATALOG.CTF. Always keep a good copy of the file on hand
in case your working version develops problems.
Review Screen
The setup for the review screen is found in CATALOG.CTF.
For a full listing of all the lines used see CATTXT.DOC.
Some of the most important lines to set are the two header
lines (21,22) which set the headings at the top of the screen,
and the tabs line (26) that sets the spacing of the information
for each product ordered.
Tabs are set using special codes for each kind of information.
Put the code where you want the data to appear on the screen
(remember a screen is 78 characters wide). If you want the
information to justify on the right or left, add R or L right
after the code (Example: NR). If you want the default you
only need the single letter code. If a code is not used that
information will not be printed.
Code Meaning Default Justification
# The count of items ( 1.) Right
N The item's order number Left
D Short Description Left
Q Quantity ordered Right
P Unit Price Right
T Subtotal for that item Right
X End of short description Right
Screen Files
A Screen File is a file that does not contain product or other
blocks that is shown on the screen. The most common
Page 39
----------------------------------------------------------------------
examples of screen files are the FIRST.CAT and
HEADER.CAT files. You can put other screen files on your
menus that contain up to a maximum of 500 lines of text.
The top line of the file should start with the text you want to
appear on the menu so the customer can choose to view this
file. This is followed by a maximum of 500 lines of free form
text which can contain color codes and macros.
All screen files use the .CAT extension, and must be
compressed before they will show up in your catalog.
Security
While there is no way to make a catalog completely secure
from tampering, there are some special measure that have
been taken to protect your catalog. Most people are honest,
but it doesn't hurt to take some precautions.
1. The brand that you establish the first time you run the
Setup program is embedded into a file along with your catalog
setup flags. It is used to check that the initialization file with
your tax, address, and other configuration information is not
tampered with. If it has been altered the catalog won't run -
it will display a message (contained on line 51 of catalog.ctf),
and error #300. (Registered copies only)
Note: We strongly suggest that the message you use does not
accuse the customer of tampering. You have no way of
knowing whether someone gave this person a bad copy, and,
in any event, it's bad customer relations. Use a bland
message like "Please Call For A New Catalog." This way you
know what is going on, but relations with the customer are
kept on a cordial basis.
2. The compressed catalog files give your catalog a measure of
security. The only way customers can access pricing and
other catalog data is by using the CATALOG.EXE program,
which uncompresses the files directly into memory. There is
no text file on which prices or ordering information can be
changed.
3. TXT and CAT files may be password protected. While it is
unlikely that anyone would be able to uncompress your
catalog, CATCM.EXE will not uncompress a password
protected file unless the correct password is entered. (Do not
forget your password!!!)
Shipping
When a customer prints an order form a menu pops up with
shipping/handling options. You can have up to 12 shipping
Page 40
----------------------------------------------------------------------
options on this menu. Each takes one line in the
configuration file TOTAL.CTF.
Shipping lines begin with the small letter s followed by the
text to appear on the menu, a piping symbol (vertical line |),
and the price. The shipping options will appear in the same
order on the menu as you enter them in the TOTAL.CTF file.
Example:
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
Some companies provide a blanket shipping cost for a
specified number of items, and additional shipping per item
after that number. For example you might want to charge .50
for each item ordered after the first five products. To do this
add a line in TOTAL.CTF that starts with the small letter a
followed by the number of products covered by the blanket
charge, a piping symbol, and the amount to add per-product.
Example:
a 5 | .50
Size Boxes
Size Boxes let you ask about sizes, colors, etc. of products and
add a code to the order number to tell which was chosen. For
example, in a category of shirts you may want to ask the size
and color of each shirt ordered.
Size box data is added to the end of the long description in a
product block, and must be contained within the 500 line
limit. Each box can have up to 9 items. There is no limit to
the number of boxes you use except the 500 line limit. You
also want to be aware that a two character code is added to
the order number for each box, so you should use the fewest
possible, or the order number will get out of hand.
Creating a Size Box is easy. At the end of your long
description begin the Size Box with
`SBXBoxTitle
Page 41
----------------------------------------------------------------------
note! Replace "BoxTitle" with the real title you want to use.
Each line after that is a choice of size, color, or whatever.
Example:
`SBXShirt Sizes:
Small
Medium
Large
Extra Large
`SBXColors:
`LGBGreen
`LWBBlue
`LRBRed
`LCBAqua
`LWBWhite
The above example has two Size Boxes. After the customer
types in the quantity desired, the first box will pop up.
The choices are numbered, and the customer presses the
number of the choice desired. Now the second box pops up.
The customer types the number for the color wanted, and is
returned to the quantity box. At this point he can press
[ENTER] to accept, to [R] reorder, or [Esc] to abort.
Lets say the customer chooses a shirt with an order number
SH0005, then picks "Medium" and "Blue" from the Size
Boxes. On the review screen and order form the order
number will appear: SH0005-MEBL.
You can also color the title of a Size Box. The color code
MUST come right after the Size Box Code and before the title
text.
Example:
`SBX`LYBBoxTitle
Color codes can go anywhere on the other lines (that list the
choices).
Page 42
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Forms
You can add a Special Forms menu to your catalog. If present
this is accessed from the exit menu. The base special forms
menu is contained in CATALOG.FM, and its submenus have
the .FM extension as well.
The special forms menu has most of the same features as the
main menu.
Taxes
The catalog reader is flexible enough to handle many tax
requirements, so that sales tax is calculated automatically on
the order form. Three settings in Catcom determine tax
behavior, plus you can make a list of predetermined tax rates
for various states, provinces or countries in the TOTAL.CTF
file.
You can set up two separate taxes that match on different
fields (province and country, for instance). Since most
localities require one sales tax you can ignore the settings for
the second tax unless required to use it.
Who To Tax
Depending on your obligation you can use Catcom to 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 tax match line (see below) and tries to match it
with a list set up in the TOTAL.CTF 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.
What To Tax
You also use Catcom to determine whether the tax will be
applied to merchandise only, or to both merchandise and
shipping/handling charges.
Page 43
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax Match
The Tax Match line is the address (Name Box) line to try to
match when automatically applying a sales tax to a specific
locality. For example, lets say you have set up your address
fields so that field 1 is name, 2 and 3 are street address, 4 is
city, 5 is state, and 6 is zip code. You only want to charge
sales tax in New York, so you choose line 5 for your Tax
Match line.
By doing this the catalog will look to see if the customer typed
"NY" in the state field, and if it finds it the tax will be applied
to the order.
List of Taxes
The text to match and tax rates are kept in the TOTAL.CTF
file. You can have as many listings as you want. Each line
starts with the small letter "t" (use "v" for the second tax if
you need it) followed by the text to match, a piping symbol,
and the tax rate. Tax matches are not case sensitive, so you
do not need separate lines for "NY" and "ny."
The following example matches the text "NY" and if it finds a
match in the state field of the customer's address 7% is
automatically added to the order total.
t NY | 7
Actually, New York State has different tax rates for each
county. You can set the catalog to pop up a box asking for the
correct tax rate whenever the state field has "NY" in it. This
is done by replacing the tax rate with the number "999."
Example:
t NY | 999
In the next example the first tax is charged when the
province field matches on Ontario, and the second tax is
charged when the country is blank or matches on Canada (notice
the variations on "ON" that a customer might type):
t ON | 999
t ONT | 999
t Ontario | 999
v CANADA | 5.2
Page 44
----------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX A: Program Limits
Maximum Items on each Menu: 500
Sub-Menu Levels: 2
Maximum Lines in Long Descriptions: 500
Maximum lines in Screen Files: 500
Maximum Products Ordered in 1 Session: 200
Maximum Products in Category File: *
*Dependent on amount of data - about 600 with no long descriptions.