Shareware Grab Bag/Shareware Grab Bag.iso/002/labelmas.arc/README

Text File | 1987-03-05 | 26KB | 599 lines

                          LABEL MASTER - USERS MANUAL
                 COPYRIGHT 1985, 1986, 1987 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
                                RKS ASSOCIATES
                            3820 NORTH DITTMAR ROAD
                              ARLINGTON, VA 22207
                                 703-536-7814


Shareware Notice: Label Master is copyrighted by RKS Associates.
While it is NOT in the public domain, you may use this program, copy
it, give it away, and place it on bulletin board systems.  Anyone may
charge a small handling fee (up to $15) for distributing Label Master
on diskette in unmodified form.

dBASE, dBASE II, dBASE III, dBASE III PLUS are registered trademarks of
Ashton-Tate. Clipper is a trademark of Nantucket, Inc.

Registered Owner: A registered owner is a person who (1) purchased
Label Master directly from RKS Associates, or (2) obtained their copy
of Label Master from someone else and subsequently registered their
copy with RKS Associates, paying RKS Associates the $35 registration
fee.

Registered owners receive a registration number.  If you do not have a
registration number, you are not a registered owner.

How to Register:  If you purchased your copy of Label Master directly
from RKS Associates, you are automatically a registered owner.  You
don't need to do anything.

If you did not obtain your copy of Label Master directly from RKS
Associates, you may register your copy with RKS Associates by sending
in the registration form at the bottom of this Users Manual, along
with the $35 registration fee, or register by phone at 703-536-7814.

New registrants will receive (1) a registration number, (2) a copy of
the most recent version of Label Master, (3) the most recent copy of
the on-disk Users Manual, (4) 30 day free telephone technical support,
(5) extended telephone support service, if selected, and (6) future
updates of Label Master at a discount.  We periodically add new
features and enhance existing features, so registration is extremely
important if you want to be assured you have the most complete and up-
to-date version of Label Master.



*********************** TECHNICAL SUPPORT **********************

For the first 30 days after you (1) purchase Label Master directly
from RKS Associates or (2) register your copy with us if you have
obtained a copy of it from someone else, we will answer questions by
telephone free of change.  There is no additional change for this
service, but you must be a registered owner.

To assure continued tecchnical support after the 30-day startup period,
registered owners may obtain our Extended Telephone Support Service
for an annual fee of $15.  See registration form below.

Mail-in Support Service:  You may write to us with your questions.  We
will respond in writing.  There is no additional charge for this
service.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT IF YOU ARE NOT A REGISTERED OWNER.


***********************  INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS **********************

No installation is required.  Label Master is completely contained
in one file: LM.EXE.  Just type LM, press the return key, and
Label Master will start.  When Label Master starts, it looks to see if
all the files it needs are on the disk.  If they are not, e.g., when
you use Label Master the first time, Label Master will create the
files it needs automatically.  The files Label Master creates are:

RECORDS.DBF  - the master database file.
LNAME.NTX    - the last name index file.
ZIP.NTX      - the zip code index file.
NOTEPAD.DBF  - the notepad file, described below.
STATES.DBF   - the state/zip code look-up table.
STATES.NTX   - the states index file.
PRINTMEM.MEM - the print menu settings.
MODEM.MEM    - the modem configuration settings.
CONFIG.SYS   - the CONFIG.SYS file, described below.

Label Master is designed to work on any IBM PC/XT/AT or compatible
computer, with color or monochrome monitor.  It requires 256K of
memory.

Label Master is not copy protected.  One of the first things you
should do is make a duplicate working copy of Label Master, put the
original away in a safe place, and use only the working copy.

HARD DISK SYSTEM:

Create a separate directory for the Label Master program, and copy
the LM.EXE file into this new directory.  At the C> prompt, type
LM, press return, and Label Master will start.

If you wish to maintain separate data files on floppy disks, just put
a newly formatted floppy disk in drive A.  At the Main Menu, select
option C, Change File, and tell Label Master your records are on
drive A.

DUAL DRIVE SYSTEM:

Put Label Master in drive A and a newly formatted disk in drive B.
At the A> prompt, type LM, press return, and Label Master will start.
At the Main Menu, select option C, Change File, and tell Label Master
your records are on drive B.



************************* the CONFIG.SYS file ************************

One of the files Label Master will create during self-installation is
called CONFIG.SYS.  (If your system already contains a CONFIG.SYS
file, don't worry, Label Master will not change it).  The purpose of
the CONFIG.SYS file is to change certain DOS default settings.
(Please look in your DOS manual if you want a more detailed technical
explanation).  In the case of Label Master, we want to adjust two DOS
settings called FILES and BUFFERS, so the CONFIG.SYS file created by
Label Master consists of two commands, FILES=10 and BUFFERS=8.

The computer must be able to find this file on the drive used to start
up the computer. If you start your computer on drive C (drive A
empty), copy the CONFIG.SYS file created by Label Master to the root
directory of your hard disk.

If you start your computer with a floppy "boot" disk in drive A, copy
the CONFIG.SYS file to the floppy "boot" disk.

If the root directory of your hard disk system or your floppy "boot"
disk already contains a CONFIG.SYS file, you need to add the two
commands FILES=10 and BUFFERS=8 to this existing CONFIG.SYS file.

However, if such an existing CONFIG.SYS file already contains a FILES
or BUFFERS command with values higher than 10 and 8, respectively,
leave the existing CONFIG.SYS file alone.  Don't change it.  One of
your other programs probably requires the higher settings.  Label
Master will work fine with higher FILES and BUFFERS settings.

The CONFIG.SYS file is a simple text file.  You can edit it with your
regular word processing program.

Remember: the CONFIG.SYS file is invoked by your computer at start-
up. If you are adding the CONFIG.SYS file to your system now for the
first time, you must reboot your system now to have your system execute
the FILES and BUFFERS commands contained in the CONFIG.SYS file.

**************************** THE PROGRAM ************************

                              MAIN MENU:

A > Add New Record: Press A on the keyboard to add new records.
You will be asked three questions: whether you want to carry
information forward from one record to another, whether you want
to print records while entering them, and whether you want to
have your records automatically date stamped.  Answer Y or N to
each question.

If you have asked to carry information forward from one record to
another, you will be asked to designate the information to carry
forward.

Next, a blank record screen will appear.  Enter the record
information.  Add as many new records as you wish.  The Notes
field can be used to record any information you want.   If you
want to code your records, this is a good place to put the code.

C > Change File:  Press C on the keyboard if you wish to work with a
different data disk.  This feature is designed primarily for those who
wish to maintain separate floppy disks containing different sets of
records.  It allows you to safely close out the file you were working
with, and to begin working with another data file on another floppy
disk.

D > Delete/Recall: Getting rid of a record is a two step process.
This may seem a little inconvenient, but it helps assure that
records are not purged from the file accidentally.

The first step is to make the displayed record inactive.  Just
press D on the keyboard.  A message will appear above the record
indicating that the record is now inactive.  Whole groups of
records can be made inactive through the Inactive Records option
on the Utility Menu. Inactive records are also permanently purged
from the file through the Inactive Records option on the Utility
Menu.

An inactive record displayed on the Main Menu can be recalled to
active status by again pressing D on the keyboard.  Selected
groups of inactive records can be quickly recalled through the
Inactive Records option on the Utility Menu.

E > Edit Record:  Press E on the keyboard to edit the record
displayed on the screen,  Make any changes you want.  Press the
PgDn key when finished editing.  The revised record will then be
displayed on the screen.

F > Find Record: Press F on the keyboard to display a desired
record.  A blank search screen will appear.  Enter the desired
search information, press the PgDn key, and the record will appear.

Please read the O > Order section below, then return here.

EXAMPLE: (Order = Last Name)  To bring John Smith's record to the
screen, just enter Smith in the last name field and press PgDn.
You don't have to enter any other information.

If you have more than one Smith, you can display the right one in
two ways.  First, you can enter just Smith, as above, to bring
the first Smith to the screen.  Then you can press the H > Next
Record key until the Smith you want is shown on the screen.  Or,
second, you can enter Smith in the last name field, and then
enter the first name or some other unique identifying information
in the appropriate field(s).

Searches including a last name are instantaneous.  You can also
bring any record to the screen without using the last name, but
it may take a few more seconds to locate it.

NOTE: Use no more than the first 15 characters of a last name for
a search.

EXAMPLE: (Order = Zip Code)  Perhaps you want to quickly review
the records in a particular zip code.  Just enter the desired zip
code on the search screen, press PgDn, and the first record with
that zip code will be displayed.  Use the H > Next Record key to
display subsequent records.

G > Previous Record: Press G on the keyboard to display the
record immediately before the currently displayed record.

H > Next Record:  Press H on the keyboard to display the record
immediately following the currently displayed record.

N > Notepad:  Press N on the keyboard to display the Notepad.
The Notepad is a very useful feature if more than one person is
using Label Master.  We designed it so you would have a place to
record any coding scheme being used to categorize your records.

Notepad entries do not interact with the records in any way.

O > Order:  Here's what order means.  Label Master automatically
maintains two files, called indexes, to keep track of your records
by last name and zip code.  The index files are named LNAME.NTX
and ZIP.NTX.  They are updated automatically as you add new records
or edit existing records.

Indexing enables Label Master to find and display a desired
record on the screen in fewer than two seconds, no matter how
many records are in the file, and to instantly print your records
without any separate sorting.

Press O on the Main Menu to switch between the Last Name and Zip
Code indexes.  The primary use for switching indexes is to
facilitate displaying records. (See F > Find record, above).

P > Print Menu: Press P on the keyboard to display the Print
Menu.  See Print Menu below.

Q > Quit Program:  Press Q on the keyboard to quit the Label Master
program.

U > Utility Menu:  Press U on the keyboard to display the Utility
Menu.  See Utility Menu below.

ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE AT MAIN MENU:

Function key F1. Press function key F1 for information on Main Menu
function key assignments.

Function key F2. Press function key F2 to reindex your records.  See
explanation of indexing under O > Order above.  If you ever experience
a sudden power outage, or otherwise crash the program by some mistake,
you should use this reindex feature to rebuild the two index files.
Just press the F2 key and the two indexes will be automatically rebuilt.

Function key F3. If you have a modem attached to your system, here is
where you tell Label Master how to configure your modem.  Label Master
is designed to work with all Hayes compatible modems.  If you have any
questions on the settings to use, please consult your modem reference
manual.

Function key F4. If you have a modem, and have configured it properly
with the F3 function key, and the record shown on the screen has a
phone number, all you have to do to have Label Master dial the number
is press the F4 key.

Function key F5. Press function key F5 to print the record shown on
the screen.  One use for this feature is to allow you to address
individual envelopes.


PLEASE NOTE:  Quitting the program by suddenly turning the power
off, by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL to re-boot the system, etc. may
cause record information to be lost.  Always quit Label Master by
pressing Q at the Main Menu or Utility Menu.

Experienced computer users back up their records after every
session to insure that valuable records will not be lost in case
of power failure, disk damage, or other adverse event.  In fact,
we recommend that you keep at least two backup copies of your
Label Master records.  You may never need the backup copies, but
in the event you do, you will be very glad you made the effort.

See your DOS manual for information on copying files.  Hard disk
users should refer to DOS' BACKUP and RESTORE commands.

                                PRINT MENU


Set labels across to:  Enter the number of labels across you want
to print.

Set label width to:  Enter the length of your label (inches).

Set lines per label to:  Enter the height of your label (print
lines).

Set left margin to: Enter the column to begin printing.  This is
usually 0 for labels.  For Rolodex cards, continuous feed
envelopes, etc., set the left margin at whatever column you want
the information to begin printing.

Print Regular/Condensed Print:  Use regular or condensed print
for dot matrix printers.  Use regular print if you are using a
letter quality printer.

If your dot matrix printer does not produce condensed print when
you select the condensed print option, independently set your
printer to condensed print using your printer manual
instructions, and then select the Regular Print option.

Print by Last Name/Zip Code:  Specify whether you want to print
in last name or zip code order.

Print Whole list/Select list:  Enter W if you want to print a set
of labels for everyone on your list.  Enter S if you want to
print labels for only a select portion of your list.

If you enter S, Label Master will display a sub-menu which allows
you to specify the exact set of labels you want.

There are two Print sub-menus, one for last name order, and one
for zip code order.  The appropriate one will be displayed
depending on the order you have specified.

Print Phone Number:  This feature allows you to print the phone
number on your labels.

Print Notes:  This feature allows you to print Notes field
information at the top or bottom of your labels.

Pause after each page:  This feature allows sheet users to
instruct the computer to pause the printing after a specified
number of labels have been printed.  If you enter Y at this
point, a question will pop onto the screen asking you how many
labels per page you want to print.  The computer will pause every
time the specified number of labels have been printed to allow
you to insert a new page of blank labels in the printer.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are four features which deserve special note:

1. Temporary first line:  You can print a temporary first line on
your labels.  This can be very useful if you have schools,
companies, etc., to which you send information at various times,
but to different officials, e.g., to the Director of Athletics
one time, and to the Director of Admissions the next.  You could
also use this to print "Resident" or to insert a greeting such as
"Merry Christmas", etc.

This feature is found on the Last Name/Select List sub-menu and
the Zip Code/Select List sub-menu.

2. AND/OR:  You may use the logical operators AND and OR to print
combinations of codes entered in the Notes field.  + stands for
AND, and * stands for OR.

Example:  You use A, B, and C, to code your records in the Notes
field.  A given record may have one or more of these codes.

To print just the As, or just the Bs, or just the Cs, enter an A
or B or C in the Notes field on the appropriate search screen.

To print those records which are coded with an A and a B, enter
A+B in the Notes field of the search screen.  Do not skip any
spaces before or after the plus sign.

To print those records which are coded with an A or a B or a C,
enter A*B*C in the Notes field of the search screen.  Again, do
not skip any spaces before or after the *.

The + and * may not be used in the same search.

3. Print every nth record:  You can print every nth record, in
zip code order.  For example, you can print every 5th record,
every 33rd record, every 288th record, etc.  This feature is
useful for large list users who may need to print randomized sets
of labels.  This feature is found on the Zip Code/Select List
sub-menu.

4.  Multiple copies of same label:  You can print up to 10,000
labels of any single record in your file.  This feature is called
Multiple labels, same record, and is found on the Last
Name/Select List sub-menu.

This feature is useful for printing such things as a supply of
return address labels.

                             UTILITY MENU

1 > Directory Lists:  Use this feature to view or make hard copy
lists of your records in last name, zip code, or organization
order.

2 > Duplicate Records.  This feature allows you to find all last
name duplicates or street address duplicates.  Save postal
expenses by weeding out unwanted duplicates.

3 > State/Zip Codes:  This feature will display a table of all
valid state codes and their zip code ranges, and check the
accuracy of the state and zip codes of all your records.

4 > Record Count:  This feature allows you to count your records
in various ways.  The selected records count is extremely useful.

5 > Export Records:  This feature allows you to create an ASCII
text file of Label Master records.  Most good quality records
management and word processing programs can import records in
this format.  This feature therefore allows you to share your
Label Master records with other programs without having to rekey
the data.

The ASCII text file is created on your disk and is automatically
labelled WORD.TXT.

PLEASE NOTE:  The ability to take advantage of this feature
depends entirely on YOUR records management or word processing
program, NOT Label Master.  Label Master will create this very
standard ASCII text file for you automatically.  However, that is
as far as we can take it.  Most quality programs are designed to
import ASCII text file data.  Each program is designed
differently, of course, so you need to refer to the reference
manual of the program you are using for file import instructions
specific to that program.

6 > Import Records: This feature allows hard disk users to combine
Label Master records maintained on one disk with Label Master records
maintained on another disk, and to import records created by other
programs.

To import records created by word processing programs, or
programs such as Lotus 1-2-3, the file MUST:

- be a standard ASCII text file,

- or be in dBASEIII format.

The main Label Master RECORDS.DBF file is in a dBASEIII format.
Importing records from Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony, Framework, and many
other programs is possible because these programs have the
ability to convert their records into a dBASEIII format.
Specific conversion instructions are contained in the reference
manuals of these programs.

Whether the file is an ASCII text file or is in dBASEIII format,
each record must consist of ten fields, in exactly the same order
as Label Master's fields.  Specifically, last name info first,
then first name info, title info, organization info, street info,
city info, state info, zip code info, phone info, and notes info
last.

dBASEIII format fields must be exactly the same length as the
fields in Label Master records, i.e., all 30 characters long,
except 2 characters for state, 10 for zip code, and 12 for phone.

Field length in ASCII text files can be any size, but info in
fields longer than the size of Label Master's fields will not be
imported.

Fields in ASCII text files must be delimited by commas or
quotation marks, or both.

7 > Inactive Records:  This feature allows you to view, recall,
purge, etc. any inactive records.

*********************** GENERAL INFORMATION **********************

You can put 1100 records on a floppy disk. On a hard disk, you are
limited only by the amount of disk storage space you have.

You may suspend most operations, e.g., printing, by pressing the CTRL
and S keys at the same time.  Resume operation by pressing any key.
You may abort most operations by pressing the Q key.  This terminates
the particular operation, not the program.

If you receive an error message at the top of the screen,
followed by the option "Q/A/I?", this means you can Quit the
program, Abort the program, or Ignore the error message and
continue.  An error message such as this is rare.  It usually
occurs when the program has detected a physical problem such as a
damaged disk.

If you should encounter such a message, we suggest you enter
Q, rather than A or I.  Entering Q will close all files in an
orderly manner and return to DOS.  Entering A will abort the
program and return to DOS immediately, without closing files in
an orderly manner, and should therefore be avoided. Entering I
will continue with the program, but with unpredictable results.

IMPORTANT: If you are working with your records on floppy disks rather
than on a hard drive, DO NOT swap data disks without first pressing
the C (Change File) key.  If you swap data disks without doing this,
your records WILL BE DAMAGED.  Here is the reason:

At any point in time your computer is holding a certain amount of data
in memory which has not yet been written to the disk.  If you swap
disks without going through the Change Files procedure, data still in
memory from your work with the first disk will be written to the
second disk the first time the computer writes to the disk again.

While the results are unpredictable, here are some of the bad things
that can happen:

Lost records: If your first data disk, for example, had 100 records
and your second disk had 500 records, your second disk may suddenly
appear to have lost the last 400 records.  They are actually still
there on your disk, but you can't get access to them because the
program thinks there are only 100 records.  This is because the record
count on the first disk (100) was written on to the second disk.

Scrambled records: Some of your records may be filled with random
ASCII symbols.

Displaced field data:  Data from one field may appear in another
field, e.g., the last name may be displaced to the first name field
and indented by a few spaces.

In summary, if you are working with your records data on floppy disks,
please swap data disks only after selecting the Change File feature.
Also, when quitting the program, please do not remove the floppy
records disk until after pressing Q to quit the program.

Of course, if you work with a hard disk, keeping both the Label Master
program and your records data on the hard disk, none of this applies
to you.  You can relax.

******************** REGISTRATION INFORMATION ************************

If you obtained your copy of Label Master directly from RKS Associates,
you are already a registered owner, and received your registration
nunber with your copy of Label Master.  You do not need to send in the
registration form unless you want to sign up for the optional extended
telephone support service.

If you are not a registered owner and would like to receive the
benefits of registration as set forth above, please fill out and
return this form.  The registration fee is $35.

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                     --- REGISTRATION FORM ---

TO REGISTER YOUR COPY OF LABEL MASTER, FILL OUT AND RETURN THIS FORM
TO RKS ASSOCIATES, 3820 N. DITTMAR RD., ARLINGTON, VA 22207.

Your Name_______________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________

City___________________________ST__________ZIP__________

Your Phone______________________________________________

Your Computer __________________________________________

Amount of Memory ____________  Hard Disk?  __ yes  __ no

[  ]  Registration fee enclosed  $35

[  ]  Optional Extended Telephone Support Service  $15

Check enclosed for total of $______________.

Provide me immediately with:

1 - my own unique registration number,
2 - a copy of the most recent version of Label Master,
3 - the most recent copy of the on-disk Users Manual,
4 - 30 day free telephone technical support,
5 - extended telephone technical support if checked above, and
6 - future updates of Label Master at a discount.

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