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THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER FOR WINDOWS EASTERN DIGITAL RESOURCES P. O. Box 1451 Clearwater, SC 29822-1451 (803) 593-0870 (c) 1991 all rights reserved. No part of this manual or accom- panying program may be copied without express written consent of the copyright holder. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THIS MANUAL GENERAL INFORMATION SECTION 1 SYSTEM SETUP SECTION 2 SYSTEM MENUS AND SCREENS SECTION 3 FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND SECTION 4 STANDARD REPORT OPTIONS SECTION 5 STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES SECTION 6 MASTER FILES SECTION 7 SYSTEM UTILITIES SECTION 8 APPENDICES FILE LAYOUTS Appendix A SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Appendix B SYSTEM SETUP Appendix C SAMPLE REPORTS Appendix D TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Appendix E INDEX Appendix F THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-3 *** WARRANTY AGREEMENT *** The term Vendor as used herein refers to EASTERN DIGITAL RE- SOURCES, Inc. and its agents and licensees. The term Customer refers to the original purchaser of this software package for personal or business use. The COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER program contained herein is distributed on an "AS IS BASIS" without warranty except as stated herein. Good data processing procedure dictates that the user test the program, run and test sample sets of data and run the system in parallel with the system previously in use for a period of time adequate to insure that results of operation of the computer or program are satisfactory. *** SOFTWARE LICENSE *** This is a licensing agreement between EASTERN DIGITAL RE- SOURCES, Inc. referred to herein as Vendor who owns and has the right to grant a license in certain computer software and the Customer who desires to acquire a license to use such software. The software that is the subject of this agreement is known as THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER but shall be referred to in this agreement as the Program. The Vendor shall furnish the Customer a computer-copiable program in object form. This Program shall be THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER program as it currently exists for the IBM AT and compatibles. The Program shall have all the features and perform all the functions described in the Operations manual which is incorporated herein by reference. The Vendor grants to the Customer and the Customer hereby accepts subject to the limita- tions herein specified a personal nonexclusive nontransferable right and license to use the software contained herein. The Customer may use the Program within the Customer's business ON ONE MACHINE at no additional cost for royalties. If the program has been licensed for network use, and the customer has paid the appropriate fee, the customer may use the program on an unlimited number of machines ON ONE NETWORK at no additional cost for royalties. Any other use constitutes fraud. The limitations of such license are as follows: (a) Any software program furnished by the Vendor in machine readable form may be copied in whole or in part by customer for use within their business provided however that only the number of copies required to serve the Customer's actual need for use shall be made. The Customer agrees that the original copy of all software programs furnished by the Vendor and all copies thereof made by the customer are and shall remain the sole property of the Ven- dor. (c) The Customer agrees not to disclose, publish, release, transfer, or otherwise make available any software program in any form to any person including the Customer's or Vendor's employees without prior written consent from the Vendor except during the period such a person is on the Customer's premises for purposes specifically related to the Customer's use of the software THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-5 program. The Customer also agrees that such software programs are the property of and proprietary to the Vendor and further agrees to protect such programs or any part thereof from unautho- rized disclosure by its agents, employees or customers. (d) The Vendor grants to the Customer a paid up license to use the program contained herein for their personal business. The Vendor may assign this agreement without the Customer's consent. The Customer may not assign this software under any conditions. The Customer shall be responsible for determining the appropriate use of the program products in its operations. The Customer shall assume financial and legal responsibility for the quality, reliability, and accuracy of the Program and shall pay all expenses associated with any recalls or updates. The Customer has the right to modify the Program in any way con- sistent with improving its usability at the Customer's expense. Any modification of the program by the Customer will void all warranties herein. The Vendor reserves the right to refuse to support any package so modified. The Customer expressly agrees to include the Vendor's copyright notice and proprietary notice on all such programs including copies in whole or part in any form including machine language made by Customer in accordance with this license. The Vendor warrants that the Vendor has the legal right to grant the Customer the license as set out in this agreement and that such license does not infringe any third par- ties' property or personal rights. The Vendor retains exclusive rights for remarketing the Program to other customers. This program is copyrighted. All copies of the Program or Manual shall contain an appropriate copyright notice in the name of the Vendor. The Vendor shall enforce its copyrights against infringers. Should the Customer in any way convey this package to a third party the Vendor shall have the option to recover the retail cost plus collection fees from the Customer first and then from the party to which this package was conveyed. Any person making unauthorized copies will be subject to prosecution under Federal Law. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-6 GETTING STARTED See Chapter 2 for instructions on installing COMPS MANAGER for standard configurations. See Appendix C for instructions on making a copy and installing the program for special system configurations and for networks. COMPS MANAGER reguires the following minimum system IBM-AT compatible computer 80286, 80386, or 80486 processor. 2 megabytes internal memory 40 megabyte hard drive dot matrix or laser printer mouse Windows 3.0 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-7 OVERVIEW First off, let's refer to the COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER SYTEM as 'COMPS MANAGER'. Now, just what is COMPS MANAGER? COMPS MANAGER is a computer software system developed to assist the "typical" real estate appraisal office to store and retrieve information about properties that have sold. In addition, COMPS MANAGER can automatically match your client needs with available properties and provide a selection of reports that you will find helpful. The program is designed to provide merge capabilities to Microsoft Word or Word Perfect for Windows. BUT I'M NOT A TYPICAL REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL OFFICE ! That's right, no one seems to be and that's the problem with most computer software systems. For example, if you are using a Multiple Listing Service, you might find it a bother to enter all the details of a property listing in COMPS MANAGER. Does that mean COMPS MANAGER isn't for you ? Quite the con- trary. COMPS MANAGER has been developed so that you can choose NOT to use all of its functions...only those that make sense for you. Other problems often encountered with software systems developed for the "typical" appraisal office are that they may not store information in a manner that you like or provide reports that you need. In order to overcome such problems, Eastern Digital Resources not only provides the tools needed by programmers to modify COMPS MANAGER but also offers a low-cost service to customize COMPS MANAGER to your exact needs. AM I TOO BIG (OR SMALL) TO USE COMPS MANAGER ? Neither. The amount of information you plan to enter into COMPS MANAGER will effect how much storage capacity you'll need. If you have a question about your specific needs, please contact us. WHAT TYPE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO RUN COMPS MANAGER ? We recommend an IBM AT or compatible with a hard disk and at least 2 megabytes of RAM, plus an 80 column dot matrix or laser printer. Welcome to THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER. This program incorporates state of the art programming technique with the IBM-AT computer to bring you the finest program of its kind avai- lable today. At Eastern Digital Resources we understand that your data base system must suit the current size of your busi- ness, meet on-going needs, and allow for potential growth in the THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-8 future. The COMPS MANAGER is designed to operate on the IBM-AT or higher compatible computer with 2 megabytes of internal memory and a printer. The system must be running Microsoft Windows in the standard or enhanced mode. The system capacity is limited by the amount of disk storage you have with your machine. Most appraisers can operate comfortably with an 80 megabyte hard disk. The chart below should aid in calculating your total require- ments: program and system overhead 5,000,000 bytes each comp entered 512 bytes each letter maintained on the system 5,000 bytes The COMPS MANAGER incorporates these features: - Full screen editing of entries. - User defined selection of items to include in each report. The COMPS MANAGER generates 6 different reports. When you combine these with the select / sort capabilities of the program, it will allow you to get any kind of information you can imagine. MASTER MENU COMPS MANAGER is a menu-based system. That means when you start COMPS MANAGER a MASTER MENU will be displayed on your monitor. The menu lists all the functions available to you. Some of the options have other menus below them which also contain menus and other options. By clicking on an item with the mouse, COMPS MANAGER will display another menu or carry out that function. In turn, many of these subsequent screens will ask you to choose WHAT you want to do. The choices will always appear at the top of your screen. They may also be activated by typing the letter which is underlined along with the ALT key. This manual is designed around the procedures you should follow for running a session to find comps that meet your crite- ria. The first section describes the menus and the necessary setup procedures of installing the program and entering your comps records. The next section describes the steps to follow in running a session and the final section describes how to generate reports and merge records. This manual assumes familiarity with running Microsoft Windows. You should also have a basic understanding of the DOS before attempting to implement this program. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-9 OVERVIEW OF COMPS MANAGER The Program you are using is one of several programs deve- loped in Microsoft Visual Basic ver. 1.0 with some portions coded in assembler to speed operations. It offers many features previ- ously unavailable on microcomputers while providing the novice user a "hands-holding" approach to performing a task. It's de- signed specifically for ease of use. With COMPS MANAGER you can easily create and maintain files on your computer and print re- ports from all of your stored data. You'll be using COMPS MANAGER in its basic form very quick- ly. The advanced features will be there for you to discover later, as your confidence in this very powerful tool grows. If you re-read this manual every few months, you'll be rewarded each time with some newly discovered capabilities. COMPS MANAGER has been written so that it will run on almost any MS-DOS computer which is capable of running Windows in either standard or enhanced mode. For the IBM line, this includes the original "AT", all PSII machines above the model 40 and all "compatible" and "nearly compatible" computers, and on many which don't even claim to be IBM compatible. It's designed to work with most of the popular laser and dot matrix printers on the market. This manual has been completely revised to make it easier for you to understand more about using COMPS MANAGER. You will notice more details, examples and figures throughout the text. Wherever a COMPS MANAGER command is listed within text it will be bold faced and separated from words on either side by two spaces. The step by step sections of this manual are much like a tu- torial to show you exactly what to do; what you will see; and what will happen next. It takes all the guess work out of learn- ing how to use COMPS MANAGER. All of these changes in the format of this manual will help you understand more about using COMPS MANAGER, and also show you how to use it in day to day applica- tions. Any suggestions which you have for improving this program or manual will be thoughtfully considered. PREFACE ------- First of all, thank you for considering our products. We are committed to providing our customers with prompt answers to their questions and advice about the use of our products. We encourage you to call us. It has been our experience that people learn how to use new software products in many different ways. Factors such as prior computer experience, time constraints, availability of help, ease of product, etc. will probably effect how you will learn to use THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-10 the Real Estate System. Keeping in mind these differences, we have developed this manual, as well as the entire system, so that you may choose from several different learning approaches. For example, if you have the time, you might choose to read the entire manual and then try the hands-on demonstration. Or you might feel that the hands-on demonstration is not worth- while and immediately begin to use the system. Another approach would be to scan Chapters 1 through 4, and then either read through or try the hands-on demonstration. Since the functions described in Chapter 2 work virtually the same, you need only be familiar with one to understand the remainder. This approach is the fastest. Whatever approach you follow, we would recommend the follow- ing: - Don't skip Chapter 2 (HOW TO GET STARTED) - While reading Chapter 3 (HOW EACH REAL ESTATE SYSTEM FUNCTION WORKS), use Appendices D (SAMPLE REPORTS) to help you visual- ize what is going on. - Call us for answers to your questions. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-11 TABLE OF CONTENTS S E C T I O N 1 G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N MANUAL PAGE GENERAL OVERVIEW 1-3 WARRANTY AGREEMENT 1-5 SOFTWARE LICENSE 1-5 GETTING STARTED 1-7 INTRODUCTION 1-9 OVERVIEW OF COMPS MANAGER 1-10 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1-11 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF COMPS MANAGER 1-17 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION 1-26 SOME DO-NOTS 1-26 S E C T I O N 2 S E T U P P R O C E D U R E S SETTING UP THE COMPS MANAGER 2-1 SYSTEM SETUP 2-1 S E C T I O N 3 M E N U S A N D S C R E E N S What's It All About 3-1 Master Menu 3-3 Address File Maintenance 3-4 Address Salutations 3-5 System Utilities Menu 3-6 Define Company Screen 3-8 Backup Menu 3-9 System Setup Menu 3-10 S E C T I O N 4 W H A T ' S I T A L L A B O U T FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND 5-1 SCREEN MENU OPTIONS 5-2 NEXT 5-3 PREVIOUS 5-3 VIEW 5-3 GET 5-3 SEARCH 5-3 FORM VIEW 5-3 CONTINUE 5-4 ADD 5-4 EDIT 5-5 DELETE 5-5 TOTAL 5-5 RETURN 5-5 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-12 UPDATE 5-6 CURSOR CONTROL MOVEMENTS 5-7 SUMMARY OF CURSOR CONTROL MOVEMENTS 5-8 STATUS OF THE SPECIAL KEYS 5-9 CAPS LOCK 5-9 NUM LOCK 5-9 SCROLL LOCK 5-9 INS 5-9 PRINT SCREEN 5-10 ESC 5-10 BROWSING 5-10 S E C T I O N 5 R E P O R T O P T I O N S SELECTING RECORDS FOR PRINTING 4-1 SELECT ALL RECORDS 4-3 SELECT BLOCK OF RECORDS 4-3 HAVE SYSTEM SELECT RECORDS 4-4 EXAMPLE OF HAVE SYSTEM SELECT RECORDS 4-6 USE DEFINED SELECTION FORMAT 4-7 USE LAST SELECTION FORMAT 4-8 SORT RECORDS OPTIONS 4-9 S E C T I O N 6 O U T L I N E O F D A I L Y P R O C E D U R E S Basic Program Operating Procedures 6-1 Notes To The System Operations 6-3 System Initialization 6-4 Making Backups 6-6 S E C T I O N 7 M A S T E R F I L E S Categories Of Files 7-1 Report Writer Master File - REPORTS0 Define Selection Format - SELECT00 S E C T I O N 8 S Y S T E M U T I L I T I E S SYSTEM UTILITIES 9-2 DEFINE COMPANY SCREEN 9-3 BACKUP MENU 9-7 SORT FILES 9-7 CHANGE SYSTEM DATE 9-7 INDEX FILES 9-9 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-13 DEFINE SELECTION FORMAT 9-9 BUILD SELECTION SEQUENCE FILE 9-9 PRINT FILE LAYOUT WORKSHEET 9-9 REMOVE BLANK RECORDS FROM FILE 9-9 A P P E N D I C E S FILE LAYOUTS APPENDIX A Some Frequently Asked Questions APPENDIX B SYSTEM SETUP APPENDIX C SAMPLE REPORTS APPENDIX D TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS APPENDIX E INDEX APPENDIX F THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-14 *** GENERAL OVERVIEW OF COMPS MANAGER *** The COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER contains powerful features, including many not normally found in other filing programs. Here is a brief overview of what you'll be learning about and using. You can use COMPS MANAGER for all kinds of tasks: - Build and maintain files to be exported for use by other programs, such as Quattro, Multiplan, 1-2-3, Word Perfect, and MailMerge - Import files from other programs into the COMPS MANAGER format. - Maintain "secure" information by use of passwords. No one can view the data who doesn't know the security code. - COMPS MANAGER will allow you to sort your data into almost any sequence. It allows rapid access to any record in the file, or to any record in any other COMPS MANAGER file. - Sophisticated search techniques allow: comparison searches soundex searches wildcard searches, or "scan across" searches on any field in the record. - You can print out reports from your file, listing all or some of the fields, from all or some of the records, in many different sequences, with subtotals and totals on the numeric fields. - Report fields can be calculated based on information from other fields in the file. - Reports can be sent directly to your video screen, to your printer, or to disk for later use with your word processor or other programs. - You can create new files from existing files. The new file can be in a different format, and can be a subset of the file from which it was "cloned". - New fields can be added, old fields can be deleted, field positions can be rearranged, and field sizes can be lengthened or shortened. - You can merge together two files which have similar defini- tions. Databases can thus be created and maintained on separate PC's, then combined when desired into a "master" file. - Above all else, COMPS MANAGER is EASY! Many people can use it with no training or instructions. Read this manual carefully, however, to pick up so many of the extra "fine points" of the program. - Calculations can be done on fields in the file, and the answers can be used to update other fields in the file, or in reports. - A super fast "indexed search" can be done on multiple fields. - DOS subdirectory support. - Three special (proprietary) disk writing techniques are used to ensure against accidental loss of data. - "Smart keys" (sometimes called "macros") are supported through the use of the Windows recorder. - A browse feature to view 20 records at a time, with the ability THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-15 to "scroll" left or right to see all fields in each record. - Security encrypted files. - Generic search on any fields. - Imbedded search on any fields. - All of these search types can be done in any combination. - Searches can be done in 6 fields simultaneously. - Global update or delete on any field. - User defined data types. You can define the valid input characters for any field. - The date and time or other data of your choice can be automatically entered for you into fields in your file. - Sort on any fields, mixed ascending/descending. - Select (for printing) on any fields with "and/or" comparisons. - Print mailing labels and roladex cards. - Print a "snapshot" while viewing a record. This feature lets you print mailing labels and special reports. - Import and export data in many different formats. - Automatically uses all available RAM memory for super fast performance. - A new automatic field type allows specification of a value to be "pre-entered" for the operator. When adding records, this value will appear in the input area for the field and can be either accepted as is or changed. - Two new "automatic" field types are provided: MM/DD/YY* and DD/MM/YY*. - The automatic field identifiers can be placed in the edit mask area of the field name for a more meaningful name. - Added a general error trapping routine. All errors will have a message displayed and as "graceful" a recovery as possible. - The Merge program has been sped up significantly. The Sort has been sped up by about 50%. Some of the other programs also have significant speed improvements under certain conditions. - Numerous minor fixes and cosmetic improvements. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-16 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION 1. Install the program for your particular system configuration (OPERATIONS MANUAL - APPENDIX C). 2. Enter your company information and drive assignments for pro- gram and data. 3. PHASE 1 - Build your data files of comps (2-1). 4. PHASE 2 - Perform daily procedure of entering comps, printing reports, and making backups of your data. (6-1). SOME DO-NOTS - DO NOT use THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER until you've read or browsed through this entire manual. - DO NOT forget to make regular backup copies of your file. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-17 SETTING UP SETTING UP THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER See Appendix C for instructions on installing the program in Windows for unique system configurations. This chapter will address itself to the procedures you should follow in setting up the system for your use. It dis- cusses each of the applications you will use, how they interact with each other, and the steps you should take in creating your master and data files. These setup procedures are covered: SYSTEM SETUP ____________ SETTING UP COMPS MANAGER ________________________ The procedures you should follow on a daily and periodic basis once your system is set up are covered in Chapter 6. Should you need any help in knowing what information a field should contain, refer to the discussion of the fields in Chapter 7, (MASTER FILES) SYSTEM SETUP SYSTEM SETUP Before you begin to enter information into the system and begin processing you will need to enter certain information that customizes the system to your particular installation. This includes entering your company name and address, making drive assignments and identifying your printer type to the system. This information should only have to be entered once but it is very important to the successful implementation of the system. The System Setup information may have already been set up if Windows is already installed on your system as they are generally handled for you when the program installs itself. Mention is made of it here just in case you need to modify any of the information yourself. QUICKSTART INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 1. Create a directory on your hard disk called COMPS. 2. Copy the file COMPS.EXE from the diskette to the COMPS direc- tory. 3. Install COMPS.EXE in the Windows "Windows Applications" folder. The program title should be "COMPS" and the program name should be "\COMPS\COMPS.EXE". THE TOTAL MAILING LIST MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 2-18 SETTING UP THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER SETTING UP THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER There are three steps involved in setting up THE COMPS DATA BASE ____________________ MANAGER: _______ 1. Obtain all addresses and sales information that you want to put into the system. 2. Enter the sales and addresses into the system. 3. Run sample reports to check for errors. Each of these steps will be detailed in the following pages. THE TOTAL MAILING LIST MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 2-19 ENTERING COMPS INFORMATION ENTERING COMPS INFORMATION INTO THE SYSTEM INTO THE SYSTEM After you have gathered the information that you want to enter (names, addresses, etc.) you are ready to enter those names into the system: SYSTEM DISPLAYS YOU CHOOSE Master Menu ADD record The program will add the records to a file called COMPS.DAT. If you want to add items to a different file, choose {File New} and enter the new name. For example, if your list includes rural properties, you may want to type the file name "RURAL". Simply type the desired name of the file, then press Enter. Note that when you want to edit a previous file, simply find that file from the given list and double click on it with the mouse. The system will then show the Comps File Maintenance screen. See Chapter 7 for a discussion of the fields in this screen. See Chapter 5 for a detailed explanation of the various keys and their uses. THE TOTAL MAILING LIST MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 2-20 WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT Working with the system can be basically broken down into two functions. One is related to entering information, inquiring on particular entries, and the editing of those entries. We re- fer to this option under the heading of file maintenance. You will manipulate your files through various screens. This option is highly interactive. The other function is the generation of reports from the information entered. These reports are gener- ally not interactive. Once you have specified your selection criteria, the system will perform the function unattended. The system is designed in such a way that you will periodi- cally be presented with several options by means of a MENU. When you are at a MENU you may go to any option listed by clicking on that option with the mouse. Many times there are sub-menus behind the first menu and at times even a third or fourth level menu. In cases where there is a third level menu, the second level menu will contain options for entering information to the system and subsequent menus will contain reports generated from the information you have entered. Working with the system in entering and editing information is presented by means of various screens. These screens and the options you have in working with them are discussed in this chapter. The generation of reports is discussed in CHAPTER 5 - REPORT OPTIONS. This chapter will give you an overview of the entire system, showing each menu and entry screen. Sample reports are included in Appendix D. The COMPS MANAGER is used to store information about local property listings. Once the information has been entered through your keyboard into COMPS MANAGER, it is stored in a computer- ized file called COMPS.DAT. Once stored, it can be recalled to the screen, changed, deleted or printed. The information acts as the basis for printed reports described in Chapter 5. When you choose the COMPS icon from within WINDOWS, COMPS MANAGER will display the PROPERTY LISTINGS SCREEN. At the top of the screen you will be asked to choose what you want to do. Your choices will be to ADD a listing, SEARCH for a particular listing, seek records that meet certain criteria. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 3-21 File Edit Add Options View Search About Help COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER MENU COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER MENU MASTER OPTION FILE FILE: From this option you will access all functions for main- taining your address file(s). Chapter 5 explains the various options you have for manipulating your files. REPORT: This option will give you a columnar listing of the names in your address file. A sample of this report is located in Appendix D. All of the standard sort/select options are avail- able for your use while running this report. See Chapter 4 - REPORT OPTIONS. SETUP: Will display the screen for your company and hardware configuration information and allow you to enter/change it. BACKUP: Will take you to the Backup Menu and allow you to make copies of the program and data. SORT: Will allow you to sort your data files. It will reorganize the file according to the new sequence so that when you use Next or Previous you will see the next logical record according to your sort request. This option does not decrease access time for the computer and is only used for your convenience. It is primarily used for two purposes: 1. If for some reason your file has gotten out of sequence due to a file restore, etc., or 2. If you want to reorganize the file to make editing easier. When you select option 3 the system will ask you to: ENTER THE FILE NAME: __________ Enter the name of the file you wish to sort. File names are found in Appendix A of this manual. The system will then sort the file and return to the Master Menu. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 3-22 CHANGE DATE: This option will allow you to change the system date without rebooting the system. When you choose option 4 the sys- tem will ask you to: ENTER THE DATE IN THIS FORMAT MM/DD/YY Type in the date using a two digit month, a slash, a two digit day, a slash, and the two digit year. The system will then re- turn to the Master Menu. CREATE INDEX: The system maintains an internal index to the files in order to find records quickly. If for any reason your index becomes damaged, this option will allow you to rebuild the index. The system will ask you to: ENTER THE FILE NAME ________ (File names are found in APPENDIX A of this manual). Once the system has finished rebuilding the index, the system will return to the Master Menu. This option allows you to create a file of report formats (selec- tion criteria) for later recall in generating specialized re- ports. It will allow you to select records to include on a report on up to 6 fields and 8 logical comparisons. This option is explained in detail in CHAPTER 5 - STANDARD REPORT OPTIONS. WORKSHEET: This option will allow you to print a file layout worksheet. This will tell you the name of each field in your file, the space allocated for it, and the field type, or the kind of information the system will allow you to enter in that parti- cular field. REMOVE BLANKS: Will allow you to 'compress' a file by removing records that have been deleted. This will cause the record numbers of your file to be reorganized but it does not actually reorganize the order in which the records appear in the file. Sorting the file under option 3 also removes blank records. This option will allow you to remove the blank records without sort- ing. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 3-23 ** BACKUP MENU ** FORMAT: The formatting procedure analyzes the entire diskette for any defective tracks and prepares the diskette to accept program or data files. When this option is chosen the system will ask you to put the diskette into drive A and the system will format the diskette. The diskette MUST be formatted before you can backup any information. WARNING: Formatting destroys all data on the diskette, so be very careful to label your diskettes so you do not choose the wrong one to be formatted. BACKUP: This option will allow you to backup the master data files. This needs to be done once a week (at least) to ensure that you do not lose any of your master files. The system will prompt you to put in the backup diskettes when it needs them. RESTORE: In case you lose the master files, this option will allow you to restore the files from the backup diskettes. The system will prompt you to insert each diskette as needed. *** SYSTEM SETUP MENU *** The System Setup Menu contains various house-keeping and system management function which do not fit under other parts of the system. It also contains utilities for importing and export- ing data with programs such as Word Perfect or Lotus 123. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 3-24 HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION The purpose of this section is to give you a brief, handson demonstration of how to use COMPS MANAGER. We'll experience each of its functions and how they work. You'll also get a chance to see all COMPS MANAGER menus and most screens in action. HOW TO BEGIN ------------ Double click on the COMPS icon with the mouse. You should now be looking at the COMPS MANAGER data entry screen. There is a sample data file called SAMPLE.DAT in the system. To load this file, choose {FILE OPEN} and double click on the file SAMPLE.DAT which is displayed in the list box. THE DEMONSTRATION ----------------- Let's pretend that you've used COMPS MANAGER for months now. On this particular day you need to do the following: 1. Add details about a new property listing 2. Match a client's needs to a property listing 3. Record the details of a sale 4. Add a new property sale 5. Create a report about gas station sales The following steps will show you how to accomplish the above. We encourage you to follow these steps as presented to avoid confusion. After you are comfortable with how COMPS MANAGER works, don't hesitate to experiment. ADD DETAILS ABOUT A NEW PROPERTY LISTING Observing the MASTER MENU you'll note the choices available to you. Since you need to add details about a new property listing, your choice is Property Listings. Please enter your choice by clicking on ADD. You are now looking at the PROPERTY LISTINGS SCREEN. Notice the choices available to you at the top of the screen. You can ADD, SEARCH, seek HELP or EXIT back to the MASTER MENU SCREEN. Since you want to add a property listing, enter your choice by clicking on ADD. COMPS MANAGER will respond by placing the screen cursor at SELLER. You may now enter the details of a new property listing. A reminder, COMPS MANAGER stores your property listings by the THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 3-25 street address. For this reason, you'll be required to enter a name so that COMPS MANAGER can create a property listing. Go ahead and enter a property listing using make-believe information. Please use 'TEST' as the seller's name and 150000 as the list price. Skip the fields (by pressing the ENTER key) that you're unfamiliar with. For a complete discussion of all screen fields, please refer to Appendix C. Once you've entered information in the last field, COMPS MANAGER will ask "IS THE ABOVE CORRECT ? (Y/N)". If you enter 'Y' COMPS MANAGER will now add your new property listing to the SALE master file. If you enter 'N', COMPS MANAGER will reposition the screen cursor at SELLER so that you may correct your entry. Please enter 'Y'. That's all there is to adding new property listings. For a complete discussion about the other options available when using Property Listings, please refer to Section E Property Listings. To continue the demonstration, please turn to the next page. To discontinue, enter '8' to exit COMPS MANAGER. MATCH A CLIENT'S NEEDS TO A PROPERTY LISTING After adding a new property listing, COMPS MANAGER will return you to the MASTER MENU. Pretend that a client has just called to see what listings are available at a certain price. To accomplish this task, you'll want to choose the fourth option on the screen, Client/Property Matchup. Please enter your choice by typing '4'. You are now looking at the HOME MATCH REPORT SCREEN. Please turn your printer on and align your paper. If you do not have an at- tached printer, press the ENTER key until you return to the MAS- TER MENU SCREEN. If you are ready to proceed with the report, press the ENTER key until the cursor is at LIST PRICE. Next, enter the amount of 150000 and press the ENTER key. COMPS MANAGER will now print the Home Match report which will display the information on the TEST property listing you previously entered. When the report is complete, press the ENTER key and COMPS MANAGER will return to the MASTER MENU. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 3-26 FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND Whenever we attempt to use something new, it's a good practice to know how that something works. When you purchased your computer you hopefully received instructions as to how it worked. With each new piece of equipment and software product you've purchased, you also received operating instructions. Likewise, COMPS MANAGER has a specific set of operating instructions that you should become familiar with. No, there's not a lot to remember. In fact, as you use COMPS MANAGER you'll find most of the following instructions are obvious and comfortable for you. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS TO REMEMBER When you are adding or changing field information, you must press the TAB key to 'skip' from one field to the next. Certain fields will only accept numbers as data input. For example, all COMPS MANAGER dates are expressed as YY/MM/DD. Therefore, a valid date would be 84/01/31 for January 31, 1984. If you attempt to enter any other character, COMPS MANAGER will refuse to accept your entry. Certain fields are designed to accept money values. Several rules apply: - Do not enter dollar signs ($) or commas...COMPS MANAGER won't accept them. - If you need to enter an amount with cents, you must enter the decimal point...COMPS MANAGER will accept decimal points. If COMPS MANAGER ever displays asterisks in a money field (or a message at the bottom of the screen that reads NUMERIC FIELD OVERFLOW), that means you've entered an amount that is larger than COMPS MANAGER can accept. This will happen if you ignore the decimal point and continue to enter a money value. For example, the SALES PRICE field on the PROPERTY LISTINGS SCREEN is capable of accepting a number as large as 9999999.99. If you were to enter a number like 9999999999 (without a decimal point) you will either receive an error message or asterisks in the field. Help screens are available at critical points within COMPS MANAGER. They appear as choices on the MASTER MENU and several other screens. All screens will display messages in window boxes that prompt you to take an action. When COMPS MANAGER detects a problem, a brief explanation will appear in a window box. Occasionally, the explanation will call for an answer. Most THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 5-27 of the time, you'll be told to click OK to continue the process. If you're ever confused by the explanations, please refer to Appendix B for additional details. The only true exit from COMPS MANAGER can be found as the last choice on the FILE MENU. The exit choices you'll see in other parts of COMPS MANAGER, if chosen, will return you to the FILE MAINETNANCE SCREEN. In effect, the FILE MAINTE- NANCE SCREEN is a home base from which you venture to perform functions and always return when finished. Working with the system can be basically broken down into two functions. One is related to entering information, inquiring on particular entries, and the editing of those entries. We refer to this option under the broad heading of file maintenance. You will manipulate your files through various screens which can be thought of as windows that look out on your filing system. This option is highly interactive in that you will be communicat- ing with the system directly. The other function is the genera- tion of reports from the information entered. These reports are generally not interactive. You will start a particular report function and return later when the system has finished. The system is designed in such a way that you will periodi- cally be presented with several options by means of a MENU. When you are at a MENU you may go to any option listed by typing its number. Many times there are sub-menus behind the first menu and at times even a third or fourth level menu. We have tried to organize these options into logically related functions with the first menu, (the Master Menu), accessing a second menu which contains the primary options relating to the particular functi- on. In cases where there needs to be a third level menu, the second level menu will contain options for entering information and subsequent menus will contain reports generated from the information you have entered. Working with the system in entering and editing information is presented by means of various screens. These screens and the options you have in working with them are discussed in this chap- ter. The generation of reports is discussed in CHAPTER 4 - RE- PORT OPTIONS. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 5-28 SCREEN MENU OPTIONS At the top of the screen you'll note your options as to what you can do next. Enter the letter that corresponds to what you would like to do. The purpose of this section is to discuss the various options you have within a screen. The System's screen in divided into two parts: The MENU AREA at the top, menu choices and status messages The Workspace below the menu, tables and forms (images). In addition, messages are sometimes displayed in a window that appears as an overlay of the screen. The small blinking light is referred to as a cursor and it indicates where the next character typed will be placed on the screen. The entry, table, or field in which the cursor is located is called the current field. The area at the top of the screen in a different color is referred to as the MENU AREA. We will discuss these options followed by an explanation of the cursor movements within the screen fields themselves. STATUS MESSAGES at the top of the screen help you keep track of what you're doing. For example, if you are viewing a table, the message will tell you where you are: Record # 4 of 22 At any given moment, you are working either in the menu or on the work-space. When you complete a set of menu choices, the cursor will appear on the workspace. File-Edit-Options-View-Select-Next-Prev-About-Help Each of these options is designed to facilitate the entry and modification of information in your system. Wherever you are within the system these options should operate in the same man- ner. SEE NEXT RECORD Think of the items in the system as pages which have been stored in a file. You will notice that when you click on Next that the screen will change each time. You can step through the file viewing each of the records in this manner. SEE PREVIOUS RECORD The Previous function key will allow you to step backwards through the file seeing the item that is stored immediately THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 5-29 before the one currently on the screen. VIEW VIEW is used to show tables on the screen. It lets you get a feel for your information by examining it up close. Once a table is in view, you can move rapidly to any part of it. You can also rearrange, resize, or reformat the fields to fit your needs at the moment. To toggle to the FORM VIEW, choose View, then Next Page. SELECT Upon choosing to SEARCH for a listing, the screen name will change, a message at the top of the screen will appear and your screen cursor will position itself just beyond the MAP NUMBER field near the top, lefthand corner of your screen. Proceed by entering any pieces of information that form your search mask. The more specific your request, the less records will be returned. The entry can be in upper or lower case. Once entered, click the PROCEED key. COMPS MANAGER will now attempt to find the name in the SALE master file. If it cannot be found, a message will appear in a message box to let you know. If the search is successful, COMPS MANAGER will display the file numbers of the matching records in push buttons at the bottom of the screen. Click on each of the buttons to display the records, or choose VIEW and MARKED RECORDS to see the entries in a table format. For example, if you are searching for a listing under the name of 'SMITH' and COMPS MANAGER has 2 listings under that name, the radio push buttons will reflect each item found. When it comes to finding a record or looking for specific information, the SEARCH command will probably become the command you use most. This is a versatile command that allows you to find not only what you are looking for, but then also lets you modify or delete records. The SEARCH command has great flexibil- ity to allow you to find just what you were looking for - no mat- ter where it might be in your file. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 5-30 ADD Upon choosing to ADD a listing, the screen name will change, a message at the top of the screen will appear and your screen cursor will position itself just beyond the MAP NUMBER field near the top, lefthand corner of your screen. Continue to enter the details of the listing until you've filled the entire screen. If you are not sure what a particular field means, all the fields are described in Chapter 7. Use the TAB key to move to the next field, or you can jump from field to field by clicking on the field with the mouse. Once you've entered details into the last field, COMPS MANAGER will store the record as soon as you choose any MASTER MENU option at the top of the screen. If you've made a mistake and want to cancel changes made, choose EDIT-UNDO and COMPS MANAGER will not save the changes. If, for example, you made a mistake in the spelling of the address, click on the address field and type the change. If there are other mistakes, click on that field and enter the correct details. When all corrections have been made, click on any of the MASTER MENU OPTIONS and the changes will be saved. When you are typing in numeric information you may use either the typewriter positioned keys across the top of the keyboard or the numeric keypad at the right. Within the field the right arrow will carry you forward one character. The left arrow will carry you back one character. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 5-31 DELETE The DELETE option will delete the current record displayed on the screen from your file. When you press 'D' the prompt line will say DELETION REQUESTED Y/N to give you a second chance to verify that this is the record you want to delete. If you then press 'Y' the record will be deleted; pressing any other letter will return you to the SCREEN MENU OPTIONS without deleting this record. FILE EXIT Choosing FILE, then EXIT will return you to the Program Manager of Windows. You should always choose this option when you finish with your processing. This will assure you that all of the information you have entered has been saved on the disk. SNAPSHOT Choosing FILE-PRINT-SNAPSHOT generate a printout of the information currently on your video screen. This option is very handy for getting a quick snapshot of the information on the screen. EDIT If you choose to CHANGE the listing, the screen name will change, a message at the bottom of the screen will appear and COMPS MANAGER will return the screen cursor to MAP NUMBER. Press the TAB key until the screen cursor skips to the field(s) you want to change and enter the changes. When all corrections have been made, choose any MASTER MENU OPTION and the change THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 5-32 SECTION 5 STANDARD REPORT OPTIONS SELECTING RECORDS FOR PRINTING Upon choosing the Report function from the FILE MENU SCREEN, COMPS MANAGER will display the REPORT MENU SCREEN. You will be asked to choose which report you want to create. Your choices are presented below in detail. When requesting any of the following reports, COMPS MANAGER will display another screen reminding you to turn your printer on and to align your paper. Depending upon the report, you may be asked to provide additional details. You will also be given the chance to exit and not print the report. Examples of the following reports are included in Appendix D. It may be helpful to look at them as you're reading the following descriptions. PROPERTY LISTINGS The Property Listing report will show details of all open property listings (Status equal 'O'). When requesting the report, you will be asked whether the report should be placed in order by area, price or type (Refer to Appendix C for de- tails about these screen fields). Any time you choose a menu option that calls for printing a REPORT which is already defined to the computer you will have several options of how you wish to have the records presented on the report. These options generally fall into the following 2 categories. 1. SELECT the records out of the file that you want to appear on the report. 2. SORT the records into the sequence in which you want the report to print. The first of these, the SELECT RECORDS OPTION is designed to permit you to select from the file ONLY those records that you want to appear on the report; you do not have to list everything in the file if you want only those records that meet certain criteria. There are 7 general selections available to you. The menu pictured on page 4-2 shows these options. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 November 21, 1991 4-33 SELECT RECORDS OPTIONS When you go to print any report you will be presented with 7 options of how you wish to select the records for printing. We will discuss each of these on the following pages but first a few comments about the selection process in general. 1. If you are using the single user version of the program, the system cannot select and sort more than 3000 records at a time. If you choose option 1 - SELECT ALL RECORDS - one of these conditions must be true - either your file contains fewer than 3000 records or you must answer NO SORT by pressing ENTER when the system asks for the field on which you wish to sort. If you have a file which contains more than 3000 records which you must sort and print, we have a program called SUPRSORT which will allow you to sort a file of unlimited size. Contact Eastern Digital Resources or your local dealer for pricing and availabil- ity. The network version of the program can handle files of unlimited size. 2. The option for SELECT BLOCK OF RECORDS is used for selecting the records by record number. This is the physical location of the items within the file, not the customer or file number. A block of records faces the same limitations as the SELECT ALL RECORDS option. If you are using the single user version of the program, you cannot select and sort more than 3000 records at a time. 3. All selections under option 3 must be made from the master file which a report accesses. 3. You cannot use option 4 - USE DEFINED SELECTION FORMAT - until you have defined a selection format under the SYSTEM UTILITIES MENU. This option will been explained in detail later but for now realize that when you choose option 4 you will be asked for the selection format number which must reference a valid selec- tion format. For more discussion on these selection options see USE DEFINE SELECTION FORMAT on page 4-7. SELECT ALL RECORDS This option will print all records in the file. When you choose this option from the SELECT RECORDS MENU the system will then present the SORT RECORDS screen shown on page 4-9. You can use this option only if your file contains fewer than 3000 re- cords. If the file is larger than 3000 records you must select the records by one of the other criteria or your must answer NO SORT for the sort option. SELECT BLOCK OF RECORDS This option is used to select a block of records by record number. The record number is the number located at the top of the screen on the prompt line when you enter or edit the record. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 November 21, 1991 4-34 (ex. Record 6 of 235 - the number 6 is the current record and 235 is the total number of records in the file.) This is not the same as the customer number or file number. The system will ask for a beginning and ending record to include on the report. If you select a block larger than 3000 records then the system will not be able to sort them. If your block contains greater than 3000 records you must answer NO SORT for the sort option. When the system prompts you for the beginning and ending record you may press ENTER and the system will default to the beginning and ending record respectively. HAVE SYSTEM SELECT RECORDS When you choose option 3 - HAVE SYSTEM SELECT RECORDS - you will be presented with a screen similar to the one shown above. The field number refers to the numbered field within your file which you wish to compare against. Each of these field numbers can be identified by the respective DATA FILE LAYOUT WORKSHEET in Appendix A. FIELD # - It is extremely important that you enter the correct field number. If the incorrect field number is typed in the com- puter would select the wrong items to compare with the other fields. You MUST choose the field numbers listed in the file layout worksheet for the appropriate file. There are 5 logical relationships which the system can use in selecting records. They are: GT - GREATER THAN LT - LESS THAN EQ - EQUAL TO NE - NOT EQUAL TO RL - RELATED TO EQUAL TO - If you are going to compare for equality you must match every character including spaces to the item sought or the system will not find it. If your field contains "Jones, Joe" and you ask for EQ to "Jones" the system will not find it. You should use the RL relationship to do such a comparison. GREATER THAN - For purposes of this comparison items which follow in the alphabet are considered greater than those which precede (X is greater than B). Letters are greater than numbers and lower case letters are greater than upper case letters. As a general rule the progression is: special characters (!@#$%&*) etc., numbers, upper case letters, then lower case letters. There are some exceptions with the special characters. LESS THAN - Items which precede in the ASCII table are considered less than. Thus numbers are less than letters. NOT EQUAL - This option will select all records except the item specified. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 November 21, 1991 4-35 RELATED TO - This option will scan the field number specified for any occurrence of the specified string. If you request RL to "Smi" then the system would select Smith, Smitty, Casmine etc. The name Smith is considered greater than Jones. Capital letters are considered less than lower case letters and numbers are considered less than letters. If you ask for items greater than 123 Mason Drive then all numbers greater than 123 and all items beginning with a letter would be selected. If you wish to select all records from the customer file with names less than Smith you would make this entry: For field # enter 2, for relationship enter LT and for constant enter Smith. Note that the name Smith would not be included in this selection. To include Smith you would need to enter LT SMJ for the relationship. These selections will allow you considerable freedom to customize the contents of a report. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 November 21, 1991 4-36 EXAMPLES OF HAVE SYSTEM SELECT RECORDS The first question you will need to answer is the field #. This number is pictured at the top of the screen next to the descriptions of the fields. Type the number and press ENTER. Next enter the two digit code for the relationship you wish to draw. These codes are discussed above. The constant line should contain the actual item sought as in "Smith", 23.50, 07/31/85, etc. EXAMPLE: If you want to have the computer select all customers whose last name is before Smith you would enter: 2 for field number LT for less than Smith for the constant of "Smith" You can use these selection criteria to select a 3 or 5 digit zip code regardless of what the rest of the zip codes contain. 8 for field number RL for related to 309 for zip code 3 digit This option would select all zip codes which start with "309". USE DEFINED SELECTION FORMAT In order to use option 4 you must first define a selection format under SYSTEM UTILITIES. You may then reference that format by giving its number. This option differs from option 3 above in that it allows you to select on multiple fields and multiple criteria simultaneously. This "DEFINED FORMAT" is maintained by the computer to allow you to recall and print this same report again without having to remember the exact sequence of selection commands given. The screen shown above is used for entering a selection format. You may access this screen by choosing F6-6 from the Mas- ter Menu. FIELD # - It is extremely important that you enter the correct field number. If the incorrect field number is typed in the com- puter would select the wrong items to compare with the other fields. You MUST choose the field numbers listed in the file layout worksheet for the appropriate file. RELATIONSHIP - There are seven valid relationships that you may use in selecting records. They are all discussed in the previous section. CONSTANT - The Constant field is the item that you want stored in THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 November 21, 1991 4-37 the computer for making the comparison. If you wanted to search for any address with a zip code less than 30900, you would use 30900 as the constant figure. NEXT LINE - This field is used when you want the system to select records that meet all criteria on lines 1 2, 3, and/or 4. The Next Line entries are as follows: O - or - The system will choose items that meet the criteria on the first line OR the second line. A - and - The system will choose the items that meet all criteria on the first line AND the second line. E - else - The ELSE entry should only be used if the system does not find any items matching all the criteria of the first line. The system will then choose items from the criteria listed on the next line. USE LAST SELECTION FORMAT This option will allow you to rerun a report using the most recent selection criteria. It is useful if you need to restart a report for some reason or if you need to print multiple copies of a report. MANUALLY SELECT RECORDS You may use this option to select records to be printed by record number. The system will ask you to enter each record number you want to include on the report. When you have finished entering record numbers, press END. SORT RECORDS OPTIONS If you wish to have your output reports printed in a specif- ic sequence, you should sort the file index. For example, to print your customer file in alphabetical order, by last name, you would specify the NAME field. If you don't care about the se- quence of your output report, you won't need to do a sort before printing your report. A screen such as the one pictured above is used to tell the computer how you wish to sort the records for your report. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 November 21, 1991 4-38 BASIC PROGRAM OPERATING PROCEDURES There are a number of procedures that are considered a part of the operation of the program. Before you can do these steps you must have installed the program for your hardware config- uration (APPENDIX C), and built your master files. (CHAPTER 2). This chapter will address itself to the steps to operating the program. There are several types of transactions that are considered part of your normal daily procedure. They are all specified in this chapter which tells you exactly how to enter each type of transaction. The checklist on the next page gives you an over- view of what should be done each day. Other procedures, such as the generation of reports are performed as needed, while others are performed monthly, quarterly, or annually. You may find that certain recommendations do not "fit" for your particular opera- tion. If you change the procedures however, be careful to think through the ramifications. Throughout these procedures we have assumed that you are using the complete TMLM program. If you are using only selected options your procedures may differ. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-39 OPERATION TO BE PERFORMED MENU PATH SEE PAGE / NOTES ================================================================- ========= DAILY OPERATIONS 1. System Initialization 6-4 PERIODIC OPERATIONS (TO BE PERFORMED AS NEEDED) COMPS DATA BASE MANAGEMENT 1. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-40 *** NOTES TO THE SYSTEM OPERATIONS *** 1. The abbreviation CD stands for current date. You should enter the current date in the format MM/DD/YY. If the month or day is less than 10 you should enter a leading 0 as in 01/01/91 for February 6, 1991. 2. The abbreviation BR stands for beginning record number. Enter the record number of the first item in this batch of entries. This is the number that appeared on the prompt line AFTER you added the first transaction in this batch; ie. RECORD XX OF NN You should enter the value for XX then press ENTER. 3. The abbreviation ER stands for ending record number. Enter the record number of the last item in this batch of entries. This is the number that appeared on the prompt line AFTER you added the last transaction in this batch; ie. RECORD XX OF NN You should enter the value for XX then press ENTER. If the last record to print corresponds to the last item in your file you may merely press ENTER and the system will assume the last record. 4. Be sure that the system date is set properly before performing this function. It should generally be set to the date you wish to report. If for example, you are running statements for Janu- ary, but you are already into February, you should set the system date to January 31 before running the statements. 5. The abbreviation CK stands for check number. Enter the beginning check number for the month. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-41 *** SYSTEM STARTUP - NETWORK *** This procedure is to be used for all systems installed on a Novell network. If you are operating as a single user installa- tion, go to page 6-4. The File Server Station must be started up before the work stations will operate. Is the File Server on? Starting Host Station Procedure NO: 1. Insert At Boot Disk into drive A. Close ____________ drive door. 2. Turn on computer. Switch is located on ________________ the front of the cabinet. 3. If you are not going to use the file server a workstation, go to starting workstation below. 4. When Enter Your Name appears: 5. Type your name and then press Enter. _________ _____ 6. Type your password then press Enter (the ________ _____ password will not appear as you type it). The Master Menu will then appear. Starting Work Station YES: 1. Make sure that the File Server is started up and the work station computer is on. 2.Insert Startup Diskette into disk drive. ________________ 3. When Login appears, type your name then _________ press Enter. _____ 4. At Password, type your password then press _____________ Enter. _____ 5. The Master Menu will then appear. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-42 ** System Initialization ** Stand Alone System You should always turn on your peripheral items (printer, modem, etc. first, then your computer. The system will go through a startup process which will identify any problems that it may have. The particular sequence will depend on your computer sys- tem. If prompted, you should enter the system date in the format MM/DD/YY. If the month or day is less than 10 you should enter a leading zero. Ex. February 8, 1991 should be entered as: 02/08/91 Press ENTER You should always make a habit of using the slashes '/' rather than entering dashes '-' for dates. The system treats the two differently when sorting and you will have problems later if you use dashes. If the system stops at the DOS prompt, i.e. C> you should type: CD\WINDOWS press ENTER WIN press ENTER The Windows Workspace will then be displayed. Double click on the COMPS icon to start the program. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-43 ** Making Backups ** After you have completed your posting of each day's transactions, you should make a habit of backing up all entries made. Refer to CHAPTER 9 - SYSTEM UTILITIES, or your DOS reference manual if you have questions regarding the procedure. SYSTEM DISPLAYS YOU SELECT ======================================================= Master Menu F6- SYSTEM UTILITIES MENU System Utilities Menu 2 - BACKUP MENU Backup Menu 3 - BACKUP ALL DATA FILES. The computer will tell you when to put in a diskette and when additional diskettes are needed. Be sure the diskettes you put in have been formatted; if not you must use option F6-2-1 (FORMAT DISKETTES) before starting the backup procedure. Be sure all diskettes are inserted into the computer with the label side up and the cut out end going in first. These daily backup diskettes should be stored off site to assure that you have a backup of your data files. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-44 MERGING RECORDS WITH YOUR COMPS DATA BASE FILE The COMPS MANAGER is designed to allow you to merge the names contained in your list with a report to create a personal- ized document. This chapter will deal with guidelines on using the text editor contained within Windows to create your letter as well as steps in creating the document using another word proces- sor if you are going to merge the document within another pro- gram. 1. If you are going to use the merging features within your word processing program you will not need to do any of the steps contained in this chapter. Refer to your word processing manual for details on merging a file. 2. If you use another word processing program to create a docu- ment for merging this program must be capable of creating an ASCII file. Refer to your word processing manual for information on how it stores files. Many programs use their own storage techniques which the COMPS MANAGER cannot decipher. If your program cannot create an ASCII file then you must use the text editor contained in Windows. 3. If you use another word processing program to create a docu- ment and then merge the names within the COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER rather than within the other program then you must follow the conventions contained in this chapter to identify the placements of fields in your letter. When you choose the option to CREATE DOCUMENT/MERGE COMPS the system will first ask: DO YOU WISH TO CREATE A DOCUMENT? __ If your document has already been created you can proceed to the merging of the names by answering 'N'. If you need to create a new document or modify a document that has already been created answer 'Y'. The system will then ask: ENTER THE DOCUMENT NAME ____________ If your file has already been created and you need to modify it then type the file name and press ENTER. The system will then display the document and position the cursor in the upper left hand corner of the screen. If you are creating a new document you should press ENTER and the system will then present a blank screen for you to use in creat- ing your document. The next page gives a summary of the commands available to you while working within the document screen. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-45 CURSOR MOVEMENTS AVAILABLE WHILE EDITING UP ARROW Moves cursor up one line DOWN ARROW Moves cursor down one line RIGHT ARROW Moves cursor right one space LEFT ARROW Moves cursor left one space PAGE UP Moves screen up one page current cursor position PAGE DN Moves screen down one page from current cursor position INS Shifts the current line right one space DEL Shifts the current line left one space HOME moves cursor to first line on screen END moves cursor to last line on screen ESC moves cursor to prompt line at bottom of screen for exer- cising menu options EACH OF THESE KEYS WILL REPEAT IF YOU HOLD IT DOWN. The computer assumes that you want to use certain "standard" criteria in the final layout of your document. You can change any of these by entering a backslash ON THE FIRST LINE of your document followed by the two letter codes as listed in the chart below an equal sign and then the new value. You must identify the places in your document where you want to merge your names and addresses. This is done by entering a backslash (\) followed by the field number followed by another backslash. Your field numbers are found on the data file layout work sheet located in Appendix A of this manual. You may merge fields anywhere on the sheet. You can also merge the current date by entering 'CD' within the backslashes. The next two pages illustrate a document which has been designed for merging and the resultant document after the system has merged the name. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-46 \CD\ \2\ \4\ \5\ \6\, \7\. \8\ Dear \3\; Our records indicate that you \21\. If this is no longer the case please contact our office so that we can update our records. As you know we must keep your records up to date in order to maintain your resume' for prospective clients. If there is any other way we can be of assistance please feel free to call. Our number is 897-3456. Thank you Renee C. Johnson RCJ/mc THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-47 Jan. 01, 1992 Fred E. Smith 123 Mason Drive Augusta, GA. 32309 Dear Fred; Our records indicate that you are interested in a career as a chemical engineer. If this is no longer the case please contact our office so that we can update our records. As you know we must keep your records up to date in order to maintain your resume' for prospective clients. If there is any other way we can be of assistance please feel free to call. Our number is 897-3456. Thank you Renee C. Johnson RCJ/mc THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 6-48 *** CATEGORIES OF FILES *** There are two general categories of files used in the computer to do all of your work; they are: 1. Master Files 2. Data Files This chapter discusses the fields in each of these files The information contained in master files usually does not change very often, but when it does change, it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT that the master file affected be updated accurately and immediately. Never run any type of report until you know that your master file updates have been properly completed. Your reports will be worthless if your master files are wrong. Master file information is changed instantly; just as soon as you exit a record after editing the file is changed. No posting cycle is required to update the master file - no audit trail is left for you except your original input document. BE VERY CAREFUL THAT YOUR DATA HAS BEEN ENTERED CORRECTLY BEFORE EXITING THE EDIT OPTION WHEN UPDATING THE MASTER FILES - THERE IS NO VALIDATION, AND NO AUDIT TRAIL LEFT. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 7-49 There are 4 master files which are a part of the system and are required for proper operation. These files are: COMPANY0.CFG OPTIONS0.CFG REPORTS0.CFG SELECT00.CFG COMPANY0.CFG contains your company name and address, function key assignments, last invoice and check numbers, printer types, and drive assignments. It is discussed in detail in chapter 9 (SYSTEM UTILITIES). The file maintenance for this file is accessed at F6-1-1 from the Master Menu. OPTIONS0.CFG is the file which the system uses to control branch- ing to the various program modules and menus. For a discussion of this file see the MENU-MAKER manual. This file is located at F6-1-4 from the Master Menu. REPORTS0.CFG contains the reports which you have defined along with others which have been designed for you as a standard part of the system. See the REPORT WRITER manual for a discussion of this file. This file may be accessed at F6-1-6 from the Master Menu. SELECT00.CFG contains the selection criteria you have defined for choosing specific records to appear on reports. This file is discussed in chapter 3, (STANDARD REPORT OPTIONS) and in chapter 9 (SYSTEM UTILITIES). You may access this file for file mainte- nance by choosing F6-6 from the Master Menu. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 7-50 COMPS FILE MAINTENANCE EXPLANATION OF FIELDS In this section we'll review all the fields you will encounter in the Property Listings, Record of Sale and Agent File functions. Again a 'field' can be thought of as a single piece of infor- mation. The definitions of most of these fields are self- evident. Several have particular definitions that are important to the proper use of COMPS MANAGER. The fields will be presented by function, giving its name, size (how long it can be), type (numeric only or any combination of alphabetic and numeric) and definition. Whenever you see the word 'optional' it means that you can choose whether to use the field. MAP NUMBER STREET NUMBER STREET ADDRESS SALES PRICE SALES DATE BUILDING SQUARE FOOT LAND SIZE UNIT TOTAL DOLLARS BUILDING LAND DOLLARS PER UNIT BUILDING DOLLARS PER SQUARE FOOT BUILDING TYPE YEAR BUILT GRANTOR / GRANTEE - If you are dealing with an individual you should give consideration as to how to enter the name. If a name is entered as James E. Smith and you ask for an alphabetical listing of the customers the names will be out of order. If on the other hand Smith; James E. is entered the names will be sorted properly on your printout. For printing purposes the name will be reversed on the mailing label so that Smith; James E. will become James E. Smith. NOTE THE SEMICOLON IS USED AS A SEPARATOR. If the name is James E. Smith, Jr. it should be entered as Smith Jr.; James E. Should you find a printout sorting incorrectly you can call up that record and edit the name field. DEED BOOK DEED PAGE USE COUNTY ZONING FINANCING NEIGHBORHOOD ZIP CODE IMPROVEMENTS - The improvements field is for your own use and a maximum of 200 characters are allowed. Any information about the comp you wish to maintain may be typed in this space and THE TOTAL MAILING LIST MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 8-51 later searched like any other field. SELECT CODES - The select codes are the selection criteria that you choose to sort the records by. They are labeled Mark Record, Vacant, Improved, Check 4 and Check 5. You may use them to key the records as you like. THE TOTAL MAILING LIST MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 8-52 SYSTEM UTILITIES INTRODUCTION 9-1 SYSTEM UTILITIES MENU 9-2 SYSTEM SETUP 9-3 SYSTEM SETUP SCREEN 9-3 EXPLANATION OF FIELDS 9-3 NAME 9-3 ADDRESS 1 9-5 ADDRESS 2 9-5 CITY 9-5 STATE 9-5 ZIP CODE 9-5 DRIVE DISTRIBUTION 9-6 PRINTER TYPE 9-6 MAKE BACKUPS 9-7 SORT FILE 9-8 CHANGE SYSTEM DATE 9-8 INDEX FILES 9-9 DEFINE SELECTION FORMAT 9-9 BUILD SELECTION SEQUENCE FILE 9-9 PRINT FILE LAYOUT WORKSHEET 9-9 REMOVE BLANK RECORDS FROM FILE 9-9 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-53 THESE FUNCTIONS ARE NOT DEFINED IN THE SHAREWARE VERSION OF THE PROGRAM. SYSTEM UTILITIES The System Utilities contain various house keeping functions which are necessary for efficient operation of the system. Some of these are performed only once while others should be performed during each session. Some of these utilities (backup, set date, prepare data diskette) can be accomplished in several different ways and the method described here may disagree with the informa- tion contained in your GUIDE TO OPERATIONS that came with the computer. In most cases we have tried to streamline the standard procedure, bypassing many of the options that are available to perform the particular task at hand. You may also perform these functions at the operating system level. When you choose Option FILE SETUP from the Master Menu the screen shown above will be displayed. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-54 DEFINE COMPANY Before you begin to enter and process information with the system you will need to "customize" the system to your particu- lar installation. This includes entering your company name and address, making drive assignments for data files and identifying your printer type to the system. This information should only have to be entered once but it is very important to the success- ful implementation of the system. When you choose option 1 from the System Utilities Menu the screen shown above will be presented. EXPLANATION OF FIELDS COMPANY NAME - A maximum of 40 characters are allowed for you to enter your company name as you would like it to appear on your reports. If this screen already has information you should use the EDIT option to change the information displayed rather than adding a record. The prompt line on this screen should always show 'Record # 1 of 1'. ADDRESS 1 - Use this field for entering your street address. A total of 30 characters are allowed. ADDRESS 2 - If you have a post office box or you need a second line for address you should enter it in this line. Otherwise leave it blank. Thirty characters are allowed. CITY, STATE, ZIP - Your company's city state and zip code should be entered in these fields. FEDERAL TAX ID # - This field is used by the payroll system for including your Federal ID# on required reports. If you are run- ning the Payroll System you will need to enter this information. STATE TAX ID # - This field is used by the payroll system for including your State tax ID# on required reports. ASSIGNING FILES TO THE DRIVES - Before beginning to enter infor- mation you will need to tell the system which drives will contain various files that it will need. For fixed disk installation for the IBM-PC XT or AT or any other system that recognizes the fixed disk as drive C:, you may install the program and all data files on the fixed disk within the same directory of the fixed disk. A significant improvement in speed can be realized with a RAM DISK (a minimum of 384k is required) by setting the indexes to reside on the RAM disk. This will require that you change the beginning and ending batch files for the program to include pro- vision for moving the indexes into the RAM disk and back to the THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-55 data drive when the session is completed. Your instruction manual for the RAM disk, along with the DOS REFERENCE MANUAL should give you guidelines on creating this batch file. The two files to modify are: MENU.BAT END.BAT PRINTER TYPE - You can also use the system with most popular printers on the market today. You will need to tell the system what type of printer is attached so that the proper control codes will be executed to provide various functions. 8 1/2 x 11 - 66 lines maximum 11 x 8 1/2 - 45 lines maximum 14 x 8 1/2 - 45 lines maximum 11 x 14 - 66 lines maximum Other lengths may need to be set if your paper is a size other that the ones listed above. You may also need to change the settings on your printer for the size paper that you are using. PRINTER OUTPUT - This field is used by the system to direct in- formation which is normally printed. If you have more than one printer attached to your system or if you need to send a report over the telephone lines you can change this field to indicate the appropriate device. Note that this option will only redirect the output that is normally sent to the printer. Allowable devices are: LPT1: - LINE PRINTER # 1 LPT2: - LINE PRINTER # 2 LPT3: - LINE PRINTER # 3 SCRN: - DISPLAY SCREEN COM1: - FIRST COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE COM2: - SECOND COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE DATA FILE (*** SEE NOTE ***) NOTE : If you wish to send the information to a data file you will need to specify the file name in this field and optionally the drive you want to contain the file unless you want the report to go to the default drive. If you send the information to a file you will need to make sure the drive will hold the entire report. For more information on redirecting output see the dis- cussion on INPUT and OUTPUT in the BASIC manual. LAST GL POSTING SESSION - This field is updated by the system when a General Ledger posting session is completed. When you first initialize the system you should set this field to zero. BACKUP MENU THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-56 MAKING A PERIODIC BACKUP OF YOUR MASTER FILES Nothing lasts forever. To guard against the accidental loss of your valuable data, you should develop a habit of making a periodic backup of your master files. BUT I ALREADY MADE A BACKUP OF THE ORIGINAL COMPS MANAGER DIS- KETTE ! True. And you needn't make another backup of the ORIGINAL. You will, however, be constantly adding new information to your master files (whether on a diskette or hard disk) which you cannot afford to lose. Therefore, you need to make a periodic backup of your master files. Please refer to your DOS manual for backup instructions. HOW OFTEN TO BACKUP ------------------- It's really up to you. Keep in mind that if your COMPS MANAGER MASTER FILES you use on a daily basis are damaged, you will lose only the data since the last backup. With this in mind, many of you will choose to perform backup after entering a large amount of data, so as not to take the chance of losing what's just been entered. Another approach is to peform a periodic backup on a given schedule, such as once a day at the end of the day, once a week, etc. WHAT SHOULD BE BACKED-UP ? -------------------------- You should backup all files appended with .DAT and .IDX SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT LARGE MASTER FILES ------------------------------------- For those of you with master files that are larger than can fit on one floppy diskette, you'll have to use IBM's BACKUP command to accomplish the above. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-57 OPTION 1 : The formatting procedure analyzes the entire diskette for any defective tracks and prepares the diskette to accept pro- gram or data files. When this option is chosen the system will ask you to put the diskette into drive A and the system will for- mat the diskette. The diskette MUST be formatted before you can backup any information. WARNING: Formatting destroys all data on the diskette, so be very careful to label your diskettes so you do not choose the wrong one to be formatted. OPTION 2 : When this option is chosen the system will ask you to put a formatted diskette in drive A. Before you choose to backup your program files, be sure that you have at least 4 formatted diskettes, because if you run out of formatted diskettes before you finish the backup of the files, you will have to start back at the beginning once you have formatted more diskettes. OPTION 3 : This option will allow you to backup all of the master data files. This needs to be done once a week (at least) to en- sure that you do not lose any of your master files. The system will prompt you for each backup diskette as it needs it. OPTION 4 : This option will allow you to backup the data files that you have worked with that day. This needs to be done on a daily basis to ensure the integrity of your data base. OPTION 5 : In case you lose the data files, this option will allow you to restore the files from the backup diskettes. The system will prompt you as needed to insert the diskettes. SORT FILES This option will allow you to sort your actual computer files. This is not to be confused with the "sort option" you have every time you print a report; (the sort option when print- ing a report does not actually sort the file... it merely swaps pointers to the records so that the report will be generated in sorted order). This option, however, actually sorts the file). It will reorganize the file according to the new sequence so that when you use Next or Previous you will see the next logical re- cord according to your sort request. This option does not de- crease access time for the computer and is only used for your convenience. It is primarily used for two purposes: 1. If for some reason your file has gotten out of sequence due to a file restore, etc., or 2. If you want to reorganize the file to make editing easier. When you select option 3 the system will ask you to: ENTER THE FILE NAME: __________ Enter the name of the file you wish to sort. File names are found in Appendix A of this manual. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-58 The system will then sort the file and return to the Master Menu. CHANGE SYSTEM DATE This option will allow you to change the system date without rebooting the system. When you choose option 4 the system will ask you to: ENTER THE DATE IN THIS FORMAT MM/DD/YY Type in the date using a two digit month, a slash, a two digit day, a slash, and the two digit year. The system will then return to the Master Menu. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-59 INDEX FILES The system maintains an internal index to the files in order to find records quickly. If for any reason your index becomes damaged, this option will allow you to rebuild the index. The system will ask you to: ENTER THE FILE NAME ________ (File names are found in APPENDIX A of this manual). Once the system has finished rebuilding the index, the system will return to the Master Menu. DEFINE SELECTION FORMAT This option allows you to create a file of report formats (selection criteria) for later recall in generating specialized reports. It will allow you to select records to include on a report on up to 6 fields and 8 logical comparisons. This option is explained in detail in CHAPTER 3 - STANDARD REPORT OPTIONS. BUILD SELECTION SEQUENCE FILE OPTION 7 : This option will allow you to create a file selection and sort that file in the order you desire for later use in ac- cessing the records for a report or editing. When you choose option 7 from the System Utilities Menu, the system will ask you to: ENTER THE FILE NAME ________ (File names are found in APPENDIX A of this manual). Once the system has finished rebuilding the index, the system will return to the Master Menu. PRINT FILE LAYOUT WORKSHEET This option will allow you to print a file layout worksheet. This will tell you the name of each field in your file, the space allocated for it, and the field type, or the kind of information the system will allow you to enter in that particular field. REMOVE BLANK RECORDS FROM FILE Will allow you to 'compress' a file by removing records that have been deleted. This will cause the record numbers of your file to be reorganized but it does not actually reorganize the order in which the records appear in the file. Sorting the file under option 3 also removes blank records. This option will allow you to remove the blank records without sorting. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 9-60 DATA FILE LAYOUT FOR COMPS.DAT ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Ln. Description Length Type ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------ 1 MapNo 15 0 2 StreetNumber 6 0 3 StreetAddress 40 0 4 SalesPrice 10 0 5 SalesDate 8 0 6 BldgSqFoot 10 0 7 LandSize 10 0 8 Unit 12 0 9 TotDollBldg 10 0 10 LanDollUnit 10 0 11 BldDollSqFt 10 0 12 BldgType 8 0 13 YearBuilt 4 0 14 Grantor 30 0 15 Grantee 30 0 16 DeedBook 8 0 17 Use 8 0 18 County 12 0 19 Zoning 10 0 20 Financing 30 0 21 Neighborhood 10 0 22 ZipCode 10 0 23 Improvements 200 0 24 MarkRecord 1 0 25 Vacant 1 0 26 Improved 1 0 27 SelectCode4 1 0 28 Selectcode5 1 0 THE TOTAL MAILING LIST MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 A-61 APPENDIX B SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS "Do you have any other programs that you're distributing?" ANSWER: Yes, We take great pride in our ability to provide high quality, high function, easy to use programs for a popular price. "Will it help if I buy more RAM memory for my PC?" ANSWER: Yes, up to a maximum of 4 megabytes. COMPS MANAGER makes use of all available memory for performance purposes. You should see a sizeable speed improvement particularly on large files. Your sorts should also run faster. "In what language was COMPS MANAGER written?" ANSWER: It was written in "Microsoft VISUAL BASIC", then compiled with the VISUAL BASIC Compiler. There are also some assembler language subroutines, which were created using the IBM Assembler. There are over 2,000 lines of source code in this product. We use WORD PERFECT to maintain our source code and documentation files. Final documentation is produced onto diskette directly from WORD PERFECT to assure that the manual you receive reflects the most recent revisions. "What computers run COMPS MANAGER?" ANSWER: We've worked very hard to make COMPS MANAGER run on as many different "MS-DOS" computers as possible. It runs on almost every IBM "compatible" computer, and on many MS-DOS computers which don't even claim to be IBM compatible. "Can I obtain the source code for the program?" ANSWER: The source code is available from Eastern Digital Re- sources for your own non-commercial use. Contact your local dealer for pricing. Malfunctions Errors due to operation mistakes (operators) or to environmental conditions (hardware or system software) do occur on occasion in spite of the best error trapping techniques a program can in- clude. COMPS MANAGER helps you to quickly determine if an error is due to a defect/failure or the result of misoperation. Disk Drive Not Ready or File Not Found xxxx This error is from the program which encountered an error due to a disk drive failure or mis-operation. Note what the program is trying to do, read a Data File, Save a Data File, etc. and also which disk drive is involved. Check that the drive itself is operational and then make sure the diskette has the requested THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 G-62 program. Press ENTER to retry. Using the 'ESC' for exit will usually escape the error condition but will not correct the error. Continuing with the program following such an error, without correcting the problem will usually be un-successful. As an assist in locating the difficul- ty the error number, xxxx, will help by pointing to the problem area. Each of the above errors will occur during the initializing, or the startup, phase. The most common problem is the file(s) are not on the currently designated default drive where the program expect to find them. (the default drive is the one designated from DOS by the prompt; A>,B>,etc). This error could result if the Data Disk was re-designated previously but was not SAVEd when leaving the company setup screen. Printer Not Ready. On some printers, during multiple copy printing, this error will occasionally be displayed and then clear itself. This is the result of the program attempting to print the next label and the printer is still busy. Although an annoyance this does no harm. A printer buffer, always a good accessory, will prevent this. Device Fault is a DOS error which usually relates to the printer. Although the program interro- gates the printer ready status prior to each print command to avoid such a fault, it is possible that mis-operation could void such checks. Such a diagnostic message will require a RE-BOOT. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 G-63 REQUIRED FIELD: A value must be provided in this field The field has been designated as "required " by establishing a validity check. You must post a value to this field during an editing or a data entry session. See Chapter 1 for information on validity checks. Access denied... You will see messages beginning with "Access denied" if you are working on a network and are trying to access an object or directory that you do not have sufficient rights to use. Typically, the problem is not at the program level, but at the network level. For example, you'll get this type of message if you try to make a read-only directory your working directory. See your network administrator if you cannot determine the cause of this problem. Drive not ready. COMPS MANAGER is attempting to read or write from a disk you have specified, but cannot do so because the drive door is open, a disk is not inserted in the drive, or the drive does not exist. Insufficient disk space for export. COMPS MANAGER has determined that it cannot Export the data in a table because there is not enough room on the disk or directory you have designated to hold the exported version of the data. Change your working directory or floppy disk, or delete some files before continuing. Insufficient disk space to insert new records. TMLM has determined that there is not enough room on the desig- nated disk to complete an Insert query. Change your working directory or floppy disk, or delete some files before continuing. Insufficient memory for... TMLM has determined that it does not have enough memory available to carry out the operation you have specified. Before continu- ing, end the current operation and try to increase available memory by clearing the workspace. You can also increase memory by removing any RAM-resident programs you may have installed on your computer. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 G-64 APPENDIX C INSTALLATION PROCEDURES Before doing anything else with the program, you should make a copy of your program diskettes. The new copy will serve as your operating diskette, and you can store the original distribution diskette for safe-keeping. Please note that copies may only be made for backup purposes or onto your hard disk. If you're not sure how to do this, refer to your DOS manual under the command COPY or DISKCOPY. INSTALLATION FOR A HARD DISK SYSTEM COMPS MANAGER has been designed to work on hard disk systems. If you have a floppy disk system, please call us to discuss the availability of COMPS MANAGER for your system. HOW TO INSTALL COMPS MANAGER ON YOUR HARD DISK SYSTEM ------------------------------------------- STEP 1. Create a subdirectory called COMPS on your hard disk. STEP 2. Place the COMPS MANAGER diskette in your 'A' drive and close the diskette drive door. This diskette contains all the programs and master files that make COMPS MANAGER work. STEP 3. Copy the contents of the diskette to your subdirectory with the following command: COPY A:*.* \COMPS STEP 4. Install COMPS MANAGER in Windows or you may run it from the Program Manager. Go to the subdirectory, type 'COMPS MANAGER' and press the ENTER key. You will be presented with the COMPS MANAGER logo screen. Press any key and the MASTER MENU SCREEN will be displayed. That's it ! You're now ready to put COMPS MANAGER to the test. 4. Store your program distribution diskette in a safe place. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 C-65 INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR NOVELL NETWORKS Each user should be given read/write access to the following directories: DOS COMPS DATA USERNAME - where USERNAME is the name of the user. The system should have the drives mapped as: C: - USERNAME D: - COMPS E: - DATA Additionally the PATH should include: PATH =SYS:\DOS If the user has a local hard disk drive installed, you can use that drive as drive C: rather than mapping a drive to the net- work. In any case, however, the CURRENT directory of drive C: must always contain the file COMPANY0.CFG. Drive C: must always have at least 100,000 bytes free for the system to use as a scratchpad work area. The best system performance can be ob- tained by mapping drive C: to a RAM DISK. Each user must have a unique drive designated as drive C: to alleviate collisions and corruption of data files. For the INSTALL procedure only, you should map drive C: as the network SYS:\COMPS or specify the drive designation and path after the INSTALL as in: INSTALL D:\COMPS THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 C-66 APPENDIX E TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS While the COMPS MANAGER been designed with care and rigorous- ly tested in actual business use, you may have some requirements which the program cannot meet. The information in this appendix is designed to give a programmer the links he needs to make necessary changes to the system. It is expected that you will have a working knowledge of the disk operating system, file I/O, and a background in programming using a language such as VISUAL BASIC before attempting to modify the program. We can provide telephone assistance as needed but please understand that you will be billed at our going rate for assistance provided in this area. CHANGING THE SCREEN OVERLAY You may find that you need to change the order of the fields within the screen, or change the screen prompts used for entering this information. In order to do this you will need our Screen Maker program which is available separately from EASTERN DIGITAL RESOURCES. The system maintains the entry screen on the disk as a file with an SCR extension. These files can be loaded and modified as necessary. If you list these files or load them into your word processor you will first see a series of numbers. The first number indicates the total number of fields on the screen. This is followed by the screen row and column positions, and the field number that the system will use in positioning the cursor for input. These lines are listed in the order in which the cursor will position itself for input. You can change the cursor sequence by swapping the order of these lines. Care should be taken that you have the same number of these lines as the number of fields available which is the first number in the file. Following the positions there are 20 lines of text showing the actual screen overlay used for input. You may change the prompts to fit your particular needs. Be sure to save the file back out as an ASCII file when you finish. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 E-67 CHANGING THE FIELD LENGTHS The files ending in IDX are used by the system to determine the total number of fields in the data files and their lengths. Like the screen file you can load these file into a word proces- sor and modify them to suit your needs. You should be aware however that the data items previously entered will no longer "fit" if you change the order of the fields or their length. Therefore you should make this change before entering information or make another data directory to use with the new file format. We have available a "reformatter" utility to change the files from one format to another. Contact your dealer or Eastern Digital Resources for pricing. The "IDX" file will contain a series of numbers, the first being the total number of fields in the data record. Each line after that will contain the name of the field, the length of the field, and the type of field. With the COMPS MANAGER program, these field types are supported for validity checking of user input. 0 - No checking, all characters allowed 1 - alphanumeric entries only. 2 - alphanumeric - validate entry against master file. 11 - date entry in the format mm/dd/yy 12 - current system date in the format mm/dd/yy 21 - whole number in the range 0-9,999,999 - right justified 22 - numeric entry in the dollars and cents format (2 decimal places) Other field types are supported (24 in all) and these are ex- plained in detail in our UTILITY PACKAGE for doing data base maintenance. Within the "IDX" file you may change the field length, and its associated field type by changing the numbers using your word processor. Be sure to save the file using the ASCII format. You may have a total of 90 fields within a record if needed, and a maximum record length of 2048 bytes as the system is currently configured. If you need a record length greater than 2048 you can expand the length by changing the MENU.BAT file that is used at startup for a greater maximum record length. CHANGING A REPORT MODULE The file XFER will contain the following information when the re- port begins to execute: Line 1 - the FILE NAME of the module that was selected. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 E-68 Line 2 - the word SORT or NOSORT indicating whether a sort was selected. Line 3 - If line 2 is SORT then line 3 will indicate the total number of valid (non-blank) records which were sorted. If line 2 is NOSORT then line 3 will indicate the beginning and end records selected. Line 4 - will give a string describing the sort/select sequence that was reguested. This line is included in the heading when a report is printed. If the records were sorted then the file INDEX2 will contain the sort field information and the record number of the record within the data file. You may pull off the right 6 characters to determine which random record to access to generate a report in sorted sequence. MOVING RECORDS INTO ANOTHER APPLICATION All data records within COMPS MANAGER are stored as ASCII files in a random access format. If you wish to access the record you may open the file with a record length which is the sum of all of the individual fields in the ".IDX " file. In order to import the records into LOTUS or other spreadsheet program you should only need to read the file using the spreadsheet's import feature for sequential files. If you wish to access the files using DBASE III, you will need to create a "dbf" file within DBASE III which corresponds to our "IDX" file. You can then access the file as if it were created by DBASE. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 E-69 WRITING YOUR OWN PROGRAMS This information is provided for programmers who wish to use TMLM files with their own programs. Here's a sample BASIC program to show you how to process the Index and Data records in your file. 1 CLEAR 20000:DIM A$(92),R(92),C(92),F(92),D$(92),F$(92),FL(92), D2$(92),F2$(92),F2(92),D3$(92),F3$(92),F3(92),D4$(92),F4$(92), F4(92),IN$(10) 6 DEF FN SS$(AN$)=LEFT$(AN$+" ",INSTR(AN$+" "," ")-1): REM This function strips trailing blanks from a string 7 OPEN"I",1,"COMPANY0.CFG":A$=INPUT$(149,1):PR$=FN SS$(INPUT$(12,1)):DN$=FN SS$(INPUT$(12,1)):IND$=FN SS$(INPUT$(12,1)):FG=VAL(INPUT$(12,1)):BG=VAL(INPUT$(12,1)): BC=VAL(INPUT$(12,1)):CLOSE 1:EXT$=".DAT":REM Get the company setup information as to drive assignments etc. 11 DEF FN H(SE$)=ASC(MID$(SE$,1,1))*97+13+ASC(MID$(SE$,2,1))*113+ ASC(MID$(SE$,3,1))*73+ASC(MID$(SE$,4,1))*32+ASC(MID$(SE$,5,1))*3+ ASC(MID$(SE$,6,1))*2+ASC(MID$(SE$,7,1))*7:REM This function creates a hash code of the key field's data 100 REM TO OPEN A FILE GOSUB 2100 110 REM TO OPEN AN INDEX GOSUB 2700 120 REM TO RETRIEVE NEXT ITEM IN THE SELECTED RECORDS GOSUB 2600 130 REM TO SEARCH FOR A RECORD GOSUB 1200 1200 IN$=LEFT$(DF$,10)+".I"+IN$(L1):GOSUB 2200:IN$=SE$:GOSUB 1600: S1$=IN$:J=LI:S1$=S1$+" ":S1$=LEFT$(S1$,7):S2$=MKI$(FN H(S1$)):FOR X3=X1 TO 32:GET BN+1,X3 1202 I=INSTR(BE,H$,S2$):BE=BE+2:IF I>0 THEN R2=((X3-1)*125)+((I+- 1)/2): GET BN,R2:ON BN GOTO 1250,1260,1270,1280 1203 BE=1:NEXT:G=0:RETURN 1204 IF BE<256 THEN 1202 1205 FOR X=RN+1 TO LR:GET 1,X:IN$=D$(LI):GOSUB 1600:G=INSTR(IN$,SE$):IF G>0 THEN RETURN ELSE IF INKEY$=CHR$(27)THEN RN=1:GOTO 3060 ELSE NEXT:RETURN 1210 IF LOF(1)=0 THEN RETURN ELSE GET 1,RN:FOR LI=1 TO NU: A$(LI)=D$(F(LI)):LOCATE R(LI),C(LI):PRINT FN CL$;:LOCATE R(LI),C(LI) :PRINT A$(LI);:NEXT:RETURN 1250 IN$=LEFT$(D$(ID),LEN(SE$)):GOSUB 1600:IF IN$=SE$ THEN G=5:BE=I+2: RETURN ELSE BE=I+2:GOTO 1202 1260 IF D2$(I2)=SE$ THEN G=5:BE=I+2:RETURN ELSE GOTO 1202 1270 STOP 1280 IN$=LEFT$(D4$(I2),LEN(SE$)):GOSUB 1600:IF IN$=SE$ THEN G=5:BE=I+2: RETURN 1290 GOTO 1202 2100 DF$=D1$+".IDX":FL=0:OPEN"I",1,DF$:INPUT #1,Z1:FOR X=1 TO Z1:INPUT #1,F$(X):FL(X)=VAL(MID$(F$(X),30,3)):FL=FL+FL(X):NEXT:C- LOSE 1:IF D$<>"" THEN D1$=D$:LOCATE 1,46:PRINT D1$ 2105 LOCATE 21,1:DF$=DN$+D1$+EXT$:OPEN"R",1,DF$,FL :LR=INT(LOF(1)/FL):X1=0 2110 FOR LI=1 TO Z1:FIELD 1,(X1)AS DU$,FL(LI)AS THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 E-70 D$(LI):X1=X1+FL(LI):NEXT 2113 FIELD 1,FL AS A$ 2115 IF LR=0 THEN RETURN ELSE RN=LR:GET 1,RN:IF A$=STRING$(FL,32) THEN LR=LR-1:GOTO 2115 2116 RETURN 2120 CLOSE 2:DF$=D2$+".IDX":F2=0:OPEN"I",2,DF$:INPUT #2,Z2:FOR X=1 TO Z2:LINE INPUT #2,F2$(X):F2(X)=VAL(MID$(F2$(X),30,2)):F2=F2+F2(X):NEXT :CLOSE 2:IF D$<>""THEN D2$=D$ 2125 DF$=DN$+D2$+EXT$:OPEN"R",2,DF$,F2:L2=INT(LOF(2)/F2):X1=0:FOR LI=1 TO Z2:FIELD 2,(X1)AS DU$,F2(LI)AS D2$(LI):X1=X1+F2(LI):NEXT:X1=0 2127 IF L2=0 THEN RETURN ELSE R2=L2:GET 2,R2:IF LEFT$(D2$(1),4)=" "OR ASC(D2$(1))=0 THEN L2=L2-1:GOTO 2127 2128 RETURN 2200 IF IN$=IG$ THEN RETURN ELSE CLOSE BN+1:IG$=LEFT$(DF$,10)+".I"+ IN$(L1):OPEN"R",BN+1,IG$,250:FIELD BN+1,250 AS H$:RETURN THE FILES ON YOUR PROGRAM DISK This information is provided so that you'll know the func- tion of each file and program in the CADS system. CADS consis- tently names each particular kind of file for quick verification of its purpose in the system. The last three characters of a file will identify its use. BAS - BASIC program source code EXE - the compiled version of the BASIC code IDX - a file layout showing field names and their lengths SCR - a screen overlay which displays when you see a menu or entry screen REP - a program overlay written in BASIC. This program segment cannot execute on its own but must be called by another program BAT - a batch file, used by the system to execute DOS funtions BIN - an assembly language module which is called by the program COM - an assembly language module which can also be executed directly from DOS CFG - a data file which is used for storing configuration para- meters and reports DAT - your data which you have entered Ixx - an index to a file with the numbers 'xx' identifying the field in the file which is indexed THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 E-71 *** A *** address 1 7-5 address 3 7-5 *** B *** backup 4-2 8-9 backup all data files 8-13 Backup Menu 3-5 backup modified data files 8-14 backup program files 8-13 *** C *** caps lock 5-8 change system date 3-5 8-8 city 8-5 comments 7-6 company name 8-3 constant 4-6, 4-8 CTRL left arrow 5-8 CTRL right arrow 5-8 Cursor Control Movements 5-8 up arrow 5-8 down arrow 5-8 right arrow 5-8 left arrow 5-8 CTRL left arrow 5-8 CTRL right arrow 5-8 Enter 5-8 Ins 5-8 5-9 del 5-7 Home 5-7 End 5-7 CONTINUE 5-4 *** D *** define selection format 4-7 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-72 DELete 5-9 DELETE 5-5 dos prompt 4-1 down arrow 5-7 drive distribution 8-5 *** E *** EDIT 5-5 end 5-7 Enter 5-8 ENTRY SCREENS Have system select records 5-17 Sorting records 5-20 8-22 Define company 8-4 Define selection format 8-24 *** F *** field # 4-4, 4-7 format diskette 8-11 *** G *** GET 5-2 *** H *** HARDCOPY 5-9 have system select records 5-13 5-16, 4-4 home 5-7 *** I *** index files 8-9 INSert 5-8 5-9 installation C-1 Introduction 1-9 *** K *** THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-73 *** L *** last posting session 8-6 left arrow 5-8 *** M *** Management Functions Menu 3-4 master account maintenance 7-7 master files 7-1 Master Menu 3-3 MENUS Master Menu 3-3 Select Records Menu 5-14 System Utilities Menu 8-2 *** N *** name 7-4 NEXT 5-2 next line 4-8, num lock 5-9 *** O *** overview 1-7 *** P *** Pg Dn 5-7 Pg Up 5-7 PREVIOUS 5-2 print 6-32 printer output 8-5 printer type 8-4 Printing a Report 4-1 select all records 4-3 select block of records 4-3 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-74 have system select records 4-4 use defined selection format 4-7 *** Q *** *** R *** related to 4-7 RELATIONSHIPS EQ 4-4, 4-7 GT 4-4, 4-7 LT 4-4, 4-7 GE 4-4, 4-7 LE 4-4, 4-7 NE 4-4, 4-7 CO 4-4, 4-7 CI 4-4, 4-7 RL 4-4, 4-7 remove blank records from file 8-13 REPORTS restore files 8-11 RETURN 5-5 right arrow 5-7 roladex cards 3-5 *** S *** salutation 3-24 salutation file 3-27 Screen Menu Options See NEXT record 5-2 See PREVIOUS record 5-2 GET record to screen 5-2 SEARCH file for record 5-3 CONTINUE search for next match 5-4 ADD record to file 5-4 DELETE record from file 5-5 EDIT record on screen 5-5 TOTAL records in file 5-5 RETURN to Master Menu 5-5 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-75 Print HARDCOPY of screen 5-9 using the ESCape key 5-9 Update 5-6 scroll lock 5-9 SEARCH 5-3 select all records 4-3 select block of records 4-3 select codes 3-26 Select Records Menu 4-2 setting system date 8-12 setup Chapter 2 software license 1-3 sort file 8-12 sorting records 4-9 startup C-1 Status of the Special Keys 5-8 summary of Cursor Control Movements 5-8 System Setup Appendix C & Chapter 2 System Utilities Menu 3-28, 8-2 *** T *** TOTAL 5-5 *** U *** up arrow 5-8 use defined selection format 4-7 use last selection format 4-8 *** V *** *** W *** Warranty Agreement 1-3 *** Y *** *** Z *** zip code 8-4 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-76