Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr02/wjs12e.zip/WJS.HLP

Text File | 1993-07-01 | 15KB | 255 lines

Tutorial TopicsThis first set of topics (up to Ending the Programme)
 explains concepts to give you an understanding of how WJS works. The
 topics from File on down through Preferences & Help give you information
 on how to use a specific item on WJS's menus.


Adding new jobsNew jobs are added on the Jobs/General Information screen.
 Near the bottom of the screen you will see reminders for the available
 function keys, including Ins and Del. Press the |Insert| key (often labelled
 |Ins|) to add new jobs. Press the |Delete| key (often labelled |Del|) to
 permanently remove jobs from the file.~~|NOTES|~~There is no way to retrieve
 a job that has been deleted (which means simply that you would have to
 re-enter it).


Ending the programme (return to DOS)When you are finished using WJS and want
 to end the programme just select the E|x|it option under the |F|ile menu.
 If all menus are closed, just press |Fx|, or you can highlight the File
 menu then use the down arrow to highlight Exit then press ─┘Enter.


Function keysNear the bottom of the screen you will see function keys
 and their definitions (which change from screen to screen). The definition
 of the keys is the same as the Timerberline estimating package, which some
 contractors may be using. Where possible, WVH also accepts other typical
 function keys (such as Esc for exiting a screen in addition to the
 Timberline F2-key).


How to number jobsWJS enforces a specific type of numbering system to help
 keep things organized without much complexity. The numbering format is
 |AYY###| where |A| is a letter A-Z, |YY| is the year, and |###| is the job
 number.~~Your jobs will have a letter (A-Z) followed by the last two digits
 of the year (e.g., "92") and a three digit code (000 through 999). This
 allows you to have 26 different categories, departments, or any other type of
 grouping you want using the letters A through Z, and have up to one thousand
 jobs (000-999) per letter.~~WJS will suggest the next available job number
 whenever you add a new job.


How to print the documentationThere are four documentation files which came
 with your copy of WJS:~~1. |READ.ME| ── Things to know before using WJS and
 tips to help get you started~2. |WJS.TXT| ── ASCII text file of the shareware
 manual (which differs from the more in-depth printed manual)~3. |WJS.WP| ──
 WordPerfect 5 file of the shareware manual~4. |ORDER.FRM| ── A blank invoice
 for ordering all of my software (an invoice & registration form is included
 in the WJS.TXT and WJS.WP files).~~Go to the DOS prompt and change to your
 WVH directory (e.g., "cd \wvh").  Now, to |display| one of the ASCII
 files:~~|| Type "|LIST filename|" - If you have LIST in your computer you
 will see the file appear almost instantly~~|| If you don't have LIST (the
 computer said 'bad command or file name') then use "|MORE < filename|"~~To
 |print| a file enter "|TYPE filename > PRN|"~~If you have WordPerfect just
 load WJS.WP. You will see instructions in a comment inside the file.


How to registerIt's easy to get the latest Registered Edition of WJS.~~ |1.|
 Enter "TYPE ORDER.FRM > PRN" at the DOS prompt (without the quotation marks)
 to print the order form.~~|2.| Fill in and send it with payment to 28
 Mulberry Street, Clinton, NY USA 13323-1506. Your Registered Edition disk
 with automated installation will arrive in 1-4 weeks.


Menu UsageThe menu you see near the top of your screen is my informal
 understanding of an SAA- or CUA-compliant menu. It is the same type of
 menu you will find in Windows, Gem, QuickBASIC, and "Mac"
 computers.~~WJS's menu, which is on the second line of your screen, is
 two-dimensional: there are |menu headings| horizontally and under each
 of these are the actual |menu items|. There are two ways to choose a
 menu item:~~1. Use the right, left, up, and down arrows to highlight
 the item you want then press |─┘Enter|, or~~2. Press the highlighted
 letter of the menu item~~For example, you can press |F| then |x| to
 exit WJS, or highlight |File| then press the down arrow and highlight
 |Exit| then press |─┘Enter|.~~|NOTES|~~To pull-down (|open|) a menu just
 highlight it then press |─┘Enter| or the |down-arrow| key.~~To |close|
 a menu just press the |Esc| key. It is not necessary to close a menu.
 You can use the right/left arrows with the menus opened to browse all
 of the options. Usually the only reason to close a menu is so you can
 use the letters instead of arrows (e.g., if you had the File menu open
 and wanted to use the Help Index you could press Esc to close the File
 menu then press |H|-|I| to jump to the Help Index).


Status LineAt the bottom of your screen is a line in reverse video
 (black on white) which gives you the statistics of your system. It
 looks like this:~~|##,### jobs│###,### lines │ 01-01-1980|~~ From left
 to right the items are:~
 1. Total unique job numbers on file~
 2. Total number of lines of data~
 3. To-day's date (so far as the computer knows)

FileThis menu works with your data files.  There are functions to make
 back-up copies to floppy disk, restore copies from floppy disk, format
 floppy disks, and exit (end) the programme.


Year-end Close-outUse this function to clear old data from the file. If a
 previous JOBS.BAK file exists it will be erased, then the job file will be
 copied to JOBS.BAK. This is a safety measure but it does not give you very
 much protection. It is always best to make a floppy disk (or tape) copy of
 your data before closing-out previous years' data.~~|NOTES|~~The
 year-to-date summary will remain on file for the Summary report ── only the
 detail will be erased.


Rebuild indicesNow and then you may experience a power outage or some
 other mishap that causes your information to look strange or vanish (!).
 WJS uses index files for faster access to data, and it is these indices
 that can be damaged. So if things aren't right try this option and
 your data will probably re-appear in the proper sequence. This function
 also serves to re-calculate year-to-date figures.


Back-upMakes a back-up copy of your data files. You must have a formatted
 floppy disk ready. You can use the same back-up disk over and over again (the
 new copy will over-write the old one), but it may be a good idea to alternate
 at least three back-up copies.~~|NOTES|~~Use a rotating back-up scheme with
 at least three sets of disks or tapes.~~When the work you've done since your
 last back-up becomes too much to lose, it's time to make another
 back-up.~~See Preferences Back-up for information on selecting a back-up
 method. Using compression software for back-ups requires more memory than
 DOS. |Use Help/About| to see your free memory.~~|| ARJ 2.30 needs at least
 |242k| free while WVH is running~~|| LHARC 2.13 needs at least |189k|
 free~~|| PKZip 1.1 needs at least |119k| free


RestoreUse this to recover your data files from a back-up copy ── this is
 the opposite of the Back-up function ── if data files become damaged or are
 accidentally erased.~~|CAUTION|~~Restoring data files |replaces| the existing
 files with the ones on the back-up disk.~~If you want to restore only |some|
 of the files and not others ── say you want to restore the year-to-date
 file but not the jobs files ── do so manually from the DOS prompt.


Format FloppiesBefore you use a floppy disk it must be formatted. When you
 select this option a search for the file WFF.EXE is made.  If found, What
 Floppy Format? is run; otherwise, you will be asked for the drive and type of
 disk you wish to format.~~|CAUTION|~~Formatting completely erases any
 information which may be on a disk.~~|NOTES|~~Your DOS |path| must point to
 |format.com| (which is probably in your DOS directory). If it does not you
 will see 'Bad command or file name' flash on your screen and disks will not be
 formatted.


ExitEnd the program.

JobsThis is the data entry menu.  Use it to enter new jobs or change
 information about jobs already on file.


General InfoThis screen is where you enter job numbers, descriptions, bid
 status, bid amount, and bid date information.  New jobs can only added on this
 screen.~~|NOTES|~~Check the Preferences/Fiscal Year screen for settings which
 affect automatic job numbering.


Costs & EstimatesUse this screen to enter the figures needed by the bonding
 company on the Work On-hand Report.  You can only enter figures for jobs which
 have been entered on the General Info screen.

ReportsThis menu lets you display or print the information on file.  You will
 be asked if you want the report to go to the screen, a printer, or a disk
 file.


Daily ActivityPrints a summary of statistics on one page.


Job StatusThis report will list all jobs on file with a particular status. A
 menu of status settings will be shown from which you may select any or all.
 Just press the |space bar| to toggle inclusion of the highlighted status.


SummaryPrints a year-to-date summary of statistics on one page.


Work On HandThis is the report used for bonding companies.  It includes only
 those jobs with status |Y| (yes).  The figures for this report are entered on
 the Costs & Estimates data entry screen.

PreferencesThis menu establishes operating guidelines for WJS.


Fiscal YearPref_FYThis screen lets you set your fiscal year & preferred job
 letter. Fiscal year settings determine the range of months used on reports.
 The default job letter setting determines the automatically generated job
 codes when you press Insert on the Jobs/General Information
 screen.~~|EXAMPLES|~~|√| If your fiscal year begins in April your 1992 fiscal
 year would be from 4/1/92 to 3/31/93.~~|√| If your fiscal year begins in July
 through December, WJS will assume that you will want the next calendar year
 to be applied (for example, a December start date for your 1993 fiscal year
 would be assumed to be 12/1/92 to 11/30/93).~~You can adjust the fiscal year
 number on the second line so that 12/1/92 to 11/30/93 can be your 1992 fiscal
 year if you prefer.


Operating choicesPref_OpsPreviously there had been seperate Back-up and
 Country screens; now they have been merged into this one with new options
 added.~~1. Back-up method determines whether or not compression software is
 used for back-up copies~~2. Country determines your home country, zip code
 format, etc.~~3. Directory format determines how files will be displayed.

Back-upPref_BackupPress the |F3| key to set this field ── a menu of choices
 will appear from which you may highlight a choice & press |─┘Enter|~~Allows
 you to set the method for backing-up your data files. Use DOS' COPY or ARJ,
 LHArc, or PKZip compression software available which is in your DOS
 path.~~Compression software will typically pack 2-10 times the data in the
 same space so even a 360k floppy can hold megabytes of back-up
 data.~~|NOTES|~~Using compression software requires more memory. Use
 |Help/About| to see your free memory.~~|| ARJ 2.30 needs at least |300k|
 free~|| LHARC 2.13 needs at least |189k| free~|| PKZip 1.1 needs at least
 |119k| free~See also the File/Backup help for more information.

CountryPref_CountryPress the |F3| key to set this field ── a menu of
 choices will appear from which you may highlight a choice & press
 |─┘Enter|~~This option is not used by WJS at this time.

Directory FormatPref_DirFmtPress the |F3| key to set this field ── a menu
 of choices will appear from which you may highlight a choice & press
 |─┘Enter|.~~Lists of files can be displayed in one of three formats:~~1. DOS
 file name first, followed by size, date, and description~~2. DOS file name
 only~~3. Description followed by DOS file name, size, and date.~~Files are
 organized alphabetically from left to right, so option #1 will sort the list
 on the DOS file name whereas option #3 will sort the list according to the
 description.~~WJS does not yet use this feature.

Beep On Errors?Pref_ErrSndPress the |F3| key to set this field ── a menu of
 choices will appear from which you may highlight a choice & press
 |─┘Enter|.~~You can specify whether you want WJS to be silent or use a tone
 to alert you of errors. There are three sounds which can be used - tick,
 squeak, and generic beep.


PrintersPref_PtrDefine the printer you will use, including fonts. Use the
 up and down arrows to move between the fields, and press the |F3| key to open
 a window of choices when you see |F3/List| displayed near the bottom of your
 screen. For help with a particular field, position the cursor on the field
 and press the |F10| key.

Printer PortPref_PtrPortThis is the "channel" WJS will use to access your
 printer ── LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3. If you only have one printer it is probably
 connected to LPT1.

Setting Printer ModelPref_PtrSetOn this line you define the printer you
 will be using so that WJS knows how to control it properly. Many printers,
 even different brands, use the same control codes. If your printer is not on
 the list look in your manual to find a model it emulates. Dot matrix printers
 are usually Epson or IBM compatible.~~To set this field:~~|1.| Press the |F3|
 key or double-click with a mouse. A window of printer choices will "pop up"
 on your screen.~~|2.| Use the up/down/PgUp/PgDn keys to highlight your choice
 then press ─┘Enter.

Titles FontPref_TtlFontSelect the font you would like to use to print
 report titles.~~To set this field:~~|1.| Press the |F3| key or double-click
 with a mouse. A window of font choices will "pop up" on your screen.~~|2.|
 Use the up/down/PgUp/PgDn keys to highlight your choice then press
 ─┘Enter.~~|3.| If the font is scalable you will be asked to enter the size
 of print you would like to use.~~|NOTES|~~Reports are printed in portrait
 orientation. A soft font will have to end in .SFP to be used for report
 titles.

Normal FontPref_NormFontSelect the font you would like to use to print the
 body of reports.~~To set this field:~~|1.| Press the |F3| key or double-click
 with a mouse. A window of font choices will "pop up" on your screen.~~|2.|
 Use the up/down/PgUp/PgDn keys to highlight your choice then press
 ─┘Enter.~~|3.| If the font is scalable you will be asked to enter the size
 of print you would like to use.~~|NOTES|~~Reports are printed in portrait
 orientation. A soft font will have to end in .SFP to be used for report
 titles.

Lines per pagePref_LPPEnter the number of lines (maximum) you would like
 printed on a page. Most printers have a total of 66 lines on an 11" long
 sheet of paper except for lasers which have 60. You will probably have a top
 margin, however, which will reduce the number of printable lines, and you
 will probably want a bottom margin, too. For printers with 66 lines per page
 a setting of 55 is good. For laser printers with 60 lines per page a setting
 of 50 may be better.