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MANUAL.TXT
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1996-01-22
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FundRaiser Basic
The Best Little FundRaising Program
In the World
Users Manual
Version 1.44
Effective Date: January 22, 1996
(C) Copyright 1994-1996 All Rights Reserved Worldwide
by:
Gene Weinbeck
Professional Support Software
106 Garfield Ave
PO Box 901
West Plains, MO 65775 USA
Welcome to FundRaiser Basic, known affectionately as FRB; and
thank you for choosing the baby of our fundraising-software
family.
If you're new to fundraising software, you may not fully
appreciate what a novelty you've found! FRB is the Volkswagen
Bug of fundraising software. It is the easiest to use (and
learn) donor management program available in the world today.
And FRB is complete, so you don't need any other program, not
even a word processor.
With FRB, you can:
* keep track of up to one million donors, each with an
unlimited number of contributions
* print thank-you letters and labels easily and quickly
* print deposit reports for your bank, bookkeeper, or
executive director
* target a particular group of potential donors to send an
appeal letter to
* print the appeal letter and labels for that targeted group
* print a variety of reports for that same group, or another
* import from your existing mailing list
* export your list to another program
* upgrade later to the more powerful FundRaiser Jr. or
FundRaiser Professional at a discount, and without losing
any of your work
You'll find that:
* time-consuming tasks, like thank-you letters, get done
quickly and almost without thought
* you have more time to accomplish other important projects
* you can locate any detail about any donor whenever you like
* your donors appreciate the increased connection they feel
with you and your organization, and so give more, and more
often
If you're looking for a fundraising program to automate the
basic tasks of fundraising for you, that's easy to learn and to
use, and which you can afford (even if you have to buy it
yourself), then you're in the right place! Keep reading.
Gene Weinbeck
President and Chief Bit Byter
Table of Contents
Welcome 2
Hardware Requirements 4
Support Policy 4
Evaluation Period 4
License Agreement 6
Installation Procedures 7
Introduction 8
Basic Routine 13
Screen-by-Screen Reference 19
Opening Menu 20
Names Screen 22
Letters Screen 32
Printing Menu 35
Printing Thank-yous 35
Deposit Report 36
Donation Report 36
Appeals Letters 37
Criteria Selection 38
Select Printer Type 40
File Maintenance 42
Registration 43
Customization Menu 47
Importing 49
Exporting 55
Form Letters 56
Overview 56
Mail-merge Functions 58
Mail-merge Fields 64
Troubleshooting 66
Miscellaneous
Disk Errors, CHKDSK, SCANDISK 70
Backing Up 73
Running FRB through Windows 76
Running FRB from a Floppy 77
dBase Compatibility 77
-3-
Hardware Requirements
---------------------
All programs have minimum requirements that are necessary for
them to run properly. FundRaiser Basic is no exception:
Item Minimum Recommended
--------------- ---------------------- ----------------------
Computer any IBM compatible 386 or newer computer
Monitor any color VGA
DOS version 3.30 version 5.0 or higher
Disk hard disk or hard disk: 1Mb + 1Mb
high density floppy per 1000 names
Memory
Conventional 640k (510k free) 640k
Expanded* not required 1Mb (total of 2Mb)
Printer any, including laser any
* EMS memory must be LIM 4.0 compliant (which it probably is)
Support Policy
--------------
Support will be provided without charge on a priority basis
to registered users during the three months following registration.
Call 417-256-4280 during business hours (Central US time zone);
or fax your question to us at 417-256-6370. You may also contact
us by fax, email, or "snail mail". We also maintain a BBS on
which you may leave questions, talk with other fundraisers, and
download interesting fundraising information.
Bugs will be fixed at no charge for one year following
registration, if possible. If not possible, a full refund will
be offered. Please see the section in this manual on Errors for
a description of how best to notify us of a bug, so that we can
duplicate it at our office and then fix it.
Support will be provided to non-registered users, and to
registered users beyond the free support period, on a
non-priority basis. Extensive support, if needed, will be
charged on a time-and-materials basis, charged to a Visa or
Mastercard account.
Evaluation Period
-----------------
You may have received this copy of FRB in either of two ways:
directly from us as a pre-registered copy, or as shareware from
a friend, bulletin board, catalog, etc. In both cases, we make
essentially the same offer to you: try it for up to two months,
risk-free. If you don't like it, it will cost you nothing.
-4-
If you purchased directly from us:
Give FRB a real workout for 2 months If after that time you
decide that you don't like it, you may return the package of
disk(s) and manual for a full refund. You must also erase all
copies of the program from your computer(s). If you return the
program, we'd appreciate your taking a few moments to tell us why.
If you obtained FRB as shareware:
You are encouraged to use FRB for 30-60 days prior to obtaining
a permanent license (see the section in this manual on
Registering). If after that time you decide that you won't use
it, please erase it from your computer and don't send us any
money - although we wouldn't mind hearing how and why it failed
to please you.
FundRaiser comes with a 60-day/16-usage (whichever is longer)
evaluation period. At the end of that period, the printing
functions will be disabled. Your data, and all other program
features, will remain intact so that you can continue to
maintain your data.
This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware
related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly,
ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman (OMB) can help you resolve
a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide
technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP
Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 or send a
CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
The OMB may be contacted by FAX by sending to the ASP FAX number:
(616) 788-2765. In communication with the OMB please include a
telephone and/or FAX number if available.
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
-5-
License Agreement
-----------------
You may share this program (FRB.EXE) with anyone you
choose. You may not charge for sharing a copy unless
you comply with the provisions in file "Vendor.Doc". If you do
not have a copy of this file, and wish to distribute our
software for a fee (as in a shareware catalog), please contact
us. This authorization will be automatically granted to
distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its
guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may
begin offering FundRaiser Basic immediately (However PSS must
still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date
with the latest version.).
It is your responsibility to determine if the program
will work reliably on your equipment and for your particular
business environment. That's why a money-back guarantee and
evaluation copies are made available to you.
Professional Support Software / Edgewalker Enterprises Inc.
(PSS/EE) disclaims all warranties relating to this software,
whether express or implied, including but not limited to any
implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose, and all such warranties are expressly and
specifically disclaimed. Neither PSS/EE nor anyone else who has
been involved in the creation, production, or delivery of this
software shall be liable for any indirect, consequential, or
incidental damages arising out of the use or inability
to use such software even if PSS/EE has been advised of the
possibility of such damages or claims. In no event shall
PSS/EE's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid
for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of
claim. The person using the software bears all risks as to the
quality and performance of the software.
This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the
State of Missouri and shall inure to the benefit of PSS/EE and
any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action
or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising
out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a
state or federal court of competent jurisdiction located in
Howell County, Missouri. The parties hereby consent to in
personam jurisdiction of said courts.
- 6 -
Installation
------------
FundRaiser Basic has no specific installation requirements.
However, it simplifies things if it resides in its own
directory. We suggest a directory named \FRB, since all updates
will default to that directory name. However, you may install
it wherever you wish.
FundRaiser Basic needs to have 22 file handles. If you do not
have a FILES=22 (or higher) statement in your CONFIG.SYS file,
then FundRaiser Basic will offer to put one there for you.
If you want to run FRB from a floppy (see the last page of the
manual for more information), you must have a high-density
floppy for everything to fit. Please be advised that, even with
a high-density floppy, the number of names that can be recorded
will be limited, and that the program will operate VERY slowly.
HINT: To force FundRaiser Basic to display in monochrome
(sometimes helpful on a notebook computer), start the
program by typing: FRB M
To tell FundRaiser Basic that you are using an operating
system other than DOS (like (OS/2), start the program
by typing: FRB D
- 7 -
Introduction
------------
Welcome to FundRaiser Basic, the most complete, easy-to-use,
and inexpensive program available for "Tending Your Donor
Garden".
Menu System
-----------
To begin with, let's point out that FRB uses a menu system.
That simply means that, at most any screen in the program, you
will be given several actions (the "menu") to choose from. Each
action can be initiated by a particular keystroke; in most
cases, that keystroke is the first letter of the word which
describes the action to take.
For example, to Add a new record of information (like a name
with all its attendant data, or a code, etc.), the menu choice
is A, denoted by its being highlighted. Pressing A (either
upper or lower case) will initiate the process which allows you
to Add a new record. Likewise, to Change an existing record, the
menu choice is C, and pressing C will initiate that process.
There are two types of screens in FRB: menu and data. A menu
screen is simply a listing of choices from which you may
select. Sometimes, choosing from a menu screen will lead to a
data screen. In other cases, choosing from a menu screen will
initiate another process, such as Printing. A menu choice will
always be a single character (like A to Add), and you need not
press Enter after pressing that key. However, when entering
data (like a name or address), you must press Enter in each
entry field to indicate that you are done with that field and to
move on to the next.
A data screen, like the Names Screen, is a display of
information (like name and address) for a single record. Data
screens have their own menus, which are displayed at the bottom
of the screen. In data screens, you may Add, Change, Delete,
Search, move Forward and Backward through the records, and more.
ESCape key
----------
When you first enter FRB, the first screen you see is the
Opening Menu. You might think of this as the top-most point of
a pyramid. As you choose from this menu, you traverse down the
pyramid to other parts of the program. To return up the
pyramid, press ESCape once for each level you want to traverse.
If you get lost, just keep pressing ESCape until you find
yourself in a familiar area, or until you get all the way back to
the Opening Menu.
- 8 -
F1= HELP
--------
Be aware that you can, at any point in FRB, get HELP, by
pressing the F1 key. A Help screen will be displayed which
contains information about what you are doing at that particular
point. This is called "Context Sensitive" Help, because it
relates directly to the step that is being taken.
Entering Data
-------------
Entering data, like a name and address in the Names Screen, is
easy to do, and quick to learn. There are a few conventions
you'll find helpful:
* When you have completed your entry of data into an entry
field, you must press Enter to indicate that you have finished
with that field. The cursor (the little flashing line) will then
move to the next entry field.
* To move backward and forward within an entry field, and
without deleting any characters, use the left-arrow and
right-arrow cursor keys. To move in one-word jumps, hold the
Control key down while pressing the left-arrow or right-arrow
cursor key.
* To delete a character, use the backspace key (usually marked
with a left-pointing arrow, and above the Enter key) to delete
to the left, or the DELete key to delete the character under the
cursor.
* To insert characters, press the INSert key. You will notice
that INS appears at the top of the screen, indicating that you
are in INSert mode. Now anything you type will push the
characters that are under and to the right of the cursor over
(to the right) to make room for what you type. To go back to
overwrite mode, just press the INSert key again.
* To move up to a previous field, press the up-arrow key, even
if the entry field is to the left of the current one. To move
down to the next field, press either Enter or the down-arrow
key.
* To move to the beginning of an entry field, press Home. To
move to the end of a field, press End.
* To move to the first entry field on a screen, press
Control-Home. To move to the last one, press Control-End.
* If you have finished making your entries, and there are
additional fields on the screen (that you don't intend to fill
or change), you can press PgDn as a shortcut - instead of
pressing Enter several times in order to complete the screen.
- 9 -
* For those old-timers who grew up on Wordstar, you'll be happy
to know that the "magic diamond" is supported in FRB. If you
don't know what that means, don't worry about it!
Saving Data
-----------
When you have pressed Enter on the last entry field in a screen
(or taken the PgDn shortcut mentioned above), you will have
moved past the end of the data screen and your data will
automatically be saved. Sometimes a question will first appear,
asking "Is everything correct?". The point is that, except for
the word-processing sections, you never have to explicitly do
anything to save your data. It is saved for you, automatically,
when appropriate.
» Pop-up Pick-Lists
-------------------
At several points throughout FRB, there are places where you
can pop-up a pick-list or a "browse window" for more
information. The most common of these are for when you must
enter a code, and the pick-list gives you the code choices.
These spots are all marked with the special character, »
(double-right arrow). When you see this character, you can
press Control-Enter to pop up the list.
Once within this list, you can scroll through the list by
pressing the up-arrow and down-arrow keys to move one line at a
time, or PgUp and PgDn to move a whole screen at a time. To
select a record (to select a code to use, for instance), just
press Enter when that item is highlighted.
With most lists, you can Add, Change, Delete, and Search for
data, just as you do from within a standard data screen.
Word Processor
--------------
A simple word processor is built into FundRaiser Basic. While
it has none of the features you expect in today's full-featured
word processing programs (like block moves or spell checkers),
its basic operation is the same. The word processor is used in
the Letters Screen and in the Notes section of the Names Screen.
* As you type, you need not press Enter at the end of a line.
Your text will automatically "word-wrap" to the next line. You
should press e only at the end of a paragraph, or when you want
to indent the next line.
* Use the up-arrow, down-arrow, right-arrow, and left-arrow
keys, as well as the PgUp and PgDn keys, to move around in the
text. Do not use the Enter key to move down as you would use
- 10 -
the carriage return on a typewriter. While it may sometimes
appear as though it achieves the same end as pressing the
down-arrow key, it may actually insert a "hard return" where a
word-wrapped "soft return" was placed by the program, and may
confuse your editing.
* To move to the beginning of a line, press Home. To move to
the end of a line, press End.
* To move to the first line of the text, press Control-PgUp.
To move to the last line, press Control-PgDn.
* To delete a character, use the backspace key to delete to
the left, or the DELete key to delete the character under the
cursor.
* To insert characters, press the INSert key. You will notice
that INSert On appears at the top of the screen, indicating that
you are in INSert mode. Now anything you type will push the
characters that are under and to the right of the cursor over to
the right to make room for what you type. To go back to the
standard "overwrite" mode, just press INSert again.
* To insert a blank line, press INSert, press Enter, and then
press the INSert key again to toggle back to the overwrite mode.
* To erase an entire line, press Control-Y. To erase a word to
the right of the cursor, press Control-T.
* There are two ways to exit the word processor. Pressing F10
saves your text and exits. Pressing ESCape leaves it as it was
before, and exits.
* If after editing a paragraph, it is filled with short lines
and long lines, and you need to reformat it, first move to the
beginning line of the paragraph and then press Control-B. Any
lines that do not reformat invariably have a "hard return" at
their end. To replace that hard return with a word-wrap soft
return, move the cursor to that line, then press End to move to
the end of the line. Then press DELete to delete that hard
return. The line will then automatically word-wrap.
Printing
--------
There are several hundred different makes and models of
printers being sold these days. While many adhere to a few
basic standards, it is still a very confusing and complicated
part of computing.
In an effort to keep FRB as simple as possible, we wrote it to
require as few printer codes as possible. In most cases, only a
"reset" code is needed, which clears away any previous settings
left by other programs.
- 11 -
If you have not yet selected your printer type from the
Printing Menu, then the first time that you print anything in
FRB, you will be asked what kind of printer you have. We have
narrowed the "printer selection" possibilities to four: the
Epson standard for dot-matrix printers, the Hewlett-Packard (HP)
Laser Jet standard for laser printers, a "plain vanilla" option,
and a "custom" option. See the section of Select Printer Type
later in this manual for more details.
- 12 -
Basic Routine
-------------
This section is designed to introduce you to the flow of tasks
that will normally be followed using FRB. It is understood that
every nonprofit organization works a bit differently from every
other, and that you will be modifying the instructions found
here to fit your organization's needs and workstream. It is
hoped, however, that you will take the time to review the
following pages, in order to familiarize yourself with the
features of FRB.
In most cases, fundraising tasks follow a similar pattern:
entering donor name information, entering contributions,
printing deposit reports, and acknowledging (through thank-you
letters, etc.) contributions. Obviously, there's a lot more to
fundraising than this, but these are the basic tasks that we
require of our computer programs, and these tasks can be as
simple or as complex as necessary.
Entering Name Information
-------------------------
From the Opening Menu, press N, for Names Screen.
When you go to the Names Screen for the first time, before any
names have been entered, there is only one menu choice
available: Add. If any names have already been entered, the
most recently Added name will be displayed, and a full menu of
choices will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
To Add a name:
--------------
1) Press A, for Add. The display will change to a blank form,
and the cursor will be moved to the first entry field, which
will display "Type First Name Here". This message will
disappear when you begin to type.
2) Type in the First Name, if any, and press Enter. The cursor
will then move to the next field, which will display "Type Last
Name Here". This message will disappear when you begin to type.
3) Type in the Last Name, and press Enter. The cursor will be
placed in the Contact field. At this point, you will notice
that the menu area at the bottom of the screen has changed to
include four function key choices to help in entering names. You
may use these choices here in the label section, as well as in
the Salutation field, to reduce the number of keystrokes
required to enter information. Every little bit helps, so
experiment with them.
- 13 -
4) Fill in the mailing label information, exactly as you wish
it to appear on letters and other correspondence. Remember to
capitalize normally. What you type here will appear in your
letters. FRB uses the most recently entered City, State, and
Zip as "defaults". You may accept these, by pressing e; or
change them, by simply typing over them. This feature, too, is
designed to save keystrokes and time.
5) Enter the "Dear . . ." form of the name. This is the
Salutation form, and is used in mail-merge form letters. In
general, it is better to be too formal than too familiar. Do
not include the word "Dear", but just type the name as you want
it used in the "Dear John" / "Dear Mr. Smith" part of a letter.
6) Enter phone numbers. There is room for both home and office
numbers. Both should be filled in, if known, on the theory that
it is always better to have too much information than not
enough. There is generally room at the end of the number for a
note or extension number.
7) Enter Donor Type Code. This code is used to sort people into
groups, when printing letters, etc. It was designed for codes
such as: IND for individual, BUS for business, FOU for
foundation, etc. It may also be left blank. You can pop-up a
list of all the available codes by pressing Control-Enter, and
then pressing Enter on the desired code. You can also add a new
code at this time simply by entering it. When FRB asks you what
the code stands for, simply type its description.
8) Enter Category Code. This code is also used to sort people
into groups, but was designed for more specific uses. Examples:
BRD for Board member; POL for politician; SOC for Social
issues. Again, this may be left blank; and you can tell by the
» character that you can pop-up a list of available codes to
choose from.
And that's all there is to it! You've now entered your first
name record into FRB. To Add another name, simply press A, and
repeat the process.
To Change an existing record:
-----------------------------
1) Search for the particular record you want. Press S. You
may Search in one of four ways: by Name (last/first), by Account
Number, by Category Code, or by Address (State/City/Delivery
Address).
2) Next, press N to Search by Name. A screen will be displayed
with the cursor in the Last Name field. Enter the complete Last
Name, or as much of it as you can. If you enter a complete Last
Name, then you may enter a First Name, or as much of it as you
- 14 -
want. In either case, once these fields have been entered, FRB
will arrange all the names in alphabetical order, and display
the name that comes closest to matching what you've entered. If
the name is not the one you want, move Forward and Backward
through the names to find the correct one.
3) Once the desired name is displayed, press C to Change. The
cursor will be placed in the First Name entry field, ready for
you to edit the information. You may press Enter to move on to
the next field, or press w to move back to a field you passed
over. Edit information by merely typing over what's there. When
you have made all the changes you wish to for this name record,
either press Enter several times to move through the rest of the
fields, or press PgDn, which will accept the entire record. You
will be ask if everything is correct; if you answer No, the
cursor will go back to the First Name field, and you may try
again.
To enter Contribution Information:
----------------------------------
After a name is entered, you may, at any time, add
Contribution information. If the name you want to record the
contribution for is not the one displayed, Search for the
correct one. Once the correct name is displayed, you have two
choices: F8 and F9.
F8: This choice will display a window in which you may view all
of the contributions on file for the displayed name. While this
window is displayed, you may Add a contribution, Change or
Delete an existing contribution, and scroll up/down to view
contributions if there are more than can be displayed on a
single screen.
F9: This choice allows you to Add a single contribution,
without displaying other contributions recorded for the
displayed name.
1) Press F9 (or press F8 and then A). The cursor will be placed
in the Amount field of a new contribution record for the name
record displayed.
2) Type in the Amount and press Enter. The cursor will move to
the next entry field.
3) Type in the Date of the contribution and press Enter. This
date is, typically, the date the contribution was made, which
may not correspond to the date that you are actually entering
information. This can be critical for donors who have written
checks in late December to take advantage of income-tax laws.
FRB keeps track of the actual computer-entry date, as well, so
- 15 -
that your deposit reports will be handled properly. Once the
date is entered, the cursor will move to the next entry field.
4) Type in the Source Code and press Enter. Many organizations
want to be able to track the reasons people have given a
contribution. In some cases it may be a particular appeals
letter, in others a special event. Using the Source code allows
you to sort into groups those people who have given for similar
reasons. This field may be left blank. When you press Enter,
the cursor moves to the next field.
5) Type in the "Send TYL" instructions: Y or N. This tells FRB
whether or not you will want to send a Thank-you letter for this
donation. This is very important, since the Thank-you letter
printing is automated, and uses this field to determine which
contributions to print letters for.
And that's it -- contribution recorded!
Deposit Reports
---------------
Once contributions are entered for the day (or week, or
whatever period your organization uses), you'll want to make a
deposit report. This report gives you a double-check to ensure
that all amounts and entries are correct. If this deposit
report doesn't match your bank deposit slip, then you'll need to
find the discrepancy and correct it, either in the deposit slip
or in the contribution entries in FRB.
From the Opening Menu, press P for Printing Menu, then press
D for Deposit Report.
You will be presented with a screen that explains what to do.
There are two entry fields into which you enter beginning and
ending dates for FRB to consider when creating the report. If
you make daily deposits, then the default dates (today's date)
will be correct, since you want to know what was entered into
the computer today. If you make deposits on some other basis,
like weekly, then you'll need to enter those dates.
Keep in mind that this date range determines the Entry Dates
that will be included in the report. These are the dates that
someone actually sat at the computer and entered the
contributions. They probably don't correspond to the
Contribution Dates entered by the operator when the donations
were recorded.
After entering the appropriate date range, make sure the
printer is turned on, has paper in it, and then follow the
prompts that come up on the screen to complete the process.
- 16 -
Printing Thank-you Letters
--------------------------
The single most important part of a fundraiser's job is to
express thanks to those who contribute to the organization. In
the case of major contributors, this is often done in person and
sometimes in a public ceremony of some kind. To the majority of
donors, however, thank-you letters are sent. These are the
people who give smaller amounts, the $10 or $25 givers, who are
the backbone of most nonprofits' fundraising efforts. And,
despite what they themselves may say openly, all donors want to
be recognized in some way for their generosity. In most cases,
a simple (and prompt) thank-you letter fills this need. A few
donors may instruct you to not send a thank-you letter. It is
important that you follow their wishes. We suggest that you put
an easily noticed reminder on the first line of Notes to that
effect... something like: *** NO thank-you's ***
To make this process less time-consuming, FRB uses a built-in
word processor to allow you to write "form" letters. You do so
in the Letters Screen. These form letters can be used with
mail-merge functions that ensure that the proper information is
inserted into the letter at the proper place. There is one
letter, coded TYL and named "Generic Thank-you", that is always
used as the Thank-you letter. The text of the letter can be
modified, of course, to fit your organization's needs.
Now let's look at the printing process:
1) Make certain that the printer is loaded with the proper
paper, that it is turned on, is on-line, and ready to go.
2) From the Opening Menu, press P for the Printing Menu, then Y
for Thank-You Letters.
NOTE: The menu choice of Y, instead of the more obvious T, is
carried over from FundRaiser Jr. and FundRaiser Professional.
Our policy is to maintain as much consistency among the
FundRaiser family of programs as possible. This makes it easier
for those organizations which eventually step up to one of the
more powerful programs to make the transition.
The next screen will explain what is about to happen, and will
require you to press Y to continue. Once you have confirmed
that the printer is ready, printing will begin.
Easy, isn't it? Remember, when recording the individual
contributions, they are marked as to whether or not to print a
Thank-you letter. FRB simply looks at each contribution, and
prints the letter coded TYL for each one that has been marked
with a Y. During the printing process, of course, contribution
information is matched to the right name and address, and all
mail-merge information is included.
- 17 -
Once all thank-you letters are printed for the day (or week),
then you may want to print mailing labels for them. If so,
simply make that choice from the menu, make certain labels are
loaded in the printer, and follow the instructions that come up
on the screen.
At the end of the printing session, when all Thank-you letters
and labels have been printed, and you've verified that
everything is as it should be, you can have FRB change all the
"Send TY?" marks on the individual contributions to N, which
will make sure that you don't send another thank-you letter for
these contributions.
That covers the routine tasks that FRB is designed to carry out
for you. Lots easier than doing it all by hand, isn't it?! And
that may be enough for now. But do plan on spending some time
with the rest of this manual -- there's lots more to learn and
try.
- 18 -
Screen by Screen Reference Section
----------------------------------
This section of the manual looks at each of FundRaiser Basic's
screens in detail.
Each screen explanation contains the following:
1. Overview
2. Data to be entered or Options to be selected
3. Menu choices or Step-by-Step procedures
Contents
--------
Opening Menu 20
Names Screen 22
Letters Screen 32
Printing Menu 35
File Maintenance 42
Registration Menu 43
Customization Menu 47
Importing 49
Exporting 55
- 19 -
The Opening Menu
----------------
FundRaiser Basic is "menu-driven", which means that, rather
than entering complex commands, you are shown menus from which
you make choices. The Opening Menu is the hub of FRB, the point
from which you begin and end your work with the program, and
from which you can move to the different sections of the
program.
As you look at this screen, you'll see that at the top is the
legend: Opening Menu. (All the screens in FRB will tell you
where you are in the program.) Below that, on the top left of
the screen is the current version number of FRB, and the date
that version was released. In the center, just below "Opening
Menu", is the name of the person or organization to whom this
copy has been registered.
On the right, is today's date, as reported by your computer.
It is important that this date be correct. If it is not, you
should exit to the DOS prompt, and type the word: DATE, and
press Enter. It will report the date that it thinks is today's,
and will then give you an opportunity to change it.
At the very bottom you will see a reminder that Help is only
a keystroke away. Any time you need help, press F1 for a screen
full of helpful information that relates exactly and
specifically to what you are doing at the time.
To go to a particular section, press the key which corresponds
to the highlighted letter of your choice. You may need to
adjust the brightness and contrast on your monitor, if you can't
tell what is highlighted.
Names Screen is the main data entry screen where you maintain
names, addresses and contributions.
Letters Screen -- Here you create, test, and edit form letters
that are to be mail-merged with information from the Names
Screen. From simple thank-you letters to sophisticated appeals
letters, all letters are maintained in this section.
Printing Menu -- From this menu you do all printing, including
Thank-you letters and labels, Appeals letters and labels, Deposit
Reports, various Names Listings, and a Codes Listing. You also
tell FRB what kind of printer you have.
File Maintenance -- FRB uses over 20 different database files
and indexes. This section does "housekeeping" on those files to
keep them running clean and smooth. It erases all names, gifts,
codes and letters that you have marked for deletion; and it
- 20 -
rebuilds all the index files (which are the things that keep
everything in the right order, and lets you quickly Search for
an item).
You should run File Maintenance often: weekly if you use the
prgram twice or more in a week; otherwise at least monthly. It
doesn't hurt to run it more often.
Registration -- If you received FRB from a friend or off a
bulletin board, and have not yet paid for it, then this section
is for you. It provides a way to register your copy, gives some
good incentives for you to do so, and also provides an easy way
for you to make a copy to pass on to another friend.
Customization -- This is also known as Configuration, Setup,
or Preferences in some programs. Here you select screen colors,
printer type, and various program defaults.
Importing -- If you have a mailing list in another program
that you want to bring into FRB, here is where you do it.
Exporting -- If you want to use your FundRaiser list in
another program, then you must export it to a file that the
other program can import.
Exit -- eXit is how you leave FundRaiser Basic. DO NOT turn
the computer off until after you have exited FRB. Valuable
information could be lost otherwise.
- 21 -
Names Screen
------------
--------------
-- Overview --
--------------
The Names Screen is the most-used section of FundRaiser
Basic, since it is at this screen that data entry for almost all
records is accomplished. Whether entering the name of a donor or
prospect for the first time or updating the address or recording
a contribution, the job of entering information is performed
here.
The screen is composed of two distinct areas: data and menu.
The data area is the largest; it is bordered on the top and
bottom by double lines. It is subdivided into three sections:
- Mailing related (top left)
- Miscellaneous (top right)
- Notes (bottom)
In addition to the data displayed in this area is a "window"
of contribution data, which overlays this section.
Below the data is the menu area. Listed here are all the
things you can do in the Names Screen. In order to do them, you
press the key that matches the highlighted letter in your
choice.
---------------
-- Data Area --
---------------
Search Name (First/Last)
------------------------
There are actually two entry fields here, the first and last
name. They are used as the object of Searches and to aid in
catching duplicate names. Because this name is not used on
labels or in form letters, you can configure the name in
whatever way is most helpful to you. For example, if you have a
list of churches, you can "Church" as the last name, and the
name of the church as the first name. This way, all churches are
grouped together, yet any individual church can be easily found.
When you add a new name to the list, the words "type First
Name here" will appear in the entry block for First Name, and
the words "type Last Name here" will appear in the block for
Last Name. These are to remind you (and your volunteers) which
part of the name goes where. As soon as you start to type
something in, the messages disappear.
- 22 -
Even though this name will be used as the object of Searches,
you need not enter the name in all upper case. Whenever FRB
needs something to be all upper case, it will force your entries
to upper case for you automatically.
When you add a new name to the list, the Search Name is
compared against all other names in the list to see if there is
a possible duplicate. It checks the full Last Name and the
first character of the First Name (which will catch any
duplicate Jim's appearing as James or Jimmy). If FRB finds a
possible duplicate, you will be notified by a beep, and given
the opportunity to view a list of potentially duplicate names
(you can also temporarily disable this feature by telling it to
"Stop Asking"). You can also disable this feature in the
Customization Menu.
Please note that you may move up and down through the list by
pressing the up and down arrow keys, and also by pressing PgUp
and PgDn keys.
The first column, marked ND, may appear to be a little
cryptic at first. If there are any Notes attached to the name,
a musical note will appear in this column. To view or edit
these notes, press N. Also, if the name is marked for deletion,
a "D" will appear in the column.
There is more information available than can be displayed at
one time. To view this information, like address, phone
numbers, codes, etc.), use the right-arrow key to move to the
right past the edge of the window. To return, just press the
left-arrow key.
To get out of the window and return to what you were doing,
just press ESCape.
THE MAILING LABEL AREA
----------------------
The US Postal Service always looks at addresses from the bottom
up: zip code first, then city/state if needed; then at the
Delivery line, then at the Secondary line, if any; and finally
at the Mail Name and/or Contact Name. You need to be aware of
this as you enter data, so that retrieving information is a
uniform and easy process. Make sure that you follow the
capitalization and punctuation rules you would follow in typing a
letter, so that it will look good in correspondence. Note that,
while Adding or Changing a name, you have the option of using
some function keys, to have FRB insert words like "Mr. and
Mrs.", or the Last Name, or the First Name, or both First and
Last Names. This can save you keystrokes by the thousands.
- 23 -
Contact
-------
The intended use of this area is to record the name of a
business's contact person, but it may be used for other
purposes. One thing to remember about this field is that it
will always be printed as the first line of an address block
(for labels and in Form Letters), unless it is empty, in which
case the first line will be the "Mailing Name".
Mailing Name
------------
This is the name to whom the Post Office will deliver mail. In
the case of businesses, it should be the business name.
Secondary and Delivery Addresses
--------------------------------
These lines are for the (up to) two address lines. If you have
both a street address and a PO Box, you should put the one to
which you want your mail delivered on the second line, the
Delivery Address. If you have only one address line, it should
go on the second line. In fact, if you enter a Secondary
Address and not a Delivery Address, FRB automatically moves the
incorrectly placed address for you.
City
----
When you are Adding names, this field may already have
something in it, because FRB automatically uses the city that
was last entered. This can save keystrokes when entering a lot
of new names from the same city. And when you want to overwrite
that "default" city, just start typing, and the unwanted city
name will disappear. Do not put a comma aftter the city name.
State
-----
This 2-character state code will always appear in uppercase
letters, so you don't need to use the shift key. Your entry is
always checked against existing codes being used. If a code is
entered which has not yet been registered, FRB tells you so, and
asks if you want to register the code. If you are unsure, answer
No, and use the Control-Enter key combination to see what state
codes (with descriptions) have been registered so far.
After you press Enter, FundRaiser Basic will check to see if
there are any other names with the same address (in a manner
identical to its duplicate name checking described above under
Search Name). It compares the Delivery Address line, City, and
State. If it finds any duplicates it will offer to display them
on the screen. As with the duplicate name checking, you can
also instruct FundRaiser Basic to stop checking, and can disable
this feature in the Customization Menu.
- 24 -
Postal Zip Code
---------------
There are ten spaces provided for the postal code, which is
sufficient for the US Zip+4 code, Canadian codes, and most other
international postal codes. For the US, please be aware that
the code must be either a full 5 digits, or 9 digits with a
hyphen between the 5th and 6th numbers.
Salutation Name (Dear ...)
--------------------------
This is the name that is to be used as the salutation of a
letter. In some cases, you will want to use the familiar name,
in others a more formal one. The entry you make in this field
is the "So and so" of "Dear So and So". Do not enter the word
"Dear", or put a comma after the name. If you are uncertain what
to enter here, we suggest the conservative approach; use "Mr.
and Mrs. Soandso", or "Ms. So" . . . better to err on the side of
too formal rather than too familiar.
First Entered
-------------
This is the date that you first entered this name into the
computer. It is assigned by FRB (it looks at your system clock
when you add a name) and cannot be edited.
Account Number
--------------
This is a number used by FRB for internal bookkeeping. It is
assigned by FundRaiser and cannot be edited.
Home, Work Phones
-----------------
These are the phone numbers at home and work for this name.
Please note that, in the Customization Menu area, you may change
the phone format to either the North American format or an Open
format. In both cases, there is room for a note or extension
number at the end of the phone number.
Donor Type
----------
This is a three-character code that identifies what type of
donor (or prospect) this person or organization is. Usually it
follows along the lines of: IND for Individual; BUS for
business; CHR for Church; FND for Foundation; CVC for Civic club
(Rotary, Lions, etc.); SCH for School.
Because these codes can be used in the selection process when
printing letters or reports, they are very important, and should
be recorded for each name.
- 25 -
Category Code
-------------
This equally important code identifies the donor in some major
way, like why they do (or are likely to) give to your
organization. Please read our booklet, Tending Your Donor
Garden (which you receive as part of your registration package),
for a complete discussion of coding techniques.
Total Given
-----------
This is a non-editable field which keeps track of how much the
donor has given. It is the sum total of all contributions in
the F8 Giftlist window.
Year to Date
------------
This is a non-editable field which displays the amount given
by the donor thus far this year. Actually, the year can be
re-defined to be any date range you wish. You set the date
range in the Customization area.
The ability to define the year is helpful in at least two
different ways: for those whose fiscal year is not the same as
a calendar year (and who need to keep track of donations on that
basis rather than on a calendar year basis); and, if you need
to print something for a group of people based on their giving
totals from a year or more ago, you can temporarily change this
date range to the desired time period, then change it back when
done.
Amount of Last Gift
-------------------
This is a non-editable field which displays the amount of the
last gift received from this donor. It is not necessarily the
last gift entered into the computer for this donor. Instead,
FRB looks at the Date Given that you have recorded for each
gift, and uses that to determine which contribution is the most
recent one.
Date of Last Gift
-----------------
This is a non-editable field which displays the date of the
contribution which qualifies as the Last Gift, as described
above.
- 26 -
Donor Notes
-----------
The first six lines are always displayed here, but you can
enter as much text here as you like, up to the equivalent of 16
single-spaced pages, using the built-in Word Processor. You
reach it by using the menu choice N, for Notes. This section is
commonly used for your personal notes about the person, anything
from what his/her pet concerns are, to the names of his/her
children/parents/pets/etc, to why he/she chooses to support your
organization/cause. The Notes area can also be used for a contact
history and for notes to anyone who may later talk to this
donor.
Other
-----
Deleted Mark -- If a name has been marked for deletion, the
message: *** DELETED *** will appear in the top left corner of
the screen. (See the menu choice, Delete, for more information.)
Display Order -- On the bottom double-line are two pieces of
information. On the far left is displayed the order in which
names are currently maintained. When you first enter the Names
Screen, it is always set to "Name Order". It may be changed
when you use the Search function.
On the right side of the double-line is a reminder that HELP
can be accessed by pressing F1.
NAMES SCREEN MENU CHOICES
-------------------------
There are nine main actions you can take from the Names Screen.
These are: Forward, Backward, Search, Add, Change, Delete,
Notes, the F8 GiftList window and F9 Add-a-Gift. These actions
are displayed in a menu at the bottom of the screen. To take
one of these actions, simply press the key associated with that
action. For example, F for Forward. The F is highlighted on
the screen to indicate that it is the key to push.
Now let's look at the Names Screen Menu Choices:
Forward
-------
With all data entry screens in FRB, you can flip through
records one at a time. The order in which the Names Screen
records are presented is dependent upon the last Search method
used. When you first come into the Names Screen, the order will
be: Name (Last, First). The current order is shown at the
- 27 -
bottom left corner of the data entry area. Other possible
orders include Address, Account Number, and Category Code.
Forward flips through the records in ascending order.
Backward
--------
The same as Forward, except that Backward flips through the
records in descending order.
Search
------
Search allows you to find a particular record from thousands in
less than a second. You can search using one of four Search
orders:
Name -- This is based on the Search Name, entered in the first
two fields in the Names Screen. The Search is conducted by
trying to find the last name first, then the first name. (You
are allowed to enter a partial name if you like, but must follow
these rules: if you enter a partial last name, then do not
enter any first name; and if you want to enter a partial first
name, you must enter a full last name.) FRB will go to the
record that most closely matches your entry. If there is not an
exact match, you can then flip Forward or Backward, or you can
Search again.
Address -- The Address Search is comprised of State, City,
and Delivery Address. The state code must be complete in all
cases. But, as with the Name Search, a partial entry can be
made. Each entry field must be complete in order to make a
partial entry in the next field. Specifically: if entering a
partial City, you must not enter any Delivery Address. If
entering a partial Address, you must enter the City in full. --
As with the Name Search, FRB will get as close as it can to an
exact match, at which point you can flip Forward or Backward
thorugh the records, which will remain in Address order till you
change it by Searching by other criteria.
Account Number -- Typing: # allows you to Search by Account
Number. No partial entry is allowed here, although entering 1
will go to the lowest number, and entering all 9s will go to the
highest number. The order of displaying records will be changed
to Account Number.
Category Code -- As with the other Search options, you may
enter a partial code here. FRB will find the first donor with
the code that matches your partial entry.
NOTE: When any of these Search options is used, the viewing
order of the names will change accordingly.
- 28 -
List
----
List presents all the names in a pop-up pick list window.
From within this list you can Search in the same manner as
above. Press Enter to select a name, or press ESCape to exit.
Add/Change a Name
-----------------
While Adding and Changing are two distinct menu choices, the
two processes are almost identical, dealing with the same data.
In both Add and Change modes, you are presented with a form in
which you fill in the blanks. The cursor will navigate through
each field on the screen, going from one to the next.
There are some differences. Let's talk about Add first:
When you Add a new name, it doesn't matter which name is
displayed on the screen as you start the Add process. If you're
concerned about putting the name in the right place, don't be.
That's FundRaiser's job.
When Adding, if you press ESCape before completing the "Is
everything correct?" question, the Add mode will be cancelled
and any entered data will not be recorded. Also, a Searchable
Last Name is required, so if you leave that field blank, you
will terminate the Add mode, just as if you had pressed ESCape.
Now let's look at Change mode: when you want to Change some
information about a name, that name must first be displayed on
the screen, and the information that you want to change must be
displayed on the screen within the top area above the Donor
Notes area. To change contribution data, you must first bring it
to view by pressing F8. To edit the Note, press N.
When Changing data, if you press ESCape before completing the
last field, what you have entered will not be recorded, and the
data will revert to its original state as it was before you
started the Change.
In both cases, you will be asked "Is everything correct". If
you answer No, you will be taken back to the first field, and
given a chance to edit your entries. After you answer Yes to
this question, all data is saved to the hard disk. Then, you are
returned to the Names Screen menu.
Delete
------
To delete a name (or a gift, letter, or code), you have to go
through a two-step process. This is intentional, because it
gives you a second chance to Undelete a mistake.
- 29 -
The first step is to press D for Delete. The second step is to
run File Maintenance from the Opening Menu. Now, you don't have
to do one and then run over to the Opening Menu right away --
you delete items as you go along, and then periodically run File
Maintenance (once a week or so). In the meantime, any items
marked for deletion will not appear on reports or have Thank-you
letters printed for them. Effectively, they're out of your way,
but you can still retreve them if you need to, until you run
File Maintenance.
You may not mark for deletion any name record that has
contributions recorded; you must first mark for deletion all
contributions associated with that name.
Once marked for deletion, the message "***DELETED***" appears
in the upper left corner of the screen. You'll notice that when
you mark a name for deletion, the Delete option changes to
UnDelete. Names are not actually erased until they've been
marked for deletion, and File Maintenance has been run.
F8 GiftList
------------
This is where all the contributions for this name are held.
All contributions are entered either here or through the t
Add-a-Gift key. In this window, you can view all the
contributions recorded for the displayed name, with the latest
contribution displayed first.
This is a browse window; when there are more contributions than
will display on one screen, you can use the cursor keys to move
up and down through the contributions. As with other browse
windows, you can Add, Change or Delete; ESCape exits the list
and returns to the Names Screen. The following information is
recorded for each contribution:
Amount -- This is the amount contributed.
Date -- This is the date of the contribution. (NOTE: FRB
keeps track of the date the contributions are physically entered
into FRB. This Date, that you enter, is the date you receive
the contribution, which is not always the same as the entry
date. Some organizations record the date written on the check,
especially at the end of the year, rather than the date
received.
- 30 -
Source -- This is an optional code that identifies what action
prompted the contribution. If it were from a direct mailing, it
might be DM1 or DM2. If it came as a result of a telethon, the
code might be T91 or T92. This code can also be a person's
initials, if for instance the contribution came as a result of a
personal contact by one of your organization's staff.
This is an important code. It is one of the criteria you can
use when building a report or printing appeals letters.
Send Ltr? -- This is simply "should a thank-you letter be sent
for this contribution?". This gives FRB the ability to automate
your Thank-you letter printing, as well as automating the
printing of associated labels.
Date Recorded -- This is the date that you actually physically
recorded this contribution on the computer. This date was read
by FRB from your computer's clock when you entered the
contribution. It is the date that is used when printing the
Deposit Report; it cannot be changed.
Deleted? -- If a contribution is marked for deletion, the word
"deleted" shows up here. Please note that when you delete a
contribution, you are actually marking it for deletion, in
exactly the same manner as when you mark a name for deletion.
Until you run File Maintenance (from the Opening Menu), you may
Undelete the contribution by pressing D again.
F9 Add-a-Gift
-------------
This function key allows you to add a single contribution
without first going through the F8 window. It is a little
faster than using the F8 key, but you won't be able to see any
of the other contributions for this name, either. The screen
that comes up is similar to the one presented when you press A
to Add from within the F8 GiftList Window.
N Donor Notes
-------------
The Donor Notes section uses FundRaiser's Word Processor to
edit up to 32 pages of information, instructions, or whatever
you like.
- 31 -
Letters Screen
--------------
--------------
-- OVERVIEW --
--------------
This is the section where you create form letters to be
mail-merged with the information in the Names Screen to produce
personalized form letters. This data entry screen is similar to
others, in that you can flip through the records (in this case,
the letters) using the Forward or Backward commands. You can
Search for a particular letter, using either the Letter Code or
the Letter Name. You can Add, Change, and Delete letters, too.
Other menu choices will be discussed in a moment.
From the Opening Menu, press L for Letters. The Letters Screen
shows one letter at a time, either in Letter Name or Letter Code
order (the current order is indicated at the bottom left of the
screen). Each letter has a unique name and a unique code. The
left margin, right margin, and top margin are displayed at the
top of the screen. The first 15 lines of the body of the letter
are displayed as well, and below that the Letters Screen menu
choices are listed.
We'll explain each of the entry fields at the top of the
screen, and then go through the menu choices available.
------------------
-- DATA SCREEN --
------------------
Ltr Code
--------
Each letter must be assigned a code, and each code must be
unique. There is one code that is "reserved" and cannot be
changed: TYL, for the Thank You Letter.
Ltr Name
--------
Each letter must have a unique name. You'll want to name your
letters in such a way that you will recognize their purpose
later.
A Note about margins: The default for pitch is Pica, which is
10 characters per inch (cpi). So if you want a left margin of
1/2", you would enter 5 (1/2 x 10). If you set the pitch to
Elite (12 cpi) or Compressed (15-22 cpi, depending on the
printer) print, then you must multiply the intended width in
inches by the number of characters per inch.
- 32 -
FRB will display the text of the letter with whatever margins
you have set, to help you visualize your letter.
Pitch
-----
This setting determines how large or small the print will be
for this letter. Pica is largest, at 10 characters per inch
(cpi); Elite is slightly smaller at 12 cpi; and Compressed is
smallest, at 15-22 cpi, depending on your printer.
L Margin
--------
This is the number of characters to move in from the left edge
of the paper when printing.
R Margin
--------
This margin is determined by counting from the left edge of the
paper as displayed on the screen. If you are printing in
standard Pica, then your right margin should be 80 or less;
otherwise, you will have to do your own calculations (and
probably some experimentation) based on paper width, right
margin, and pitch.
You may set the right margin to a number as high as 255. If
you set the right margin to 80 or more, the right margin marker
(on theline just above the text of the letter) will move to the
79 spot and change from a left-pointing arrow to a
right-pointing arrow, to indicate that the margin is past the
edge of the screen. Also, since FRB adjusts the text of the
letter as you change the margin, you won't be able to see all of
the text if the margin is set higher than 80; when you edit the
text, however, you'll be able to scroll over and see it.
T Margin
--------
The Top Margin should be the number of lines down from the top
of the paper to the line where you want the printing to begin.
With a default of 6 lines to the inch, if you want your letter
to begin printing at, say 2" down from the top edge of the paper
(to allow for your letterhead), enter: 12. If you're using a
laser printer, be aware that most will not print in the first
half inch. Dot matrix printers are difficult to adjust so that
printing begins on the very first line. Some experimentation may
be necessary to position the Top Margin properly on different
papers.
- 33 -
------------------
-- Menu Choices --
------------------
In addition to the usual data entry screen menu choices of
Forward, Backward, Add, Change, and Delete, you'll find the
following:
S - Search
----------
This allows you to Search for a particular letter, using either
the Letter Code or the Letter Name. Partial codes or names are
allowed.
L - List
--------
List presents all the letters in a pop-up pick list window.
Press Enter to select a letter, or press ESCape to exit.
P - Print File Copy
-------------------
This prints a copy of the letter with all entry field settings,
just as it is typed into FRB. Any mail-merge fields or
functions are printed as you entered them (without being
mail-merged with any Name data). This print-out is meant to
serve as your file copy of the letter.
Also, if you are having difficulty determining why a field or
function is not working properly, it can sometimes be easier to
print a file copy and look for a mistake there than to find it
on the screen.
T - Test
--------
This menu choice lets you test the mail-merge fields and
functions in your letter by mail-merging the letter with the
last name entered into the Names Screen. (It is important to
remember that it is the last one entered, because some fields or
functions may come out blank if corresponding information is not
available in that particular name record.) You have the choice
of testing the letter to the screen or to the printer. Any
errors in entering a mail-merge field or function will be
highlighted with surrounding asterisks.
K - Klone
---------
This choice lets you make a copy of an existing letter. You
will prompted for a new Letter Code and Name, and may change the
margin settings, if you wish. This menu choice can save lots of
time and typing if you want to change a letter slightly, but
still retain the first one.
E - Edit
------
This allows you to edit the body of the letter. Use it when
you want to change text, but not the settings at the top of
screen.
- 34 -
Printing Menu
-------------
Press P at the Opening Menu to navigate to the Printing Menu,
from which you do just about all of FRB's printing.
Printing Thank-you's
--------------------
THANK YOU LETTERS
THANK YOU LABELS
MARK THANK YOU'S DONE
You'll notice that the first three options are grouped
together. They all have to do with printing thank-you letters.
The first step is to print the letters, the second is the labels
(if you want to). Once you've finished the printing, you run
the third step, "Mark Thank-you's done".
FRB was designed to automate letter-writing tasks as much as
possible, while also keeping everything nice and simple. As you
enter a contribution (in the Names Screen) for which you want to
send a thank-you letter -- and that is surely the vast majority
of contributions -- just enter a Yes in the entry field labelled
"Send Ltr?". That's all the preparation needed.
Then when you're ready to print the letters, come to the
Printing Menu and press Y to print Thank-you Letters. You will
be asked if you want to continue, and then to turn on your
printer. The computer takes it from there, and before you know
it, the printer will be churning out thank-you letters!
Letters are printed in zip code order, for each contribution
whose "Send Ltr?" field is marked Yes. The letter is the one in
the Form Letters screen which has a code of TYL and is named
Generic Thank You. FRB comes with the core of a thank-you
letter, ready for you to edit to fit your organization. (Do
this in the Letters Screen.)
Label printing is just about as easy as letter printing. From
the Printing Menu, press L. Labels are also printed in zip code
order to match the letters you just printed. Before the labels
start printing, you will be given an opportunity to print some
test labels to help you align the labels in the printer, and to
adjust the printing of the labels.
To keep label printing as painless as possible, one label style
was chosen for each type of printer. For the laser printer, the
style is a page with two columns by 10 rows of 1" x 4" labels.
The Avery brand model number is 5161 (Avery is the standard for
labels, but you may use another brand with no problem.)
- 35 -
For dot-matrix (and some older ink-jet, daisy-wheel, or any
other printers using a tractor-feed to move continuous-feed paper),
FRB uses the basic one-across label that is 15/16" high by 3-1/2"
wide. Because there is a 1/16" gap between labels, the total from
the top of one label to the top of the next is exactly one inch.
When you are satisfied that the letters and labels are printed
properly, you finish the process with the third step. You "Mark
Thank You's Done" by pressing M from the Printing Menu. This
changes the "Send Ltr?" mark from a Yes to a No. If you ever
need to re-print a thank-you letter, all you have to do is
change the mark back to Yes in the F8 Giftlist Window in the
Names Screen.
If you fail to run this third step, you will be surprised when
you print Thank You Letters the next time . . . because this
batch of letters will be printed along with the new ones! So
make sure that the "Send Ltr?" field is marked No for the
letters you've just printed.
Deposit Report
--------------
From the Printing Menu, press D to print the Deposit Report.
This report lists all the contributions you entered during a
particular date range. You may use this report as your deposit
ticket for the bank. Or just use it as a double-check against
the deposit ticket that you fill out manually, to make sure the
totals match.
One added feature of this report is that, at the end of the
listing of all the contributions, it shows a tally of how much
was received for each Source Code. This can be very helpful
information when you're trying to keep track of how your
different fundraising efforts are working. (See our booklet,
"Tending Your Donor Garden", for a more detailed discussion.)
Donation Report
---------------
This report is virtually identical to the Deposit Report. The
only difference is that this report lists donations based on the
date of contribution (the date you type in as the contribution
date) rather than the date of entry (the date you physically
entered them into the computer).
This is a very important distinction. This produces a listing
of the donations with a date within your date range. The Deposit
Report produces a listing of donations entered during that date
range. This Donation Report is often used for managerial and tax
purposes. The Deposit Report is used to help reconcile your
bank deposit.
NOTE: Both of these reports can be limited to just those
contributions with a particular Source code. Normally,
you won't want to do this - you'll know when you do.
- 36 -
Appeals Letters
---------------
Appeals letters are form letters (created in the Letters
screen) which you send to prospective donors to appeal to them
to give to your organization.
In FRB you can be selective about who gets which letter, and
because you can use the same criteria for letters, labels, and
listings, you can easily print all three for the same group of
people, something you will often want to do. The next three
sections share a common "Criteria Selection" screen, which is
discussed in some detail after these sections.
(If you have yet to create an appeal letter, you must first do
so in the Letters screen.)
From the Printing Menu, press A to print Appeals Letters. You
will first be asked which form letter you want to print. As the
» mark indicates, you can press Control-Enter to pop up a
pick-list of all the form letters that were created in the
Letters screen. This pick-list displays the code, name, pitch,
and margins of each letter. Also, if you press V to View text,
you can view the entire text of the highlighted letter. To
select the desired form letter, highlight the letter and press
Enter. The next screen will be the Criteria Selection screen,
discussed below, in which you describe the group to whom you
want to send the letter.
APPEALS LABELS
--------------
To print labels, press B from the Printing Menu. Immediately
after you are taken to the Criteria Selection screen (discussed
below), you will be given the opportunity to print test labels.
NAMES LISTINGS
--------------
From the Printing Menu, press N to print one of several
different listings.
There are two basic styles: "one-liners", which are neat,
easy-to-read reports with one line of information per name,
lined up in columns; and "multi-line" reports, which have so
much information for each name that it spans two or more lines,
making it not as easy to read. While there is a brief
description of each report type on the screen, you may find it
helpful to print a sample of each report to see what each one
looks like.
Please note that one report, the Combined Report, requires
either wide paper, or that your printer be set to "compressed
print". You will be asked which method you prefer.
Once you select the report you want to print, you are taken to
the Criteria Selection screen.
- 37 -
Criteria Selection Screen
-------------------------
Regardless of whether you are printing appeals letters,
labels, or a names listing, this screen is used to select the
names that you will be printing for.
This screen has a memory, meaning that the criteria that you
last used can be restored as the default criteria the next time
you come into the screen. This is especially handy when you are
printing different things (like letters, labels, and a listing)
for the same group. You will be asked if you want to use the
last group's criteria.
In the center of this screen are five sets of criteria. They
are cumulative; in other words, they're not an either/or
collection, where a name only has to meet one or the other of
the criteria you select in order to be included -- rather, a
name must meet all criteria to be included.
For example: if you enter a donor type code of BUS and a donor
category code of VIP, then each name must have both codes, not
just one. On the other hand, if you enter no criteria, then all
names will qualify, and you will print for your entire list.
Let's examine each criterion:
Donor Type Code: this code is for things like INDividual,
BUSiness, CHUrch, etc.
Donor Category Code: this code identifies the category this
donor falls into. It is generally used to identify a donor's
primary interest in your organization.
Gift Source Code: this is the code that can be entered for a
contribution. Because a donor will have (we hope) several
contributions, a single donor may have several Source codes. A
donor need have given only one contribution with the code you
enter as criteria, in order to be selected for printing. An
example: you want to print invitations for everyone who bought
tickets to last year's banquet. If those ticket sales were
entered at the time with a BNQ Source code, you could now easily
print that list based solely on that Source code.
Total Amount Given: this is the grand total amount ever given
by a donor. Whether you're looking for high-giving donors for a
special appeal, or donors who have given $100 or more, or donors
who have given anything at all, this is the line to use. There
is one especially important thing to remember when using this
criterion: if you enter 0.00 for the minimum amount, then you
will get donors who have given that amount. In other words,
0.00 will give you people who have never given a contribution.
If you want people who have given something, then you must enter
at least 0.01 in the minimum entry field.
- 38 -
Examples:
0.01 through 9999999.99 those who have given anything
100.00 through 9999999.99 those who have given at least 100.00
100.00 through 499.99 those who have given at least 100.00,
but less than 500.00
0.00 through 0.00 those who have not yet given
Amount Given This Year: this is the amount given thus far
this year, where the "year" is actually a date range defined in
the Customization area. It is usually the current year, but may
be re-defined to be any date range you wish. The range works in
the same manner as described in "Total Amount Given" above.
Date Last Given: this date range indicates when the selected
people last gave. One idiosyncracy revolves around the fact
that dates in FRB run from 1950 through 2049. Consequently, if
you enter a date of xx/xx/45, it will be for the year 2045, not
1945.
Examples: (assuming that "today" is 02/01/94)
01/01/50 thru 02/01/93 lapsed donors (those who have given,
but not in the last year)
01/01/50 thru 08/01/93 almost lapsed donors (those who have
given, but not in the last 6 months)
02/01/93 thru 02/01/94 active donors (those who have given
within the last 12 months)
Combining Criteria
------------------
You can combine as many criteria as you want. Each name in
your Names Screen will be examined to see if they meet each and
every criteria that you specify. Typcially, the more criteria
you enter, the fewer names will be included, as the list gets
more selective.
It does not take any longer to process if you have more
criteria. In fact, if you specify a Donor Category code and/or
a Gift Source code, it will speed up the processing. This is
because these two criteria can be found very quickly, and then
only those names that already meet those crtieria need be
examined for further criteria matching.
When you are finished entering these criteria, you will be
asked in what order you would like the printing to be, by Name
or by Zip Code. FRB then processes your criteria and selects
the names that meet them. It will show you its progress, and
the final result.
The final step, as with all printing, is to ask if your printer
is ready. Saying No only pauses the computer for 3 seconds, and
asks the same question again. To cancel printing, press
ESCape.
- 39 -
Codes Listing
-------------
This simple report lists all the codes used within the program.
You can print a separate page for each of the four types of
codes (a minimum of four pages); otherwise, FRB will print them
in groups, one after the other, but not on separate pages.
Select Printer Type
-------------------
For FRB to be able to switch your printer between the different
type styles, it must know what kind of printer you have. It is
here that you tell the program that information. If you fail to
run this section before you first print, FRB will automatically
bring this section up for you to fill in.
In order to keep things simple in FRB, we have boiled the
printer choices down to five: the three most popular, a
"no-choice", and a custom setup where the more adventurous user
can enter his/her own codes.
The first step is to choose one of these four:
E Epson-compatible printer. If you have a dot-matrix, or
other "impact" printer (that probably has a platen like a
typewriter) and which uses continuous-feed paper (has the
pin-feed holes on the side), then you should first try this choice.
The odds are very good that it will work perfectly for you.
Virtually all dot-matrix printers made in the last several years
are either Epson-compatible or can be switched to that mode (by
means of a switch or from the front panel; see your printer
manual).
H Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 2 or compatible printer. If you
have another brand of laser or inkjet printer, try this choice
first. Your printer will almost certainly be compatible.
This printer is unable to print in Elite, and so uses
Compressed instead.
4 Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4 series printers. For this
particular series of laser printer only, this option adds the
ability to print using Elite. It also overrides any settings
someone may have entered from the front panel of the printer.
V "Plain Vanilla" printer. Try this choice when neither of the
first two worked. It sends no codes at all to your printer. If
you want it to print in other than its default mode, you must
change it yourself.
C Custom setup. This is for those users who understand printer
manuals. You will be expected to enter the decimal control codes
that will be sent to your printer. Use this choice if you have
an unusual printer, or want it to do something unsusal (print
from a lower tray on a laser, for instance).
- 40 -
If you choose either Plain Vanilla or Custom, then you will
have an intermediate step:
With Vanilla, you will be asked only if your printer uses
single sheets of paper (like a copier). This will be used to
determine which type of label (continuous feed or 20/sheet) to
print on.
With Custom, you will also be asked to enter the decimal codes
for Reset, Elite, and Compressed. If you are attempting this
choice, you (or a friend) probably have enough knowledge that
the screen is fairly intuitive. If not, press F1 for more
detailed Help.
You are also asked for a printer port. In almost all cases,
this should be set to LPT1. If you have problems printing, try
changing it to LPT2 or LPT3. If you prefer to print to a text
file on disk, instead of actually printing, then enter the name
of the file to print to.
Lastly (except for Vanilla printers), you will be asked if
you want to print a test page. This is an opportunity for you
to make sure that whatever you selected is the right choice.
FRB will print a page with the three different type styles (pica,
elite, and compressed). With each, it will print two vertical
lines that should be an inch apart (except, perhaps, for
compressed, which will vary from printer to printer). If the
page does not display different type sizes, then your printer
choice is not the appropriate one for your printer, and you
should try a different one.
Please note that you can change your printer setup at any
time, if you get a new printer, or need to switch between
printers.
Technical Note: The printer setup is saved in a file called:
DEF_PTR.MEM. The label adjustments are saved in a file
called: LABEL.MEM.
- 41 -
File Maintenance
----------------
In FundRaiser Basic, when you delete a name or other record,
you are actually just marking it for deletion. It is not erased
from your hard disk until you run File Maintenance; and once you
do that, any records which had been marked for deletion are
permanently gone.
File Maintenance has a second, very important, purpose:
rebuilding index files. These are what keep the data in the
data files in the proper alphabetical or numerical order. (Index
files do not contain data; they contain pointers to the data in
data files.) Over time, index files can get out of sync with
the data files they relate to; so, as a good housekeeping
measure, you need to rebuild the index files on a regular
basis. If you use FRB on a daily basis, you should run File
Maintenance once a week (if not more often); otherwise, once a
month is generally enough. It doesn't hurt to run it more
often.
There are some clues to watch for which indicate that the
indexes are out of sync with the data: when you search for a
name that you know is there, but FRB can't find it; or when you
get a report that seems to have the wrong names listed for the
criteria you selected. If you run File Maintenance regularly,
you should not see these problems occur.
- 42 -
Registration Menu
-----------------
This section is primarily for those who received their copy
of FundRaiser Basic from someone other than Professional Support
Software (a friend or a bulletin board, or a shareware catalog),
and have yet to register and pay for it. This method of
distribution, called "shareware", is a good deal for everyone.
You get to actually use software before paying for it, and we
get our programs into the hands of potential users with little
marketing expense. And then we pass our savings along to you.
You see, we permit -- and encourage -- our users to make
copies of FRB to distribute to their friends on a "try it before
you buy it" basis. In this Registration section, we even
provide the means of making that copy, along with ways to
register your copy.
P Print a Registration Form
---------------------------
This section prints a regristration form with your name and
purchase information on it. The requested information is the
sort you would enter on any mail-order form.
Register in the name of -- This is the name that will appear on
the Opening Menu, and on all reports. Type it exactly as you
want it to appear, capitalizing as appropriate. This can be your
name, or the name of the organization for which you will use
FRB.
My Name -- This is your name, the person who should receive
the registration package.
Organization Name, if any -- The name of the organization which
will be using FRB.
Mailing Address -- Where you want your package sent.
Phone Number -- Phone number and extension, plus whether this
number is for home, office, whatever. We don't have to have a
phone number for you, but it can be helpful if we need to return
your communication. You have our word that this number will not
be used for sales calls, or given to anyone else.
Preferred disk size -- If you're not sure what disk size and
density you need, here are some clues: with 5¼" floppies, there
is usually a reinforcing ring around the hub on low-density
disks, and not on high-density ones. For 3½" disks, it's
easier: on the side opposite from the metal slide, you will find
at least one square notch. One notch means the disk is low
- 43 -
density, two indicates a high density disk. ---- If you
are not sure about the density you need, here's how to make
absolutely sure: format a disk (type: FORMAT A: at the DOS
prompt, or B: if you're using drive B). When it has finished
formatting, the computer will tell you how many bytes there are
in "total disk space". That will tell you what type of disk
drive you have:
Low density High density
5 1/4" 360,000+ 1,200,000+
3 1/2" 720,000+ 1,440,000+
If you're still not sure, don't worry about it. Just tell us
which inch size, and we'll send the low-density disks, which can
be read by high-density drives.
Payment method -- If you enter C for Check, then the cursor
will bypass the credit card number field. If you are paying by
Mastercard or Visa, please record your account number and
expiration date.
Missouri sales tax -- If you are not a resident of Missouri,
press 1. If you are a Missouri resident, and can include an
exemption certificate, press 2; otherwise, press 3 and we'll
have to collect $2.99 from you to send to the state government.
Finally, you will be asked if your printer is ready. When you
say Yes, it will print your form. Please mail it in to the
address on the form, or fax it (to 417-256-6370), or call us at
800-880-3454, and, as they say, "have your credit card handy".
W - Why You Should Register
-------------------------
Pressing W will bring up a list of good reasons to register and
pay for your shareware copy of FRB. Some of the more important
include:
* It's the moral thing to do. Using shareware without
* It's the legal thing to do. paying for it is stealing!
* You'll get the newest version -- either right away, if the
version you have is outdated; or you'll automatically get the
next update.
* You'll get the printed manual -- better than the manual-on-
disk, and it has an index.
* You'll get a copy of "Tending Your Donor Garden", our booklet
full of successful tips and techniques for fundraising
(especially good for beginners).
- 44 -
* The registration reminder messages will no longer pop up.
* You'll be able to choose your own screen colors, turn off the
hint lines, and have access to a pop-up calculator.
Press W for a more detailed discussion of all of these
issues and others.
H - How to Register
-------------------
This section tells you all the different ways you can
register. If you live outside the U.S., then this is an
especially important section for you. It lists the acceptable
forms of payment (money orders, cash, bank transfers, etc) and
all the different ways that you can reach us.
C - Copies
----------
This menu choice will help you to put a copy of the FundRaiser
Basic program, the Help screens and the manual (if there is a
copy of it in the FRB directory) on a high-density disk. Don't
bother formatting the disk first; FRB will do that for you.
Remember to tell the friend you're making this copy for that it
is a "try it before you buy it" copy (not pirated!) -- that it
is not free, but that it does have an incredibly low price!
S - The Shareware Concept
-------------------------
This section explains the concept behind shareware. Not to be
confused with "freeware", shareware is copyrighted, just like
software you buy off the shelf; but you get to try it before you
pay for it. If you don't like it, or don't use it, throw it
away, and don't pay for it. But if you do, please honor the
work of the programmer, and pay for it. Shareware is based on
faith in your honesty. It is a system which we like a lot, as
it lets us keep our costs down, and pass those savings along to
you in the form of a very low price for FRB. Please do press S,
and read more about how shareware works.
- 45 -
F - The FundRaiser Family of Programs
-------------------------------------
As your fundraising skills and needs grow, you won't outgrow
your fundraising software. And the family of FundRaiser
products makes it easy to expand your abilities and your
fundraising totals.
FRB is the baby of the family. FundRaiser Jr. and FundRaiser
Professional are its older siblings. Upgrading is easy; your
data remains intact; the screens will look familiar, and we have
easy payment plans, with no interest charged. When you can see
that you're about ready to outgrow FRB, call our toll-free sales
number at 800-880-3454, and ask for a free brochure and demo of
Jr. and Professional. Be sure to say that you're an FRB user.
In the meantime, and just to whet your appetite, here's a short
listing of some of their many additional features:
General:
* password protection * Tickler reminder system
* full printer control * more reports, labels
* multiple printers, print to * user-definable reports
text files * print postal barcodes
* function key macro language * bulk mail facilities
* import/export capabilities * control of defaults,
toggles, colors
* Compartments: keep different sets of data separate from
each other
* many more form letter functions, including IF/ELSE
statements
* integration with US Postal Service NCOA (change of address)
system
Names Screen:
* more data can be recorded * Alternate Addresses
* Giving statistics * Relations to other donors
* unlimited Category Codes * single mail-merge letters
* more Search options * print labels, envelopes
* "Spare Fields" for data that is unique to your organization
Contributions:
* Membership features * Pledge features
* Gift Notes * Purpose, Fund, Period, Misc
* Choose from multiple * Mergeable data for form ltrs
thank-you letters
Related Groupings (sorting):
* Like the Criteria Selection Screen in FRB, but more powerful
* Define a group once, then "freshen" it whenever needed.
Do take time to press F and see more details about the FundRaiser
family.
- 46 -
Customization Menu
------------------
From this menu, you establish various program preferences.
<C> Colors. Here you can change the colors that FundRaiser
Basic uses to paint the screens. If you're tired of the
same old green and blue default combination, here's your
chance to change it to whatever you want.
<H> Set Level for Help & Hint Lines. Hint Lines are those
little 2-line helpful hints that you find throughout
FundRaiser. It also includes such things as the hint in
the Names Screen about what a highlighted menu choice is,
and the initial Novice Mode reminder notice.
After a while, you'll find that you don't need (or want)
the initial reminder notice. You can turn it off by
toggling to Intermediate mode. If you don't want the hint
lines any more, you can toggle them off, too, by changing
to Experienced. Of course, if you have a volunteer coming
to help you out, you will want to toggle back to Novice
temporarily.
Press <H> to toggle through the three modes.
<P> Select Printer Type. This is identical to the same menu
choice as displayed in the Printing Menu.
<D> Select Date Format. There are several international styles
in which dates are presented, some with the day first, some
with the year first, and some with the month first. With
this menu choice, you can choose the format that best fits
your culture.
<T> Select Telephone Number Format. There are two formats
available: North American and Open. The North American
version contains an area code and 7-digit phone number
followed by up to 7 characters in text for an extension
number or note. The Open version was included to
accomodate the many different international formats, and
allows up to 20 characters in any configuration.
- 47 -
<Y> Define Current Year. FundRaiser Basic maintains each
donor's Year-to-Date giving totals in the Names Screen.
That "year" is defined by a date range that you enter
here. It is usually the current calendar year (January
through December), but you may redefine it to be any
period that you wish.
The ability to re-define the year is helpful in at least
two different ways:
1) for those whose fiscal year is not the same as a
calendar year, and who need to keep track of donations
on that basis.
2) If you need to print a report based on a previous
period (perhaps a listing of donors who gave $100 or
more during the period July 93 through June 94), you
can temporarily change this date range to that time
period, and then change it back when you're done.
<A> Automatic Duplicate Checking. FundRaiser automatically
checks your entries in the Names Screen to see if it is
a duplicate of another entry. It checks after you press
Enter on the Searchable Last Name, and it checks by
address after you press Enter on the State code. Some
people, with older computers, experience a lengthy wait,
especially when FundRaiser dupechecks the address. If
you are unconcerned about duplicates, and want to turn
this feature off, here is the place to do it.
- 48 -
Importing Your Mailing List
---------------------------
If you have an existing mailing list on your computer (in a
database management program or mailing list program, for
instance), there is a very good chance that it can be imported
into FundRaiser Basic. The process of converting data from one
format to another can be a little tricky, but with a little care
and thought, you should be able to accomplish it.
The first step is to make a backup of your FundRaiser Basic
data. Absolutely! Don't start the import process without first
making a backup -- if the import process doesn't work properly,
your existing data file will be unusable. With a backup, you
will be able to restore it to its original condition and try
again.
The second step is to export your data into a file that uses
one of the two standard formats that FundRaiser can read. These
two formats, dBase III and ASCII comma delimited, are the two
most widely used formats for PC's and should be available as an
Exporting option on your database or list program. If you have
a choice between the two formats, choose dBase III. (How
exporting works varies widely from program to program, so
consult the manual, ask an experienced friend, or call the
program's tech support staff for assistance.)
If your program does not have an Exporting option, then
the data may already be recorded in one of the two
standard formats, and need not be exported. You may be
able to import it directly into FRB. It's worth a try.
FundRaiser will alert you if the file is not importable,
and no damage will have been done.
Now you're ready to import into FundRaiser. From the Opening
Menu, press <I> to Import.
The first thing FundRaiser asks for is the name of the file
you are importing. This must be the full filename, including
extension. If the file is not in the default directory (i.e.,
\FRB), then you must specify the full path as well. (Don't
worry too much - if you enter it incorrectly, FRB will politely
tell you so.) With our suggested filename above, you would
type: IMPORT.TXT
After you type in the file name, FundRaiser tests the file to
see if it is a dBase III compatible file or if it is an ASCII
file. FundRaiser needs the file to be in dBase format for the
next step, so if it's an ASCII file, FRB goes through a number of
tests to make sure that the file adheres to the comma-delimited
- 49 -
standard, and that it can be imported without error. FRB then
imports the file into an intermediate dBase III file, from which
you and FRB can go to the next step.
Now you must match the individual fields (each piece of
information, like name, address, city, etc) in your data to each
of FundRaiser's fields. You'll see on the screen at this point
three browse windows. The left one is for your incoming file,
and the rightmost one is the FundRaiser file (MASTER.dbf). In
between is a window that will show the matchups between the two
files as you specify them.
Notice the prompts below the windows. The arrows
indicate that you can move up and down within a browse window
by pressing the up and down cursor control keys, and move from
window to window across the screen with the right and left
arrow keys.
In order to match one of the fields on the left (your incoming
file) to one on the right (the FundRaiser file), use the up and
down keys to move to the field you want to work on; when it is
highlighted, press Enter. The cursor automatically moves to the
window on the right, where you move to the field that matches
yours, and press Enter again. A 1 will appear to the right of
both fields, and the matchup will appear in the center window.
(If you want to "unmatch" those two fields, just press Enter
again at both of them, and the match will disappear.)
It will probably help you at this point to see some actual
data. Press F4, and you'll jump into a browse window of your
data. This window scrolls in all directions; use the arrow
keys to move to the right to see all the columns of your data.
Now you can see just what information is detailed in which
columns/fields, and can better match it with the field choices
in the right-hand window of FRB fields. When you've gotten what
info you need from this screen, press ESCape to exit.
If your file was an ASCII file, the fields
will have names like FIELD1, FIELD2, etc. You
can change these quite simply, by highlighting
a field name and pressing the space bar, then
typing in your new field name (Address, City,
etc). This make it simpler to match up fields.
Or, you could take a sheet of paper, make three
columns on it, then put your old field names on
the left, a description of the data in them in
the center, and the FRB field to match it with
on the right -- and use this as a reference as
you complete the process on the screen.
- 50 -
If you've entered some data into FRB, you may want to see a
similar window for that data. Press F5 to jump into the browse
window for the FundRaiser file, and you'll be able to compare.
Now let's look at each of the fields in FundRaiser, exactly what
goes into them, and when to use them.
ACCOUNT - every record in FundRaiser must have its own unique
account number. FundRaiser prefers to assign its own, but you
can import your own account numbers if you must. If your
numbers are not a full 6 characters long, FundRaiser will move
them to the right and pad the beginning with 0's to fill all
six spaces.
NAMES (FIRST, LAST, CONTACT, MAILNAME, SALUTATION) - FundRaiser
records a donor's name in 3 different ways: the name for you
to search by (FIRST, LAST), the name that goes on the mailing
label (CONTACT or MAILNAME), and the "Dear..." of a letter
(SALUTATION).
In your program, you may not have the name broken out in
these three distinct ways. Don't worry. FundRaiser can do
a pretty good job of breaking a name up into its component
parts for you!
If you have a donor's full name all in one field, put it in
FundRaiser's MAILNAME (or CONTACT if you also have a business
name - see below). During the importing process, FRB will
break out the first and last name, and build a salutation for you.
The only hitch in this process is when the name belongs to a
business. FundRaiser recognizes a name as being a business if
it contains one of the following words: Corp, Co, Inc, Ltd, The,
Of, Corporation, or Company.
Unfortunately, many businesses do not contain any of these
words; in which cases, FundRaiser may split the Searchable First
and Last names rather peculiarly. This is a problem only when
you try to Search for them; for this reason, it's a good idea
to review your list after importing.
Use the List function in the Names Screen to view your list;
if you find any odd name splits, highlight that row and press
Enter. This will put you into the Names Screen for that
entry, where you can Change how the name is entered.
When a name is recognized as a business, the whole name goes
into LAST, and no salutation is recorded.
If the name is already broken up into first and last in your
incoming file, but you have no mailing label equivalent, then
import your fields into FIRST and LAST. If there's no entry in
CONTACT or MAILNAME, FundRaiser will combine FIRST and LAST
during the importing process, and put them into MAILNAME for you.
In either case, if you have no specific salutation name,
FundRaiser will record it for you, based on your answer to a
question you'll be asked later in the process.
- 51 -
What do you do if your incoming file has fields for both a
donor name and a business name? Import the donor's name into
CONTACT, and the business name into MAILNAME. FundRaiser will
adjust things a bit if necessary. If, for a particular donor,
there is no business name (MAILNAME), but there is a donor name
(CONTACT), it will move the CONTACT name down to the MAILNAME
slot.
ADDRESS LINES (SECONDARY, DELIVERY)
If, in your incoming file, you have only one address line,
it should go into the DELIVERY field. If you have two, the
primary line (the one to which mail is delivered) should go
into DELIVERY, and the other into SECONDARY. If FundRaiser
finds a blank DELIVERY address line below a filled-in SECONDARY
line during the importing process, it will move the SECONDARY
line down to DELIVERY for you.
If your incoming data has a third address line, the top-most
line should go into the MAILNAME field, the next into SECONDARY,
and the third into DELIVERY. In this case, your donor name may
only go into CONTACT.
What if the street number is recorded separately from the
street name in your incoming file? No problem: first match
your street number with DELIVERY, then match the street name
with DELIVERY, too. You'll see that, in the center window,
both fields are matched with DELIVERY, and that, in the right
window, DELIVERY is followed by the number 2 instead of 1, to
indicate that it has two of your fields being imported into it.
CITY, STATE, ZIP (Postal Code)
Most programs record these in three distinct fields. If,
however, your incoming file has two or three of them in one
field, you should import that field into CITY. During the
importing process, FundRaiser is capable of breaking out the
city, a two-character state/province code, and a US ZIP or
Canadian postal code from a combined field. If FRB is uncertain
about what it is seeing, it will put the imported field into the
Notes area, and will enter a state code of "XX", making it
easy for you to find the problem entries later (just Search
by address for state code "XX").
DATE1 - This is the date that a name was first entered into the
system. If you do not have this date in your old program (few
do), FundRaiser will enter the current date here during the
importing process.
HOMPHONE, OFCPHONE - If your phone numbers are in US/North
American format (###-###-####), FundRaiser will ask if
you want it to insert your local area code for any numbers
that are missing an area code. It will strip out the
formatting characters ( specifically "()-." ), and then add
your area code if the number is 7 digits long or if the first
3 are blank.
- 52 -
DONORCODE, CATEGCODE - These two codes are used to record
information about donors. DONORCODE is the donor-type; often
used codes are: INDividual, BUSiness, CHUrch, etc. CATEGCODE
is often used indicate something about how the donor is
connected to your organization: BoaRD member, VOLunteer, etc.
These are user-defined codes, and can be used for any bits of
data you wish to record.
These two codes are rarely imported, but if you maintained
similar codes in your previous program, you should import them
directly into these fields.
OTHER STUFF, EXCEPTIONS - If there is additional information
that you would like to import for which FundRaiser has no
equivalent, you should probably import it into Notes.
You may import up to 9 fields into a single field, and you
may import a single field into up to 9 different FundRaiser
fields.
Once you have all your fields matched up, press F10 to begin
the importing process. You will be presented with a screen of
up to four questions for you to answer:
CAPITALIZE - If your names and addresses in your incoming file
are in UPPER case, you may want to have FundRaiser Basic change
that to upper-and-lower case (that often looks better on a
mailing label and in a letter, for instance). It does a pretty
good job of capitalizing names, business names, and addresses,
but does have a problem with names beginning with Mac (it's
hard to differentiate between MacHinery and Machinery) - you'll
need to search for, and manually correct them.
Of course, if your names are already properly capitalized,
then you should leave them as is.
SALUTATION - If you have not explicitly imported a salutation
name, FundRaiser will offer to fill that field for you, with
either the first name or last name of your donor. In all cases,
if it knows that an entry is for a business (with no CONTACT
name), it will not record a salutation at all. Your choices
here are:
1) In this case, FRB will enter the donor's first name as the
salutation. In cases where it has no first name, it will
look to see if there is a title like "Mr and Mrs" or "Dr"
or "Rev". If there is such a title, it will add that to the
last name and use that for the salutation.
2) This option never uses the first name. It only enters
a salutation if it has both a title and a last name.
3) With this choice, it leave the salutation blank.
- 53 -
AREA CODE - If you are importing phone numbers, and you are
using the US/North American telephone format, you can have
FundRaiser fill in any blank area code with your local area
code.
CITY - If you are importing into CITY (and most people do), you
will be asked if your city field also contains the State and
Postal codes. If you say Yes, then FundRaiser will attempt to
break it into two or three separate components. If it has any
difficulty, it will record the full original field in the
donor's Notes, and change the state code to "XX".
When you have answered these questions, the actual importing
process will begin; after it is completed you will be reminded
to review your list.
- 54 -
Exporting
---------
Sometimes it is desirable to do something with your
FundRaiser list outside the FundRaiser program. It may be to
merge it with a form letter in a word processor, to provide the
list to another nonprofit agency, or to a service bureau.
When you export, you answer four questions: what, how, where
and who.
The What: Which export style do you want? This question
determines what information will be included in the exported
file. If one of the first three styles does not include the
information you need, you should choose the fourth choice, which
contains all information except the gift list.
Choice <F> is contained in two separate files that are linked
by the donors' account number. Linking the two files requires a
level of expertise that you would expect from a programmer or a
"power user". It contains ALL data, including all gifts. You
would probably only use this choice if you are exporting your
data to another donor management program.
The How: What export file type do you want? The data can be
formatted using any of three industry standards. The most
commonly used file type is choice <C>, comma delimited ASCII
text files. You should check the program or the office that
will be receiving this file to see what it/they can handle or
prefer.
The Where: Where do you want the file(s) to be exported to?
The file will be called FRBNAMES.TXT (or DBF if the dBase format
was chosen). What you need to do here is tell FundRaiser where
the file should be placed. If it is going on a floppy disk,
you should enter A:\ or B:\. Otherwise, specify the complete
path. If you want it to stay in FRB's own directory, leave this
field blank. By the way, if you are exporting to a floppy, put
the floppy in before you press enter. That's because FundRaiser
first checks to make sure it can write a file to that path.
The Who: After you answer the first 3 questions, you will be
taken to the Criteria Selection screen. This is exactly the
same one you use when printing Appeals Letters, Labels, or Names
Listings through the Printing Menu. Refer to page 32 in this
manual for a detailed description of this section.
When FundRaiser has finished exporting, it will give you the
opportunity to print the file specifications. This contains a
listing of the fields in the order in which they appear in the
exported file(s). This sheet can be very helpful when it comes
time to import the data into another program.
- 55 -
Form Letters
------------
Form letters are dear to the heart of most experienced
fundraisers. A polished appeal letter that tugs at a prospect's
heart and a thank-you letter that makes a donor feel good all
the way through . . . these are the epitome of a fundraiser's
craft.
Part of what makes for a successful form letter is
personalization. The more you can write into a thank-you letter
that shows you've really noticed their gift and appreciate it,
the better they will feel about having given, and the more
likely they are to give again.
And the same is true of appeals letters to prospects.
Unfortunately, you rarely know much about a prospect until they
have communicated with you, usually by the act of giving. But
if you at least know their name, and can address a letter
directly to them (instead of "Dear Friend"), your relationship
with them gets off to a good start.
The more personal you can make each letter, the more effective
it will be. This is an absolute, proven fact of fundraising.
FundRaiser Basic has the tools you need to start writing your
own personalized letters. It's a beginner's toolbox, but has
the basics. (When you're ready for more sophisticated tools,
FundRaiser Jr. and FundRaiser Professional are available; and
you'll likely need their "power tools" in other areas as well by
then.)
Data is inserted into the text of form letters with two
mechanisms: fields, and functions. Fields are the raw data
you've typed into each entry block in the Names Screen.
Functions are mechanisms which intercept that data, and tailor
it in some way before inserting it into the letter.
A good example is the ADDRESSEE() function, which inserts the
mailing label information from the Names Screen into the address
block (usually) of a letter. If you specified each individual
entry block from the Names Screen, two things would happen:
first, it would take more typing to actually enter the name of
each block; and second, if one of those entry blocks, like the
Secondary Address, was blank, there would be a blank line in the
middle of the address when it was inserted into the letter. The
ADDRESSEE() function sees the blank line and eliminates it, so
that the address block looks normal. The same data is contained
in both a field and a function, but the function has tailored
the data to fit properly into the letter.
- 56 -
Another example is SALUTATION(). This function inserts the
"Dear..." name into a letter. But if there is no name recorded
in a person's "Dear..." entry block in the Names Screen, it
inserts the word "Friend", or any other word or phrase that you
specify.
Functions always have parentheses after them. Sometimes there
is something inside the parentheses, sometimes not. Fields
never have the parentheses.
The way you tell FRB that something you have typed is a
mail-merge field or function is to surround it with
double-backslashes, like this:
\\ADDRESSEE()\\.
Neither the backslashed nor the function name will be
printed; instead, data will be inserted where you've typed them
in the text of your letter.
The following pages describe each of FRB's merge functions in
detail. Following those is a listing of all the fields which may
be used to mail-merge data.
- 57 -
ADDRESSEE()
-----------
Syntax: \\ADDRESSEE()\\
Type: Character
Usage: This Function is used to produce the address portion at
the top of a letter.
Returns: The complete mailing address as displayed within the
mailing label box in the Names screen. Any blank lines
are skipped when printing.
Example: \\ADDRESSEE()\\
Dear Friend,
...............................................
John Smith
123 Appian Way
West Alamos, CO 66666
Dear Friend,
- 58 -
GIFTAMT()
---------
Syntax: \\GIFTAMT()\\
Type: Numeric
Usage: Most commonly used in Thank-you letters to thank the
donor for the specific amount given. If used in other
correspondence, the LAST contribution given by the
donor will be used.
Returns: The amount of the contribution
Example: Thank you for your recent gift of $\\GIFTAMT()\\.
....................
Thank you for your recent gift of $20.00.
- 59 -
GIFTDATE()
----------
Syntax: \\GIFTDATE()\\
Type: Date
Usage: Most commonly used in Thank-you letters, to let the
donor know the date of receipt. If used in other
correspondence, the date of the LAST contribution
given by the person will be used.
Returns: The date, in text form, of the contribution; for
instance: March 1, 1993
Example: Thank you for your recent gift, which we received on
\\GIFTDATE()\\.
..................
Thank you for your recent gift, which we received on
March 1, 1993.
- 60 -
GIFTLIST( <year> )
------------------
Syntax: \\GIFTLIST()\\ or \\GIFTLIST( #### )\\
Type: List
Usage: This Function is used primary at the end of the tax
year to list all the donations that a donor has given
that year. It can be placed at the bottom of a
letter, allowing you to thank them for their help
over the past year.
Returns: This function produces a list of donations. If a
year is entered between the parentheses, then it only
includes the donations given that year; otherwise, it
includes the donor's entire giving history.
Parameters: <year> optional.
Example: \\GIFTLIST()\\
....................
Record of Previous Donations
----------------------------
100.00 12/17/95
20.00 10/13/95
20.00 12/05/94
40.00 07/13/94
------- --------
180.00 Total
\\GIFTLIST(1995)\\
....................
Record of Donations for 1995
----------------------------
100.00 12/17/95
20.00 10/13/95
------- --------
120.00 Total
- 61 -
SALUTATION( <"text"> )
----------------------
Syntax: \\SALUTATION( <"text"> )\\
Type: Character
Usage: In the salutation of a letter
Returns: This Function uses the field SALUTATION, unless that
field is blank, in which case it inserts the <"text">
given. If no <"text"> is given, and the SALUTATION
field is blank, the default "Friend" is inserted.
Parameters: <"text"> any text to be used in case of a blank
SALUTATION field. DEFAULT = "Friend"
Example: Dear \\SALUTATION("Donor")\\,
.................................
Dear Fred, (if SALUTATION field has "Fred" entered)
or
Dear Donor, (if SALUTATION field is blank)
Dear \\SALUTATION()\\,
................................
Dear Fred, (if SALUTATION field has "Fred" entered)
or
Dear Friend, (if SALUTATION field is blank)
- 62 -
TODAY()
-------
Syntax: \\TODAY()\\
Type: Character, Date
Usage: In letters, to place the current date in the form of
March 1, 1993
Returns: The current date, in text format, as recognized by your
computer system, at the time of printing. NOTE: If
the computer SYSTEM DATE is not correct, this
Function's resulting date will be incorrect as well.
Example: \\TODAY()\\
........................................
March 1, 1993 (the current date)
- 63 -
Mail-Merge Fields
-----------------
If you need to print data that the five functions do not
provide, you can use any of the following fields. As with
functions, surround them with double backslashes -- but do not
put a parentheses after the field name.
These fields are not likely to be of more than occasional use
to you in form letters; however, you may wish to create "form
reports": special use form letters which you print through the
Appeals Letters section, but which are set up only to display
all or any of the following data, one name per page. These can
be handy references to take with you when making a personal
visit to a major donor, for instance.
ACCOUNT The account number assigned by FRB to each name.
FIRST The Searchable first name.
LAST The Searchable last name.
CONTACT The first line of the label area.
MAILNAME The second line of the label area; the mailing name.
SECONDARY The third line of the label area; the secondary address.
DELIVERY The fourth line of the label area; the primary address.
CITY The city name of the label.
STATE The state code.
ZIP The postal code, including the hyphen after the 5th number, if any.
SALUTATION The "Dear. . ." name.
DATE1 The "first entered" date.
HOMPHONE Home phone number
OFCPHONE Office phone number
DONORCODE Donor Type code.
CATEGCODE Category code.
ALLTIME The "Total Given", ever, by this donor.
YEARTODT The "Year to Date" total given by donor.
LASTAMT The "Amount of Last Gift".
LASTDATE The "Date of Last Gift".
NOTES The text in the Notes.
The following fields refer to the entry blocks in the Giving
History window. Note that all fields are preceded by the name
of the database in which they are found, plus an arrow (formed
by the hyphen and the greater-than sign). If you neglect to
type in: GIFTS-> before the field name, the program will assume
that the field is in the Master database, which these are not.
The GIFTS-> tells the program where to look for the data you
want.
These fields may be reliably used only in thank-you letters, in
which case they will refer to the contribution for which you are
thanking the donor. If used in an Appeals letter, you must
first use either the GIFTAMT() or GIFTDATE() function to point
to the donor's most recent contribution.
- 64 -
GIFTS->AMOUNT The amount of the gift. Same as GIFTAMT().
GIFTS->DATEGIVEN The date you entered as the date of the gift.
Same as GIFTDATE().
GIFTS->SOURCE The source code.
GIFTS->LETTER The "Send Ltr?" entry block.
GIFTS->DT_ENTRY The date you recorded the gift. (recorded
automatically by the program)
- 65 -
Error Messages and Troubleshooting
----------------------------------
Errors can, and do, happen in all computer programs.
Although even the best programs can have latent errors waiting
to occur, most errors are caused by problems outside the control
of the program itself, like hardware malfunctions, bad bits in
the data, memory conflicts, etc.
FRB has an error handling system that traps most errors as they
occur. It gives you a short message in a box on the screen, and
then logs the nature of the error to disk, and returns you to
the Opening Menu. We've tried to catch the most common ones,
and give you a warning message before an error occurs, or to
explain what to do to correct the error; but we can't, of
course, anticipate every situation.
The most common error messages are given below:
A database/index error has been detected
----------------------------------------
This error comes with the admonition to run File Maintenance,
which you do from the Opening Menu. Normally this error occurs
because an index file has gotten out of sync with its database
file. Read the section on File Maintenance in this manual while
you are running File Maintenance.
If you continue to get this error even after running File
Maintenance several times, then you may have a more serious
problem. First, read the section on CHKDSK and follow the
instructions there. Then re-run File Maintenance. If that
doesn't fix the problem, read the section below for DBFNTX/1020
errors.
DBFNTX/1001-1003 (unable to open the specified file)
----------------
These could be caused by the file not existing at all, not
existing in the default FRB directory, or your not having Rights
to the file if on a network. Use the DIR command, from the DOS
prompt, to determine if the file exists in the \FRB
sub-directory.
DBFNTX/1104-1106 (unable to create the specified file)
DBFNTX/1011 (write error)
----------------
These could be caused by there not being enough room on the
disk for the file to be created, by it being ATTRIB'd Read Only
(see your DOS manual), or your not having rights to the file if
on a network.
- 66 -
DBFNTX/1010 (unable to read the specified file)
-----------
This could be caused by a floppy disk not being seated
properly; by a bad spot on the hard disk; or by a break in a
network connection.
DBFNTX/1020 (data type error)
DBFNTX/1021 (data width error)
-----------
Unless someone has been tinkering with the databases with a
program like dBase III or Alpha Four, these are invariably
cuased by a damaged database file. This can sometimes be fixed
with a dBase III file correcting program (like dSalvage from
ComTech Publishing in Reno, NV), but you should also be looking
for your most recent backup -- you may need it even if the
problem appears to be fixed.
Be sure to read the section on CHKDSK for related information.
You should always flip through your data and spot-check recent
contribution entries to make sure that all your data is still
intact after it has been fixed.
any 5300 series error
---------------------
Any error in the 5300 range indicates that you are running
out of conventional memory.
There is a type of error that FRB cannot trap. It is called
an "unrecoverable error" because the program cannot proceed any
further. Sometimes it is not even able to display the usual
error box. It may only be able to display a single line about
the error. These are normally caused by memory problems.
If your computer "locks up" -- it simply ceases to function,
gives no error message, and the keyboard does nothing -- your
only option is to reboot. In worst cases, you must turn your
computer off and then on again. A problem like this is usually
caused by one of two things: static electricity (normally a
problem only in winter), or a memory problem. But, a lockup that
occurs often can be caused by any number of strange combinations
of things, including even a slow hard disk controller card, or
network card, in a fast computer (try running your computer in
non-Turbo mode or with "one wait state" to test this
possibility).
- 67 -
Any other errors could be caused by a number of factors:
memory conflicts, interrupt conflicts, disk errors, static
electricity, incorrect use of Windows or DOS, or even (but not
likely) an actual bug in FRB. We suggest that you look through
the sections in this manual on CHKDSK, and Windows, if you are
running FRB through Windows.
If you are unable to ascertain the cause of your error, we may
be able to find it for you. Because FRB records not only the
nature of the error, but also the condition of the program at
the time of the error, there is a good chance that we can
identify the source of the problem from the error log and some
other information we will ask you for.
We suggest you take one of the following three courses of
action. All the following steps are performed from the DOS
prompt.
Course of Action #1
-------------------
1) Type up a brief description of what you were doing when the
error occured. Be as thorough as possible. On this page,
also put your name, address, phone number(s), and times when
you can be reached (at each number). If you can be reached
by fax, Internet, or CompuServe include those number(s).
2) Print the error log. Type: COPY \FRB\ERROR.$$$ PRN and press
Enter.
3) Print other diagnostic information. Perform one of these two
steps:
a) Type: MSD /P \FRB\DIAG.TXT and press Enter.
If DOS reports "Bad command or file name", then you do
not have a copy of this program, which comes with
Windows, and perhaps with newer versions of DOS.
b) If you are using DOS version 5 or higher,
type: MEM /D > \FRB\DIAG.TXT and press Enter.
Print the report by typing: COPY \FRB\DIAG.TXT PRN and
pressing Enter.
4) If you did not perform step 2a above (the MSD report), then
print the two "boot" files by performing these next two
steps:
a) type: COPY \CONFIG.SYS PRN and press Enter.
b) type: COPY \AUTOEXEC.BAT PRN and press Enter.
- 68 -
5) Give us a picture of the condition of your hard disk:
a) type: CHKDSK /F and press Enter. (If you should be
asked a question, see the section in this manual on
CHKDSK.)
b) While the screen still displays the information, press
the PrtSc (Print-Screen) key to print a copy of the
screen.
6) Either:
a) Fax the first page of the error log plus your description
to us; or
b) Mail everything to us.
Course of Action #2
-------------------
1) Follow steps 1 through 5 above.
2) Make a DOS backup of your entire FRB directory. (See the
section in this manual on making Backups..)
3) Mail it all to us. We will, of course, respect the
confidentiality of your data.
Course of Action #3
-------------------
Call in a local professional who is familiar with dBase,
Clipper, or Fox.
- 69 -
Miscellaneous
-------------
This section contains information on a variety of topics:
Disk Errors and Fragmented Files
Backing Up
Running FRB under Windows
Running FRB from a floppy disk
dBase Compatibility
Disk Errors and Fragmented Files
--------------------------------
FundRaiser Basic is in a class of software (which includes
most database programs) that can really put a hard disk and DOS
through their paces. In the worst case, it is possible for DOS
to lose pieces of your files. Fortunately, there are steps you
can take to make it easier on both, to prevent problems from
occurring, and to correct those problems if they should happen.
Unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of this manual to go into
all the possible scenarios surrounding all the causes and which
steps to take when. So, instead, we are going to give you a few
suggested guidelines.
DO's
----
1. Run the DOS command, CHKDSK or SCANDISK, at least weekly,
in order to find any disk errors early, before they have a chance
to cause real problems. See below for instructions. You should
also run File Maintenance often. See the section in this manual
on that subject.
2. If you ever get a FundRaiser error relating to a file, or
if there is a power outage, or if the computer locks up while
you are running any program, immediately run CHKDSK or SCANDISK
per the instructions below. Then run File Maintenance.
3. If you own a disk compacting or defragmenting program,
(such as SpeeDisk, contained in the Norton Utilities), run it on
a weekly basis, after running CHKDSK or SCANDISK. If you don't
own such a program, we suggest you obtain one.
DON'T
-----
Never turn the computer off without first exiting FundRaiser.
If you suspect that someone else has done this, run CHKDSK or
SCANDISK per the instructions below, and then run File
Maintenance.
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Running CHKDSK or SCANDISK
--------------------------
These two programs come with DOS - so, everyone has a copy.
SCANDISK replaced CHKDSK with DOS version 6.
We suggest that you run CHKDSK/SCANDISK every day. Some people
even put it in their AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so that it gets run every
time they turn their computer on.
CHKDSK:
From the DOS prompt, type: CHKDSK, and press Enter. This will
display a status report about your disk (don't worry about any
"bad sectors" it reports _ they're already taken care of). If
you have a disk error, it will first report the error. (In some
cases it will also ask if you wish to "Convert lost chains to
files?". Press N to not fix the disk error now.)
SCANDISK:
From the DOS prompt, type: SCANDISK, and press Enter. The
program will then thoroughly check your hard disk, looking for
errors or abnormalities. If it finds one, you should let it fix
it for you. It generally asks you to create an "Undo" disk.
Hold on to that disk for a month or so, just in case, but you'll
probably never need it.
A second phase of ScanDisk checks the surface of your hard
disk. You need not do this every time - once every 3 or 4 times
will be more than sufficient.
If either program reports any errors, we suggest that you
contact a local professional to help you decide what to do. You
can tell him/her that it has been our experience that as far as
FundRaiser is concerned, in more than 90% of the cases, only the
index files are involved. Since these files contain no actual
data, and are automatically rebuilt through File Maintenance,
they need not be converted to files, and need not be saved.
If you're wondering what causes this kind of disk error, the
answer is often someone turning the computer off while still in
FRB (or a power outage while you're working). It can also be
caused, we believe, by heavily fragmented files.
Fragmented Files
----------------
A file on disk is composed of many small pieces all strung
together in a chain. If these pieces are scattered across the
surface of the disk, then it can cause a great deal of wear and
tear on the disk heads as they jump around locating each piece.
If, on the other hand, the pieces are all together, then it's
not only easier on the disk, but will also speed up your use of
the program, and reduce the likelihood of disk errors.
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There are two ways to de-fragment, or compact, files on your
disk. The fastest and easiest is to use a disk-compacting
program, like SpeeDisk which comes with the Norton Utilities. It
may take only a few minutes, or at worst an hour, to run. The
other way is to backup your entire hard disk, then delete
everything from the disk (or re-format the disk), then restore
all the files back on to the disk. This could take all day to
do!
We suggest you de-fragment your hard disk at least once a year;
but monthly or quarterly is even better.
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Backing Up
----------
Having a backup copy of your data is not a luxury _ it is a
necessity. Eventually, your computer will fail, or someone will
make a horrible mistake, or something _ and your valuable data
will be gone. Not making regular backups can jeopardize the
future of your organization.
Now that you're properly scared, let's talk about the choices
available for making backups. There are three:
DOS 6 (and newer) MSBACKUP
--------------------------
This version of DOS replaces the old BACKUP program (described
below) with a DOS-based menu-driven system and a Windows version
(see Tools in the File Manager) that are beyond the scope of this
manual to explain. It is much faster than the old version, but
more complicated. Please see your DOS manual for details.
OLDER DOS BACKUP
----------------
Versions of DOS before DOS 6 came with a backup progam called
BACKUP. It is simple and straight-forward to use.
To make a backup of your entire hard disk, assuming it is drive
C:, and your floppy is in drive A, type:
BACKUP C:\*.* A: /S
To make a backup of just the FRB directory, assuming it is
C:\FRB, type:
BACKUP C:\FRB\*.* A:
To make a backup of just the data files within the FRB
directory, type:
BACKUP C:\FRB\*.DB* A:
The newer versions of DOS (version 5.0 and newer) come with a
backup program that will format a disk on the fly. With earlier
versions, you must have all your disks pre-formatted.
To copy backup files back to your hard disk, you must use the
DOS Restore command. See your DOS manual for detailed
instructions.
There are also some commercial backup programs, like FastBack,
which will make a backup to floppies much more quickly than will
DOS. It may be worth looking into, because DOS is slow at
backing up _ it could take hours to backup an entire hard disk
to floppies with DOS!
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Tape Drives
-----------
If the idea of spending time swapping disks in and out of the
computer for hours doesn't appeal to you, you may want to
investigate a tape drive. These little jewels can turn the chore
of backing up into a half-hour task that you can start and walk
away from. Tape drives currently cost $200 and up, with
high-quality name-brand drives costing around $250 from a
mail-order house. In addition, you can expect to spend $15-20
per tape cartridge. But, even the low-end drives can pack 120
Mb of data onto a single cartridge.
Tape drives come in internal (inside the computer case) and
external models; some are easier to install than others. They
also come with their own software. Consult with a local dealer
if you're interested.
How Often?
----------
Ideally, you should make a backup every day that you use the
computer. If that's not possible, a weekly backup is
acceptable. Never, under any circumstances, allow a whole month
to go by without making a backup!
A compromise would be to make a backup of your entire hard disk
only once every three months. Then just backup your data, which
will take less time and fewer disks, on the daily or weekly
basis. If you do this, and restore any data, you must be sure
to run File Maintenance to rebuild indexes, because BACKUP
C:\FRB\*.DB* A: does not include the index files on the backup.
Rotation
--------
It's important that you have more than one backup on hand.
This is because when you discover a problem that requires that
you restore something from your backup copy, you will invariably
find that the problem was copied onto the most recent backup, so
it's not useable. You will then need to go to the backup from
the day (or week) before that.
If you make backups on a daily basis, the preferred rotation
schedule uses 10 sets of floppies or tapes: four for Monday
through Thursday, and four for the four most recent Fridays;
plus one from each of the last two months. Most organizations
also like to archive an End of Year set which they put into a
vault and save forever.
A simpler method rotates through three sets on a daily basis,
and always keeps a set on hand from each of the last two weeks.
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If you make backups on a weekly basis, then you can get by with
just two sets; but rotating through three sets would be safer.
Absolute Safety
---------------
Many people believe that older backups should be kept off-site
in case of fire. This is a good safeguard, but an even better
one is to rotate backups in and out of a bank safe-deposit box.
These are not only fireproof, but are immune from virtually any
other disaster, too.
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Running FRB through Windows
---------------------------
FundRaiser Basic was not written specifically for the Windows
environment. However, like most DOS programs, it can be run as
a "non-Windows application" from within Windows. We do not
recommend this unless you work primarily in Windows, and find
yourself frequently going back and forth between the two.
If you must run FRB through Windows, here are our
recommendations: you must have at least 4Mb of RAM, and run
Windows (version 3.1) in 386-enhanced mode; you must also
increase the number of file handles in your CONFIG.SYS
file....the number will depend on what other programs you run
through Windows; try increasing it to 47. If you get a file
error, increase it in increments of 2 until the problem goes
away; then increase it by 2 more, for good measure.
To install FRB in Windows, go to the Program Manager; open the
Group you want to place FRB in. Click on Program Manager's
"File", then "New"; select "Program Item", then click on "OK".
You should now find yourself in the "Program Item Properties"
window. In the "Description" box, enter: FundRaiser Basic. In
the Command Line box, enter: FRB. In the "Working Directory"
box, enter: C:\FRB (assuming that this is where you installed
FundRaiser).
Now click on "Change Icon". You will be alerted that you must
choose one from the Program Manager; click on "OK". Scroll to
the right to find an icon that appeals to you (most people seem
to choose either the safe or the mailbox). Click on the icon
that you choose; then click on "OK". Back in the Program Item
Properties window, click on "OK". After a moment, you will see
your icon installed in your selected Group.
Finally, edit the PIF file: Open the "Main" Group and
double-click on the "PIF Editor" to open it. (The title bar
should be (Untitled). If not, click on File, then New.) In the
"Program Filename" box, enter: FRB.EXE. In the "Window Title"
box, enter: FundRaiser Basic. In the "Start-up Directory" box,
enter: C:\FRB (or whatever matches the Working Directory
above).
The next six choices should be marked as follows:
Video Memory must be Text
Memory Requirements must be 520 Required, 640 Desired.
EMS Memory should be 0 Required, 1024 Limit.
Display Usage can be either choice, but most people
prefer Windowed.
Execution the choice is yours, but be sure that
Close Window on Exit is checked ON.
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When you're finished, click on "File", then "Save". Under
"File Name", enter: FRB, and click on "OK". Close the Editor
window. You're now ready to start FundRaiser Basic.
Running FRB on a Floppy
-----------------------
FundRaiser Basic may be run totally from a high-density floppy
disk if desired. You can reduce the disk requirements by over
100k by not copying the HELP.DBF or HELP.DBT files _ copy only
FRB.EXE to the floppy. You won't have any help screens, but you
will have more room for data. This basic bare-bones system
requires just a little over 700k of disk space.
dBase Compatibility
-------------------
FundRaiser Basic uses database files that are compatible with
dBase III Plus. Do not even open a file with dBase IV, as I am
told that it will re-write the file to be dBase IV compatible,
which would make it no longer compatible with FundRaiser Basic.
You should also not use the dBase commands PACK or ZAP, as they
are known to occasionally insert an EOF marker in the middle of
a file. Run File Maintenance from within FRB instead.
-- end of manual --
(An index is provided with the printed manual which you will
receive upon registration.)
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