Amiga MA Magazine 1998 #3/amigamamagazinepolishissue1998.iso/bazy/ve25demo/ve-demo/ve25-manual

Text File | 1994-02-15 | 195KB | 5,000 lines

                             Video Escort v2.5

                                USER MANUAL

                    (c) 1990-93 Mr.  Hardware Computers

This on disk documentation is just a shadow of its former self.
The release version of the Video Escort program comes with fully
illustrated and indexed postscript printed documentation.

Installing Video Escort

Terms To Know

POINTER Usually an arrow, moves with the mouse.

CLICK ON Position the mouse pointer over the object you wish to activate.
    Press once on the left mouse button to activate the object.

DOUBLE CLICK Click on the Icon twice, quickly, to run Video Escort.

HARD DRIVE The drive (usually internal) that holds large amounts of data,
    (many megabytes.)

FLOPPY DISK The 3 1/2" disk that holds data.  May be used in internal or or
DISK external drives.  Floppy disks can be ejected from the disk drives.

ICON The pictorial representation of programs on the disk or hard drive.
    Click on the icon to start Video Escort running.

PREFERENCES AmigaDos Preferences allow you to control the way the Amiga
    handles printing and other functions.  Click on the Icon labeled
"Prefs" on your Workbench.

SETTING AMIGA PREFERENCES

Before installing Video Escort, please check your Preferences Printer
settings and printer driver.  Pay particular attention to the left margin,
right margin and length settings.  The left margin must be set at 1, the
right margin must be set at 80 and the length must be set at 66 for Video
Escort to print properly.  While you are at it, make sure pitch is set to
10-Pica and spacing is set to 6 lpi.  Video Escort also needs the Topaz
font in your fonts directory.  For further information about Amiga
Preferences, please see the AmigaDos manual.

MORE SPEED FROM YOUR ACCELERATOR

On accelerated machines, to get the maximum speedup for SBase4Pro from your
accelerator, use the CPU, or SetCPU command, as follows:

CPU > Nil:  FastROM Cache Burst [Return] ;For AmigaDos 2.0
    or SetCPU > Nil:  FastROM Cache Burst [Return] ;For AmigaDos 1.3 -
SetCPU is PD

Make this the first line of s:Startup-Sequence.  This command will use an
extra 512K of your fast RAM, but the level of speed improvement in
SBase4Pro operations will be worth it.

Some older Amiga programs may not work correctly after the CPU or SetCPU
commands are activated as shown above.  Owners of some accelerators may
need to enter a different command to use the FastROM option.  Consult your
accelerator manual for details.

Need to call us?  That number is 516-234-8110.  Our business hours are 1:00
PM to 8:00 PM EST.


Buttons & Gadgets

Terms To Know

REQUESTER A box that appears on the screen.  You can enter information
    or select actions with the mouse or keyboard.

INFORMATION BOX The box inside the requester that accepts information you
type in
    or select with the mouse.

OK Click on the OK button on a requester to tell the requester to or YES
accept the information in the information box.  You can also use
    the Return key on the keyboard after you have typed in the
    information.  The Return key will also answer Yes to requesters.

CLEAR Click on the Clear button on a requester to empty the
    information box.

CANCEL Click on the Cancel button on a requester to cancel out.  or NO
Clicking on OK or hitting the Return key on an empty
    information box has the same effect as the Cancel button.
    The ESCape (Esc or ESC) key will also answer No to requesters.

ENTRY Each piece of information in the database.  A customer's name
    is an entry.

FIELD The part of the database the entries are stored in.  These fields
    show on the Form you are currently using.

FORM The screen or screens that handles data.  Entries appear in fields
    on the Form.

LABEL The text next to a field that labels that field, or the text on a
    button that labels that button.

EDITABLE FIELD A field that allows the user to edit the entry inside of it.
    These fields have a contrasting color box around them.

READ ONLY FIELD A field that only displays information and does not let the
user
    edit it on screen.  However, some fields can be clicked on and will
    display requesters to allow editing.

MENU OPTIONS A display of two or more options listed in a requester.  You
can
    use arrows and sliders in the display to see all of the menu
    options.

VCR BUTTON One of the buttons on the bottom panel that controls viewing of
    the data.

GADGET Buttons to manipulate the screen.

RECORD The collection of entries that belong to one customer or one
    stock item make up one record.

INDEX The field the data is sorted on.  It can be in alphabetical or
    numeric order.

SUBROUTINE The action taken by Video Escort when you click on a button or
    sometimes a field.  For instance, when you enter a new customer,
    you will be using a new customer subroutine.


The opening screen is the Video Escort startup screen.  Click the mouse on
the screen or hit any key (except the space bar) to begin.  As soon as
Video Escort detects your activity, it will present you with a requester
for you to enter your password.  This requester shows the time and date for
you to check the system clock.


It is important to make sure the system clock is set properly, both for
backup purposes and because Video Escort uses this information for
important operations.

Type in the password DEMO.  If you entered the password correctly, click
on OK or use the Return key from the keyboard to tell Video Escort to
accept the information.  If you made a mistake, you can Clear the
information box by clicking on the Clear button on the requester.  You can
now enter the information again.  If you don't want to enter a password,
click on the Cancel button on the requester.  Of course, without a password
you cannot gain access to Video Escort.  You have three chances to enter
the proper password.

In any password requester you will not see the information you are typing
in, so you can use it in front of people who should not know the password.
All other requesters will display the information as you type.

Now we see a requester that asks:

Welcome to the Video Escort Demo!  Ready to Set Up Preferences?
See the 'Getting Started' Section in the Manual on Disk.

These Preferences refer to the Video Escort Preferences.  The
Initialization procedure will take you through setting up Video Escort step
by step.  If you aren't ready yet, click on No, and Video Escort will quit.
If you click on Yes, the screen will say:

One Moment...Initializing Video Escort Demo...

Then the screen will show you the Main Menu of the Maintenance Form.  All
the information you will be asked for is stored in the Maintenance Form.
Any changes can be made in the Maintenance Form after the Initialization
process is completed.  Then you will see the Company Info section of the
Maintenance Form.  The requester says:

Now Enter Your Company Information.


When you click on OK, (or hit Return,) you will notice the bar next to the
words Company Name at the top of the form now has a space inside of it that
is showing through to the background color.  Type your company name into
the empty box, using capitals and small letters.  When you hit Return, you
will go on to the next box, labeled Address.  These boxes are editable
fields.  After the intialization you can click on these fields and the box
will open up for you to edit or change the company information.

When you click on an editable field, the cursor will appear at the far left
of the field.  If you make a mistake while entering, or wish to change the
information in the field, you can use the cursor, delete, and backspace
keys.

If you make a mistake and then hit Return, you can use the mouse to click
in the field where you made the mistake and then correct it.  When you have
entered the telephone number for your company and hit Return, Video Escort
will automatically save this information.

If you were to click on the company information fields to make changes
after the initialization, you would need to save your changes by clicking
on the button labeled SAVE above the company information.

The next requester will read:

Enter Your Sales Tax Rate:

You should enter your sales tax rate without decimals unless your state
uses fractions.  Eight percent should be entered as 8, six and a half
percent should be entered as 6.5, and seven and a quarter percent should be
entered as 7.25.  After you have entered the sales tax rate, the requester
will show what you entered as a percentage to make sure you have entered it
correctly.

Your Tax Rate is 6.50% Is This Correct?

If you answer Yes, you will go on to the next requester.  If you answer No,
you will go back to the Sales Tax Requester and re-enter the tax
information.

YES to Use Deposit Percentage, NO for Flat Rate Deposit.

The deposit can be either a percentage of the contract total or a flat
rate.  Click on your choice.

Enter Your Deposit Percentage:  Enter Your Flat Rate Deposit:  CANCEL for
None.  CANCEL for None.

Enter the percentage the same way you entered the tax rate.  If you wish to
enter a flat rate, enter a whole dollar amount, such as 250.  Cancel to
have no deposit.

YES to Use Cancellation Percentage, NO for Flat Rate Cancellation Fee.

The cancellation fee can be either a percentage of the contract total or a
flat rate.  Click on your choice.

Enter Your Cancellation Percentage:  Enter Your Cancellation Flat Rate:
CANCEL for None.  CANCEL for None.

Enter the percentage the same way you entered the tax rate.  If you wish to
enter a flat rate, enter a whole dollar amount, such as 250.  Cancel to
have no cancellation percentage.  The release amount is how much the
customer should pay towards their contract before you will handle the job.

YES to Use Release Percentage, NO for Flat Rate Release.

The release amount can be either a percentage of the contract total or a
flat rate.  Click on your choice.

Enter Your Release Percentage:  Enter Your Flat Rate Release:  CANCEL for
None.  CANCEL for None.

Enter the percentage the same way you entered the tax rate.  If you wish to
enter a flat rate, enter a whole dollar amount, such as 250.  Cancel to
have no release.  Having Video Escort track the release percentage is a
convenience whether you are ready to shoot the job after getting a deposit
or after having the balance paid in full.

Any Adjustment to Release Date?  -/+ Days From Date of Job. CANCEL for
Release Date as Date of Job.

The release percentage is tied to the job date.  For instance, if you
wanted your release percentage paid by two weeks before the job, you would
enter -14 in this requester.  The release date would be fourteen days
before the date of the job.  Or if you entered +30, the release date would
be thirty days after the date of the job.  The release percentage and date
shows on the contract.


Any Adjustment to Call Back Date?  -/+ Days From Date of Job. CANCEL for
None.

When you book a customer, you can have a call back date entered to call and
confirm any details before the job.  Entering -14 in this requester would
make the call back date fourteen days before the date of the job.  Or if
you entered +30, the call back date would be thirty days after the date of
the job.

Receipt Will Also Make Payment?  NO for Just Receipt Function.

Answering Yes to this requester will give you the option of making payments
from the Receipt Form.  Answering No will just have the Form act as a
receipt maker.  You would still need to enter the payment into the Contract
Form.  The next requester asks about payment methods:

Do You Want to Choose From a List of Payment Methods?  Select NO For All
Payments to be Marked PAYMENT.

The section above this requester displays the buttons and entries in the
Payment Methods.  American Express is the first method alphabetically, and
so is the one displayed when you come into this section of the Maintenance
Form.  The field beneath the word Ask is now blank, but when you answer the
requester it will appear with either a Y or an N, depending on your answer
to the requester.  If you answer Yes, then when you make a payment the list
of payment methods will be available for you to choose from in designating
the type of payment.  If you do not wish to track such information, answer
No, and when you make a payment you will not be asked for a payment method.
All payments will then be marked PAYMENT.  When you have answered the
requester you will see the Y or N appear under the word Ask.  The
initialization will now take you to another part of the Maintenance Form,
the Printer & Label Margins section.  The first requester asks you which
printer you will be using for labels.

YES to Use a Laser Printer, NO to Use a Dot Matrix.

Laser printers print labels in sheets, while dot matrix printers print
labels in a continuous strip.  When you have indicated the type of printer
you are using, it will appear at the top of the section, under the label
Setup For Printers.  You can use the Switch Printer button to change the
printer in future.

YES for 2 Location Label Printing, NO for 1 Location Label Printing.

You can have one or two locations printed on your shooting labels.  When
you have indicated your choice, it will appear at the top of the section,
under the label Setup For Labels.

The next set of requesters are in the Locations & Contract Terms section of
the Maintenance Form.

YES to Ask Mileage for Locations, NO to Not Ask About Mileage.

If you are going to use the mileage functions in Video Escort to keep track
of your mileage for tax and other purposes, then you have the choice of
having Video Escort ask you about the mileage for a location when you enter
that location into the Contract or Information Forms.  An answer of No will
have the default mileage, if any, taken from the Maintenance Form
automatically.  The next requester concerns the mileage requester.  If you
have indicated that you don't want to see the mileage requester at all,
Video Escort will have already answered No to it, and you won't see it.

YES to Show Mileage in Requester, NO for Empty Requester.

If you decide to use the mileage requester, you have a choice of having the
default mileage show in the requester, or answer No for an empty requester
to enter the unique mileage.

YES to Enter Mileage for New Location, NO to Skip Mileage for New Location.

If you are going to use the mileage functions in Video Escort to keep track
of your mileage for tax and other purposes, then you have the choice of
entering the mileage for a new location when you enter that new location
from the Contract or Information Forms.  No will skip the mileage requester
when you enter the new location name.

This is the # of Copies Printed for the Contract.

This requester will place the number you indicate in the printer requester
when you print contracts.  You can change this number at any time by
clicking in the field next to the label Contract Copies.  The next
requester reads:

Thank You For Completing the Video Escort Demo Initialization.

When you click on OK or hit Return at this requester, you will see the
password requester again.  Enter your new password, as you will be doing in
the future.  Once you have entered the new password, you will be back at
the Video Escort Main Menu.


REMEMBER to follow these guidelines:


ALWAYS back up the entire directory for Video Escort.  Do not back up or
copy any partial files.  This can corrupt the relationships between files
and the files themselves.

DO NOT use the pull down menus in the program, which are accessed with the
right mouse button.  These belong to SBase4Pro, and are not for the use of
Video Escort.

Use ONLY Video Escort methods for entering or editing your data.  Never
type on a blank screen to enter new information.  Use the Find/New buttons
or check the manual.

The button in the top left corner will close down Video Escort and the
window it is running in.  DO NOT use this button.  Video Escort may need to
tidy up before closing.  Using the Video Escort buttons to first go to the
Main Menu, and then to quit using the Quit button, will make sure all your
data is safely stored away.


VCR Buttons

At the bottom of the screen are the VCR buttons, so called because their
actions are similar to the buttons on a Video Cassette Recorder.  You can
use the middle group of buttons to browse through your data according to
the index that data is set on.  Video Escort uses the buttons on the right
side to handle the data in special ways.

The Pause button is on the far left and has two vertical lines.

You can use it to pause reports as they scroll down the screen.  Sometimes
Video Escort will use it, and you will see it active.  You can also use the
space bar to toggle the Pause button on and off.


If Video Escort seems to be "stuck" check the pause button.


The Stop button is second from the left and has a small square.

You can use it to stop the action, (such as the Fast Forward or Rewind
buttons,) of the VCR buttons.

If you press it during a subroutine, Video Escort will remind you that it
cannot stop now.  If you are looking at a Report, this button will stop the
Report and return you to the Form.


The Select First Record button is third from the left and has a thin
vertical line with an arrow pointing to the left.

It will instantly go to the beginning of your data.  Clicking on it when
there is no data in the Form will have no effect.

The Rewind button is fourth from the left and has two arrows pointing to the
left.

Pressing this button will cause Video Escort to show you the data as it
rewinds from where you are now toward the beginning.  You can stop its
action by using the Stop button.


The Select Previous button is fifth from the left and has an arrow pointing
to the left.

This button rewinds one record at a time, letting you select the previous
name or date.

The Selection button is in the middle and has an arrow pointing up and an
arrow pointing down.

You can use it to stop the action of the Rewind or Fast Forward Buttons,
and it can also take you to the different pages in the Forms.

If you use the Selection button you might be taken to a part of the page
that is not used, or it might not be set up properly.  You could become
confused by it.  It is better to use the Stop button, above, to stop your
VCR actions.

The Select Next button is sixth from the right and has an arrow pointing
right.

This button moves forward one record at a time, letting you select the next
name or date.

The Fast Forward button is fifth from the right and has two arrows pointing
right.

This button lets you go forward in the data, by showing you all the records
as it goes.  You can stop its action by using the Stop button.

The Select Last Record button is fourth from the right and has a thin
vertical line with an arrow pointing right.

This button instantly goes to the last entry in the database.


VCR BUTTONS YOU DO NOT USE


The button with the question mark is used invisibly by Video Escort to find
a specific record you have requested.

The button with the equals sign on it is used by Video Escort to filter out
extraneous records.  If you click it off, the Form will have its parameters
changed and might not work the way you expect.

The button with the camera on it is not used by Video Escort, and clicking
on it will have no effect.

LOOKING AT THE PAYMENT TYPES


This tutorial will teach VCR panel skills.

First go to the Maintenance Form, and click on the button marked Payment
Methods/Crew/Camera.  The payment methods are at the top of the screen.

The payment methods are in alphabetical order.

The first one showing is American Express, because it is the first one in
alphabetical order.

Now click on the Select Last Record button.

You see that the payment method now showing is Visa.

Now click on the Select Previous button.

The payment method showing is Optima, which is the next to last record.

Now click on the Select Next button.

We are back to Visa again.  If you click on the Select Next button again,
you will get a message telling you End of file.  This lets you know you are
on the last record.

Now click on the Rewind button.

You are seeing all the records as the VCR panel moves you back to the
beginning.  When you reach the first record again, you will see the End of
file message.  This message tells you when you have reached either end of
the file.

Now click on the Fast Forward button.

You are seeing all the records as the VCR panel moves you forward to the
beginning.  While it is running...

Now click on the Pause button.

You see the button lights and the action stops.  Now restart it with the
space bar.

Now click on the Stop button.

The action stops and no lights are lit.


END OF TUTORIAL
Entering & Saving Data

Entering data, whether in a requester or on the screen, is made easier by
not worrying about the cases of letters.  All such entries, (except the
company information and contract terms you enter in the Maintenance Form)
are automatically capitalized.  Some requesters will ask you to type in
words for commands, and to emphasize these command words in the requester,
they will be capitalized.  You do not need to type them in with capitals.
If the requester asks you to type in the words NONE or ALL, you can type
them in as 'none' or 'all'.  Clicking in an editable field will make the
field change color.  You can tell an editable field by the background of
contrasting color around it.  The first click will make the cursor appear
at the far left of the field.  After that you can click anywhere in the
field to place the cursor.  If you make a mistake while entering, you can
use the cursor, delete (Del), and backspace (<-) keys to correct the error.
You can use Ctrl-X to clear any field entirely.  If you edit a field and
change your mind, you can use Ctrl-C to restore the field to its original
state.

Enter dates in several ways:  040191 4-1-91 4/1/91 4-1/91 You cannot use
letters, and you must use the leading zero instead of single digits if you
are not using some kind of marker between.  Enter time with the time and
the am/pm designation, such as:  3 pm (hours only, not 345 pm) 3:00 pm 3:45
pm However, if you are editing an existing time, you can edit the
information that is showing.  For instance, if you were editing a field
that read 3:00 PM, you could change the P in PM to an A, and the 3 to a 1,
and when you hit Return the time would read 1:00 AM.  Times can also be
entered in 24 hour, or military format, where you express PM times by
adding 12 to the time.  Thus, an entry of 3 would appear in the forms as
3:00 am.  If you meant 3:00 pm, you can enter 15 or 1500 or 15:00.


Some Forms have SAVE buttons prominently displayed, some have hidden save
buttons, while others will automatically save.

If you click on the field to enter or edit data, then you should always be
alert to the way your changes are saved.  If Video Escort asks you for
information in a requester, or changes information on the screen after you
have entered the information, then the information is automatically saved.
When you see text displayed on the background color without a contrasting
area of color around it, then this is information you cannot change in this
Form.  It is displayed for your convenience, but either Video Escort
controls this information, or you control it in another Form.  You can tell
that Video Escort is working by the screen pointer becoming a wristwatch
and the VCR panel becoming ghosted.  Forms Summary


CONTRACT FORM

This Form is for creating contracts and booking new or pending customers.
Packages, options, and crew members can be created and chosen, and payments
and adjustments made to the customer's contract.

CREW MANAGER FORM

Enter all information the crew manager needs on a job, from the number of
batteries taken to Locations to the different locations.

EDITOR FORM

Enter the music and graphics and track the dates of startup and completion.

INFORMATION FORM

Use this Form to enter pending customers, track sales leads with
appointments and call backs, and access the mailing list.

LABEL FORM

This Form can print face or spine labels in shooting or final format,
individually or by schedule.

LIBRARY FORM

Use this Form to handle your music, graphic, and tape libraries.

MAINTENANCE FORM

Enter locations, customize the contract terms, enter camera types, crew
members, and payment methods, packages and options, and all customizable
buttons.  Create text and simple designs to customize printed contracts and
receipts.

RECEIPT FORM

Prints receipts for actual or prospective payments.

REPORTS FORM

A variety of reports to track the most popular packages, taxes, and more.

SCHEDULE FORM

Creates and edits schedules for a range of dates.

Main Menu


The buttons in the center of the Main Menu are labeled with a particular
Form name.  Click on them to go to the Form of your choice.

CUSTOMER # MEMORY

Video Escort keeps track of the Customer # in all the Forms so you can move
from Form to Form without looking up the same customer all of the time.
This Customer # shows in the message area above the Form buttons.  To clear
the Customer # from the Main Menu, click on it and it will blank.  Now the
Forms will blank when you go into them.

QUITTING OUT

In the upper right corner is a button to Quit Video Escort.  We recommend
that you always use it to shut down the program.


Sometimes Video Escort needs to update the data after entering or editing
the location fields.  Using the Quit button will keep your data in good
shape.

Ready to Quit?

Answering Yes might make the message Updating...Please Wait...  appear
above the Form buttons before shut down.

Answering No will leave the Quit requester and you will be back in Video
Escort.


Maintenance Form


The Maintenance Form is the central source for data Video Escort consults
when it makes decisions.  The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will
always close down the present Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of
Forms.  This is a button that all the Forms have in common.  The
Maintenance Form is divided into several sections, and each of these
sections has its own menu button in the upper right corner labeled Menu.
This button will bring you back to the section Menu.

Company Info/Password/Contract Defaults

COMPANY INFORMATION


Click on the SAVE button in the upper left corner to save all changes to
Company Info.

You will see your company information in the boxes.  Any changes to your
name, address, or telephone number will be recorded here.  Click on the
field you wish to edit and use the cursor, delete, and backspace keys to
change the information.  Hitting Return will take you to the next box until
you get to the end, or you can use the mouse to move from box to box.

PASSWORD


A change to Password is automatically saved.


The Password field does not have a box around it.  You can edit the
password by clicking on the label or the field.

Enter New Password:

You can enter the new password, or Cancel for no change.

CONTRACT DEFAULTS


Changes to Contract Defaults are automatically saved.


Your Cancellation, Deposit and Release contract defaults, as well as the
Due By and Call Back Days and Tax Rate, are all edited from requesters.
Click on the label or field of the entry you wish to edit.

The contract defaults can be either a flat rate or a percentage.

Now Figuring Cancellation Using Flat Rate/Percentage.  Keep This
Cancellation Method?

Depending on the present setting of the contract default, answer Yes to
keep the present setting.  Answer No to change to the other setting.
Cancel to do nothing.

Old Cancellation Percentage was 20%.  Old Cancellation Flat Rate was 250
Enter New Cancellation Percentage:  Enter New Cancellation Flat Rate:

For Cancellation, Deposit, and Release Contract Defaults, enter the new
percentage or flat rate into the information box.  Video Escort will save
the change and use it for all future transactions.

For Tax Rate changes, the new tax rate will be used for all future
transactions, so time the change accordingly.

Old Tax Rate was 8.50%.  Enter New Tax Rate:

Enter the new tax rate in the information box.  Cancel to not change the
tax rate.

Make the change to the tax rate after the rate has become effective and
before you enter any new contracts.

When you change the tax rate Video Escort will need to update the unpaid
contracts, so the unpaid portion will be taxed at the new rate.  This
requester informs you of the action:

Changing Tax Rate Will Change Unpaid Contracts.  Please Wait While Updating
Takes Place.

While on the screen you will see:

Updating Unpaid Contracts.  Processing...

You will also see dots accumulating across the screen as Video Escort works
through the contracts.

Processing Completed.  Press Any Key to Start Report.

The report shows all the contracts that were changed and the amount of the
new tax compared to the old.


To change the Due By Days, click on the field or label.

Old Due By Days was -14.  Enter New Due By Days:

Enter the new due by days, being sure to use the + sign if you want the due
by days added to the job date, and use the - sign if you want the due by
days subtracted from the job date.  When changing the Due By Days, the
change will take place on all new contracts.  Old contracts that still have
an open release amount will reflect the change after the next payment is
made on them.

To change the Call Back Days, click on the field or label.

Old Call Back Days was -14.  Enter New Call Back Days:

Enter the new call back days, being sure to use the + sign if you want the
call back days added to the job date, and use the - sign if you want the
call back days subtracted from the job date.  The resulting date will be
put into the call back sequence in the Information Form.

Camera/Crew/Payment Methods


Changes to Payment Methods/Crew/Camera are automatically saved.


The payment methods, crew members, and cameras are in alphabetical order.
You can tell which database is on the VCR panel by looking at the check
boxes beside each Find/New button.

PAYMENT METHODS

Find/New allows you to search for a payment method or enter a new one.
When you click on the button the requester will display a list of the
payment methods in the database.  You can click on the payment method to
put it in the information box.  When you click on OK the payment method
will appear in the field on the right.  If the payment method you want is
not in the database, click on Cancel.

Enter New Payment Method:  CANCEL for No New Entry.

Enter the new payment method into the information box.  Cancel this
requester to enter nothing.


Going through a search process before entering new data ensures that Video
Escort is properly set up to handle the new entry, and makes sure you (or a
coworker) have not already entered the information.

Ask toggles whether or not the payment methods will be displayed for you to
choose from when a payment is made.  You can turn this option off or on at
any time by clicking on the field or label.  Print will print a list of
payment methods in the database.  Delete will delete the payment method
showing in the field.

AMERICAN EXPRESS Remove This Payment Method?

Answer Yes to delete the payment method, No to cancel without changes.  If
you made an error when you entered a payment method, delete and re-enter it
to correct the error.  Receipt = Payment toggles whether or not the Receipt
Form will make an actual payment when a payment is entered for the receipt.
You can turn this option off or on at any time by clicking on the field or
label.

CREW

Find/New will let you find a crew person or enter a new one.  When you
click on the button the requester will display a list of the crew persons
in the database.  You can click on the crew person to put it in the
information box.  When you click on OK the crew person will appear in the
field on the right.  If the crew person you want is not in the database,
click on Cancel.  You will get a requester with an information box to enter
the new crew person.  You can cancel this requester to enter nothing.
Print will print a list of crew persons in the database.  Delete will
delete the crew person showing in the field.  You will be asked to make
sure you are deleting the right one.  If you made an error when you entered
a crew person, you can delete it and re-enter it.

CAMERA

Find/New will let you find a camera or enter a new one.  When you click on
the button the requester will display a list of the cameras in the
database.  You can click on the camera to put it in the information box.
When you click on OK the camera will appear in the field on the right.  If
the camera you want is not in the database, click on Cancel.  You will get
a requester with an information box to enter the new camera.  You can
cancel this requester to enter nothing.  Print will print a list of cameras
in the database.  Delete will delete the camera showing in the field.  You
will be asked to make sure you are deleting the right one.  If you made an
error when you entered a camera, you can delete it and re-enter it.


Extra Interests/Job Types/Crew Titles

Changes to Extra Interests/Job Types/Crew Titles are automatically saved.

EXTRA INTERESTS

These are the areas on section 2 of the Information Form that allow you to
gather information on other services your customers might be interested in,
such as photography, disk jockey, flowers, or bands.  To change the Video
Escort defaults to ones of your own choosing, click on the Extra Interest
field you wish to change.

Edit This Extra Interest:

You will see the extra interest in the information box.  Edit or click on
Clear to clear the information box and type in an entirely new entry.  The
change will be saved and will be used on the Information Form for all new
customers.  For no extra interest in this button, Clear the information box
before you click on OK or hit Return.  This will clear the entry in this
button.

JOB TYPES

These are the buttons in the Information Form and the Contract Form that
save you typing by letting you click on the customer's job type.  To change
the Video Escort defaults to ones of your own choosing, click on the Job
Type field you wish to change.

Edit This Job Type:

You will see the job type in the information box.  Edit or click on Clear
to clear the information box and type in an entirely new entry.  The change
will be saved and will be available for all new customers.  For no job type
in this button, Clear the information box before you click on OK or hit
Return.  This will clear the entry in this button.

CREW TITLES

These are the buttons in the Contract Form that you click on to enter a
crew person with their job title.  To change the Video Escort defaults to
ones of your own choosing, click on the Crew Title field you wish to
change.

Edit This Crew Title:

You will see the crew title in the information box.  Edit or click on Clear
to clear the information box and type in an entirely new entry.  The change
will be saved and will be the new default in the Contract Form.  For no
crew title in this button, Clear the information box before you click on OK
or hit Return.  This will clear the entry in this button.

Changes to extra interest, job type, or crew title will only apply to new
entries.

Packages/Options


If you click on an editable field, click on the SAVE button at the top to
save changes to Packages/Options.

Packages and Options are in alphabetical order according to button name.
You can tell which database is on the VCR panel by looking at the check
boxes beside each Find/New button.

PACKAGES

Find/New Package will let you create unlimited numbers of different
packages.

Choose the Package:  CANCEL for a New Package.

You will see a list of packages with their prices.  Click on the one you
want to look at or edit to put it in the information box, and then click on
OK or hit Return.

You cannot harm your data or Video Escort by any searches you may initiate.
If you cancel a requester while you are searching through your data, you
might be asked if you want to make a new entry.  You will always be able to
Cancel the new entry requester, or answer No, if you do not want to make a
new entry at that time.

Cancel to enter a new package.

ENTERING A NEW PACKAGE


This tutorial will teach new entry skills.

Enter New PACKAGE Name:  CANCEL For No New Entry.

You will type in the name that will show on the package button and appear
in the menus.  If you don't want to create a new package after all, click
on Cancel or hit Return with an empty information box.

Each package must have a unique name.  If you enter a name that already
exists, the package with that name will appear in the Form, and a message
will say That Package Exists.  No Duplicate Names.  You will then have a
chance to re-enter the package name or Cancel the new entry subroutine.


When you have entered the new name, you will see the Form blank and the
name appear.  The field for the price will open up for you to enter the
price.  When you hit Return on the price field, you will be in the
description for the package.  There are eight lines of description to a
package.  You see the label above, which used to say:

This is What Will Show in the Button.--

Has changed to:

Enter Description, Return on Last Line.

Hitting return on the last line will indicate that you are finished.  Until
then you can use the mouse or cursor keys to go to any point in the
description.

Enter Label Information?

If you want the package to give instructions to the label printing later
on, answer Yes.  Final Label Text is the text that will print on the final
labels.  Number of Tapes will be the number of labels printed for this
package.

Editing in Studio?

If you want this package to be edited in the studio, answer Yes.  For an In
Camera Edit, answer No.

Customer Gets Original Tapes?

The answer to this requester will be printed on the crew manager sheet as a
reminder.

If you don't need label information, you can skip it by answering No to the
Enter Label Information?  requester.


END OF TUTORIAL


OPTIONS

Find/New Option will let you create unlimited numbers of different options.

Choose the Option:  CANCEL for a New Option.

You will see a list of options with their prices.  Click on the one you
want to look at or edit to put it in the information box, and then click on
OK or hit Return.  Cancel to enter a new option.

Enter New OPTION Name:  CANCEL For No New Entry.

You will type in the name that will show on the option button and appear in
the menus.  If you don't want to create a new option after all, click on
Cancel or hit Return with an empty information box.

Each option must have a unique name.  If you enter a name that already
exists, the option with that name will appear in the Form, and a message
will say That Option Exists.  No Duplicate Names.  You will then have a
chance to re-enter the option name or Cancel the new entry subroutine.

When you have entered the new name, you will see the Form blank and the
name appear.  The field for the price will open up for you to enter the
price.  When you hit Return on the price field, you will be on the
description line for the option.  When you have finished entering the
description line and hit Return, the new option will be saved
automatically.  Options do not affect the label printing.

EDITING PACKAGES AND OPTIONS

To edit a name, click on the field that holds the button name.

Enter New PACKAGE/OPTION Name:

Enter the new name and it will replace the old name.  If the new name is
the same as some other package or option, Video Escort will show you the
package or option with that name and give you a chance to enter a different
name.  To edit a package, you can click in the field you wish to change and
use the cursor, delete, and backspace keys to make changes.  The two Y/N
fields, Editing and Original Tape, are toggled by clicking on the field.

If you clicked on a field and it opens up for editing, be sure to use the
Save button when you have finished editing.


DUPLICATING PACKAGES AND OPTIONS

To save editing time, you can click on the Duplicate button to duplicate
the package or option showing in the Form.

Duplicate This PACKAGE/OPTION?  Enter the New Name:

The package will save under the new name.  Then each field will open up for
you to make changes, which will be saved automatically.

Because packages and options are displayed on the same screen, you should
look for the checkmark beside the Find/New button.  It will show you
whether the VCR panel is set for Packages or Options.  DELETING PACKAGES
AND OPTIONS

First choose the package or option you wish to delete, and then click on
the Delete button.

(NAME OF THE PACKAGE/OPTION)
  Remove This Package/Option?

Answer Yes to delete the package or option, No to cancel without changes.
Packages or options that have already been contracted will not be affected.

Print will print a list of the packages or options for use as a price list.

Contract Button Sets


Changes to Contract Button Sets are automatically saved.


Package and Option Button Sets are in alphabetical order according to set
name.  You can tell which database is on the VCR panel by looking at the
check boxes beside each Find/New button.

This part of the Form lets you create package and option sets.  Up to six
packages or options are grouped in a set, and any set can be called into
the Contract Form for instant access.  One package set and one option set
can be the default.  When you click on the Main Menu button for Contract
Button Sets, the buttons showing on the Form are the current sets that will
appear when you go into the Contract Form.  To look at a different set of
packages or options, click on the appropriate Find/New button.

Choose Package Set:/Choose Option Set:

You can click on the set you want to look at, or Cancel to enter a new set.

Name of This Set?  CANCEL for No New Set.

You need to enter a unique name, or Video Escort will show you the set that
already has that name.  When you have entered the name of the set, it will
appear on the Form and this text will appear:

Now Click on Button Position and Choose the Package/Option.

The buttons on the screen were blanked when you put in the new set name.
Now click on the button you want to put a package or option into.


Choose the Package/Option for This Button.  Enter NONE to Clear Button.

Choose the package or option and it will appear in the button.  Enter NONE
to clear the button.  Cancel for no change.

EDITING THE BUTTON SETS

At any time you can change the package or option showing in the button set
by clicking on the button and choosing a new package or option.  You can be
editing an already created set or change your mind while entering a new
set.  To change the sets showing in the Contract Form, click on the Set
Default button.  The current sets will appear in the Form and you will see
this requester:

Change the Current Sets?

If you answer Yes, you will see the menu of package sets first:

Current Package Set #2.  Choose New, or CANCEL to Keep.

Click on the package set you would like showing in the Contract Form.  If
you want to keep the same set as before, click on Cancel.

Current Option Set #1.  Choose New, or CANCEL to Keep.

Click on the option set you would like showing in the Contract Form.  If
you want to keep the same set as before, click on Cancel.  The changes will
be made automatically and the new sets will show in the Form.

Locations/Contract Terms


Click on the SAVE button to save changes to Locations/Contract Terms.

Locations are in alphabetical order.

LOCATIONS

You can build a database of locations, with directions and mileages, to all
the places you frequently shoot.  The directions will print at the bottom
of the Crew Manager Form.  Find/New will find locations for editing.

Choose the Location:  Apple Tree Inn Corporate Headquarters Zellman's

Click on the name of the locations you want to edit to bring them into the
Form.  To enter a new set of locations, Cancel from the Find/New requester.

Enter the Location Name:  CANCEL for No New Entry.

After you have entered the location name, the first line of the directions
field will open up.  There are five lines to type in directions to the
location.  Hitting return on the last line will indicate that you are
finished.  Until then you can use the mouse or cursor keys to go to any
point in the directions.  When you hit Return on the last line, you will go
to the Mileage field.  Here you can enter the mileage to the location, if
known.  This will be used in a mileage report for taxes.  The new entry
will save automatically.

EDITING THE LOCATIONS

To edit the location name, click on the name itself.

Edit the Location Name:

Edit the name or click on Clear to type in an entirely different name.
Video Escort will not allow you to enter a name that is the same as another
location.  Edit the direction lines or the mileage by clicking on the area
you wish to edit.  Save your changes with the Save button.

Print will print a list of the locations in the database.  You can print
just the names or the full directions with mileage.  Delete will delete the
location showing in the Form.  You will be asked to make sure you are
deleting the right one.

MILEAGE DEFAULTS

Mileage defaults only apply to the Contract or Information Forms.  When you
enter a location into the Maintenance Form you can enter the mileage when
the cursor appears in the field.

You can customize the way Video Escort accesses the mileage when you enter
a location into the Contract or Information Forms.  To see the way the
defaults are set, click on the label Mileage, next to the field.

Choose the Mileage Default:  Ask About Mileage When Entering = Y Set
Mileage Default Requester = Y Enter Mileage When New Location = Y

The present setting is shown after the equals sign in the menu.

If you chose Ask About Mileage When Entering the requester would ask:

YES to Ask Mileage for Locations, NO to Not Ask About Mileage.  When you
enter a location into the Contract or Information Forms, Video Escort
automatically puts the mileage in the Locations database into the location
for the customer.  When you run the Mileage report in the Reports Form,
every location for a confirmed contract will be added into the report, with
their own mileage.  If you are going to a second location as part of the
job, as in a ceremony in a church and a reception in a different place, you
would want to edit the mileage to reflect the mileage from the ceremony to
the reception.  Answer Yes to this requester, since every time you set up
locations it will probably be different mileages.  The default will show in
the menu as Y.  An answer of No will have the default mileage, if any,
taken from the Maintenance Form automatically.  The default will show in
the menu as N.  If you chose Set Mileage Default Requester the requester
would ask:

YES to Show Mileage in Requester, NO for Empty Requester.

Yes will have the default mileage show in the requester when you enter a
location.  No will show you an empty requester to enter a unique mileage
for each location.


This default matters only if you have the Ask About Mileage When Entering
default set to Y.

If you chose Enter Mileage When New Location the requester would ask:

YES to Enter Mileage for New Location, NO to Skip Mileage for New Location.

Yes will let you enter the mileage for a new location when you enter that
new location from the Contract or Information Forms.  No will skip the
mileage requester, and you would just enter the new location name.

CONTRACT TERMS

The terms that will print at the bottom of your contracts are fully
editable.  The name of your company automatically appears at the beginning.
Click on the field to edit, and be sure to save your changes with the Save
button.

CONTRACT COPIES

You can change the default number of copies that the contract will print by
clicking on the label or field Contract Copies.

This is the # of Copies Printed for the Contract.

Edit or enter the number of copies you want to come up in the printing
requester on the Contract Form.  You can always print any number by putting
it in the print requester; having the default is a convenience.  Your # of
Copies changes will automatically save.

CONTRACT TEXT

You can also edit the text beneath the contract terms that will appear on
the contract.  The default is Master and, which on the contract reads:

Master and (5) Copies at ($25.00) Each ($125.00)

You can change this text to read Master and Edited or whatever suits your
business.  Be sure to save your changes with the Save button.

Printer Type/Label Margins


Editable fields need to be saved with the SAVE button.

Clicking on the Setup For XX Printer button will toggle between dot matrix
and laser printers.  The change is automatically saved.

The only time this default printer function will affect your printing needs
is when you print labels.  Form and report printing will work with any kind
of printer.

SETUP FOR LOCATIONS

Depending on the kind of labels you need, they can have one or two
locations listed on them.  Set the default by clicking on the field here.
They can be changed in the Label Form at any time.

LABEL MARGINS

Label margins are adjustable so you can get a neat result on your printer
with your labels.  The laser label defaults are set to use Avery Videotape
Laser Labels 5199.  To adjust, first print samples on plain paper to lay
over your own labels, to see how close Video Escort's defaults are to your
own needs.  Then adjust only one thing at a time, to make sure you do not
throw off something that may be fine if left alone.  Every set of labels
has a separate set of margins.  They can be dot matrix or laser, face or
spine, shooting labels or final labels.


For dot matrix printers, try to adjust your tractor feeds and starting
margin before adjusting the defaults in Video Escort.


1st Label Margin This number controls the left margin for the left-hand
column of labels.  If you decrease this number, it will move the labels to
the left.  You increase this number to move the labels more to the right.
You might have to increase the 2nd Label Margin also to avoid cutting off
part of a label.

Label Text Width This is the width of the label in characters.  You adjust
this default at your own risk, since the labels Video Escort makes are
expecting this amount.  Make it less and you will cut off part of the
label, make it more and you are creating needless trouble for yourself.
It's best to just leave it alone.

2nd Label Margin This number controls the left margin for the second, or
right-hand, column of labels.  Adding the 1st Label Margin to the Label
Text Width should give you the minimum 2nd Label Margin.  Adjust this
default to get a second column of labels printing in the right place.

1st Line Next Label This controls the lines between labels.  If your labels
are printing too close together, increase this number.  If your labels are
printing too far apart, so that there is increasing space at the tops of
the labels, you would need to decrease this number.

Copies per Label Video Escort has this default set at 2 for face labels, so
you can have a label for the inside and the outside of the box.  The
default is set at 1 for spine labels, since you would usually only need one
label for the tape cassette.

Labels per Line This default should be left alone, unless you have two or
more columns of labels on a dot matrix printer, or three or more columns of
labels on a laser printer.

Top Label Margin (Laser) Since you can easily adjust the top margin of dot
matrix labels by cranking the tractor back and forth, (and everyone has
their own little place to start labels,) the top margin adjustment is of
real use only to laser printer users.  This default lets you specify the
number of rows down you want the label to start.

Labels Before Form Feed (Laser) Dot matrix labels traditionally are in a
continuous feed strip with no form feeds between them.  Set this default to
the number of rows of labels you have on your laser printer label sheets.

Optional Top Text


Editable fields need to be saved with the SAVE button.

You can customize your contracts and receipts by entering information into
the big field in this part of the Maintenance Form.  Toggle Use by clicking
on the label or field.  If the field is showing N, then even if you have
information entered you will not see it print.  Likewise, if Use is showing
Y, but if you haven't entered any information, you will not see anything
print.

PRINTED MESSAGE

The top of the contract or receipt will have the information you enter in
the box in the center of the screen.  This information will appear if the
label Use is set for Y.  Click on any line to open up the field you want to
enter text in.  Use the mouse or cursor keys to go to any point in the
message area.  Click on the SAVE button to save your Top Text.  The Clear
button will clear the entire area.


Account Functions


Editable fields need to be saved with the SAVE button.


The Accounts are in alphabetical order.

Contracts are handled individually, but you might have situations where you
need to think of groups of contracts as belonging to one account.  This
part of the Form allows you to create an account and link contracts to it.
Find/New allows you to search for an account or enter a new one.

Account Number or Name, or Search String:

Enter the first few letters of the account name, the full account number,
or a search string.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular entry.

The next requester will display a list of the accounts.  You can click on
the account to put it in the information box.  When you click on OK the
account will appear in the Form, with the ten most recently linked
contracts displayed beneath it.  Cancel to enter a new account.

YES to Enter New Account, NO to Make Account From Customer.

If you click on Yes you will see the Form blank and the first field,
Company, will open up for your entry.  If you have no company name for this
account, hit Return, and you will go to the field for first and last name.
If you don't enter anything in the last name field, you will see this
requester:

You Must Have a Last Name or a Company Name.  Do You Still Want to Enter a
New Account?

Answer Yes if you want to enter an account.  Answer No if you have changed
your mind.

 After you have entered the address and telephone numbers, the new account
will save automatically.

If you want to use a customer as your account, answer No to the new account
requester.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:

Enter the appropriate letters to find the customer, then choose the
customer from a menu.  All of the account fields will be filled in with the
customer information except the company name field, which will open up for
you to enter a company name.

To edit account information, click on the field you wish to edit and use
the cursor, delete, and backspace keys to change the information.


Always hit Return after editing the account last name or company name.
This will activate the hidden button that updates the Account # throughout
the Forms.

LINKING AND UNLINKING CONTRACTS


This tutorial will teach complex requester skills.

Link/Unlink will let you link or unlink individual contracts with the
account.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:  UNLINK to Unlink a Customer.

To Link a contract, enter the first few letters of the customer name, the
full customer number, or a search string.  You will see a menu of the
customers.  Click on the contract you want to link to put it in the
information box, and click on OK or hit Return.  You will be asked to
confirm the link:

Link ARTHUR JONES to Account #ROSCO01005A?

You should see the customer you chose and the Account showing in the Form.
Answer Yes if this information is correct.  Answer No if not.

If you confirm the link, the linked customer will appear at the top of the
list of customers.  All customers are displayed in the order of entry, with
most recently linked customers at the top.

To Unlink a contract, click on the Link/Unlink button and enter the word
UNLINK, in any case or combination.

You could enter the word as UNLINK, unlink, or Unlink.  The case of words
entered in requesters does not matter, whether it is a command or a name
you are searching for.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:  Customer to be UNLINKED.

Choose the customer to be unlinked.  You will see a confirming requester:

UNLINK ARTHUR JONES to Account #ROSCO01005A?

You should see the customer you chose and the Account showing in the Form.
Answer Yes if this information is correct.  Answer No if not.

If you confirm the unlink, the unlinked customer will be removed from the
list of customers.


END OF TUTORIAL

ACCOUNT PAYMENTS, CREDITS & DEBITS

Accounting will let you Make a Payment, Enter a Credit, or Debit Account.
A payment or credit can be applied to any contract linked to the account.

Enter Date of Payment:  CANCEL for No Payment.

Today's date will appear in the requester, and you can edit this date or
clear the requester with the Clear button to enter a different date.
Cancel to leave the payment subroutine.

Amount of Payment?  CANCEL for No Payment.

Enter the amount of the payment, or Cancel to leave the payment subroutine.
This is your last chance to cancel a payment.  If you have indicated that
you want to use Payment Methods, the next requester will let you choose
from the database of payment methods.  Cancel will make the payment method
default to PAYMENT.

Account Has These Unpaid Contracts:  CANCEL To Put $100.00 On Account.

Now the requester shows a list of linked, unpaid contracts.  Choose the
contract you want to apply some or all of the payment to.

Balance Due on Contract is $50.00 Enter Amount to Apply to Contract.

When you have chosen a contract the information box will appear with the
amount due on the contract, unless the payment is less than the amount due.
Then the information box would show the amount of the payment.  You can
edit or accept this amount and it will be applied to the contract.  If
there is any amount left of the payment after all the contracts have been
paid, the remaining amount will be put on the account.

No More Unpaid Contracts.  Putting $50.00 On Account.

You will see the amount appear on the account, and all contracts showing
will be updated to reflect the payments.  Choosing Enter a Credit will give
you this requester:

Enter Date of Credit:  CANCEL for No Credit.

Enter the date and amount of the credit, and the amount will appear on the
account.  Choosing Debit Account will show you a menu of payments and
credits, with the memo, date, and amount showing.

Choose the Entry to be Debited:  CANCEL for No Debit.

Choose the payment or credit you wish to debit.  Cancel to not debit
anything.

DEBIT Account #ROSCO01005A for $100.00 from 6/26/93 with memo AMERICAN
EXPRESS?

This requester allows you to make sure of the payment or credit you choose.
Answer Yes to continue with the debit, answer No to cancel out of the debit
subroutine.

This is the Memo for the Entry.  You Can Edit This Information.  The
information box will show the memo for the entry you are debiting.  You can
edit this memo to help you remember why you debited it, such as Bad Check
#8526.

Account Has Payments on These Contracts:  CANCEL to Deduct $100.00 From
Account.

Then the menu will show all linked contracts that have payments made to
them.  You can deduct some or all of the debited amount from the contract
you choose.  You can Cancel at any time to deduct the debited amount from
the account.

To apply money from the account to a contract, click on the On Account
field or label to the right of the Form.

Account Has These Unpaid Contract:  CANCEL to Put $100.00 On Account.

You will see unpaid linked contracts in the menu with the Customer #, the
amount due, and the total of the contract showing.  Select the customer's
contract you wish to apply money to.

Balance Due on Contract is $200.00.  Enter Amount to Apply to Contract.

The amount showing in the information box is the amount of the money on
account, unless that is greater than the amount due on the contract.  Then
the information box will have the amount due on the contract you've chosen.
You can edit or accept this amount and it will be applied to the contract.
If there is any amount left on account after all the contracts have been
paid, the remaining amount will be put back on the account.

REPORTS

When you click on the Reports button you will see a menu of reports.

Choose the Type of Report:

Choose the one you want, or Cancel to leave the requester.

Send To Printer?

You can click on No to make the report print to the screen.  To page
through the report, use the space bar.  To stop a report, click on the
second VCR button, the one with a solid square.  When the report is done,
it will print Any Key to Continue at the bottom, and any key will return
you to the Form.  Account List - No Totals will print all accounts
alphabetically.  Account List - Totals will print all accounts
alphabetically with the total of their contracts, with a total at the end.
Balance Due List - Account will print the contracts with balance dues for
the account showing in the Form.  Balance Due List - All will print the
contracts with balance dues for all of the accounts.

PAGING

The buttons marked with the number and arrows to the left of the SAVE
button provide a way to move through pages of linked contracts.  The up
arrow, /\, will move back towards the oldest linked contracts, while the
down arrow, \/, will move forward to the linked contracts.

Information Form


The Information Form lets you track sales leads of all kinds.  Customers
entered into this Form will have the designation of P for Pending.  The far
right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down the present Form
and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a button that all
the Forms have in common.  On the right margin you will see three numbered
buttons to go to the different sections of the Information Form.  The
button that is lit with a lighter shade will show which section you are in.
Click on any button to go to that section.  Section 1 is for entering
customers, their locations and types of job.  Section 2 is used while
making sales calls and appointments, and has access to the mailing labels.
Section 3 has a place to enter notes to yourself and directions to a
customer's home or place of business.


Click on the SAVE button in each section to save changes to the Information
Form.


Customers are in alphabetical order and display only Pending unless the
Date Index checkmark is on.

Section 1 - Customer Names, Dates, & Locations

The shaded area is used for displaying the customer names, addresses, and
telephone numbers.  There are two such places for data, labeled Main and
Secondary.  The Main area is for the primary customer, and sometimes that
is all you will need.  At other times, you will need information on another
person.  The Main name might be the bride's at a wedding, and the Secondary
name can be that of the groom's.  Other uses include divorced parents for a
birthday party, or a different contact at a corporate event.  You can use
Secondary for anything you like.

FINDING A CUSTOMER

Find/New lets you choose a customer from the database.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:

You can enter the full customer number to have that customer brought into
the Form.  The customer will then appear in the Form.

The letters you type into any Video Escort requester, or on the Form, do
not have to be capitalized.  All entries, unless otherwise indicated,
automatically capitalize to simplify information entry.

You can enter the first letters of the customer's name and chose the name
from a display in the menu.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular entry.

In this example we have entered the beginning letters JON into the first
requester.

CUSTOMER NAME:  Return or OK for the Top Entry.

JONES02559 JONES     GLEN         P
JONES01974 JONES     LAURA         B
LYZEE01744 LYZEE CORPORATION         B
SMIDG01235 SMIDGET     HAROLD         B
SMITH02517 SMITH     MARGARET     B

 To choose Glen Jones you can simply click on OK or hit Return, since it is
the top entry.  There are two Jones, but only one of them is a Pending
customer, as shown by the letter P at the end of the line.

Customer #     Last Name     First Name     Status
JONES02559     JONES         GLEN         P

The third way of looking at the customers is with a search string.  The
wild card '*' is a stand in for any string of letters or numbers.  Suppose
you entered JON and couldn't find the name you were looking for because
those letters didn't appear at the beginning of the name.  You could use a
search string to find the letters inside the name.

Using a search string like JON* would have the same effect as entering the
letters JON.  Both ask for last names that begin with the letters JON.

If you were to enter the search string *JON*, the menu would look like
this:

These Customers Contain The Search String:

JONES02559 JONES         GLEN     P
JONES01974 JONES         LAURA     B
RONJO03714 RONJON RESOURCES         B
SMITH01974 SMITH-JONES         ALBERT     B

As you can see, Video Escort found all the customers with the letters JON
in the last name field, no matter where they are located.  Once you see the
customer you want in the menu, click on the customer to bring it into the
information box and click on OK or hit Return.  You can also double-click
on the customer to bring them into the Form.

CUSTOMER STATUS INDICATORS

The letter at the end of the menu is an indication of the customer's
status.

B -- Booked.  Filtered in the Contract Form.
C -- Canceled.
D -- Dead Issue.
F -- Finalized.
P -- Pending.  Filtered in the Information Form.

SECONDARY NAME SEARCH

If you Cancel from any of the customer menus, you will see:

Enter New PENDING Customer?  NO to Search Secondary Name.

If you click on No to search the secondary name field, you will see the
first few letters or the search string you typed before appear in the
information box of the next requester:

Customer Number, Name or Search String for Secondary Entry:

This makes it easier for you to search for the same name in both places.
You can edit or clear the letters to search for something different, or
click on OK or hit Return to start the search.  If you entered the letters
JON in the secondary name search requester and hit Return, you would see:

Second Customer Name:  Return or OK for the Top Entry.

JONES     SMITH02417 SMITH
JONES     LAMBE01478 LAMBERT
RALSTON SMITH01974 SMITH-JONES

This menu displays the customers in secondary last name order, then the
Customer # and the main last name.  Click on the customer you wish to bring
into the Form.

ENTERING A NEW CUSTOMER


This tutorial will teach new entry skills.

Before you enter a new customer, Video Escort asks that you attempt to find
it first.  In this way you insure that a partner, co-worker, or even your
own busy self has not already entered the new customer.  If you Cancel from
any of the customer menus, you will see:

Enter New PENDING Customer?  NO to Search Secondary Name.

You can answer Yes or hit Return to enter a new customer.

You cannot enter a new customer by simply typing on a blank screen.  Never
type anything on a completely blank screen.  Always make sure that there is
a customer showing on the Form before trying to change or enter new
information for that customer.

When you tell Video Escort you want to enter a new customer, the Form
blanks and a space appears in the last name section of the Main name.
Enter the last name of the customer.  Even at this point you can change
your mind.  If you hit Return with a blank field for the last name, the
program will remind you that you must enter a last name.

You Must Have a Last Name.  CANCEL for No New Customer.

Answering OK to this requester will return you to the last name field for a
second chance, and Cancel will let you out of the new entry subroutine
completely.  Once you have entered a last name and hit Return to go to the
first name field, the program will assign a Customer # and you will see it
in the status line, which is immediately under the menu area.  On the
Information Form, this status line shows only the Customer # and the
status, which for a new customer is P for Pending.  Enter the address and
phone number fields of the customer being entered.  If you do not need or
do not know a piece of information, simply hit Return, and the program will
continue.  Each telephone number has an extension field after it where you
can enter an extension number or an identifying word such as HOME, WORK or
FAX.  When you hit Return at the end of the second telephone number field,
the program will ask:

Resale Number?

If you enter anything in this requester Video Escort will not charge tax.

Would You Like To Enter The Secondary Name?

If you do not need to enter a Secondary name, then answer No.  Otherwise,
you will answer Yes and can enter the Secondary name information the same
way you entered the Main name information.  When you are done, Video Escort
automatically saves.


END OF TUTORIAL


EDITING CUSTOMER INFORMATION

If you make a mistake while entering new information, and have already left
a field, you can usually use the mouse to click on that field again to
correct the mistake.  If not, simply continue until the new entry
subroutine ends, either by answering No to the Secondary name requester or
by completing the Secondary name fields.  To edit customer information,
click the mouse pointer in the field that needs correction.  The field will
change color and the cursor will appear at the far left of the field.  You
can use the cursor, delete, and backspace keys to correct the error.  Since
the resale number is hidden, you can access it by clicking in the last
second extension field for the main name, and then hitting Return.  You
will get a requester with the resale number in it, or a blank information
box if there is no resale number.

Resale Number:

If the customer is linked to an account, you will also see the account
number.

Account Number DALTO01001A Resale Number:

Whatever information is in the information box when you leave the requester
will be the information in the resale number field.  If you make changes
and then click on Cancel, the changes will still be made.

CORRECTING A CUSTOMER #

If you are correcting an error in the last name, be sure to hit Return
after making the corrections.  This will make any needed changes to the
Customer # throughout Video Escort.  If you made changes to the first five
letters of the customer's last name, the Customer # will change.  You will
see the new one at the top of the Form.

DUPLICATING A CUSTOMER

You can duplicate customers with a hidden button.  Choose the customer you
wish to duplicate.  Once it is showing in the Form, click on the label Main
under the Customer #.

Choose the Duplicating Option:
Exact Duplicate
Duplicate & Switch
Make Secondary into Main Name
Make Main into Secondary Name

Exact Duplicate will make an exact duplicate of the customer and assign a
new Customer #.

Duplicate & Switch will duplicate the customer with the secondary name
becoming the main name and vice versa.

Make Secondary into Main Name will make the duplicate with the secondary
name in the main name section and will let you enter the secondary name if
you wish.

Make Main into Secondary Name will first let you enter the main name and
information in the main name section.  Then the previous main name will
appear in the secondary section.

After each duplicating operation, you will have the opportunity to enter a
resale number, if any, for the customer.  The status of the original
customer will become the status of the new, duplicated customer.

If the original customer was linked to an account, the new customer will
also be linked to that account.  You should unlink the new customer if it
will not be part of the account.

Your new customer will be saved automatically.

JOB TYPE BUTTONS

The buttons beneath the name and address section can be customized for your
most popular job types.  If the customer's job type is not shown on the
buttons, choose Other, which will bring up a requester for you to type in
your choice.  If there is no entry in the Job Names field, then the job
type subroutine takes you to that field to fill in the name or names for
the job.  You can change the job type any time by clicking on one of the
Job Type buttons.  You can click on either field to edit it.  Be sure to
save your changes with the SAVE button at the top of the Form.

LOCATIONS

A location in the Form must have a location name, though it doesn't have to
have a date or time.

To enter a location, click on the blank spaces bracketed by the pale blue
arrows under the label Locations.  You will see:

Enter The Beginning Letters Of Location Name:  Enter NONE To Clear.

Enter the first few letters of the location you want.  A menu of previously
entered locations will appear.

Choose the Location:

LITTLE BROWN CHURCH IN THE WILDWOOD
MAISON ROUGE
RONJON RESOURCES

Click on a location to choose it.


If you have the mileage defaults set to show you the mileage before it is
entered, you will see this requester:

MAISON ROUGE Mileage for Location:

Enter (if you have the default set for an empty information box) or edit
(if you have the default set for the default mileage) the mileage for the
location.

Cancel from the menu to enter a new location.

Enter the Location Name:  CANCEL for No New Entry.

The location has to be a unique name.  If Video Escort finds your new entry
already in the database, it will tell you and give you the new location
name requester again.

If you have set the mileage defaults to let you enter the mileage for a new
location, you will see this requester:

MAISON ROUGE Mileage for Location:

Enter the mileage for the new location.  Cancel for the mileage to be zero.

Once you have chosen the location name:

MAISON ROUGE Date:  MAISON ROUGE Time:

The requesters will show the location line you are working on at the top.
Enter the date and the time.  You can Cancel from either requester for no
entry.  These entries are saved automatically.  The last field will show
the day of the week for this date to help you catch any date errors.

EDITING LOCATIONS

To change location information, click on the field you wish to change.  A
requester will appear to let you edit the information in that field, and
will continue through requesters for each field until you Cancel a
requester.  To add location information, click on any blank field.  The
next open line will automatically take the information.

If you have more than one location entry, you will see that the entries
automatically reorder themselves in date and time order.  After editing,
the entries will reorder if needed.

To clear a location line entirely, click on the line you wish to clear.

Enter The Beginning Letters Of Location Name:  Enter NONE To Clear.

Type in NONE (any case or combination) and hit Return.

MAISON ROUGE CLEAR This Location Line with Crew & Schedule Information?

Any crew or schedule information for this location line will also be
cleared.  Answer Yes to clear the line, No to do nothing.  After the
location line is cleared, any other location lines will rearrange
themselves in the proper order.  To edit the mileage, click on the day of
the week field.

DATE INDEX

Customers are in date order regardless of status, unless the status is set
with the date.

When you enter a date in the requester and hit Return the Index for the
Information Form will be changed from Customer # to Date.

Begin with Status Letter for Filter.  Enter the Date:

If you entered the date only, such as 010594, Video Escort will find the
first customer (regardless of status) with that date.  If there is no
customer with that date, the next date will be displayed.  If you entered
the date with a status letter, such as B010594, Video Escort will find the
first customer with Booked status and that date.  If there is no customer
with that status and date, the next date will be displayed.  While the
checkmark is displayed beside the Date button, the VCR panel will move
through all the dates and locations in date order.  These dates are
considered individually.  When the date comes up there may be other dates
in that customer's location.  To look at the entire location lineup, click
on the Date button again, so that the checkmark disappears.  The Form will
go back into Customer # order and all the dates and locations for the
customer will appear.

PRINTING THE INFORMATION SHEET

Print the Information Sheet?

The Print Button at the top of the Form prints an Information sheet for
this customer.  It will contain all the screen information.  Answer Yes to
print.  Answer No to cancel.


INFORMATION REPORT

This report is on the Print Info button and prints, to the printer or the
screen, a Pending Customer List with names, telephone numbers, dates and
locations.

Section 2 - Sales Calls, Appointments, & Mailing Labels

CALL BACKS


Your call memo and next call back date will save automatically after you
hit Return.

The top of the Form displays the names and telephone numbers of the
customer.  Next Call Back Date shows the status of the customer and the
date that was marked for the next call.  The area labeled 1st Call, 2nd
Call, etc., is where you can note the results of each sales call, up to
six.  If you make an entry into any of the call memo lines and hit Return,
you will see that the cursor next appears in the box in the upper left
portion that is labeled Next Call Back Date.  Enter the date you are going
to call the customer back and hit Return.  The customer status is shown
next to this date.  When Booked customers set up a contract, a callback
date of two weeks before the job is entered into the Next Call Back Date.


Look at the customer status before you make the call so you will know if
you are talking to a Pending or Booked Customer.

The Call Back button will bring up the oldest call back date with the
attached customer.  You can make a new sales call, and when you hit return
you will be in the Next Call Back Date field to enter the new date to call
back.  Or click in the field itself.  Either way, you can click on the Call
Back button again.  It will save the date you entered and bring up the next
date that needs a Call Back.  In this way you can move through your calls
until the date that the button brings up is later than today's date.  The
program gives you a reminder when this happens.

Call Backs Up to Date.

If there are no call back dates, the requester will read:

No Call Backs in File.

Print List will print a list of callbacks, with their name, telephone
numbers, and job information.


MAKING APPOINTMENTS

You can make appointments at the bottom of the second part of the Form.
Click in the Appointment Date field, enter a date, and the Day field will
fill with the day of the week.  The status section will show CONFIRM, and
the Next Call Back Date will automatically become the day before the
appointment.  This is so you can call the customer the day before to make
sure they will keep the appointment.  Now enter the time and location of
the appointment.  This information will automatically save.  The
Appointments button will give you a report of all appointments.

STATUS BUTTONS

These buttons not only change the status of the customer, they can be used
to make changes to the Next Call Back Date.

Booked will change the customer's status to B for Booked.  The Next Call
Back Date date will blank.

Pending will change the customer's status to P for Pending.  The Next Call
Back Date date will become two weeks from the appointment date if there is
an appointment.  If there is no appointment, the Next Call Back Date will
become two weeks from today's date.

Dead will change the customer's status to D for Dead Issue.  The Next Call
Back Date date will blank.

EXTRA INTERESTS, ETC.

You can enter the VCR Type in the field so labeled.  When a Pending
customer is created, the extra interests that have been entered in the
Maintenance Form will be created and will appear beneath the call memo
lines.  If you want to use extra interests for a customer that has not been
entered from the Information Form, click on the area of the interest and it
will appear.  To activate an extra interest, click on the label.  You will
see a requester:

Customer Interested in STILLS?

To have the interest labeled with a Y, answer Yes.  To have the interest
labeled with a N, answer No.  Other?  can have any information entered into
it.  Sales Person is used for the name of the salesperson.

MAILING LABELS

Clicking on the Label button will show you a list of possibilities:

Choose the Label Function:

Change Default Fields for Import
Create Labels From Customer List
Create Labels From Mailing List
Delete Names by Parameters
Enter Names for Mailing List
Import ASCII Text File
Mailing List Count by Source
Maintain Mailing List
Make Customer From Mailing List
Print Created Labels
Print Mailing List
Printer Change
Printer Defaults

These alphabetized options can be broken down into these categories:

Printer Settings
Printer Change - change printer from laser to dot matrix or vice versa
Printer Defaults - change margin and space settings

Importing Files
Import ASCII Text File - import a text file into the mailing list
Change Default Fields for Import - change field settings for accurate
imports

Label Printing
Create Labels From Customer List - add to label cache from the customers
Create Labels From Mailing List - add to label cache from the mailing list
Print Created Labels - prints the labels in the label cache

Mailing List Maintenance
Enter Names for Mailing List - add names and addresses to mailing list
Delete Names by Parameters - delete names from the mailing list
Maintain Mailing List - goes to mailing label part of Form

Miscellaneous
Mailing List Count by Source - shows the mailing list sources and counts
Make Customer From Mailing List - change mailing list name to customer
Print Mailing List - print a list of your mailing for other uses

PRINTER SETTINGS

The Printer Change option will come up with different requesters depending
on what printer you are set for now.  If you are set for a laser printer,
you will see:

Change Printer to DOT MATRIX?

If you are set for a dot matrix printer, you will see:

Change Printer to LASER?

If you answer Yes to the requester, the printer will change.  This will be
the printer the mailing labels will use until you change it again.  If you
answer No, there will be no change.

Using this option to change the printer affects only the mailing label
printing.

The laser label defaults are set for Avery Laser Printer Labels 5161.  The
Printer Defaults option lets you change margin and space settings for the
labels you are using.  Here are the defaults:

Choose the Laser Label Default:      Choose the Dot Matrix Label Default:

1st Label Margin = 1             1st Label Margin = 3
Label Text Width = 40             Label Text Width = 35
2nd Label Margin = 43            2nd Label Margin = 40
1st Line Next Label = 6         1st Line Next Label = 6
Copies per Label = 1             Copies per Label = 1
Labels per Line = 2             Labels per Line = 1
Top Label Margin = 2             Top Label Margin = 0
Labels Before FF = 10             Labels Before FF = 0

To change one of the label defaults, click on the default you wish to
change to put it in the information box.

Enter the Default for the 1st Label Margin Field:  Current Setting for 1st
Label Margin = 3

Enter the new default and click on OK or hit Return.  The default will
immediately change to the new setting.  Cancel will not change anything.

For information about how the different defaults change the printing of the
labels, see the section LABEL MARGINS in the Maintenance Form.

IMPORTING FILES

The Change Default Fields for Import will let you control the field
settings for the text file you will be importing.  Each field must be
separated by commas into the following categories.  These categories are
listed in the requester:

Choose the Field:  First Name Last Name Address City State Zip Code Date
Telephone (last line--use the arrow to see)

To begin setting up the defaults, first look at the text file in a text
editor or word processor.

There is a text editor in SBase4Pro.  Use Right Amiga 'H' to access it, and
then follow the menus or read about the functions in your SBase4Pro manual.

The first line of the text file might look like this:

"Jones","Marge","85 Oak Road","Hillsdale","NY","11102","718
956-3051","5/16/93",""

Consider each entry before the comma as a separate letter of the alphabet.
The first entry, "Jones", would be A, the second entry, "Marge", would be
B, and so forth.  This file would be set up as follows:

First Name = B Last Name = A Address = C City = D State = E Zip Code = F
Date = H Telephone = G

This is what you would see in the requester when you clicked on the Change
Default Fields for Import option.  To change a field, choose it from the
menu.

Enter the New Letter of the Last Name Field:  Current Setting for Last Name
= A, Enter '1' to Skip.

You can enter any letter for the field.  When you have entered a new
letter, the default fields requesters will reappear with the changes
showing.  If you have a new text file that looks like this:

"Marge","Jones","85 Oak Road","Hillsdale","NY","11102","718
956-3051","5/16/93",""

You would see that the new letter for the last name field should be B,
since it is now the second field.  You can enter '1' to skip the telephone
or date fields.  You cannot skip the other fields--you need a complete name
and address for the mailing list.

The Import ASCII Text File function will save you hours of typing by
letting you import a text file into the mailing list.

Video Escort is set up to handle files with the fields separated by commas
and records separated by returns.  Talk to the source of your data to make
sure they follow this standard when they export the data to a text file.

The first step is to copy the text file to the Video Escort directory.
Rename it using the file appender .txt so the file is easy to find.  This
way the file will not have the same name as any of the Video Escort files.
Once you have copied the text file, named XXX.txt, to the Video Escort
directory, you will choose the Import ASCII Text File function from the
Labels menu.

Select the Text File:

Choose the text file you wish to import from the listing.  Everything in
the Video Escort directory will be listed, but you can make this easier to
handle by typing #?.txt in the information box marked Pattern and hitting
Return.  Now only the file or files that end in .txt will be showing.
Don't click on OK until you have the proper text file chosen in the bottom
information box, marked File.  Cancel to leave the import subroutine.

What is the Source of This Mailing List?

Here is where you should enter some identifying word or phrase that will
help you locate the source of the mailing information.  This is your last
chance to Cancel and leave the import subroutine.

Does the File Have Quotes Around the Data?

If you don't know, look at the data with a text editor or word processor.

Is the File From an Amiga?  NO for an IBM PC.

The end of line marker is different on the two platforms.  Choose your
response appropriately.  If you don't know, ask the data supplier.  Now the
Form moves to the mailing label entry part of the form, and the message
line will read:

Adding Entries From Text File.

You will see the source showing at the bottom, but you won't see the names
getting added.  When the process is completed, you will see:

Import of Text File Completed.

Make sure the text file imported properly by using the VCR panel to find an
entry from the text file.  Make sure the names and addresses are in the
proper places.  If not, delete the entries, correct the problems and try
again.

You should also consider purging the file, (see Purge below,) to delete any
duplicated records before printing the mailing labels.

MAILING LABEL PRINTING

The Create Labels From Customer List option will add customers to the label
cache.

'B' for Booked, 'P' for Pending.  Cancel for All.


Choose the status of the customers you want to print labels for by entering
either B for Booked or P for Pending.  Cancel will choose from any status.

Enter Beginning Date of Enter Ending Date of Range of Dates:  Range of
Dates:

Then enter a range of dates.  Cancel at either requester will let you not
put any labels into the cache.  Video Escort will pick up the range and
create labels for the customers that fit the parameters you have set.

Ready to Print XX Labels?

The requester shows the number of labels that are in the cache now.  If you
are ready to print, answer Yes, or answer No if you are going to print
later.  You can make many batches and print all at once.

Create Labels From Mailing List adds labels from the mailing list to the
label cache.

Enter the Source of the Labels:  CANCEL for No Particular Source.

You can enter the source of a particular batch, or cancel to choose from
all the possibilities in your mailing list.

Enter Beginning Date of Range of Dates:  NO DATE for Entries Without Dates.

Enter the range of dates you want, or the words NO DATE if you want to pick
up entries that didn't have a date.

Print Created Labels prints the labels in the label cache.  The requester:

Ready to Print XX Labels?

will tell you how many labels are in the cache.  Answer Yes to print, No to
wait.

MAILING LIST MAINTENANCE

To enter names in your mailing list, you would choose Enter Names for
Mailing List.  The first requester asks:

What is the Source of This Mailing List?

Enter some identifying word or phrase that will help you locate the source
of the mailing information.  Cancel will leave the mailing list entry
subroutine.  If you enter the source and hit Return, Video Escort will move
you to another part of the Information Form and you will see a section has
opened up (showing the background color) on the screen.  Here you enter the
last name of the person on your mailing list and hit Return.

Don't worry about capitalization, all entries will be automatically
capitalized when you are done.  Now enter the first name, address, city,
state, and zip.  After the zip code the next field will be the date of the
customer's event, and then the telephone number.  These are optional.
After you have hit Return on the last field, you will see this requester:

YES to Enter, NO to Correct Entry.

You can simply hit Return to put your new entry on the mailing list, or
click on No if you have noticed an error in your typing.  If you click on
No to correct an error, the field for last name will open up again and you
can click on the field or use Return to move through the fields to correct
the entries.  Hit Return on the last field to get the requester again.  If
you have told Video Escort to enter the information, and you have made an
entry too long for the field, you will see a requester with the too long
information in it.

Last Name is Too Long:
--------------------
SMITHJONESCUNNINGHAMZSILLY

The dashes in the requester will show the allowed length of the entry.
Edit the entry to the proper length and hit Return.  It's possible that
your entry has already been entered.  If so, you will see the previous
entry appear and the warning:

/\ Duplicate /\

The arrows point to the previous entry.  The requester gives you three
choices:

YES to Enter, NO to Purge, CANCEL to Correct Entry.

Yes will add the entry because you have decided it is not a duplicate.  No
will delete the previous entry and add the new one instead.  Cancel will
let you correct the entry and try again.

Once the entry is properly added to the mailing list, you get a requester:

Continue Entering?

You can answer Yes to keep on with your entries, or No to indicate that you
have finished.  Once you have finished, you will stay in the mailing label
part of the Information Form.  You can also reach this part of the Form
from the Labels menu by choosing the Maintain Mailing List option.  This
section lets you perform maintenance functions for your mailing list.
Find/Edit lets you find and update a particular entry.

Enter First Few Letters of Last Name:

Enter the letters of the last name you are searching for.

Choose the Mailing Entry:
LADIM16 TA00358 LADIMIR ARNOLD
LAMBE36 SO00825 LAMBERT MYRTLE
LANDI547 H00126 LANDIS CHRISTINE

The first item in the menu is the unique mailing list identification, then
the last and first names.  Choose the mailing list entry you wish to look
at by clicking on it and hitting Return or double-clicking on it.  The
entry will appear on the Form.  You can also use the VCR panel to move
through the mailing list entries.  Delete will delete the entry you have
showing in the window.

  MYRTLE LAMBERT Remove From Mailing List?

If you answer Yes the name will be removed from the mailing list.  Answer
No to cancel and remove nothing.

The SAVE button will save any changes or corrections you make the the
mailing list entries by clicking on the screen and opening up the field.


After correcting the last name of the mailing list entry, be sure to hit
Return after making the correction.  This will update the entry and
automatically save your changes.

Purge will go through your data to find possible duplicates.  When you
click on the Purge button, the message area will read Searching...  and
when Video Escort finds a duplicate, the message area will read \/ Found
Duplicate \/ and you will see the requester:

YES to Continue, NO to Purge.  CANCEL to Stop.

Yes will go on with the purge and not delete anything.  No will purge the
bottom entry that the arrows are pointing at.  This is always the earlier
entry, on the theory that recent information will be more accurate.  If
this is not so, make a note of the changes and edit them instead of
purging.  Cancel will stop the purge.  You can restart it at any time, but
be aware that it will not take up where it left off; it will start again
from the beginning.  When the purge is completed, the message area will
read Purge Completed.

Menu will return you to section 2 of the Information Form.

To delete names from the mailing list in batches, choose the Delete Names
by Parameters function.

Enter the Source to DELETE:  CANCEL for No Particular Source.

Here you can enter the source of the names you wish to delete, or Cancel to
have the deletion take place from no particular source.

YES to Delete by Range of Dates, NO to Delete by Range of Zip Codes.

If you answer Yes:

Enter Beginning Date of Range of Dates:
Enter Ending Date ALL to Delete

Enter the range of dates, or the word ALL to pick up everything regardless
of dates.  The specified names will then be deleted from the mailing list.
If you enter ALL and you haven't specified any source, you have told Video
Escort to clear out everything in your mailing list.  To make sure this is
what you want to do, you will see this requester:

You Want to WIPE OUT Your Mailing List?

Only if you answer Yes will the deletion continue.  To delete names by zip
code range, answer No to the main requester.

Enter Beginning Zip Code of Range:  Deletion Will INCLUDE This Zip Code.

Enter the zip code that is the lowest of the range you wish to delete.  The
deletion subroutine will delete the zip code you enter as well as those
above it.  You can enter 0 as a beginning of the range.  Cancel to not
delete anything.

Enter Ending Zip Code of Range:  Deletion Will INCLUDE This Zip Code.

Now enter the zip code that is the highest of the range you wish to delete.
The deletion subroutine will delete the zip code you enter as well as those
below it.  Cancel to not delete anything.  The next requester will tell you
what you have marked for deletion:

Remove BRIDE'S LIST 4/15/93 Entries From Mailing List from 1/01/93 to
7/31/93?

Only if you answer Yes will the deletion continue.

MISCELLANEOUS LABEL OPTIONS

Mailing List Count by Source prints a report of the mailing list sources
with a count of how many entries came from each source.

Make Customer From Mailing List will change a mailing list entry into a
Pending customer.

Enter First Few Letters of Last Name:

Enter the letters of the last name you are searching for.

Choose the New Customer:
LADIM16 TA00358 LADIMIR ARNOLD
LAMBE36 SO00825 LAMBERT MYRTLE
LANDI547 H00126 LANDIS CHRISTINE

Choose the mailing list entry that will become the new customer.  You will
see the mailing list section of the Form, with the mailing list entry
showing in it.

Remove Entry From List, Make Into Pending Customer?

If you are ready to continue, answer Yes.  Answering No will bring you back
to section 2 of the Information Form and will end the subroutine.  The Form
will then move to the top and you will see the last name appear in the Main
Last Name field of the customer section.  If the telephone number is too
long to fit in the customer telephone number field, you will have a chance
to edit it.

Telephone # is Too Long.  Edit to 12 Characters:
------------
[phone]

Once the telephone number is in the Form, you will see the rest of the name
and address appear, and you will be in the first extension field.  Enter
the extension, if any, and then the second telephone number and extension.

Resale Number?

If you enter anything in this requester Video Escort will not charge tax.

Would You Like To Enter The Secondary Name?

If you do not need to enter a Secondary name, then answer No.  Otherwise,
you will answer Yes and can enter the Secondary name information for the
customer.  When you are done, Video Escort automatically saves.  The source
listed for this mailing entry becomes the Recommended By entry, and the
mailing entry is removed from the mailing list.

Video Escort copies all the known information about the customer into the
Form to save you typing, except for the date.  Even if there is a date in
the mailing list, Video Escort can't enter it without knowing the location,
so be sure to complete the customer's information at this time.


Print Mailing List will print a list of your mailing.

From a Specific Source?  CANCEL for All.

You can print mailings from a particular source or all of them.  They are
printed in date order.

Section 3 - Memos & Directions to Customer

MEMOS

This part of the Form lets you enter memos to yourself, or directions to
the customer for the appointment.  There is a SAVE button in this section
to make it easy for you to remember.

Remember customers can see the memos.  Sometimes they show on the screen,
as in the Contract Form, and sometimes they print out, as on the Crew
Manager Form.

There is also a field to show who recommended you to the customer.  This
can be useful to track your advertising efforts.

DIRECTIONS TO CUSTOMER

There are ten lines to type in directions to the customer's house or place
of business.  These will print at the bottom of the Information Form when
you use the Print button.  Contract Form


The Contract Form lets you track sales leads of all kinds.  Customers
entered into this Form will have the designation of B for Booked.  The far
right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down the present Form
and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a button that all
the Forms have in common.  On the right margin you will see four numbered
buttons to go to the different sections of the Contract Form.  The button
that is lit with a lighter shade will show which section you are in.  Click
on any button to go to that section.  Section 1 is for entering customers,
their locations and types of job.  Section 2 is for choosing and editing
the crew, package and options.  Section 3 shows the contract lines and lets
you handle payments of all kinds.  Section 4 shows memos and miscellaneous
information.

Customers are in alphabetical order and display only Booked unless the Date
Index checkmark is on.

Section 1 - Customer Names, Dates, & Locations

Click on the SAVE button in section 1 to save changes to the names,
addresses, and telephone numbers.  If the fields for Job Type and Job Names
are clicked on to edit, use the SAVE button to save the changes.

The shaded area is used for displaying the customer names, addresses, and
telephone numbers.  There are two such places for data, labeled Main and
Secondary.  The Main area is for the primary customer, and sometimes that
is all you will need.  At other times, you will need information on another
person.  The Main name might be the bride's at a wedding, and the Secondary
name can be that of the groom's.  Other uses include divorced parents for a
birthday party, or a different contact at a corporate event.  You can use
Secondary for anything you like.

FINDING A CUSTOMER

Find/New lets you choose a customer from the database.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:

You can enter the full customer number to have that customer brought into
the Form.  The customer will then appear in the Form.

The letters you type into any Video Escort requester, or on the Form, do
not have to be capitalized.  All entries, unless otherwise indicated,
automatically capitalize to simplify information entry.


You can enter the first letters of the customer's name and chose the name
from a display in the menu.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular entry.

In this example we have entered the beginning letters JON into the first
requester.

CUSTOMER NAME:  Return or OK for the Top Entry.

JONES01974 JONES         LAURA         B
JONES02559 JONES         GLEN         P
LYZEE01744 LYZEE CORPORATION             B
SMIDG01235 SMIDGET         HAROLD         B
SMITH02517 SMITH         MARGARET     B

 To choose Laura Jones you can simply click on OK or hit Return, since it
is the top entry.  There are two Jones, but only one of them is a Booked
customer, as shown by the letter B at the end of the line.

Customer # Last Name     First Name     Status
JONES01974 JONES     LAURA         B

The third way of looking at the customers is with a search string.  The
wild card '*' is a stand in for any string of letters or numbers.  Suppose
you entered JON and couldn't find the name you were looking for because
those letters didn't appear at the beginning of the name.  You could use a
search string to find the letters inside the name.

Using a search string like JON* would have the same effect as entering the
letters JON.  Both ask for last names that begin with the letters JON.

If you were to enter the search string *JON*, the menu would look like
this:

These Customers Contain The Search String:

JONES01974 JONES         LAURA     B
JONES02559 JONES         GLEN     P
RONJO03714 RONJON RESOURCES         B
SMITH01974 SMITH-JONES         ALBERT     B

As you can see, Video Escort found all the customers with the letters JON
in the last name field, no matter where they are located.  Once you see the
customer you want in the menu, click on the customer to bring it into the
information box and click on OK or hit Return.  You can also double-click
on the customer to bring them into the Form.

CUSTOMER STATUS INDICATORS

The letter at the end of the menu is an indication of the customer's
status.

B -- Booked.  Filtered in the Contract Form.
C -- Canceled.
D -- Dead Issue.
F -- Finalized.
P -- Pending.  Filtered in the Information Form.

SECONDARY NAME SEARCH

If you Cancel from any of the customer menus, you will see:

Enter New BOOKED Customer?  NO to Search Secondary Name.

If you click on No to search the secondary name field, you will see the
first few letters or the search string you typed before appear in the
information box of the next requester:

Customer Number, Name or Search String for Secondary Entry:

This makes it easier for you to search for the same name in both places.
You can edit or clear the letters to search for something different, or
click on OK or hit Return to start the search.  If you entered the letters
JON in the secondary name search requester and hit Return, you would see:

Second Customer Name:  Return or OK for the Top Entry.

JONES     SMITH02417 SMITH
JONES     LAMBE01478 LAMBERT
RALSTON SMITH01974 SMITH-JONES

This menu displays the customers in secondary last name order, then the
Customer # and the main last name.  Click on the customer you wish to bring
into the Form.

ENTERING A NEW CUSTOMER

If you Cancel from any of the customer menus, you will see:

Enter New BOOKED Customer?  NO to Search Secondary Name.

You can answer Yes or hit Return to enter a new customer.


You cannot enter a new customer by simply typing on a blank screen.  Never
type anything on a completely blank screen.  Always make sure that there is
a customer showing on the Form before trying to change or enter new
information for that customer.

When you tell Video Escort you want to enter a new customer, the Form
blanks and a space appears in the last name section of the Main name.
Enter the last name of the customer.  Even at this point you can change
your mind.  If you hit Return with a blank field for the last name, the
program will remind you that you must enter a last name.

You Must Have a Last Name.  CANCEL for No New Customer.

Answering OK to this requester will return you to the last name field for a
second chance, and Cancel will let you out of the new entry subroutine
completely.  Once you have entered a last name and hit Return to go to the
first name field, the program will assign a Customer # and you will see it
in the status line, which is immediately under the menu area.  On the
Contract Form, this status line shows Customer # and the status, which for
a new customer is B for Booked.  When a Job ID number is assigned, it will
show in the status line.  When a customer has a completed contract a star
will appear beside the Contract?  label.  Enter the address and phone
number fields of the customer being entered.  If you do not need or do not
know a piece of information, simply hit Return, and the program will
continue.  Each telephone number has an extension field after it where you
can enter an extension number or an identifying word such as HOME, WORK or
FAX.  When you hit Return at the end of the second telephone number field,
the program will ask:

Resale Number?

If you enter anything in this requester Video Escort will not charge tax.

Would You Like To Enter The Secondary Name?

If you do not need to enter a Secondary name, then answer No.  Otherwise,
you will answer Yes and can enter the Secondary name information the same
way you entered the Main name information.  When you are done, Video Escort
automatically saves.

EDITING CUSTOMER INFORMATION

If you make a mistake while entering new information, and have already left
a field, you can usually use the mouse to click on that field again to
correct the mistake.  If not, simply continue until the new entry
subroutine ends, either by answering No to the Secondary name requester or
by completing the Secondary name fields.  To edit customer information,
click the mouse pointer in the field that needs correction.  The field will
change color and the cursor will appear at the far left of the field.  You
can use the cursor, delete, and backspace keys to correct the error.

Since the resale number is hidden, you can access it by clicking in the
last second extension field for the main name, and then hitting Return.
You will get a requester with the resale number in it, or a blank
information box if there is no resale number.

Resale Number:

If the customer is linked to an account, you will also see the account
number.

Account Number DALTO01001A Resale Number:

Whatever information is in the information box when you leave the requester
will be the information in the resale number field.  If you make changes
and then click on Cancel, the changes will still be made.

CORRECTING A CUSTOMER #

If you are correcting an error in the last name, be sure to hit Return
after making the corrections.  This will make any needed changes to the
Customer # throughout Video Escort.  If you made changes to the first five
letters of the customer's last name, the Customer # will change.  You will
see the new one at the top of the Form.

DUPLICATING A CUSTOMER

You can duplicate customers with a hidden button.  Choose the customer you
wish to duplicate.  Once it is showing in the Form, click on the label Main
under the Customer #.

Choose the Duplicating Option:
Exact Duplicate
Duplicate & Switch
Make Secondary into Main Name
Make Main into Secondary Name

You have four choices in duplicating the customer.

Exact Duplicate will make an exact duplicate of the customer and assign a
new Customer #.

Duplicate & Switch will duplicate the customer with the secondary name
becoming the main name and vice versa.

Make Secondary into Main Name will make the duplicate with the secondary
name in the main name section and will let you enter the secondary name if
you wish.

Make Main into Secondary Name will first let you enter the main name and
information in the main name section.  Then the previous main name will
appear in the secondary section.

After each duplicating operation, you will have the opportunity to enter a
resale number, if any, for the customer.  The status of the original
customer will become the status of the new, duplicated customer.

If the original customer had been linked to an account, the new customer
will also be linked to that account.  You should unlink the new customer if
it will not be part of the account.

Your new customer will be saved automatically.

JOB TYPE BUTTONS

The buttons beneath the name and address section can be customized for your
most popular job types.  If the customer's job type is not shown on the
buttons, choose Other, which will bring up a requester for you to type in
your choice.  If there is no entry in the Job Names field, then the job
type subroutine takes you to that field to fill in the name or names for
the job.  You can change the job type any time by clicking on one of the
Job Type buttons.  You can click on either field to edit it.  Be sure to
save your changes with the SAVE button at the top of the Form.

LOCATIONS

A location in the Form must have a location name, though it doesn't have to
have a date or time.

To enter a location on the Form, click on the blank spaces bracketed by the
pale blue arrows under the label Locations.  You will see:

Enter The Beginning Letters Of Location Name:  Enter NONE To Clear.

Enter the first few letters of the location you want.  A menu of previously
entered locations will appear.

Choose the Location:
LITTLE BROWN CHURCH IN THE WILDWOOD
MAISON ROUGE
RONJON RESOURCES

Click on a location to choose it.  Cancel from the menu to enter a new
location.

If you have the mileage defaults set to show you the mileage before it is
entered, you will see this requester:

MAISON ROUGE Mileage for Location:

Enter (if you have the default set for an empty information box) or edit
(if you have the default set for the default mileage) the mileage for the
location.

Enter the Location Name:  CANCEL for No New Entry.

The location has to be a unique name.  If Video Escort finds your new entry
already in the database, it will tell you and give you the new location
name requester again.

If you have set the mileage defaults to let you enter the mileage for a new
location, you will see this requester:

MAISON ROUGE Mileage for Location:

Enter the mileage for the new location.  Cancel for the mileage to be zero.

Once you have chosen the location name:

MAISON ROUGE Date:  MAISON ROUGE Time:

The requesters will show the location line you are working on at the top.
Enter the date and the time. You can Cancel from either requester.  These
entries are saved automatically.  The last field will show the day of the
week for this date to help you catch any date errors.

EDITING LOCATIONS



This tutorial will teach requester editing skills.

The location information cannot be changed directly on the screen.  You
need to click on the field you wish to change.  A requester will appear to
let you edit the information in that field, and will continue through
requesters for each field after the one you clicked on.  Cancel any
requester to end the editing sequence.  To add location information, click
on any blank field.  The next open line will automatically take the
information.

If you have more than one location entry, you will see that the entries
automatically reorder themselves in date and time order.  After editing,
the entries will reorder if needed.

To clear a location line entirely, click on the line you wish to clear.

Enter The Beginning Letters Of Location Name:  Enter NONE To Clear.

Type in NONE (any case or combination) and hit Return.

MAISON ROUGE CLEAR This Location Line with Crew & Schedule Information?

Any crew or schedule information for this location line will also be
cleared.  Answer Yes to clear the line, No to do nothing.  After the
location line is cleared, any other location lines will rearrange
themselves in the proper order.  To edit the mileage, click on the day of
the week field.

MAISON ROUGE Mileage For Location:

The present mileage will appear in the information box of the requester.
Edit, or Clear to enter an entirely different mileage.  Click on OK or hit
Return to put the new mileage into the location line.  Cancel to not change
the mileage.  All edits to the location lines are saved automatically.


END OF TUTORIAL

DATE INDEX

Customers are in date order regardless of status, unless the status is set
with the date.

When you enter a date in the requester and hit Return the Index for the
Contract Form will be changed from Customer # to Date.

Begin with Status Letter for Filter.  Enter the Date:

If you entered the date only, such as 010594, Video Escort will find the
first customer (regardless of status) with that date.  If there is no
customer with that date, the next date will be displayed.  If you entered
the date with a status letter, such as B010594, Video Escort will find the
first customer with Booked status and that date.  If there is no customer
with that status and date, the next date will be displayed.  While the
checkmark is displayed beside the Date button, the VCR panel will move
through all the dates and locations in date order.  These dates are
considered individually.  When the date comes up there may be other dates
in that customer's location.  To look at the entire location lineup, click
on the Date button again, so that the checkmark disappears.  The Form will
go back into Customer # order and all the dates and locations for the
customer will appear.


Section 2 - Crew, Package, & Options


Changes to section 2 are saved automatically.

CREW ASSIGNMENTS

The Crew Titles that are designated in the Maintenance Form will show in
the buttons in the Crew section.  To assign a crew to a location, you first
need to choose a location.  Click on the Crew label.

Choose the Location:
BROOKLYN BOTANICAL GARDENS
SWAN CLUB
DOUGLASTON MANOR

Choose the location you want to assign the crew to.  Click on it to put it
in the information box and hit Return or click on OK.  You can also double
click on the location.  Cancel to not choose a location.  The location you
have chosen will appear at the top of the Form.

If there is only one location, it will be chosen automatically when you
click on any of the crew buttons.  Also, if you click on a crew title or
change a crew title when a location is not showing, Video Escort will first
ask you the location, then continue the operation.

Any crew assignments will apply to the location displayed at the top of the
Form.  To change the location, you can click on the Crew button or on the
location itself.  To assign a crew member to a particular task, click on
the crew title the crew member will have.

Choose (CREW TITLE):  NONE to Clear Crew Member.
JOHN JONES
JIM SMITH
JANE DOE
JUNE CLEAVER

The crew title you clicked on will show at the top, and the crew members
will appear in the menu.  Click on the crew member assigned to this task.
If you haven't entered a crew member in the Maintenance Form, you can type
the crew member's name in the information box and hit Return.  The name
will appear on the Contract Form and will be in the crew member menus next
time.  To clear a crew member, click on the crew title you wish to clear
and then enter NONE in the information box and hit Return.  The crew name
and crew title will clear.  You can make a change to the crew title for
times when your usual crew titles will not cover a situation.  Click on the
fields for the crew member and title you wish to change.

Enter or Edit This Crew Title:  (For This Contract Only)

The existing crew title will appear in the information box.  Edit, or Clear
to enter a new crew title.  The crew title will appear on the button for
those fields.  You can now click on the changed button and have the new
crew title appear with the name.  The changed crew title will only appear
in the button on the Contract Form until you leave the Form.  However, the
changed crew title in the contract will stay with the customer's contract
until you change it.

The first two crew members for the first location line appear on the
contract.  If certain personnel are contracted for, place their names and
titles in the first two positions for the first location.

CHOOSING A PACKAGE FOR A CUSTOMER

To use the Package and Package Set buttons, you need to first set them up
in the Maintenance Form.

If you created any packages in the Maintenance Form and placed them in
button sets, you will see your default package button set in the middle set
of buttons.  For instance, if a customer wants your Deluxe Package, click
on the package button labeled Deluxe Package.

DELUXE PACKAGE Customer Wants This Package?

The information box will have the package price in it.  You can edit this
price for this customer only.  (Edits will not change the option price in
the button.) Accept the price by hitting Return or clicking on OK.  The
name of the package will appear next to the label Package.  This is the
customer's package.  This adds the price to the contract, visible in
section 3.  The customer has only one package at a time.  Any of your
button sets are available with the Set button beside the package buttons.

Choose Package Set:
COMMERCIAL PACKAGES 1
COMMERCIAL PACKAGES 2
INFOMERCIAL PACKAGES
WEDDING PACKAGES

Choose the Package Set you wish to see on the buttons and hit Return or
click on OK.  The chosen Package Set will appear in the buttons for your
use.


EDITING AND CREATING PACKAGES

The two labels in the package section, Package and Packages, are actually
hidden buttons that have two different functions.

Package will allow you to edit or create the customer's package.  Packages
will let you edit or create packages for your list of packages.

A click on either label will move you to the Package & Option section of
the Contract Form.

Packages and Options are in alphabetical order according to button name.
You can tell which database is on the VCR panel by looking at the check
boxes beside each Find/New button.

If you clicked on Package...

Take will give the package showing to the customer.  Use the Take button to
save changes to the customer's contract.

 You will see the customer's package appear in the description section and
the message area reads:

Package Stored With This Contract ---

The customer will show at the the bottom of the screen.  The VCR panel is
not there because you won't be using it to go from package to package.  You
can edit the customer's package description, price, package name, and label
information.  None of these changes will effect the customer's contract
until you use the Take button.

JONES SPECIAL Customer Wants This Package?

The price the customer is paying for the package will appear in the
information box and can be edited.  Hitting Return or clicking on OK will
put the package, with changes, into the contract and return you to section
2 of the Contract Form.

If you clicked on Packages...


If you click on an editable field, click on the SAVE button at the top to
save changes to the list of Packages.

You will go to the Package & Option area and the message area reads:

 This is What Will Show in the Button ---

The VCR panel will appear so you can move from package to package.
Find/New Package will let you create unlimited numbers of different
packages.

Choose the Package:  CANCEL for a New Package.

You will see a list of packages with their prices.  Click on the one you
want to look at or edit to put it in the information box, and then click on
OK or hit Return.

You cannot harm your data or Video Escort by any searches you may initiate.
If you cancel a requester while you are searching through your data, you
might be asked if you want to make a new entry.  You will always be able to
Cancel the new entry requester, or answer No, if you do not want to make a
new entry at that time.

Cancel to enter a new package.

ENTERING A NEW PACKAGE

Enter New PACKAGE Name:  CANCEL For No New Entry.

You will type in the name that will show on the package button and appear
in the menus.  If you don't want to create a new package after all, click
on Cancel or hit Return with an empty information box.

Each package must have a unique name.  If you enter a name that already
exists, the package with that name will appear in the Form, and a message
will say That Package Exists.  No Duplicate Names.  You will then have a
chance to re-enter the package name or Cancel the new entry subroutine.

When you have entered the new name, you will see the Form blank and the
name appear.  The field for the price will open up for you to enter the
price.  When you hit Return on the price field, you will be in the
description for the package.  There are eight lines of description to a
package.  You see the label above, which used to say:

This is What Will Show in the Button.--

Has changed to:

Enter Description, Return on Last Line.

Hitting return on the last line will indicate that you are finished.  Until
then you can use the mouse or cursor keys to go to any point in the
description.

Enter Label Information?

If you want the package to give instructions to the label printing later
on, answer Yes.  Final Label Text is the text that will print on the final
labels.  Number of Tapes will be the number of labels printed for this
package.

Editing in Studio?

If you want this package to be edited in the studio, answer Yes.  For an In
Camera Edit, answer No.

Customer Gets Original Tapes?

The answer to this requester will be printed on the crew manager sheet as a
reminder.  If you don't need label information, you can skip it by
answering No to the Enter Label Information?  requester.  The new package
is saved automatically.

CHOOSING OPTIONS FOR THE CUSTOMER

To use the Option and Option Set buttons, you need to first set them up in
the Maintenance Form.

If you created any options in the Maintenance Form and placed them in
button sets, you will see your default option button set in the bottom set
of buttons.  For instance, if a customer wants your Special Animation
option, click on the option button labeled Special Animation.

ANIMATION BY KATI TO ILLUSTRATE FOR CUSTOMER
SPECIAL ANIMATION Option at: (Price Shown)

The information box will have the option price in it.  You can edit this
price for this customer only.  (Edits will not change the option price in
the button.) Accept the price by hitting Return or clicking on OK.  This
adds the option and price to the contract, visible in section 3.  There are
five option lines in the contract.  The option name, description, and price
will appear on the first available line.

If you are running out of room in the contract, don't forget the
description lines for the package.  Items for no extra charge can easily be
added to the package description.

Any of your button sets are available with the Set button beside the option
buttons.

Choose Option Set:
ANIMATION OPTIONS
CAMERA OPTIONS
INTERVIEW OPTIONS
WEDDING OPTIONS

Choose the Option Set you wish to see on the buttons and hit Return or
click on OK.  The chosen Option Set will appear in the buttons for your
use.
EDITING AND CREATING OPTIONS

The options label in the option section will move you to the Package &
Option section of the Contract Form.


If you click on an editable field, click on the SAVE button at the top to
save changes to the list of options.

Packages and Options are in alphabetical order according to button name.
You can tell which database is on the VCR panel by looking at the check
boxes beside each Find/New button.

The message area reads:

This is What Will Show in the Button ---

The VCR panel will appear so you can move from option to option.

Find/New Option will let you create unlimited numbers of different options.

Choose the Option:  CANCEL for a New Option.

You will see a list of options with their prices.  Click on the one you
want to look at or edit to put it in the information box, and then click on
OK or hit Return.

You cannot harm your data or Video Escort by any searches you may initiate.
If you cancel a requester while you are searching through your data, you
might be asked if you want to make a new entry.  You will always be able to
Cancel the new entry requester, or answer No, if you do not want to make a
new entry at that time.

Cancel to enter a new option.

Enter New OPTION Name:  CANCEL For No New Entry.

You will type in the name that will show on the option button and appear in
the menus.  If you don't want to create a new option after all, click on
Cancel or hit Return with an empty information box.

Each option must have a unique name.  If you enter a name that already
exists, the option with that name will appear in the Form, and a message
will say That Option Exists.  No Duplicate Names.  You will then have a
chance to re-enter the option name or Cancel the new entry subroutine.


When you have entered the new name, you will see the Form blank and the
name appear.  The field for the price will open up for you to enter the
price.  When you hit Return on the price field, you will be on the
description line for the option.  When you have finished entering the
description line and hit Return, the new option will be saved
automatically.  Options do not affect the label printing.

EDITING IN THE PACKAGE & OPTION SECTION

To edit a name, click on the field that holds the button name.

Enter New PACKAGE/OPTION Name:

Enter the new name and it will replace the old name.  If the new name is
the same as some other package or option, Video Escort will show you the
package or option with that name and give you a chance to enter a different
name.  To edit a package, you can click in the field you wish to change and
use the cursor, delete, and backspace keys to make changes.  The two Y/N
fields, Editing and Original Tape, are toggled by clicking on the field.


None of the changes take effect for the customer unless you use the Take
button.

DUPLICATING PACKAGES AND OPTIONS

To save editing time, you can click on the Duplicate button to duplicate
the package or option showing in the Form.

Duplicate This PACKAGE/OPTION?  Enter the New Name:

The package will save under the new name.  Then each field will open up for
you to make changes, which will be saved automatically.

Because packages and options are displayed on the same screen, you might
get confused about which one you are working on.  If you look for the
checkmark beside the Find/New button you will see whether the VCR panel is
set for Packages or Options.

DELETING PACKAGES AND OPTIONS

First choose the package or option you wish to delete, and then click on
the Delete button.

(NAME OF THE PACKAGE/OPTION)
  Remove This Package/Option?

Answer Yes to delete the package or option, No to cancel without changes.

Packages or options that have already been contracted will not be affected.


Section 3 - Contract Lines, Totals, Accounting


Changes to section 3 are saved automatically when you hit Return in the
field that holds a dollar amount.

CONTRACT LINES

There are five contract lines, which consist of the item, the description
line beneath it, and the price on the right.  You can click on any part of
the contract line to enter or edit information, but the information will
only be saved when you hit Return on the field that holds the dollar
amount.  This is when the amounts will add up at the bottom.  Ctrl-X will
clear any field in a contract line.  If you clear a price, be sure to hit
Return afterwards to have the totals reflect the change.  Clicking on an
option button will put options into the contract, but they act like any
other contract lines, and can be edited or deleted.

COPIES

The last line of the contract is for copies of the tape:

(number of) Copies at (price) Each (total)

You can enter the number of copies and the price, and the total will be
calculated and displayed.  Be sure to hit Return after entering the number
of copies and the price.

TAXES

Video Escort will automatically charge sales tax when:

The customer's state is the same as the owner's state AND there is nothing
in the Resale Number field.

If these two conditions are not met, then Video Escort will automatically
not charge sales tax.  Video Escort decides the sales tax status when you
begin entering money on the contract.  This can be with a package or option
button, or by typing information on the contract lines.  You can also
change the customer's tax status manually.  Click on the label Tax.  If you
answer Yes to the requester you will change the customer's tax status.  If
the contract is now taxable, the requester will read:

Make This Contract NON-TAXABLE?

If the customer's status changed from taxable to non-taxable, then all
payments for that contract will become non-taxable.  If any tax was paid on
previous payments, a requester will say:

Some Payments On This Account Have Been FROZEN.  $25.76 Will Be Added As
Tax.

The adjusted tax will appear in the tax section of the contract.

Tax that has already been paid will always appear in the tax section of the
contract.  The customer will owe this in addition to the other charges on
the contract.

If the contract is now non-taxable, the requester will read:

Make This Contract TAXABLE?

If the Taxable field is changed from an N to a Y, then all payments for
that contract will become taxable as of the date of the change.

RINGING UP A CONTRACT

The Make Contract button does the ringing up, either initially or after
deposit and payments have been made.

You must click on the Make Contract button to have Video Escort ring up any
new changes to the contract.  It will then consider new amounts while
figuring due by balance due amounts.  Otherwise, the subtotal, tax and
totals will change but Video Escort will not consider them as permanent
changes to the customer's contract.

Complete This Contract?

Answer Yes to complete the contract.  No will leave the ringup subroutine.

This is the Suggested Deposit.  OK to Accept as Payment.  CANCEL to Create
Estimated Contract.

The suggested deposit shown in the information box is either the deposit
percentage of the contract or your flat rate deposit, depending on how you
set up your contract defaults in the Maintenance Form.  You can edit the
deposit.

To create a confirmed contract, click on OK or hit Return.  To create an
estimated contract, click on Cancel.

If you are creating a confirmed contract, the amount of the deposit will
become the first payment on the contract.

Enter Date of Payment:

Today's date will appear in the information box.  You can edit this date.
If you have indicated in the Maintenance Form that you wish to use payment
methods, the payment methods will appear in a menu for you to choose from.

Payment Method:
AMERICAN EXPRESS
CASH
CHECK
DISCOVER
MASTERCARD
VISA

Choose the payment method this customer will use.  If you choose CHECK, you
will get an additional requester to enter the check number.  If you don't
use payment methods, or you Cancel from the requester, the payments are
marked PAYMENT.  The deposit and paid to date fields will show the amount
of the deposit.  The balance due field will show the amount the customer
has due.

Print This Contract?  This is the # of Copies.

The copy default you entered in the Maintenance Form will appear in the
information box.  To print the contract, click on OK or hit Return.  You
can edit the number in the information box to temporarily change the number
of copies to print.  Cancel to not print the contract at this time.

If you make any changes to the contract after ringing up and entering the
deposit, use the Make Contract button to ring up the changes.  It will
recalculate the Balance Due and Due by fields to reflect the changes.

ESTIMATED CONTRACT

Sometimes the customer will want to have a Estimated contract, to think
over and send back signed.  Once the deposit showing is to your
satisfaction, click on Cancel for an estimated contract:

Print Estimated Contract?  This is the # of Copies.

The copy default you entered in the Maintenance Form will appear in the
information box.  To print the estimated contract, click on OK or hit
Return.  You can edit the number in the information box to temporarily
change the number of copies to print.  Cancel to not print the estimated
contract at this time.  The deposit you entered will appear on the
contract, but no other accounting fields, such as Balance or Paid to Date,
will appear.  The estimated contract will show your projected deposit.  All
of the contract information is stored except the deposit, which goes back
to 0 after the Estimated contract prints.  Enter the real deposit when you
collect it.

DUE BY

(amount) Due By (date)

The due by amount and date are controlled in the Maintenance Form.  You set
the percentage or flat rate of the release, and the date this release
percentage or amount is due.  When you ring up the contract with the Make
Contract button, the Due By fields are calculated.  As the customer makes
payments, this Due By amount will go down with the balance due.  When the
amount paid is equal to the release percentage or flat rate amount, the Due
By amount will become 0 and the date beside it will blank.  If you have
only a small amount in the Due By field, and want to stop being reminded,
or wish to adjust it, you can edit this amount without affecting any other
fields.  This edited amount will remain until a financial change is made to
the contract, in which case it is again updated.  If the Due By date has
passed, the Due By will show zero and the date will blank, since this
deadline no longer applies.

ACCOUNTING

Click on the Accounting button to handle money.

Choose the Option:
Make a Payment
Enter a Credit
Debit Account
Due By List
Payment List

Retail Escort does not allow you to delete a payment or credit.  You must
debit the incorrect entry instead.  This will leave an audit trail so you
have complete control of your accounts.

MAKING PAYMENTS

Make a Payment will put payments towards the customer's contract.

Amount of Customer's Payment?

Enter the amount of the payment into the information box.  Cancel to not
make a payment.

Date of Payment:

Today's date will appear in the information box.  You can change the date
if needed.  Cancel to not make a payment.  If you have indicated in the
Maintenance Form that you wish to use payment methods, the payment methods
will appear in a menu for you to choose from.


Payment Method:
AMERICAN EXPRESS
CASH
CHECK
DISCOVER
MASTERCARD
VISA

Choose the payment method this customer will use.  If you choose CHECK, you
will get an additional requester to enter the check number.  If you don't
use payment methods, or Cancel from the requester, the payments are marked
PAYMENT.  The Balance Due and Paid to Date fields will adjust to reflect
the payment.

ENTERING CREDITS

Choosing the Enter a Credit entry will let you put a credit on the
customer's contract.

How Much is the Customer's Credit?

Enter the amount of the customer's credit.

Date of Credit:

Today's date will appear in the information box.  You can change the date
if needed.  Cancel to not enter a credit.

Do You Wish to Enter a Memo?

Here you could enter a memo about the source of the credit, such as COUPON.
If you Cancel the credit will be marked CREDIT.

Credits will not appear in any field on the Contract Form, but can be seen
in the Payment List.  It will always be in a field at the top, and you can
Cancel for an audit trail to see individual credits.

DEBITS

Choose Debit Account if you need to correct a payment or credit that was
either entered incorrectly or was not viable in some way.

DEBIT an Incorrect Payment or Credit?

Answer Yes to debit.


Choose the Entry to be Debited:
MAG0000475 CHECK # 943     $250.00
MAG0000515 CREDIT     $150.00
MAG0000527 MASTERCARD     $200.00

You will see all of the payments or credits this customer has made.  From
right to left there is the Account ID #, the payment method or other
identifying memo, and the amount of the payment or credit.  Choose the
entry that you need to debit.  Cancel to not debit anything.

DEBIT Customer # MAGEE01279 for $250.00 from 8/17/93 with memo CHECK # 943?

This is a confirmation of the entry you chose from the menu.  If you are
sure you chose the right one, answer Yes.

This is the Memo for the Entry.  You Can Edit This Information.

In the information box you will see the memo for the entry that you can
edit; to change CHECK # 943 to BAD CHECK # 943, for instance.  Cancel will
return you to the menu of entries, so whether you want to accept the memo
or edit it, click on OK or hit Return to complete the debit.

You might get this message when debiting a payment or credit:

This Payment Was Included in a FROZEN Tax Report.  Creating an Adjustment
Entry for Next Tax Report.

This means that the payment or credit you are debiting was included in a
past tax report, and you paid tax on it.  The amount of tax you paid will
be entered as a tax adjustment, and deleted from the next tax report.

ACCOUNTING REPORTS

Due By List - will print all due by amounts, with totals, in date order.
You can see all of them or by a range of dates.  Payment List - will print
the list of payments for the customer in the Form or another one you can
choose from a menu.  It shows the total of the contract, the balance due,
total of payments and credits and then the list of payments individually.
If you want to see individual credits, or debited entries, then you can
select an Audit Trail.

Section 4 - Memo, Interviews, Recommended


Click on the SAVE button to save changes to section 4.


This section shows the customer and has the same buttons as in section 1
for your convenience.

MEMOS & RECOMMENDED BY

Type in any memos you might need to keep track of for the customer.

Remember customers can see the memos.  Sometimes they show on the screen,
as in the Contract Form, and sometimes they print out, as on the Crew
Manager Form.

There is also a field to show who recommended you to the customer.  This
can be useful to track your advertising efforts.  Save your changes with
the SAVE button.

INTERVIEWS

Does the Customer Want TABLE INTERVIEWS?

If you answer No the Table Interviews field will show NO.  If you answer
Yes, the next requester is:

Will They Be with Selected Guests?

Answering Yes will make the Table Interviews field show SELECTED.
Answering No about selected guests will make the Table Interviews field
show YES.

Then you can enter the number of guests.

How Many Guests?

Both these fields can be edited by clicking on them.  If you do, save your
changes with the SAVE button.  Requester information will save
automatically.

Receipt Form


The Receipt Form lets you create receipts for customers with contracts.

Only customers with confirmed contracts can have receipts created for them
in the Receipt Form.

The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down the present
Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a button that
all the Forms have in common.


There is no SAVE button in the Receipt Form.  Any changes made to data in
this Form are made in requesters and saved automatically.

Customers are in alphabetical order and display only Booked.

FINDING A CUSTOMER

Find lets you choose a customer from the database.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:

You can enter the full customer number to have that customer brought into
the Form.  The customer will then appear in the Form.  You can enter the
first letters of the customer's name and chose the name from a display in
the menu.  The third way of looking at the customers is with a search
string.  The wild card '*' is a stand in for any string of letters or
numbers.  When the menu comes up it will contain only the customers whose
last name contains the search string.

ENTERING A PAYMENT

The Payment button will make actual or projected payments, depending on the
defaults you have set and the choices you make.

Enter Date of Payment:

The date that comes up in the information box will be the Due By date from
the customer's contract, unless there is no Due By date.  Then it will be
today's date.  You can accept or edit the date, then click on OK or hit
Return.  Cancel will leave the payment subroutine.

Enter Amount of Payment:

The amount showing in the information box is the amount of the Due By,
unless there is none, in which case it will have the amount of the balance
due on the contract.  You can accept or edit the amount, then click on OK
or hit Return.  Cancel will leave the payment subroutine.  If you have set
your default to N for no actual payment in the Maintenance Form, the
payment subroutine will end here.  You can now use the Print button to
print the receipt.  If you have set your default to Y for actual payment in
the Maintenance Form, the payment subroutine will continue with this
requester:

Is This an Actual Payment?  NO For Projected Payment.

Answer No if this is a case where you are printing the receipt to take with
you, and you haven't gotten the payment yet.  The payment subroutine will
end and you can print the receipt.  Answer Yes if this is an actual
payment.  If you have indicated in the Maintenance Form that you wish to
use payment methods, the payment methods will appear in a menu for you to
choose from.

Payment Method:
AMERICAN EXPRESS
CASH
CHECK
DISCOVER
MASTERCARD
VISA

Choose the payment method this customer will use.  If you choose CHECK, you
will get an additional requester to enter the check number.  If you don't
use payment methods, or you Cancel from the requester, the payments are
marked PAYMENT.  The payment will be entered against the customer's
contract.  Now you are ready to print the receipt.

PRINTING THE RECEIPT

The Print button will print a receipt with information about the contract,
the current payment, and the recent payment history.

CLEARING THE RECEIPT

Clicking on the Clear button will clear all payment information in the
receipt.  Schedule Form


The Schedule Form lets you create a schedule for any range of dates.

Only customers with confirmed contracts can become part of a schedule in
the Schedule Form.

The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down the present
Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a button that
all the Forms have in common.


There is no SAVE button in the Schedule Form.  Any changes made to data in
this Form are made in requesters and saved automatically.

Jobs are in date order.

FINDING A SCHEDULE

Find/New lets you choose a schedule or make a new one.

Enter Month Schedule Begins, or Schedule #:

If you know the Schedule #, enter it in the information box.  When you hit
Return the schedule will come into the Form automatically.  Or you can
enter the first three letters of the month that the schedule begins in.
For instance, if the schedule starts on April 2, you would type in APR.

Select Schedule:
APR00032 4/2/93 4/4/93
AUG00057 8/20/93 8/27/93
SEP00083 9/10/93 9/17/93

In the menu you will see the unique Schedule #, and the dates of the range
for that schedule.  Choose the schedule by clicking on it to place it in
the information box.  Click on OK or hit Return to bring the schedule into
the Form.

ENTERING A NEW SCHEDULE

If you Cancel from the schedule menu, you will have the opportunity to
enter a new schedule.

Enter Beginning Date of New Schedule:

Enter the date at the beginning of the range for the schedule you want to
create.  Cancel to not enter a new schedule.  Enter Ending Date of New
Schedule:

Enter the date at the end of the range for the schedule you want to create.
Cancel to not enter a new schedule.

Send to Printer?

Video Escort is going to present a report of all Booked customers with jobs
in the range of dates you specified.  You can have this report sent to the
printer or to the screen.

* MAGEE MAGEE01279 WEDDING
9/04/93 SANDS AT LIDO BEACH 4:00 pm SATURDAY

The above is an example of how an entry on this report will look.  The
first line has the star to indicate that it is from a confirmed contract.

Sometimes, when a customer is listed as booked but doesn't have a confirmed
contract, their entry will come up without the star.  Such entries will not
become part of the schedule.  Check on the contract and mark its status
appropriately.

Next on the line is the Customer # and the type of job it is.  On the next
line is the date, location, time and day of the week.  If the customer has
a second job on the same date, or next in the date order, the customer line
won't repeat, but the second location line will show under the first.

* ABATIELLO ABATI01277 BAT MITZVAH
9/08/93 CONGREGATION BETH SHOLOM 7:00 pm WEDNESDAY

* 9/11/93 FONTAINEBLEAU 3:00 pm SATURDAY

After you have looked at the jobs in the range you have selected, the next
requester asks:

Are These Dates Satisfactory?

Answer Yes and Video Escort will create a schedule for those dates.  If you
wish to change them, answer No.

Reenter the Dates?

Yes will let you reenter the dates, No will leave the new schedule
subroutine.

LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE

Once you have told Video Escort the proper range of dates, you will see the
schedule being constructed as the customers and locations go by.  Once
Video Escort is done, the new Schedule # and the range of dates for that
schedule will be displayed near the top of the screen.

The Schedule # will begin with the first few letters of the month of the
first date in the range.  For a range like 9/1/93 to 9/7/93, for instance,
the Schedule # might be SEP00049.

Within each schedule the jobs are in date order, and the first one will
show when you select or create a schedule.  You can use the VCR Panel to
move through the jobs on the schedule.  The line beneath the Schedule #
shows the customer's main and secondary names, their Customer #, and the
Job ID.  The next line shows the location line, with the location name,
date, time, and day of the week.  Beneath it, on the left, are up to four
crew members with their job titles.  On the right is the camera and
departure time for the job.

RE-ENTERING THE SCHEDULE


Each location can only belong to one schedule.  All schedule information is
stored with the location.

Suppose you enter a new schedule with dates that overlap a previously
created schedule.  When Video Escort begins to make the schedule it will
say:

Some of These Locations are Already on Schedule SEP00049.  Continue Anyway?

Answer Yes to continue to make the schedule.  Answer No to not make the
schedule and leave the new schedule subroutine.

Once you have told Video Escort that you want to make a schedule even
though some of the entries are already on another schedule, the operation
will proceed and your new schedule will have all of the entries you
requested.  The old schedule will be truncated, since dates have been taken
out and put in another schedule.  The beginning and ending dates will be
edited to reflect the true range now in the schedule.  If the old schedule
is now empty because all of its entries are on another schedule, it will be
deleted.

JOB ID

The unique Job ID is assigned when any schedule information is entered.
They are assigned when you enter any schedule information.  If you want the
Job ID's to be in date order, assign them in the order they appear in the
VCR panel.

CREW ASSIGNMENTS

If you had assigned any crew members to the location, they will appear at
the bottom left of the screen.  To add or edit a crew member, click between
the left hand set of brackets.  To edit a crew title, click between the
right hand set of brackets.

You will not see the crew title until there is a crew member assigned.  The
crew titles are in the same order as in the Maintenance Form and the
Contract Form.

The crew menu appears when you click on a crew member bracket:

Choose (CREW TITLE):  NONE to Clear Crew Member.
JOHN JONES
JIM SMITH
JANE DOE

The crew title you clicked on will show at the top, and the crew members
will appear in the menu.  Click on the crew member assigned to this task.
If you haven't entered a crew member in the Maintenance Form, you can type
the crew member's name in the information box and hit Return.  The name
will appear on the Schedule Form and will be in the crew member menus next
time.  To clear a crew member, click on the crew member you wish to clear
and then enter NONE in the information box and hit Return.  The crew name
and crew title will clear.  You can make a change to the crew title for
times when your usual crew titles will not cover a situation.  Click on the
right hand brackets for the title you wish to change.

Enter or Edit This Crew Title:

The existing crew title will appear in the information box.  Edit, or Clear
to enter a new crew title.  The crew title will change for this location
only.

SPLIT JOBS

This is a feature intended for training situations.  Sometimes a position,
such as Cameraman and Light Person, might be split between two trainees so
they can each learn it.  This is something you might want to note for
payroll or assignment purposes.  Access the Split Jobs feature by clicking
on the label Crew.

YES Will Split Jobs, NO to Clear Splits.

If you answer Yes to split jobs, a message will appear above the crew
fields:

CLICK ON the First Crew Position to Split.

After you have clicked on the crew position, the message will say:

Now CLICK ON the Next Crew Position to Split.

After you have clicked on the second crew position, you will see arrows (>)
beside the names in the two positions.

If you answer No to clear splits, all arrows for the crew will clear.
Cancel will not change anything.

CAMERA

Click on the label Camera to enter or edit the camera assigned to the job.

Choose Camera:  NONE to Clear.

You will see a list of cameras.  If you haven't entered a camera in the
Maintenance Form, you can type the camera in the information box and hit
Return.  The camera will appear on the Schedule Form and will be in the
camera menu next time.  After you have entered the camera information, and
there is no departure time, Video Escort will ask you about it.

DEPARTURE TIME

Click on the label Departure Time to enter or edit the departure time.

Is This Departure Time Correct?

The time showing in the information box is the location time, less the time
differential you have set.  You can edit the time if needed, then accept by
clicking on OK or hitting Return.  Cancel to not enter or edit the
departure time.

SETTING THE TIME DIFFERENTIAL

Click on the Time button at the top of the screen.

Old Departure Time Differential was 00:00.  Enter New Departure Time
Differential:

Enter the time differential using time notation:

1 hour = 01:00         1/2 hour = 00:30     1/4 hour = 00:15

The departure time will come up with the current time differential already
subtracted.

REMOVING SCHEDULES

The Remove Schedule button lets you remove a single schedule, or delete
schedules with dates past a certain date.

YES to Delete One Schedule , NO to Delete Past Dates.


To delete one schedule, answer Yes.  Select a schedule the same way you
would with the Find/New button.  When the menu comes up with schedules it
will say:

Select Schedule to DELETE:

Once you have chosen a schedule, you will be asked again to make sure you
are deleting the right one.

You Chose FEB00027 from 1/29/91 to 2/1/91.  Delete This Schedule?

Answer Yes to delete the schedule.  To delete a group of schedules:

YES to Delete One Schedule , NO to Delete Past Dates.

Answer No to the main requester.

Remove Schedules With Entries Earlier Than:

Enter the date for deletion.  All schedules with ending dates older than
the date you entered will be deleted; this will not include the date you
are entering.  Cancel will leave the delete schedules subroutine.

There are 17 Schedules Older Than 1/01/91.  Delete Them?

Answering Yes will delete the schedules.  Answer No to delete nothing.

PRINTING SCHEDULES

Clicking on the Print button gives you two choices:

YES to Print Schedule # SEP00049, NO to Choose Another Schedule.

Yes will print the schedule currently showing in the Form.  No will let you
select a different schedule to print, returning to your original schedule
already in the Form.  The printed schedule will have up to four entries per
page, with all the schedule information that shows on the screen on paper
for your convenience.

LABELS

Make Labels for This Schedule?

Answering Yes will automatically take the schedule to the Label Form and
make Shooting/Face labels for all of the entries.  You can then print them
from the Label Form.  Label Form


The Label Form lets you print face, spine, shooting, or final labels for
any customer, or create final labels from scratch for someone not in your
database.  The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down
the present Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a
button that all the Forms have in common.


There is no SAVE button in the Label Form.  Any changes made to data in
this Form are made in requesters and saved automatically.

Customers are in alphabetical order by Customer #.

FINDING A CUSTOMER

Find lets you choose a customer from the database.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:

You can enter the full customer number to have that customer brought into
the Form.  The customer will then appear in the Form.  You can enter the
first letters of the customer's name and chose the name from a display in
the menu.  The third way of looking at the customers is with a search
string.  The wild card '*' is a stand in for any string of letters or
numbers.  When the menu comes up it will contain only the customers whose
last name contains the search string.

SETTING UP THE LABELS

Once you have the customer in the Form, you can make any kind of label.

Setup for     Setup for     Setup for     Setup for
LASER         2 LOCATIONS     SHOOTING     FACE
Printer     Labels         Labels         Labels

When you open the Form from the Main Menu the defaults are set as shown
above.  You can click on the yellow word or words to toggle to a different
setting.  The Make Label, Clear, and Print buttons operate according to how
the Form is set.

Printer setup is set in the Printer Type/Label Margins section of the
Maintenance Form.  Click on the word LASER or DOT MATRIX to change printer
types temporarily.

Location setup is set in the Printer Type/Label Margins section of the
Maintenance Form.  Click on the words 2 LOCATIONS or 1 LOCATION to toggle
between them.

The Form will usually open with this type default to SHOOTING labels.
Click on the words SHOOTING or FINAL to toggle between the two types
of labels.

The Form will always open with this setup default to FACE labels.  Click on
the word FACE or SPINE to toggle between the two types of labels.

MAKING LABELS

When you have the customer in the Form click on the Make Label button.  A
message will appear under the setup section:

Choose the Location for the Label.

You will see the locations for the customer underneath their name.  Click
on the location you want to put on the label.  If you have the location
setup set for 2 LOCATIONS, you will then see:

Choose the Other Location for the Label.

When the label has been made, you will see the Customer # appear under the
indicator for Shooting/Face, or whatever the Label Form is set for.  This
shows labels have been made for that customer.

Before you make a label, be sure the setups are properly set for the type
of label you want to make.  You can have one or two locations on a shooting
label, but final labels will only have one location, no matter what the
setup is showing.

The number of labels Video Escort makes is determined by the number of
labels set in the label information section of the package that the
customer has.  If the package does not have the number of labels set, or
does not have a package at all, you can answer the requester:

Enter the Number of Tapes Shot On Job.

If you have the type of label set for SHOOTING and there is no package or
label information for a customer, Video Escort might also ask:

Will This Job be STUDIO EDITED?

If you answer Yes, shooting labels will be made.  If you answer No, final
labels will be made.

Final labels also need a text line.  If Video Escort does not find it for
the customer, it will ask for it:


Price Database Didn't Have an Entry, Please Enter the Last Text Line.

Cancel to have no text line.

CLEARING LABELS

If you make a mistake, you can clear labels for a customer or for all of
the database you are set for.  If you are set for SHOOTING/SPINE, for
instance, the requester will say:

YES to Clear All Shooting/Spine Labels.  NO to Clear Shooting/Spine Labels
for DALTO01282

Yes will clear all of the shooting/spine labels in the database.  No will
clear only the shooting/spine labels for the customer in the Form.  Cancel
will do nothing.

PRINTING THE LABELS

The Print button will print the labels according to what the setups show.

Print All 16 Shooting/Face Labels?

If you are ready to print, answer Yes.  If you are using dot matrix, the
labels will be printed according to the defaults set in the Maintenance
Form.  If you are using laser, the labels will be printed according to the
defaults set in the Maintenance Form, but there is additional information
Video Escort needs.  Video Escort will move to a different part of the Form
and you will see a box marked Cancel and boxes representing rows of laser
face labels or spine labels.  Click on the box that is on the same row as
the first row of labels on the sheet you are printing.

Video Escort lets you use partial sheets of laser labels by letting you
tell the printer where the next row of labels will start.  This feature
will not work properly if you change the Copies Per Label or Label Per Line
parameters for in the Printer Type/Label Margins section of the Maintenance
Form.

OK When Ready For Labels.

Click on OK or hit Return when you have the sheet ready in the printer.
Each new sheet needed for the printing job will wait for this same
requester.

Because of the way SBPro4 handles label printing, there might be an extra
sheet ejected after a sheet of laser labels.  Use the single sheet feeder
for label sheets.

Once the labels are printed, the database will empty automatically.


AUTOMATIC SCHEDULE LABELS

The Schedule button will allow you to choose a schedule that will have
shooting labels, either face or spine, created automatically.

If the setup shows Final labels, it will change to Shooting.  The automatic
schedule function will only create shooting labels.

Enter Month Schedule Begins, or Schedule #:

If you know the Schedule #, enter it in the information box.  When you hit
Return the labels will start being created.  Or you can enter the first
three letters of the month that the schedule begins in.  For instance, if
the schedule starts on April 2, you would type in APR.

Select Schedule:
APR00032 4/2/93 4/4/93
AUG00057 8/20/93 8/27/93
SEP00083 9/10/93 9/17/93

In the menu you will see the unique Schedule #, and the dates of the range
for that schedule.  Choose the schedule by clicking on it to place it in
the information box.  Click on OK or hit Return to start the automatic
label process.

If you have a number of labels set in the package for the customer, this
number of labels will be printed for each location in the schedule.

You will see the scheduled customers moving through the Form.  When the VCR
panel is no longer ghosted and the watch turns back into a pointer, the
process is completed.  You can add more labels or print at any time.

COPIES OF LABELS (FINAL ONLY)

If the setup shows Shooting labels, it will change to Final.  The Copies Of
Labels function will only create final labels.

To make final labels with the designation of COPY on the last line, click
on the Copies button.

Make the Contract Copies?

The number in the information box is the number, if any, of the copies the
customer ordered on the Contract Form.  You can enter any number you wish.
Once you have clicked on OK or hit Return, the labels will be created for
printing.


LABELS FROM SCRATCH (FINAL ONLY)

If the setup shows Shooting labels, it will change to Final.  The Labels
From Scratch function will only create final labels.

When you click on the Scratch button, you first enter the job type:

Enter the Job Type:  CANCEL for No Scratch Label.

Enter the job type, such as Commercial or Wedding.

Enter the Job Names:  CANCEL for No Scratch Label.

Enter the name or names for the job, such as Margaret & George.

Enter Job Date:  CANCEL for No Scratch Label.

This will be the location date.

Enter Job Location:  CANCEL for No Scratch Label.

This will be the job location.

Please Enter the Last Text Line:

You can accept the EDITED MASTER line or edit one of your own.

YES to Make Copies of Label, NO to Edit the Label First.

If you think you might have made a mistake, answer No to edit the label.
The cursor will appear in the first field, and you can use the cursor,
delete, and backspace keys to move from field to field and edit.  When you
are finished, hit Return on the last line.  If you have finished editing or
you answered Yes to the requester:

How Many Copies?

Enter the number of copies in the information box.  Cancel for none.

Make SPINE Labels Too?

Answer Yes to have the same information made into Final/Spine labels as
well.  Answer No to skip the Final/Spine labels.

The labels will be created for printing.  Crew Manager Form


The Crew Manager Form creates a sheet of shooting information for your job.

Only customers with confirmed contracts can have a crew manager sheet
created.

The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down the present
Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a button that
all the Forms have in common.  On the right margin you will see four
numbered buttons to go to the different sections of the Crew Manager Form.
The button that is lit with a lighter shade will show which section you are
in.  Click on any button to go to that section.  Section 1 is for viewing
customers, their locations and types of job, and the crew.  Section 2 is
for entering the job information and crew manager notes.  Section 3 is for
directions to the first two locations.  Section 4 is for directions to the
last two locations.

Customers are in alphabetical order and display only Booked.

Section 1 - Customer Names, Dates, Locations & Crew


You cannot edit the data in section 1.  It is for display purposes only.

FINDING A CUSTOMER

Find lets you choose a customer from the database.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:

You can enter the full customer number to have that customer brought into
the Form.  The customer will then appear in the Form.  You can enter the
first letters of the customer's name and chose the name from a display in
the menu.  The third way of looking at the customers is with a search
string.  The wild card '*' is a stand in for any string of letters or
numbers.  When the menu comes up it will contain only the customers whose
last name contains the search string.  You can view the customer's
information, including crew and Job ID assignments.  If you click on a
particular location the Job ID field will show the location's Job ID.

ENTERING THE CREW MANAGER INFORMATION

Begin the entry process by clicking on the Entry button.

This is the Due By Amount:  CANCEL to Make No Entries.

If the Due By Amount is over zero it will appear in the information box.
If an amount was previously entered, it will be the amount in the
information box.  Cancel to go to the next requester.

If you want the collection amount field to be zero, enter the number zero,
(0), in the information box of this requester.  Otherwise Video Escort will
read the blank box as Cancel and leave the entry subroutine.

The Form will move to section 2 and continue with the entries.  Cancel from
any requester will leave the entry subroutine.  To continue without
entering information enter a zero.

Enter the Camera ID:

You can enter a single digit or letter to indicate a camera ID.

Enter the Number of the Deck:

You can enter a single digit or letter to indicate a particular deck.

Enter the Number of Batteries Required:

It can be useful to know how many batteries were brought.

Enter the Number of Tables:

For a catered affair.

Have Baby Pictures?

Answer Yes or No depending on the status of the baby pictures.  If you
answer yes, the next requester will be:

Date Received Baby Pictures:

You can enter the date.

LABELS

The label button is a shortcut to the Label Form.  It will show the same
customer, if any, that is showing in the Crew Manager Form.  The setup will
be set for SHOOTING.

PRINTING THE CREW MANAGER FORM

The Print button will print the information that shows on the Crew Manager
Form.


Section 2 - Job Information


Click on the SAVE button to save changes to section 2.

This section lets you view and edit the job information that was entered
through the entry subroutine.  In addition, you will see the camera, name
of the package and intro, which can be edited.  This section also gives
access to the customer's memo and the crew manager's memo.

Sections 3 & 4 - Directions


If you click on the field to open it up, click on the SAVE button in the
upper left corner to save your changes to Directions.

DIRECTIONS

If the directions for the first location have not been entered, the entry
subroutine will automatically ask for the directions.  To change
directions, click on the label Directions 1, Directions 2, Directions 3, or
Directions 4, depending on the location you wish to edit directions for.

Is This the Proper Name of the First Location?  Choose Directions to This
Location.

The menu will show the list of locations.  The one at the top should be the
same as the one in the information box.  Click on OK or hit Return to put
the directions into the Form.  If you know you don't have directions for a
location, such as having entered it through the Contract Form, you can
Cancel instead of clicking on the location name.

MAISON ROUGE Enter Directions Under This Location Name?

If you answer No, you will leave the directions subroutine.  If you answer
Yes, the location name will appear on the Form and the directions fields
will open up under the name.  You can use the cursor, backspace, and delete
keys to type in the directions, and when you have hit Return on the last
line to indicate you are done, the directions will be saved in the
Directions database in the Maintenance Form as well as in the Crew Manager
Form.

Editor Form


The Editor Form organizes editing information for the job, including music
and graphics.

Only customers with confirmed contracts can have an editing sheet created
in the Editor Form.

The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down the present
Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a button that
all the Forms have in common.  On the right margin you will see four
numbered buttons to go to the different sections of the Editor Form.  The
button that is lit with a lighter shade will show which section you are in.
Click on any button to go to that section.  Section 1 is for viewing
customers and general editing information.  Section 2 is for entering the
music information.  Section 3 is for entering the graphic information.
Section 4 is for editing notes.

Customers are in alphabetical order and display only Booked.

Section 1 - Customers & General Editing Information


Click on the SAVE button to save changes to section 1.

FINDING A CUSTOMER

Find lets you choose a customer from the database.

Customer Number or Name, or Search String:

You can enter the full customer number to have that customer brought into
the Form.  The customer will then appear in the Form.  You can enter the
first letters of the customer's name and chose the name from a display in
the menu.  The third way of looking at the customers is with a search
string.  The wild card '*' is a stand in for any string of letters or
numbers.  When the menu comes up it will contain only the customers whose
last name contains the search string.


ENTERING EDITOR INFORMATION

Begin the entry process by clicking on the Entry button.

Choose Crew Member For Editor:  NONE to Clear Crew Member.
JOHN JONES
JIM SMITH
JANE DOE

The crew members will appear in the menu.  Click on the crew member
assigned to the edit.  If you haven't entered a crew member in the
Maintenance Form, you can type the crew member's name in the information
box and hit Return.  The name will appear on the Editor Form and will be in
the crew member menus next time.  To clear a crew member, enter NONE in the
information box and hit Return.  The editor name will clear.

Date of Editing Start:

Enter the date the editing will start.  Cancel to enter no date.

LABELS

The label button is a shortcut to the Label Form.  It will show the same
customer, if any, that is showing in the Editor Form.  The setup will be
set for FINAL.

PRINTING THE EDITOR FORM

The Print button will print the information that shows on the Editor Form.

Section 2 - Entering Music


There is no SAVE button in section 2.  Any changes made to data in this
Form are made in requesters and saved automatically.

Before you can enter any musical selections on the Editor Form, you need to
enter them into the music database in the Library Form.

There are eight fields to show the musical selections, with accompanying
identifying codes, of the customer.  Click on the numbered buttons to
select the field, or click on the field itself.

Beginning Letters for Music #1:  Enter NONE to Clear.


To look up a musical selection, enter the first few letters in the
information box.  The number of the field you are working with will appear
in the requester.  Enter NONE to clear the musical selection already in the
field.  Cancel to leave the subroutine.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular entry.

If you entered the beginning letters of the music selection:

Choose the Music Selection:

You will see the list of music, beginning with the letters you entered, in
the menu.  Click on the music selection to bring it into the information
box and click on OK or hit Return.  You can also double-click on the music
selection to bring it into the Form.  The selection and code will appear in
the Form and save automatically.

Section 3 - Entering Graphics


There is no SAVE button in section 3.  Any changes made to data in this
Form are made in requesters and saved automatically.

Before you can enter any graphics on the Editor Form, you need to enter
them into the graphic database in the Library Form.

There are eight fields to show the graphics, with accompanying identifying
codes, of the customer.  Click on the numbered buttons to select the field,
or click on the field itself.

Beginning Letters for Graphic #1:  Enter NONE to Clear.

To look up a graphic, enter the first few letters in the information box.
The number of the field you are working with will appear in the requester.
Enter NONE to clear the graphic already in the field.  Cancel to leave the
subroutine.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular entry.


If you entered the beginning letters of the graphic:

Choose the Graphic:

You will see the list of graphic, beginning with the letters you entered,
in the menu.  Click on the graphic to bring it into the information box and
click on OK or hit Return.  You can also double-click on the graphic to
bring it into the Form.  The selection and code will appear in the Form and
save automatically.

Section 4 - Editor's Comments


Click on the SAVE button to save changes to section 4.


The Editor's Comments are where you can save any comments on the edit for
future reference.  Use the SAVE button to save your Editor's Comments.  The
Main Menu button will return you to the Main Menu.


Library Form


The Library Form lets you handle your tape, music, and graphic libraries.
The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down the present
Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a button that
all the Forms have in common.  There are three sections to handle the
different libraries.

GRAPHIC & ANIM


If you click on an editable field, click on the SAVE button at the top to
save changes to Graphic & Anim Libraries.


Graphics are in alphabetical order according to title.

Find/New lets you look up a graphic or animation.

Beginning Letters of Graphic Name:

Enter the first few letters of the graphic or animation you are searching
for.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular menu option.

Choose the Graphic:
APPLES FALLING FROM TREE
RONJON FLYING LOGO
WEDDING BELLS

The menu shows the graphics in the library, starting with the letters you
entered.  Click on the graphic to bring it into the information box and
click on OK or hit Return.  You can also double-click on the graphic.  If
you do not see the graphic or animation you are looking for, then you know
you can enter a new one.  Cancel from the search menu.

Enter New Graphic Title:  CANCEL For No New Entry.

You can enter the new title or Cancel if you don't want to enter anything.

If you use the same title for two or more graphics, you will not be able to
choose it directly from a menu.  Video Escort will always choose the first
name in the library, and then you would need to use the VCR panel to go to
any of the others.

Extra Information:

This is optional and can be used for time codes, locations of the file on a
particular disk or cartridge, or anything else that can be useful.  You
could enter a price and use the library as a price list.

Print prints a list of the contents of the graphic library with their extra
information, if any.  Delete will delete the title showing.

BOUNDING RABBIT ANIMATION
 DELETE This Graphic Title?

SAVE will save any edits you made to the Form.  Menu will bring you back to
the Library Main Menu.

MUSIC & SOUND


If you click on an editable field, click on the SAVE button at the top to
save changes to Music & Sound Libraries.


Music is in alphabetical order according to title.

Find/New lets you look up a music piece or sound file.

Beginning Letters of Music Name:

Enter the first few letters of the music piece or sound file you are
searching for.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular menu option.

Choose the Music:
A NEW DAY
BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD
COLUMBIA, GEM OF THE OCEAN

The menu shows the music titles in the library, starting with the letters
you entered.  Click on the music title to bring it into the information box
and click on OK or hit Return.  You can also double-click on the music
title.  If you do not see the music piece or sound file you are looking
for, then you know you can enter a new one.  Cancel from the search menu.

Enter New Music Title:  CANCEL For No New Entry.

You can enter the new title or Cancel if you don't want to enter anything.

If you use the same title for two or more music pieces, you will not be
able to choose it directly from a menu.  Video Escort will always choose
the first name in the library, and then you would need to use the VCR panel
to go to any of the others.

Extra Information:

This is optional and can be used for time codes, locations of the file on a
particular disk or cartridge, or anything else that can be useful.  You
could enter a price and use the library as a price list.  Print prints a
list of the contents of the music library.  You can choose to print with
their extra information, if any, or without it.  Delete will delete the
title showing.

LET IT BE
DELETE This Music Title?

SAVE will save any edits you made to the Form.  Menu will bring you back to
the Library Main Menu.

VIDEO TAPES


If you click on an editable field, click on the SAVE button at the top to
save changes to Video Tape Library.


Video tapes are in alphabetical order according to title.

The video tape library holds records of tape titles, and up to ten search
categories for each title.  Find/New lets you find a tape title, or enter a
new one.

Beginning Letters of Tape Title:

Enter the first few letters of the tape title you are searching for.

Your database will fill up quickly, and Video Escort asking you for first
letters, though it might seem like an extra step at first, is really a
shortcut.  Without narrowing down your search, it might take a lot of
clicking through the menu to find a particular menu option.

Tape Title:  Return or OK for the Top Entry.
BIRDS FLYING OVER SNOW FIELD
DOGS CHASING A FRISBEE
SUN SETTING OVER THE OCEAN

If you do not see the tape title you are looking for, then you know you can
enter a new one.  Cancel from the search menu.

Enter New Tape Title:  CANCEL for No New Entry.

If you use the same title for two or more video pieces, you will not be
able to choose it directly from a menu.  Video Escort will always choose
the first name in the library, and then you would need to use the VCR panel
to go to any of the others.

You can enter the new title or Cancel if you don't want to enter anything.
Once you have entered the title it will appear on the Form and the first
search category will open up for you to enter the information.  You can use
the up/down cursor keys or the mouse to go to the different categories.
The categories are numbered so you can indicate the prevalence or amount of
a certain element in the video tape.  A video whose central subject is
Ducks would have DUCKS in the first or second category, whereas a video
that has Ducks in the background might have DUCKS in the eighth or ninth
category.  A message on the screen reminds you:

Hit Return on the Last Line to End Entry.

After you hit Return on the last line, you can still edit any of the titles
or categories, including adding new categories to existing titles.  Click
on the field you wish to edit and be sure to click on SAVE when you are
done.

SEARCHING TAPE TITLES

Search lets you search for tape titles by category.

What Category to Search For?  Use '*' as a Wild Card.

If you don't use wild cards, Video Escort will search for the exact entry
you type in.  Once you have entered the search category, you will see the
message:

Searching...

and then you can print the search to screen or to the printer.  The report
shows the name and the category the search was found in.

Print List prints a list of the tape titles, with their search categories.
This report goes to the printer only.  SAVE will save any edits you made to
the title or search categories.  Menu will bring you back to the Library
Main Menu.


Reports Form


The Reports Form has general reports that help you keep track of your
business.  The far right button, labeled Main Menu, will always close down
the present Form and bring you back to the Main Menu of Forms.  This is a
button that all the Forms have in common.

REPORTS IN GENERAL

When you click on a button for a report, you might be asked for some
information, such as a range of dates.

Enter Beginning Date of XXX Report:
Enter Ending Date of XXX Report:

Enter dates in month day year order with either dashes or slashes in
between, such as 7-9-93 or 8/31/93, or as a complete number, such as
070693.  You might need to choose a customer.  Video Escort will direct you
to look up the customer or choose the customer from a menu if it needs this
information.  The next prompt is usually a requester that asks:

Send To Printer?

If you answer Yes the report will be printed on your printer and you will
only need to Hit Any Key when prompted to go back to the Form.  If you
answer No, the report is printed to the screen, showing the information one
screen at a time.

The Pause button will light, because Video Escort is pausing the display
until you are ready to go on to the next screen.

When you are ready, hit the space bar, and the next screen of information
will appear.

When the report is finished printing to the screen, you will get the same
prompt:

Hit Any Key

Press any key to continue, and the Form will appear on the screen.

If you press the Stop button, the Report will stop and the Form will appear
on the screen.  Ctrl-C is the same as the Stop button.

If the Report is the preliminary step in creating new data, you will be
told that the Subroutine cannot stop, even though the Subroutine will
terminate and return you to the Form in a second or two.

Balance Due Report

This report prints the Due By, Balance Due, and contract prices for a range
of dates or for all balance dues, with totals.

Bookings Report

This report shows the names, booking dates, job types, and contract totals
for all jobs booked within a range of dates.

Customer/Total Report

This report lets you enter a range of dates and then will show customers
with contract totals in the range you enter.

Date/Location Report

This report lets you enter a range of dates and then will show customers
with their jobs in the range you enter.

Due By List Report

Enter a range of dates, or ALL for all due.  The report shows the last
name, the job date, and the due by, balance due and contract totals.

Interest List Report

You can choose one of the four interests from the Information Form and
enter them in the Interest List Report requester.  Then you can enter a
range of dates and all customers who answered Yes to that interest,
regardless of status, will be listed with their addresses, phone numbers,
and job dates.

Job Numbers Report

You can list editing jobs by job number.  Enter the job number you want to
start will, or enter ALL for all numbers.  The report will list the
customer number, job date, editor and the start and finish dates of the
edit, in Job ID # order.

Job Types Report

This report will let you enter a range of dates to display all of the job
types within that range.  Each job type is subtotaled and counted, and at
the end of the report all of the job types are totaled and counted.

Locations Report

Enter a range of dates to see all the locations used in confirmed jobs
during that time period.  You will see the location, job date, and last
name.  The locations are counted.


Mileage Report

This report will let you enter a range of dates and the report will show
all the locations for confirmed contracts, with the Customer #, date, and
mileage.  Each location is subtotaled and counted, and at the end of the
report all of the mileage is totaled and counted.

Packages Report

This report lets you enter a particular package or ALL for all packages.
Then enter a range of dates and the report will show the last name, job
date, and contract total of the package or packages you requested.  Each
package is counted and subtotaled.

Payment List Report

You can print payments for a single customer, all customers, or use a
search string.  This report will print the payments in date order, with
payments for the same date group together.  The payments are counted and
subtotaled by date and then totaled.

Recommended By Report

You can see what advertising methods work best by entering a range of dates
and seeing a list of confirmed customers with their job dates and contract
totals grouped by the entries in the Recommended By field in the
Information Form.  Each unique entry will show counts and subtotals.

Tax Reports

Run this report for any tax period.  It shows all taxable payments made in
a date range and calculates the amount due according to the tax rate at the
time of the payment.  Final Tax report makes permanent changes to the
database.

Projected Tax Report?  NO for Final Tax Report.

Yes will let you run a report on your taxes that makes no permanent
changes.  No will run the final tax report, which has safeguards for your
data.  Cancel will not run anything.

If you have indicated you want to run the projected tax report:

Enter Beginning Date of Projected Tax Report:

Enter the range of dates.  This report will show you taxables first, with
the customer #, the payment date, and the tax date, which will usually be
the same, the subtotal, taxes and total of each payment within the range of
dates.


The payment date is always the date the payment was made, but the tax date
may vary from the payment date.  If Video Escort makes an adjustment to the
taxes, it may use a different tax date so it will be included in the next
tax report.

The non-taxables display the customer #, the payment date, and the tax
date, which will usually be the same, the subtotal, taxes and total of each
payment within the range of dates.  The money fields are totaled at the end
of each report.

If you have indicated you want to run the final tax report:

This report is like the Projected Tax Report, except it makes a change to
the data so you don't accidentally pay tax twice on the same payment.

This Report will FREEZE the Tax Status of Payments in the Date Range.
Continue?

Answer No if you just want to see what will be due.  Run the Projected Tax
Report instead.  Answer Yes if you want to run your official report.  Enter
the range of dates that tax is due for, and Retail Escort will check those
dates for payments that may have had tax paid previously.  If you get a
warning:

!!WARNING!!  Some Payments from 12/1/93 to 3/30/93 Were Already FROZEN.  Do
You Want to Continue?

This warning means you've lost track of dates and there is an overlap.  If
you entered the wrong dates, (such as above, where it should have been
1/1/93 instead of 12/1/93,) you will be able to see it in the requester.
Answer No to re-enter the dates.  If you want to check on the dates, you
can run a Projected Tax report using that same range of dates.  This report
will show payments that have been Frozen with an F beside the payment.
This way you can tell where the dates were overlapped.

You can answer Yes, and Video Escort will only report on the payments that
did not have tax already paid.

If your dates present no problems, you will see the message:

Send to Printer?

Send to Printer?  It is recommended that you always answer Yes to send the
Final Tax report to the printer.  You cannot run the report again to the
printer since Video Escort will not show the same taxes twice in this
report.  You could run the Projected Tax report with the same dates, but
then you would not have the date overlap protection.

Video Escort will then show you a report of the tax due.  The money fields
are totaled at the end of the report.  The reported payments will then be
frozen.

Now FREEZING Tax Status of Payments.

They will not come up on a Final Tax report again, and they cannot have
their tax status changed.

Print a Report on NON-Taxables?

Answer Yes to see a separate report for non-taxed payments.  Answer No to
leave the tax report subroutine.


About Backing Up

Things happen.  Sometimes, they happen to your data.  At such times, there
are two kinds of people.  The kind who backed up, and the kind who did not.


ALWAYS BACK UP

Back up every day, or after every work session.  Make it a part of your
routine.

After installing Video Escort on your hard drive, you will still have the
original floppy with all the programs on it, so you have Video Escort
backed up, in a manner of speaking.  But since you would not want to start
again from scratch after months or even years of entering data, you need to
have a system, faithfully followed, that can recreate your personal data in
case of hardware problems.  There are hard drive utilities that let you
back up your hard drive onto floppies.  Conscientiously backing up your
whole hard drive protects you from possible hardware problems.  At the very
least, back up the Video Escort directory every day in which you enter or
alter the data contained within.  If you don't have a hard disk backup
program, simply copy the entire Video Escort directory to a floppy or
floppies until you get one.  A good rule is to also have backups of your
backups.  What if something goes wrong, like a power outage or a read/write
error, while you are backing up?  Then you lose both the information on the
hard drive and the information on the floppy.  To prevent this problem,
keep two sets of backups.  Always back up to the oldest set.

DO NOT copy only part of the Video Escort directory.  Video Escort is a
relational database, which means all the parts have to fit together.
Backing up partial files can corrupt your data.

Always check the date and time Video Escort provides at the start of the
program, and correct this information immediately.  It is not necessary to
restart Video Escort at such times.  You just need to correct the date
before making any entries in Video Escort.  It is important to have the
correct date and time before you enter any data.  Once the files start
saving with the wrong date, it can affect your backups if they are time
sensitive.  Many of the printouts will print today's date at the top.
Also, such operations as entering payments will use today's date as a
default.  If your Amiga is one without a battery backed clock, this can be
a worthwhile investment.

Mr.  Hardware is glad to help you with recommendations for programs and
procedures.  If you have any questions, please give us a call.


Need to call us?  That number is 516-234-8110.  Our business hours are 1:00
PM to 8:00 PM EST.



Errors, Problems, and Messages

Usually, the kind of errors you make are simple and easily handled.  Typing
and information errors are easily corrected on the Forms.  Check your Keys
to Saving to make sure the changes are saved.  If you have made a change,
do not save, and then try to use the VCR buttons, Video Escort will detect
the changes and ask you if you want to save them to the Form.  Yes will
save, but No will not.  If you click on a button and nothing happens, you
probably are still in a subroutine.  Hit Return to close up a colored area
where the background shows before continuing.  If you notice an error in
information that is not editable on the Form you are in, you will soon
learn which Form will let you change it.  Once you have corrected the
information in the proper Form and come back to your previous Form you will
see that the information is now updated.

If you type in an incorrect date and time, such as 15/32/91 or 26:00, Video
Escort will detect this and give you another chance to enter the
information properly.  Sometimes you might cancel out of one of these
requesters and try to save.  The Form will not save information that is
incorrect; you might have to go back to the field and delete the incorrect
information before you can use the SAVE button.  If you try to enter text
in a field that is supposed to accept only numbers, you will be reminded of
the proper type of entry.  If you try to print and the printer is not set
up properly, you can recover from a terminated print command and click on
the button again once the printer is ready.

Other kinds of errors may occur.  If Video Escort encounters some
difficulty it was not anticipating, you will get an Error Requester showing
the type of error.

You Have Encountered This Error:

Click on Retry to try again, hoping the situation was a temporary one and
is now cleared up.

OR

Click on Cancel, which will stop Video Escort from trying the action that
created the error, and return you to the Form.

If Retry does not work, you will be returned to the Error Requester, and
can then click on Cancel.  If the only way to get out of this error is with
Cancel, then the problem has not gone away.  Please write down what the
Error Requester said and what you were doing when you got the Error
Requester.


Need to call us?  That number is 516-234-8110.  Our business hours are 1:00
PM to 8:00 PM EST.

                   VIDEO ESCORT Program & Documentation
                    (c) 1990-93 Mr. Hardware Computers
                 59 Storey Avenue Central Islip, NY 11722
                               516-234-8110