Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-09/vmsys25.zip/V.HLP

Text File | 1991-09-22 | 54KB | 1,811 lines

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Welcome to Vehicle Management System Plus (VMSYS PLUS)
VMSYS PLUS will keep track of gas mileage, oil
changes, repairs, warranties and trip logs.

You can start the system in a metric mode (using
kilometers and liters) or the default American mode of
miles and gallons. To start the system in "metric"
mode, enter "V -M" when starting the program.

Context sensitive online help is always available at
the press of the "F1" key.

A 13 month history of gas mileage is kept for each
vehicle on a month-to-month basis. Gas mileage and
miles driven can be viewed in a bar graph format with
the scale of the Y-AXIS adjustable.

A REPORTS MENU allows you to print a list of vehicles
in tabular format as well as interactively query the
database.

In order to fully utilize the features of VMSYS PLUS
you must keep accurate logs of gas mileage. Simply
record the odometer reading when filling the tank. You
MUST fill the tank so that the MPG figures will be
accurate.

The HELP KEY "F1" provides context sensitive online
help similar to the help you are currently viewing.
This is always available at ALL prompts. Use the UP,
DOWN, PGUP, PGDN arrow keys to move within the help
screen.

The SAVE SCREEN KEY "F2" makes a copy of the screen in
the file "screen.sav". The screens saved can be
printed using the PRINT SCREENS MENU.

The "ESC" key is used as an escape hatch from anywhere
in VMSYS PLUS. Use it to escape to the previous menu
or prompt.

A repair program VFIX will repair broken data or index
files.

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The VEHICLE MENU is where you have access to each
VEHICLE. It is from this menu that you can add, delete
and modify the vehicles on file.

Once the vehicle has been added to the database, the
ODOMETER can only be changed through the FUEL RECEIPTS
menu. Make sure that both ID and ODOMETER are correct
when adding a new vehicle.

You may want to give your vehicles ID's which can be
sorted easy. For example, trucks could start with
T001, T002, T003, etc.

The graphs, calendars and gas history logs are
accessed from this menu. Press the "LEFT" and "RIGHT"
arrow keys or enter the first letter of the PAGE name
to access each page.

Once inside the menu, the "UP" and "DOWN" arrows can
be used to access each vehicle. Or enter the first few
characters of the vehicle ID. To update the vehicle
press the "ENTER" key from the HEADER PAGE.

Access to each vehicle is possible by entering the
first few letters of the ID field. For example to find
the "Fordtruck" simply enter "fo" at the prompt.

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The REPAIR MENU allows you to view and enter repairs.
Press the UP and DOWN arrow keys to view different
repairs.

The repairs are sorted by "vehicle ID", but can be
sorted by "repair date".

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The GAS RECEIPTS menu will prompt you for the vehicle
id, odometer reading, total cost of fillup and the
amount of fuel consumed.

It is assumed that the fuel purchase date occurs
sometime in the "current" month (the month that
appears in the upper right corner of the screen)

"NOTE: In order for VMSYS PLUS to accurately log miles"
"per gallon (MPG) the fuel tank must be FILLED on each"
"purchase. Failure to do this will make the MPG figures"
"unreliable."

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The OIL RECEIPTS menu allows you to enter the last oil
change. A history of the last 6 oil changes is kept
which will appear in the HEADER PAGE.

The oil changes should be entered in chronological
order.

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The MISCELLANEOUS MENU contains the SYSTEM PARAMETER
MENU the PRINTER PARAMETER MENU.

Use the parameter menus to set up customized printer
and system parameters.

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This menu will allow you to delete old fuel receipts
by vehicle by date.

The "deletion" is "permanent". Once the fuel receipts
are deleted, you can no longer run a fuel report to
view the previous receipts.

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The "FUEL MAINTENANCE" menu gives you the opportunity
to correct data entry mistakes. "Warning": you should
"only" use this menu when you detect data entry errors
or you need to adjust an odometer reading. This menu
should "NOT" be used casually.

You can recall the particular fuel receipt and change
the following items:

o Fuel ticket date

o Odometer reading for fuel ticket

o Miles driven on fuel ticket
   (normally this is a field that is "calculated"
    from the FUEL RECEIPT MENU)

o Amount of fuel purchased

o Total cost of fuel purchased (total cost, not
  per gallon cost).

You may also elect to delete an old fuel ticket.

You may "NOT" add new fuel receipts from this menu.
That function is only allowed in the "FUEL RECEIPT"
menu.

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The TRIP LOG MENU is where all trips are recorded for
tax purposes. The date, from, to, start odometer, end
odometer and number of miles are all recorded here.

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The codes used for shortcuts in entering new trips are
modified here. Up to 15 different codes are available
in this menu.

Each code denotes a one way trip from the source to
the destination points.

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Change the date using this menu. Due to the way that
VMSYS PLUS keeps a 13 month rolling history, you may
only change the date within the current month as
displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.

The date needs to be changed to match the current gas
receipt date.

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Use this menu to enter a new month. This menu MUST be
used in order to change the date to a new month.

The LONG PAGE mileage and cost figures will be shifted
down one month. The oldest month will be discarded to
make room for the new month.

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Enter "y" to exit VMSYS PLUS. Press "ESC" or enter "n"
to return to the MAIN MENU.

"DO NOT TURN OFF THE COMPUTER BEFORE EXITING VMSYS"
"PLUS. DOING SO MAY DESTROY THE DATA FILES!"

If the data or index files are corrupted, run the VFIX
program.

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Print screens saved using the SAVE SCREEN function key
"F2". Screens will be properly paginated for 66 lines
using F2 instead of pressing SHIFT PRTSCR.

Each screen is saved in the file "screen.sav"

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Discard screens saved using the SAVE SCREEN function
key (F2).

The file "screen.sav" will be cleared out.

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Change custom printer parameters from this menu. If
your printer is IBM/EPSON compatible set the parameter
from this menu.

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Change system parameters from this menu. System
parameters to change include error bells, color or
mono display, default mechanic name ...

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Enter "y" to add this new vehicle to the database.
Enter "n" and the vehicle will not be added.

Once the vehicle has been added to the database, it
will not be possible to change the ID or the ODOMETER
from the HEADER PAGE.

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Enter "y" to save all changes made to the vehicle.
Otherwise, enter "n". The changes will be discarded.

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Enter "yes" to actually delete this vehicle from the
database permanently. This is the only prompt in VMSYS
PLUS which requires all three letters "y", "e" and "s"
to be entered.

All repair, gas and trip log records associated with
this vehicle will also be deleted. Once the deletion
process has started it cannot be interrupted so be
careful.

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Enter a short id of the vehicle. The vehicle will be
identified using this id in all reports and screens.

Examples:

    Toyota
    truck
    plymouth

If you wish to categorize the vehicles by department
or function, use the first few characters of the id.
Thus it is easy to select vehicles by department in
the reports section.

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Enter the name of the driver normally driving this
vehicle.

This is for informational purposes only, VMSYS PLUS
does not make use of this field.

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Enter a descriptive name of the vehicle.
Examples:

    1977 Ford Cargo Van
    1984 Plymouth Conquest

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Enter the vehicle license number. This is simply an
informational field. VMSYS PLUS doesnt currently use
it.

The field will be automatically capitalized.

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Enter the approximate date of purchase. For example:
to enter a vehicle bought 5 years ago:

     "-5y"

Other examples:

   To select a date of Nov 23, 1981
   Simply enter: "23Nov81", or "112381".

If the month but not the day is known, simply enter
the 1st of that month.

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Enter the initial odometer reading. It is only
possible to change the odometer when first adding the
vehicle to the system. Any changes to the odometer in
the future must be done through the GAS RECEIPTS menu.

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The header page contains general information about the
vehicle including license no., current odometer, name,
id, and driver.

Enter:

    "a"   - add a new vehicle
    "d"   - delete a vehicle
    "ENTER" - update the vehicle

The ODOMETER cannot be changed from this page once the
vehicle has been entered into the system. You may only
change the initial ODOMETER reading when first adding
the vehicle to the database.

To access a particular vehicle without having to press
the UP and DOWN arrow keys, enter the first few
letters of the ID. For example to find the "FordTruck"
enter "fo" at the prompt. This capability is available
under ALL PAGES under the VEHICLE menu.

This page additionally displays a history of oil
changes as well as the number of miles and weeks since
the last oil change.

Press the UP and DOWN arrow to access the other
vehicles. Press the LEFT and RIGHT arrows to access
the other PAGES.

Press "ESC" to go back to the MAIN MENU.

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This page is a history of the last "15 FUEL RECEIPT"
entries. Everytime a new fuel receipt is entered, it
will be stored here with the oldest receipt
disappearing.

ALL fuel receipts are stored in the fuel database, and
may be retrieved using the FUEL REPORT or via the FUEL
MAINTENANCE MENU. However, this page only displays the
most "recent" 15 fuel receipts.

The MILES, GALLONS and COST field is entered and the
MPG field is calculated.

It is from this page that the AVERAGE MILES PER DAY
figure as shown in the ESTIMATED SERVICE and WARRANTY
PAGE is calculated.

The average number of miles traveled per day is
calculated by summing up the miles over the last 14
days on this page and dividing by the number of days
in the total interval.

This page is for display only. The "ENTER" key will
not allow changes.

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The LONG PAGE displays a history in text format of the
last 13 months. Note that this month last year is
displayed.

Each entry has been taken and totaled from the SHORT
PAGE history.

Miles driven, gallons used, cost and MPG are displayed
here. This page is for display only. The "ENTER" key
will not allow changes.

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A bar graph of the previous 13 months including this
month is displayed. The Y axis represents miles
traveled over each month.

This page is for display only. The "ENTER" key will
not allow changes.

The tick marks on the Y axis can be adjusted in the
SYSTEM PARAMETER MENU.

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A bar graph of the previous 13 months including this
month is displayed. The Y axis represents miles per
gallon.

The bar chart should remain relatively flat if the
vehicle is in good working order and there is only one
person using the vehicle. Degradations in MPG will be
easy to spot in this page and may indicate the need
for a tune up or other service.

This page is for display only. The "ENTER" key will
not allow changes.

The ticks along the Y axis are adjustable in the
SYSTEM PARAMETER PAGE.

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A bar graph of the previous 13 months including this
month is displayed. The Y axis represents cost of gas
purchased.

This page is for display only. The "ENTER" key will not
allow changes.

The ticks along the Y axis are adjustable in the
SYSTEM PARAMETER PAGE.

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The ESTIMATED SERVICE page allows the entry of
regularly scheduled maintenance items such as oil
changes, tune ups, tire rotations and so on based on
mileage.

An estimate of when the scheduled service is made from
this page based on the number of miles driven and
amount of miles until the scheduled service is to be
done.

The "BASE ODOMETER" field is the starting odometer
reference point for the INTERVAL. This field will be
set to zero if you are entering scheduled service for
a new car.

The "INTERVAL" field should be set to the number of
miles the service should be repeated. For example,
this would be set to 4,000 for oil changes.

The "NEXT ODOMETER" field is computed. It is the
odometer reading when the service should be completed.

The "ESTIMATED DATE", "WEEKS" and "MILES" are based on the
Average number of miles traveled as computed from the
SHORT PAGE.

To delete an entry, simply press the SPACE bar once
then the "ENTER" key at the SERVICE prompt. The field
will be cleared.

If the vehicle was last serviced at 10,000 miles, enter
10000 here and use the INTERVAL field to record 10000
for the next scheduled service at 20,000 miles.

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The six month calendar gives you a quick view of
previous oil changes, gas fill ups, warranty
expiration, and scheduled maintenance. Dates with
scheduled maintenance will be blinking.

To view different months press the "ENTER" key, then the
arrow keys.

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The one month calendar is an extension of the ESTIMATE
SERVICE and WARRANTY page except that it is presented
in the form of a calendar.

Oil changes and gas fill ups are shown as well.

To view different months, press the "ENTER" key then
the arrow keys.

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Enter the "id" of the vehicle you wish to enter a gas
receipt.

The following items should be recorded on filling the
tank:

    amount of fuel purchased
    odometer reading
    total cost.

If the tank isn't filled the MPG calculations will be
inaccurate.

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Enter the odometer reading when the vehicle was filled
with gas.

The odometer reading must fall within the range of
miles as specified in the MINIMUM and MAXIMUM MILEAGE
parameters in the SYSTEM PARAMETER MENU.

Do not enter commas or decimal points in the odometer.
I.e. enter "34534" instead of "34,534."

If the date hasn't been changed from today, the message
"you are changing today's entry" will appear which
means that today's entry will be overwritten with the
data you are currently entering.

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Enter the number of gallons required to fill up the
vehicle. The number of gallons must be between the
minimum and maximum number of gallons under the SYSTEM
PARAMETER PAGE.

If the computed MPG is 5 miles less than or greater
than the average MPG as computed from the last 15 gas
receipts, a blinking message - "SUSPICIOUS MPG" will
appear. This message indicates that the data may have
been incorrectly entered. However, VMSYS PLUS will not
prevent the entry of that transaction.

Fractions are ok here.

Examples:

    "10.4"
    "8"

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Enter the "TOTAL COST" of the gas. The per gallon cost
will be computed by dividing the total cost by the
number of gallons purchased.

The TOTAL COST of gas must fall between the "minimum"
and "maximum" fuel cost parameters set in the SYSTEM
PARAMETER MENU.

If the TOTAL COST falls outside of the range, check the
figures for accuracy.

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Enter "y" to record this entry. The gasoline entry will
be posted to the SHORT PAGE and be combined with the
appropriate month in the LONG PAGE. A new gas entry
will also be added to the GAS database.

Enter "ESC" or "n" to abort.

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Enter the id of the vehicle to enter an oil change.

The vehicle must be on file or the message

   "xxx not on file"

will appear.

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Enter the odometer reading at the time of the oil
change.

Do not enter commas or decimal points.

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Enter the date of the oil change. You may enter the oil
change at any time, just make sure that each oil change
is entered in chronological order.

Examples:

   To select a date of Nov 23, 1989
   Simply enter: "23Nov89", or "112389".
   If the current year is 1989, simply enter
   the month and day.  If the current month
   is November as well, only enter "23".

SHORTCUT FORMAT EXAMPLES
    "." - today
    "+1" - tomorrow
    "-1" - yesterday
    "+1w" - one week from today
    "-1w" - today last week
    "+thu" - next Thursday from today
    "-wed" - last Wednesday
    "+1w" - next week
    "-1w" - last week
    "+wed" - next Wednesday
    "-tue" - last Tuesday

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Enter the date of the fuel receipt. You may enter
the fuel receipt "within the current month only".

You may not enter a fuel receipt prior to the last
fuel receipt entered.

If you need to correct a data entry error, use the
FUEL MAINTENANCE MENU.

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Enter the kind of oil used.

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Enter "y" to actually record this
oil change entry. Enter "n" or press "ESC" to discard.

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The following keys will scroll through the calendar:

    UP ARROW:    Previous year
    DOWN ARROW:  Next year
    LEFT ARROW:  Previous month
    RIGHT ARROW: Next month
    HOME KEY:    Current month

Press the "ESC" or "ENTER" key to return to the prompt.

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Enter "y" to add this new repair record. Enter "n" to
abort.

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Enter "y" to save the changes made to the repair
record. Enter "n" or press "ESC" to discard the
changes.

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Enter "y" to actually delete this repair record from
the database.

Enter "n" or press "ESC" to abort.

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Enter the id of the auto being repaired. This id must
match the id specified in the VEHICLE MENU.

Press "F10" to retrieve the vehicle ID popup window.

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Enter the odometer reading at the time of the repair.

Do not enter commas or decimal points.

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Enter the date of the repair.

Examples:

   To enter a date of Nov 23, 1988
   Simply enter: "23Nov88", or "112388".
   If the current year is 1988, simply enter
   the month and day.  If the current month
   is November as well, only enter "23".

SHORTCUT FORMAT EXAMPLES
    "." - today
    "+1" - tomorrow
    "-1" - yesterday
    "+1w" - one week from today
    "-1w" - today last week
    "+thu" - next Thursday from today
    "-wed" - last Wednesday
    "+1w" - next week
    "-1w" - last week
    "+wed" - next Wednesday
    "-tue" - last Tuesday

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Enter the name of the mechanic or company doing the
repair work. This field can be set as a default in the
SYSTEM PARAMETER MENU.

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This field can be used for anything. Perhaps a note as
to the check number used or notes on the service.

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Enter a number specifying the quantity.

For example:

     "1"  tune up
     "4"  spark plugs
     "4"  tire stems

The quantity field will be multiplied by the UNIT
COST.

To delete a line, press the SPACE bar then the "ENTER"
key or enter a "0" in the QTY field.

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Enter the description of the work done. Labor or parts
can be entered here.

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Enter the cost of the work performed. The cost will be
multiplied by the quantity field.

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This page displays all repair records for each vehicle
in the database.

Press the UP or DOWN arrow to access different repair
records. The repair records are sorted in VEHICLE ID
order.

Enter "a" to add a new repair record. Press the "ENTER"
key to change the displayed repair record or press "d"
to delete the repair.

Press "ESC" to return to the MAIN MENU.

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Enter "y" if you are ready to enter a new month. You
will now be able to change the date and record gas
receipts for the new month. Before entering the new
month make sure that ALL gas receipts have been
entered for the current month.

Enter "n" to abort.

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Enter "y" to confirm the new month. If you have not
entered transactions for the current month you WILL NOT
be able to once you have started a new month.

Enter "n" to abort.

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Press "ENTER" or "ESC" to continue.

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Enter "m" if you have a monochrome screen and the
shades that VMSYS PLUS is using are not acceptable.

Enter "c" if you have a color screen.

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Type "y" to turn on VMSYS PLUS's error bell - it will
beep at you if you make an input error.

Type "n" to turn off this bell.

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If you experience a snow effect on the screen. Enter
"y" to this question. VMSYS PLUS will try to draw the
screen to limit the snow effect.

This may occur on some CGA monitors.

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The "printer end-of-line" is used to control the
printer output at the end of the printed line. There
are 4 options to set depending upon your printer. You
may have to do a little bit of experimentation with
this to get it right. Once it is set correctly, it
will not have to be changed (as long as the switch
settings on the printer do not change).

   "NL"     newline  character
   "CR"     carriage return  character
   "NL/CR"  newline then carriage-return character
   "CR/NL"  carriage-return then newline character

1) Output is double spaced - try setting option to
"cr".

2) Output is overprinting or printing on one line -
try setting the option first to "nl" and if that
doesn't work, try out the options "nl/cr" or "cr/nl".

3) Output is jagged like: This is
       an example  of
                     a jagged line.

Try changing option to "nl/cr" or "cr/nl".

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Press "ENTER" to see all reports on the screen.

Select the "printer" to send the reports to a printer
- directly.

Select "capturefile" to send the output to an ASCII
file. The output will be appended to an existing file.

While the report/form is printing you may press SPACE
which will pause the printer, or "ESC" which will
abort the printout.

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Enter "y" to change the information on this page.

Press "ESC", press "ENTER", or enter "n" to return to
the "MISCELLANEOUS MENU".

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Type "y" and the changes made to the parameter page
will be saved into VMSYS PLUS's data files.

Type "n" and the changes will be discarded and the old
values will be retained.

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Enter the full name of the file you want to save the
output of the report to.

Examples:    report1.out
             a:\\reports\\mar.87

If the file exists and is ASCII, VMSYS PLUS will
APPEND to it. If it isn't ASCII, you must make another
selection.

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VMSYS PLUS cannot make contact with your printer.

VMSYS PLUS is set up to talk to the LPT port specified
in the PRINTER PARAMETER MENU.

Check and make sure that the printer is online and has
paper.

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The output file "screen.sav" has been printed. Press
any key to continue.

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The output file "screen.sav" has been cleared. Press
any key to continue.

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Enter "y" to delete the screens previously saved in
the file "screen.sav". Otherwise, enter "n".

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Enter the sequence of decimal codes that will place the
printer into the mode desired (e.g. 16 pitch or "NLQ" -
Near Letter Quality) See your printer manual for ASCII
control codes.

For example: sending 'ESC F' to the IBM Proprinter
will turn EMPHASIZED PRINT ON. This would correspond
to entering decimal 27 then 70 into the printer setup
string.

  printer setup  : [ 27] [ 70]  [  ]  [  ]

What follows is a short, incomplete list of common
ASCII decimal codes.

COMMON DECIMAL ASCII CODES:

   27 - ESC        32 - SPACE      8 - BACKSPACE
    9 - HORZ TAB   10 - LN FEED   12 - FORMFEED
   13 - CAR RET    14 - SO        15 - SI
   33 - '!'        34 - '"'       35 - '#'
   36 - '$'        37 - '%'       38 - '&'
   40 - '('        41 - ')'       42 - '*'
   43 - '+'        44 - ','       45 - '-'
   46 - '.'        47 - '/'       60 - '<'
   61 - '='        62 - '>'       63 - '?'

  1  - 'CTRL-A'   65 - 'A'    97 - 'a'   48 - '0'
  2  - 'CTRL-B'   66 - 'B'    98 - 'b'   49 - '1'
  3  - 'CTRL-C'   67 - 'C'    99 - 'c'   50 - '2'
  4  - 'CTRL-D'   68 - 'D'   100 - 'd'   51 - '3'
     ...           ...         ...        ...
 25  - 'CTRL-Y'   89 - 'Y'   121 - 'y'   56 - '8'
 26  - 'CTRL-Z'   90 - 'Z'   122 - 'z'   57 - '9'

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If you wish to send an initialization string to the
printer every time a report is printed answer "y" to
the question.

If you answer "n", VMSYS PLUS will not send a printer
string.

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Enter "1" - for LPT1:, "2" for LPT2: or "3" for LPT3
as a printer port.

VMSYS PLUS doesn't currently support a serial printer
port, however, you can direct the output of the report
using the "capturefile" option and print the report
from DOS upon exiting VMSYS PLUS.

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Enter the number of columns that you want the printer
to start printing. I.e. if you enter 5, VMSYS PLUS
will advance 5 spaces on each printed line.

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Enter a new date for the system. This date should
match the gasoline receipt date if you are planning on
entering gas receipts.

The date can only be changed within the CURRENT month
displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. To
enter a date for a different month in the future, use
the ENTER NEW MONTH MENU.

VMSYS PLUS has the ability to process dates using date
arithmetic as well as accepting dates in a variety of
formats.

The quotes in the examples that follow are not to be
entered into VMSYS PLUS, they are there to highlight
the proper response.

Examples:

   To select a date of Nov 23, 1989
   Simply enter: "23Nov89", or "112389".
   If the current year is 1989, simply enter
   the month and day.  If the current month
   is November as well, only enter "23".

SHORTCUT FORMAT EXAMPLES
    "." - today
    "+1" - tomorrow
    "-1" - yesterday
    "+1w" - one week from today
    "-1w" - today last week
    "+thu" - next Thursday from today
    "-wed" - last Wednesday
    "+1w" - next week
    "-1w" - last week
    "+wed" - next Wednesday
    "-tue" - last Tuesday

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Enter "y" if you have an IBM/EPSON compatible printer.
If you do, VMSYS PLUS will save the screens using the
line drawing character set instead of dashes "-", plus
symbols "+" and pipe symbols "|".

Your saved screens may look more attractive using this
option. If the line drawing characters appear as a
string of MMMMMMMMMMMM's, you will want to enter "n"
at this option.

To see if it works on your printer do the following:
    0)  Set this option to "y"
    1)  Discard previous saved screens
    2)  Call up a calendar page
    3)  Enter F2 to save the screen
    4)  Print the saved screen
    5)  Check the printed output

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Enter the name of the mechanic you normally use.

When a new repair record is added, this name will
automatically be entered in the MECHANIC NAME field.

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Enter a value between 10.00 and 70.00. The largest
value on the Y-AXIS of the MPG BAR GRAPH will be set
so that the bars will fall below the value you set
here.

This value will appear on the Y-AXIS and is the
"maximum MPG" that you expect to see for the entire
vehicle database.

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Enter a value between 1000 and 10000. The largest value
on the Y-AXIS of the MPG BAR GRAPH will be set so that
the bars will fall below the value you set here.

This number should reflect the maximun number of
miles traveled in a month for "ALL" vehicles in the
database.

Do not enter commas or periods.

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Enter a value between 50 and 5000. The largest value
on the Y-AXIS of the COST GRAPH will be set so that
the bars will be scaled to the value you choose.

This will be the largest amount of money spent on
fuel for any month for "ALL" vehicles in the
database.

Do not enter commas.

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This field allows you to specify how often you desire
to "sync" the file system. VMSYS PLUS's internal file
structure needs to be physically updated occasionally.
The smaller this number is, the more often the file
system will be SYNCED. Of course, small values for the
sync will slow VMSYS PLUS down when adding many en-
tries to the system. This may be intolerable on a
floppy based system.

When entering many companies into the database, you
may wish to set it to 10. VMSYS PLUS automatically
sync's its files when you exit. Be sure to exit VMSYS
PLUS by pressing the "ESC" key and answering "y" to the
exit prompts.

"DO NOT exit VMSYS PLUS by turning off the computer or"
"pressing CTRL-ALT-DELETE. This may destroy the index"
"files in which case you would have to reload all your"
"data from scratch."

It is advisable to make backups of the system after
making significant changes.

@@
Enter the minimum cost per gallon expected to pay for
fuel. This figure will be compared to the figure
entered in the GAS RECEIPTS MENU.

This entry will be used in preventing data entry
errors. The system will prevent you from entering a
fuel receipt where the cost per gallon is "less" than
the minimum value entered here.

Set the minimum and maximum fuel cost to the same
figure and VMSYS PLUS will automatically calculate the
total fuel cost once the mileage has been entered in
the GAS RECEIPTS MENU.

Enter the amount in dollars.  For example:

     95 cents per gallon - ".95"

@@
Enter the maximum cost of gas expected to pay at the
gas pump for "all" vehicles in the database.

This entry will be used in preventing data entry
errors. The system will prevent you from entering a
fuel receipt where the cost per gallon is "more" than
the maximum value entered here.

Set the minimum and maximum fuel cost to the same
figure and VMSYS PLUS will automatically calculate the
total fuel cost once the mileage has been entered in
the GAS RECEIPTS MENU.

@@
Enter the minimum number of miles expected between
fillups for "all" vehicles in the database.

This entry will be used in preventing data entry
errors. The system will prevent you from entering a
fuel receipt where the number of miles traveled between
fillups is "less" than the minimum value entered here.

@@
Enter the maximum number of miles expected between
fillups for "all" vehicles in the database.

This entry will be used in preventing data entry
errors. The system will prevent you from entering a
fuel receipt where the number of miles traveled between
fillups is "more" than the maximum value entered here.

@@
Enter the minimum number of gallons used between
fillups. This parameter is used to verify the accuracy
of data entry while entering gas receipts.

@@
Enter the maximum number of gallons used between
fillups. This parameter is used to verify the accuracy
of data entry while entering gas receipts.

@@
Enter the odometer reading in which to base the
INTERVAL mileage reading. Do not use commas.

Examples:
If we have a new car and our maintenance manual says to
check the oil at 4,000 miles and every 3,000 miles
thereafter. The BASE odometer reading would be set to
4,000 and the interval set to 3,000.

We did a valve job at 60,000 miles and wish to check
the valves thereafter at intervals of 10,000 miles the
BASE odometer would be set to 60,000 and the INTERVAL
set to 10,000.

@@
Enter the INTERVAL mileage. Do not enter commas.

Examples:

If we wish to check the brake linings every 15,000
miles enter 15,000 in this field.

@@
Enter a short (10 character) memo which will be
printed on the 1 month calendar page when the reminder
date appears.

Examples:

    chk valves
    oil change
    tune up

To delete a service, press the SPACE bar followed by
the "ENTER" key.

@@
Enter "y" to permanently store the starting month in
the data base. It is this month that is displayed in
the 13 month history in the bar charts and Long-view
page.

Enter "n" to discard the changes made.

Press "ESC" to start over.

@@
Enter the starting month by using the right and left
arrow keys or by pressing the highlighted letter
followed by the "ENTER" key.

The month that is selected will be the CURRENT month
and be displayed as the top entry in the bar charts
and Long-View Page.

This menu item is selected when you want to enter post
dated items (gas receipts that you have been saving)
into the database.

@@
Enter the year (i.e. 1988 or 1989 format) in which the
starting month will be stored.

@@
Repair and vehicle reports are accessed from this menu.
The vehicle, repair, gas and trip log databases can be
accessed from these reports.

@@
This report is a standard listing of each vehicle in
the database. The ID, description, license, current
odometer and purchase date are all printed in a 80
column format.

All reports are printed in an 80 column report format.
Suitable to fit in a brief case.

@@
This report is a summary listing of the repair
records.

A selection menu is displayed which gives the option
of selecting particular vehicles, repairs less than or
greater than some cost, and repairs done between
certain dates.

@@
This report is a detailed list of repairs - similar to
the information displayed in the REPAIR MENU.

A selection menu is presented allowing various
different combinations.

@@
The OIL CHANGE REPORT details the current odometer of
each vehicle, when the last oil change was done and the
mileage at the last oil change.

The number of weeks and miles since the last oil
change are also displayed.

@@
The last page of the report has been printed. Press
any key to return back to the reports menu.

@@
Enter "i" to sort the repair records alphabetically by
vehicle ID, and enter "r" to sort the records by
repair date.

After making your selections, press the "ESC" key
to print the report.

The earliest dates appear first in the list if sorted
by date.

@@
Enter "y" if you wish to print out a subselection of
vehicles.

Enter the first few characters (upper or lower case
ok) of the vehicle ID you wish to select after
entering "y" at the field.

For example, if you wish to print out the "car1"
repair records enter "y" at this prompt and enter
"car1" at BOTH the "From vehicle" and "Thru" prompts.

If you enter "n", then ALL vehicles will be selected.

@@
Enter the first few characters of the vehicle ID to
print.

For example, if we wish to print all vehicles starting
with the letter "J" and ending with "K". Enter "J" at
the From prompt and "K" at the Thru prompt.

@@
Enter the first few characters of the ending vehicle
(in alphabetical order) to select.

For example, if we wish to print all vehicles starting
with the letter "J" and ending with "K". Enter "J" at
the From prompt and "K" at the Thru prompt.

@@
If you wish to select records falling within a certain
specified range of dates (i.e. month of January,
quarter of Jan thru end of March), enter "y" at the
prompt.

@@
Enter the starting date to select records.

For example, to print out records for the months of
January thru March enter "01 01" the the "From Date"
prompt and "03 31" at the "Thru" prompt.

@@
Enter the ending date to select records. Those records
with dates falling within the range of dates specified
will be printed.

For example, to print out records for the months of
January thru March enter "01 01" the the "From Date"
prompt and "03 31" at the "Thru" prompt.

@@
If you wish to select the repairs by individual line
item, enter "Y" at the prompt. Then at the FROM and
THRU fields you can enter the memo you wish to select.

For example:  To select all repairs containing the
line item "TIRE", enter "TIRE" in both the FROM
and THRU prompts.

If you use the wildcard characters "*", you can search
for substrings within the memo. For example, to search
for repairs with "TIRE" in the memo field enter the
following in the FROM prompt:

    "*TIRE*"

It is important to enclose the string you are looking
for in asterisk characters. If you use the "*" search
character, you can only enter the name in the FROM
prompt.

@@
Enter the starting string (in alphabetical order) of
the line item you wish to select.

If you use the wildcard characters "*", you can search
for substrings within the memo. For example, to search
for repairs with "TIRE" in the memo field enter the
following in the FROM prompt:

    "*TIRE*"

It is important to enclose the string you are looking
for in asterisk characters. If you use the "*" search
character, you can only enter the name in the FROM
prompt.

@@
Enter the ending name (in alphabetical order) of the
line item you wish to select.

If you use the wildcard characters "*", you can search
for substrings within the memo. For example, to search
for repairs with "TIRE" in the memo field enter the
following in the FROM prompt:

    "*TIRE*"

It is important to enclose the string you are looking
for in asterisk characters. If you use the "*" search
character, you can only enter the name in the FROM
prompt.

@@
If you wish to select the repairs by memo, enter "Y" at
the prompt. Then at the FROM and THRU fields you can
enter the memo you wish to select.

For example: To select all repairs containing the memo
"ACCOUNT", enter "ACCOUNT" in both the FROM and THRU
prompts.

@@
Enter the starting memo (in alphabetical order) of the
repair you wish to select.

If you use the wildcard characters "*", you can search
for substrings within the memo. For example, to search
for repairs with "ORDER" in the memo field enter the
following in the FROM prompt:

    "*ORDER*"

It is important to enclose the string you are looking
for in asterisk characters. If you use the "*" search
character, you can only enter the name in the FROM
prompt.

@@
Enter the ending name (in alphabetical order) of the
mechanic you wish to select.

If you use the wildcard characters "*", you can search
for substrings within the memo. For example, to search
for repairs with "ORDER" in the memo field enter the
following in the FROM prompt:

    "*ORDER*"

It is important to enclose the string you are looking
for in asterisk characters. If you use the "*" search
character, you can only enter the name in the FROM
prompt.

@@
If you wish to select the repairs by mechanic, enter
"Y" at the prompt. Then at the FROM and THRU fields you
can enter the name of the mechanic you wish to select.

Otherwise, enter "N".

For example: To select all repairs done at HALLS AUTO
enter: "HALL" in both the FROM and THRU prompts.

@@
Enter the starting name (in alphabetical order) of the
mechanic you wish to select.

If you use the wildcard characters "*", you can search
for substrings within the mechanic name. For example,
to search for mechanics with TUNE in their name enter
the following in the FROM prompt:

    "*TUNE*"

It is important to enclose the string you are looking
for in asterisk characters. If you use the "*" search
character, you can only enter the name in the FROM
prompt.

@@
Enter the ending name (in alphabetical order) of the
mechanic you wish to select.

If you use the wildcard characters "*", you can search
for substrings within the mechanic name. For example,
to search for mechanics with TUNE in their name enter
the following in the FROM prompt:

    "*TUNE*"

It is important to enclose the string you are looking
for in asterisk characters. If you use the "*" search
character, you can only enter the name in the FROM
prompt.

@@
Enter the cost range in which to select repair
records.

For example, to print out all repair records that are
higher than $50.00, enter "50" at the prompt and "g"
at the "relation" prompt.

To select ALL repair records, enter a SPACE at the
prompt.

Do not enter commas or dollar signs at the prompt.

@@
Enter "l" for less than and "g" for greater than.

For example, to find all repairs with a TOTAL cost of
less than $35.00, enter "35" at the previous prompt
and "L" at the current prompt.

@@
Enter "y" to actually print the report now.

Press "ESC" to return to the REPORTS MENU and press
"ENTER" to continue to make choices in the SELECTION
MENU.

@@
Press any key to view the next page of the report or
press "ESC" to stop the report.

@@
This report details each scheduled service for each
vehicle in the database over a range of dates.

From this report you can view all estimated scheduled
services for the month of March or for the period from
March 1 through June 1.

The NEXT SVC DATE column is the estimated date of
service based on the average number of miles traveled
per day as calculated over the last 15 gas receipts
(see SHORT-VIEW PAGE)

The NEXT SVC ODOMETER column is the mileage at which
to target service.

The NUM WEEKS column is the number of weeks between
the LAST GAS RECEIPT and the NEXT SVC DATE.

The NUM MILES column is the number of miles til the
service should be done.

@@
The GAS RECEIPT REPORT is a log of ALL gas receipts
for any particular vehicle. Gas receipts can be
printed for any arbitrary time period.

The DATE when the gas was purchased is printed
along with the number of gallons purchased, number of
miles since the last gas purchase, and total cost.

From these figures the MPG and COST PER GALLON can be
computed.

A bottom line with totals for the number of gallons
miles and cost is displayed along with the avarage
MPG, minimum MPG and maximum MPG.

@@
The TRIP LOG REPORT is a summary of all trips as
recorded in the TRIP LOG MENU. The starting point,
ending point, type of trip (commute, business,
personal), starting odometer, ending odometer, number
of miles and date of trip are all printed.

You may selectively print out trips for business,
personal or commute purposes by date and by code.

@@
If you wish to select service repairs for a particular
day, week, or month enter "y" at the prompt. Then fill
in the FROM and THRU date fields.

For example: To view scheduled maintenance for all
vehicles in the month of March enter "y" at this prompt
and enter "1 Mar" at the FROM prompt and "1 Apr -1" at
the THRU prompt.

Press the "ESC" key and ALL scheduled service for ALL
vehicles will be printed.

@@
Enter the starting date in which to select scheduled
service. All scheduled services within the dates
specified will be printed.

@@
Enter the ending date in which to select scheduled
service. All scheduled services within the dates
specified will be printed.

@@
Enter a 10 letter description of the starting point of
the trip.

@@
Enter a 10 character description of the ending point
of the trip.

@@
Enter a 30 character note describing the purpose of
the trip.

@@
Enter the number of miles between the starting and
ending points of the trip. This should be one-way
miles only.

@@
Enter 'c' for COMMUTE, 'b' for BUSINESS, and 'p' for
PERSONAL.

Each mileage log will be categorized according to type
of trip. Categorizing by business, personal, and
commute will allow you to easily compute mileage for
tax purposes.

@@
Enter "c" for COMMUTE, "b" for BUSINESS, "p" for
PERSONAL and "a" for ALL codes.

Each mileage log will be categorized according to type
of trip. Categorizing by business, personal, and
commute will allow you to easily compute mileage for
tax purposes.

@@
Enter "y" to save the changes made to this page. Enter
"n" or "ESC" to discard the changes.

@@
Enter a letter between "a" and "o" denoting the code
of the trip (from the codes menu).

@@
From this menu you can enter new mileage logs. Each
mileage log is saved and the number of records in the
database is displayed in the top left corner -
"20 Records".

Press the UP or DOWN arrow to access different records.
Enter "a" to add a new mileage log and "d" to delete an
old mileage log.

After entering "a" to add a new mileage log, the
current date will be filled in. Place the highlight
next to the CODE prompt to change the trip.

If you are entering many trips to the same destination,
use the CODES MENU to save those trips. Thus a simple
code letter will fill in the "ODOMETER" readings,
"FROM", "TO" and "PURPOSE" fields automatically.

@@
Enter the id of the vehicle. The vehicle must be on
file otherwise a error message to the effect "sss not
on file" will be displayed.

@@
Enter the date of the trip. Trips should be entered in
chronological order for best results.

@@
Enter a letter denoting a trip record. The
corresponding code as entered in the CODES MENU will
extract the following fields: FROM, TO, MILES, PURPOSE
and TYPE.

Enter a capital letter to swap the FROM and TO
destinations.

If you do not have the trip recorded in the
"CODES MENU", use a "?" question mark.

@@
Enter:
    "c" for commute
    "b" for business and "p" for
personal. The trip must fall into one of these
categories.

@@
Enter the odometer reading at the start of the trip.
The starting odometer reading will be automatically
set to the last odometer reading recorded in VMSYS
PLUS for your convenience.

Do not enter commas in the odometer reading.

@@
Enter the odometer reading at the end of the trip. The
number of miles in the trip will be automatically
adjusted to reflect the difference between the start
and end odometer.

The ending odometer must be greater or equal to the
starting odometer.

Do not enter commas in the odometer reading.

@@
Enter the number of miles in the trip. The ending
odometer reading will be adjusted to reflect the
number of miles in the trip.

Do not enter commas for miles larger than 999.

@@
Enter a 10 character description of where the trip
started from.

@@
Enter a 10 character field denoting where the trip
ended up.

@@
Enter the purpose of the trip. This field is for
informational purposes only and may be necessary for a
tax audit.

@@
Enter "y" to backup the data files.  It is important
that you backup the system everytime you make
significant changes to the database.

The batch file VBACKUP.BAT will be started. First the
database will be compressed into one file, then you
will be prompted to place a formatted floppy into
drive A.

You may customize the VBACKUP.BAT file if you wish to
backup onto a different drive using a different
program.

@@
The WARRANTY PAGE keeps track of up to 13 items on the
vehicle under warranty. There are two warranty dates:
one that is entered (actual) and one that is estimated
based on the number of daily miles traveled.

The earliest expiration dates will appear in the 1
month and six month calendars.

Press the "ENTER" key to update. Press the UP and DOWN
arrow keys to view the next and previous screens.

@@
Enter the item under warranty. There can be up to ten
characters for each item. To delete an item, press the
SPACE bar then the "ENTER" key. The expiration dates
will appear in both the 6 month and 1 month calendars.

Examples:
    windshield
    tires
    alternator
    brake job

@@
Use the info field to record general information about
the warranty in text form.

Examples:
    24mo/24,000
    12mo/12,000

@@
Enter the odometer reading when the warranty begins.
Do not enter comma's.

@@
Enter the odometer reading at expiration. There are
two ways to enter the odometer reading, you may enter
a value LESS than the starting odometer reading or the
actual odometer reading. By entering an expiration
odometer reading less than the starting odometer, the
value entered will be ADDED to the starting odometer
reading.

For example if the current odometer is set at 45,000
and the number of miles left on the warranty is 12,000
enter:

    Current odometer: 45,000
    Warranty miles:   12,000
    Expire odometer:  57,000

You may enter 12,000 or 57,000 at the prompt. You may
find that entering 12,000 will save you from having to
add 12,000 to 45,000.

@@
Enter the date when the warranty expires. You will
want to use date arithmetic in this field for
convenience. For example:

WARRANTY                 YOU ENTER
24 months from today     ".+24m"
12 months from 21 May    "12 may + 12m"
48 months from 1st May   "1may + 48m"

The earliest expiration date - estimated or actual
will be highlighted.

@@
Press the "F10" key to summon the shortcut popup menu
for this prompt.

Enter "ESC" to discard the popup.

Enter an option letter or use the UP and DOWN arrow
keys to position to the option desired then press
"ENTER" to select that option.

Press the LEFT or RIGHT arrow key to ignore the popup
and move on to the next field on the page.

To modify an option on the POPUP MENU, position the
highlight bar over the field to modify then press the
"F10" key. Make your change then press "ENTER" for the
change to take effect. The changes to the popups will
automatically be saved in the parameter file when you
exit VMSYS PLUS.

@@
If you have a Microsoft mouse installed in your system
answer "yes" here. Contact Plus will then enable you to
use the mouse in addition to the cursor keys.

The MOUSE.COM driver must be installed for this to work
properly. See your MicroSoft Mouse manual.

The "LEFT" mouse button will act as the "ENTER" key and
the "RIGHT" mouse button as the "ESC" key.

If the mouse movement is too fast, set the SPEED
parameters to a large number (i.e. 99).

@@
Enter a number from "1 ... 99" as a measure of how
mouse sensitivity. Higher numbers will slow the mouse
down.

This "X-SPEED" parameter will adjust the sensitivity of
moving the mouse from "right to left".

@@
Enter a number from "1 ... 99" as a measure of the
mouse sensitivity. Higher numbers will slow the mouse
down.

The "Y-SPEED" parameter will adjust the sensitivity of
moving the mouse on "up and down" movements.

@@
If you have an "EGA" or "VGA" card and monitor and wish
to display "43" lines of text for an EGA and 50 lines
for a VGA during the report browse and through the VIEW
screen, select "yes" at the prompt.

This option only works for computers with EGA/VGA
monitors. Unpredictable results will occur if tried on
non EGA/VGA monitors.

@@
Enter a new date for the fuel receipt. This date can
be "no later" than the latest month (as shown in the
upper right corner of all screens).

You can change the date to a date in the "past". You
cannot enter a fuel receipt for the "future". Keep in
mind that you may botch up your data if you are not
careful. VMSYS PLUS keeps your fuel receipts in date
order when you them in the FUEL RECEIPT menu.

VMSYS PLUS also keeps your odometer readings proper
from fillup to fillup. By entering a fuel receipt
entirely out of sequence, the mileage information may
no longer appear correct.

@@
Enter a new odometer reading for this fuel receipt. If
this is the latest fuel receipt, you may reset the
odometer reading now (in cases where you had to replace
the odometer and had to set it back to 0).

Use this procedure with caution as you VMSYS PLUS will
not check for inconsistencies.

@@
Enter the number of miles traveled between the "last"
"fillup" fuel receipt and the current fuel receipt.

Normally, VMSYS PLUS keeps calculates the number of
miles between fillups using the odometer readings,
however, you may need to adjust this number due to a
data entry error.

@@
Enter the amount of fuel purchased for this fuel
ticket. This number will be divided by "total" fuel
cost to calculate the "cost per gallon" or "cost per"
"liter".

@@
Enter the "total cost" of this fuel ticket. The cost
per gallon/liter will be computed.

Beware, VMSYS PLUS will not prevent you from entering
numbers that are out of bounds from this menu.
Normally the fuel receipts are entered from the "FUEL
RECEIPT" menu and the data is cross checked for
accuracy.

@@
The repairs are normally indexed by "vehicle id",
meaning that as you press the UP/DOWN arrow keys the
repair records will appear "in order" by id.

You may change the index to "repair date" which will
enable you to quickly find a repair based on the date.

@@
This page displays the fuel receipts for each vehicle
in the database. The fuel receipts are stored in "date
order". If you wish to look up a particular fuel
receipt, you must first know the date of the fuel
receipt. You can enter the date here using date
arithmetic (see the manual for more information on
date arithmetic) or by entering a date in the format
"MMDDYY".

"IMPORTANT NOTE:"

This menu is solely to correct data entry errors. It
should "not" be used to enter new fuel receipts. You
should enter new fuel receipts from the proper "FUEL
RECEIPT" menu, as that menu will automatically help
you keep from making mistakes.

You can delete a fuel receipt if necessary or change
the date. You "cannot" add a new fuel receipt from this
menu.

@@