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1991-06-21
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PAFAbility
Version 1.0
Fri 21 Jun 1991
(c) Copyright 1991, Barbara A. Bennett. All Rights Reserved.
PAFAbility v1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
Contents
--------
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Using PAFAbility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
WARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Program options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Single line vs. cascading chart . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Paging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Reset the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What's it doing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Random thoughts on data entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
FIELD USE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
NAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
MARRIAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
HOW2READ.TXT file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Problem resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
PRINTALT program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Printing the report with a word processor . . . . . . . . . . 9
Printing the report on an unsupported printer . . . . . . . . 9
Liability Statement and Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The Shareware Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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PAFAbility v1.0
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Introduction
------------
PAFAbility is an accessory program for users of Personal
Ancestral File. PAFAbility reads the Family Record (FR) data
files to produce a Record (also known as Modified Register)
System format descendants report. The user has the option of
creating a single line report (listing the descendants of one
individual) or a multiple line report (listing the descendants of
each ancestor of a specified individual).
Personal Ancestral File is a registered trademark of the
Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints.
Hardware Requirements
---------------------
PAFAbility runs on all classes of MS-DOS compatible computers.
If memory above 640K is available, it will be used to hold the
NAME2.DAT file so that the maximum amount of conventional memory
is available for the program's use.
The program supports Epson compatible dot matrix printers,
Hewlett Packard LaserJet compatible printers and provides an
option for no printer codes to be used.
Using PAFAbility
----------------
No installation or configuration is required to run this version
of PAFAbility. This version of the program assumes that the FR
data files are in the current DOS directory. For example,
suppose the data files you wish to use are in the C:\PAF\BENNETT
directory and the PAFAbility program is in the C:\PAF\OTHPGMS
directory. To execute PAFAbility, you must do the following:
cd\paf\bennett
\paf\othpgms\pafablty
---------------------------------------------------------------
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PAFAbility v1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
WARNING: This program has the potential to print hundreds of
pages. You may wish to capture the report to disk and look at
the output before sending it to the printer. PRN2FILE.COM, a
free utility from PC-Magazine which intercepts printer output, is
included in the distribution packet.
Program options
---------------
There are no command line options in this version of the program.
After the program loads, it will ask a few questions to gather
the information needed for the current run. The answers may be
entered in upper or lower case.
Notes
-----
All notes, Fgs notes, No notes?
This question refers to how much text from the NOTES2.DAT file
should be included in the report. Enter "A" to include all notes
in the report. Enter "F" to include only Family Group Sheet
notes, i.e., those notes which are flagged with "!". Enter "N"
to ignore the notes file.
Note: This version of PAFAbility does not print notes that are
stored in text files. It assumes the notes are in the NOTES2.DAT
file.
Printer
-------
Do you want Dot matrix, HP Laser printer, or None?
The answer to this question determines which, if any, printer
codes are included in the report. Enter "D" if you have an Epson
compatible dot matrix computer. Enter "L" if you are using a
Hewlett Packard compatible laser printer. Enter "N" if you have
an incompatible printer or don't want to include printer codes in
the report.
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PAFAbility v1.0
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The report is designed for compressed print (17 characters per
line) with eight lines per inch.
The codes used for the dot matrix printer are:
ESC SI - to turn on compressed print
ESC 0 - to turn on 1/8-inch line spacing
ESC @ - to reset the printer to its normal settings
The codes used for the laser printer are:
ESC (8U ESC (s0p16.66h8.5v0s0b0T - to select the line
printer font
ESC &l8D - to select 1/8-inch line spacing
ESC E - to reset the printer to its normal settings
If your printer is not compatible with these codes, choose "N"
for no printer and use PRN2FILE to capture the output to disk.
Then, set up your word processor program with the correct
settings, import the report file and print it.
Single line vs. cascading chart
-------------------------------
Do you want a Single line or a Cascading Chart? Enter S or C:
Enter "S" if you want to create a single line report that shows
the descendants of a specified individual. Enter "C" if you want
to create a chart for each end-of-line ancestor for a specified
individual.
If you enter "S", you will be asked for the RIN of the individual
whose descendants you want to list. For example, if I wanted to
create a report of all descendants of John Bennett, I would enter
"270" which is his RIN.
If you enter "C", you will be asked for the RIN of the base
individual to use for the cascading chart. For example, my RIN is
3. To create a report that contains a descendants chart for each
of my end-of-line ancestors, I would enter "3" in response to
this question. If I wanted to create a report of just my father's
side of the family, I would enter "1" which is his RIN.
---------------------------------------------------------------
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PAFAbility v1.0
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Paging
------
Start each generation on a new page? Enter Y or N:
Enter "Y" if you wish to have a page break between generations.
This would have the effect of creating a chapter for each
generation. However, be aware that this can cause a significant
increase in the number of total pages printed.
Enter "N" if you wish to save paper.
Reset the printer
-----------------
Reset printer when report is finished? Enter Y or N:
If you are printing directly to the printer and you want the
normal printer settings restored when the program ends, enter
"Y".
If you are capturing the report to disk with PRN2FILE or a
similar program with the intention of printing your report on
both sides of the paper, enter "N". If the printer reset code is
included in the disk report, it will probably cause undesirable
results when you try to print alternate pages.
What's it doing?
----------------
After you've selected the options to be used for the report, the
program reads the data and writes the report. A page counter
reporting the progress is displayed on the screen. An index entry
for each individual named in the report is built and held in
memory.
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PAFAbility v1.0
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After all the descendants' information is printed, the index
entries that were held in memory are reformatted and sorted. The
message "Sorting index" appears on the screen. If there is not
enough memory to sort all the names at the same time, temporary
disk files will be used. If there is not enough free disk space
for the sort work files, the program will fail. Unfortunately,
there is no way to calculate how much disk space will be needed.
After the index entries are sorted, the index is printed. A page
counter reporting the progress is displayed on the screen. If
nothing went wrong during the sort phase, the program terminates
with the message "Program successfully completed."
Random thoughts on data entry
-----------------------------
FIELD USE
The program assumes, as does PAF, that each field contains
what it was intended to contain. That is, the surname field
contains a surname; the title field contains a title; etc.
If you've done as I have and used fields in ways they
weren't intended - I enter (twin) in the title field to
indicate multiple births - then the report output may not
make sense.
NAMES
This version of the program considers the title to be part
of the surname when the index entries are sorted. Therefore,
some names in the index will not appear in the order you
expect.
Names that don't follow the expected pattern, such as
"William the Conqueror", will probably not appear in the
index as one would like. How it will be sorted depends upon
what was entered in the surname and title fields. I don't
know of a solution for this problem, since existing versions
of PAF don't provide well for this type of name.
---------------------------------------------------------------
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PAFAbility v1.0
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MARRIAGES
PAF assumes that a liason that produces children is a
marriage. Since PAF provides no way to indicate otherwise,
that assumption is also used in this program.
NOTES
I have not always been consistent in the way I entered data
in the notes file. I quit using the FGS Note indicator back
when version 2 of PAF was released because I figured I
always wanted all my notes printed. However, that's not
appropriate for my purposes with this report. I've decided
to enter any biographical narrative text as the first FGS
note(s) for an individual. The next FGS note is: "Sources
for <individual's name>:". This note is followed by the FGS
notes containing the source citations for the data. Each
source citation is followed by the data extracted from that
source. This data is NOT marked as an FGS note. Here's an
example:
!John J Arbaugh says: Adam was born on the farm one mile
north of Jewett, Ohio, owned in 1946 by Ira Arbaugh (gson of
Adam's brother, John). Adam received a meager education in
the Orr School. Rev. Benjamin Pope, Lutheran minister
officiated at his wedding.
!Sources for Adam Arbaugh:
!RESIDENCE-PARENTS:
Commemorative Biographical Record, Harrison, Ohio,
containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and
Representative Citizens, and of many of the early
Settled Families; Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1891;
Arbaugh/OH/0001; p. 163, 513.
"Of the children of John Arbaugh two are living - ... and
Adam, in Van Buren County, Iowa."
"... Adam ..."
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PAFAbility v1.0
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!BIRTH-MARRIAGE-OCCUPATION-RESIDENCE:
1885 Iowa State Census; Van Buren County, Iowa; p. 357-8,
Family 175, Dwelling 166; Lick Creek Twp, Township 70,
Range 10, Section 19; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints Family History Library, microfilm #1020187
Age 62, married, farmer, entitled to vote. Living E side
NE 1/4 ??
HOW2READ.TXT file
-----------------
A file named HOW2READ.TXT is included in the PAFAbility
distribution package. This file is a one-page explanation of how
to read the report. You may wish to print this file and include
it with reports that you send to others.
Problem resolution
------------------
If you have any problems running the program, the most likely
reason is that there isn't enough memory available for the size
report you requested. An error message that says "Failed to init
<something or other>, Status = 8" means that there wasn't enough
memory. Try making more memory available by removing any TSR
programs that you have loaded into memory.
I was able to create a report with 3393 subjects and spouses on a
640K 8088 class machine with 511K available before the program
was invoked. The resulting report, which included all notes, was
1124 pages long; captured to disk, the file was over 4 megabytes.
If you need help, please contact me. The following items will
help in resolving any problems:
description of your hardware: class of machine (8088, 80286,
etc), amount of memory, printer model, etc
a screen print showing any error messages
the options you selected and a copy of your PAF data files
---------------------------------------------------------------
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PAFAbility v1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
If you find something wrong with the report, please send me the
following information:
a description of the problem
a copy of the report page showing the problem
the option you selected and a copy of your PAF data files
Send the information to:
Barbara A. Bennett
6426 Pound Apple Court
Columbia, MD 21045
PRINTALT program
----------------
My PAF database currently contains over 6000 individuals. A
report for my mother's side of the family is about 800 pages. In
order to save paper, I wanted to print on both sides of the
paper. None of the public domain or shareware programs I have
tried have worked successfully for me. So, I wrote a program
called PRINTALT which is included in the distribution packet.
PRINTALT reads the report file captured by PRN2FILE and prints
the odd pages. It then prompts the user to turn the paper over
and prints the even pages. PRINTALT is what one of my coworkers
calls a "hurry up quick" or others call "quick & dirty". It is a
no frills program and does very little, if any, error trapping.
It works for me but I don't guarantee that it will work for you.
I would not expect it to work on any file other than the report
created by PAFAbility. If you have a printer jam or run out of
paper on page 500 of a 600 page report, there's no way to
recover.
If your word processor is capable of printing alternate pages, I
recommend you use it for this purpose.
---------------------------------------------------------------
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PAFAbility v1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
Printing the report with a word processor
-----------------------------------------
The report may be captured to disk using PRN2FILE or a similar
utility. If you wish to print the report using a word processor,
you must set the word processor as follows in order to properly
print the report as formatted:
17 characters per inch
8 lines per inch
0" left and right margins
0" top and bottom margins
The report is designed for a monospaced font such as Courier.
Use of a proportional spaced font will produce unexpected
results.
Printing the report on an unsupported printer
---------------------------------------------
If you captured the report to disk and chose "no printer" because
your printer is not supported by the program, then you must send
the proper control codes to your printer before attempting to
print the report. You must set the printer for 17 characters per
inch and 8 lines per inch.
Using PRN2FILE
--------------
PRN2FILE intercepts data sent to the printer and writes it to the
designated disk file. To send the report to a file named BOOK,
enter the following command at the DOS prompt before invoking
PAFAbility:
prn2file book
After PAFAbility has ended, enter the following command to flush
the last bit of the report to the file and terminate printer
interception:
prn2file
---------------------------------------------------------------
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PAFAbility v1.0
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Liability Statement and Disclaimer
----------------------------------
The author of this program hereby disclaims all warranties
relating to this software, whether express or implied, including
without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose. The author will not be liable
for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar
damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if the
authro or an agent of the author has been advised of the
possibility of such damages. In no event shall the author's
liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the
license to use software, regardless of the form of the claim.
The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality
and performance of the software.
The Shareware Concept
---------------------
PAFAbility is distributed as shareware. Shareware is commercial
software distributed in an unconventional manner. Microcomputers
copy information very easily. Instead of trying to frustrate
this through copy protection, shareware takes advantage of it to
reach as many users as possible at the lowest cost. Anyone may
copy a shareware program and distribute it to whomever they
desire, provided they do not charge a fee or alter it.
Shareware isn't free. Serious shareware is as polished as any
conventional commercial product, and represents just as much
programming effort. If you use it regularly, the authors expect
compensation.
However, unlike conventional distribution, shareware allows you
to evaluate the product before you decide to purchase it. The
price is often lower, as well, because there are no advertising,
packaging, or distribution costs.
But it can only work with your support. If you are still using a
shareware product after a couple of weeks, then it is obviously
worth something to you, and you should register it.
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PAFAbility v1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
Registration
------------
To register your copy of PAFAbility, send in a completed copy of
the enclosed order form (ORDER.FRM) with a check or money order
for $10.
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