ANTIC DATABASE - MANUAL¢¢ Antic dataBASE is an easy-to-use¢file manager with all operations¢menu-driven. Antic dataBASE makes it¢simple to create your own mailing¢lists, phone directories, household¢inventories, catalogs of your music,¢videotapes, software, books or¢magazines -- any kind of interactive¢data file.¢ Antic dataBASE requires an Atari¢8-bit computer with at least 48K and¢a disk drive.¢¢XXX¢ Antic dataBASE saves your¢updated information on disk and¢presents it back to you either on¢your computer screen or in hardcopy¢from your printer. You can keep a¢mailing list on disk and quickly¢access any individual's address or¢phone number. You can even have your¢Atari select all names and addresses¢with a specific ZIP code or telephone¢area code.¢¢XXX¢¢ GETTING STARTED¢ Here's how to make your Antic¢dataBASE disk:¢ 1. Format a fresh disk with DOS¢2 or 2.5. Be sure to WRITE DOS FILES¢to this disk. This will be your¢Antic dataBASE disk.¢ 2. ANTICDB.EXE is the filename¢of the Antic dataBASE program. Copy¢it to your Antic dataBASE disk.¢ANTICDB.EXE is on the "B" side of the¢August '87 Antic Monthly Disk.¢ 3. Put your Antic dataBASE disk¢into your drive and rename¢ANTICDB.EXE as AUTORUN.SYS.¢¢XXX¢ To start the program, turn off¢your Atari and place your ANTIC¢dataBASE disk into drive 1. Remove¢all cartridges. (If you have an XL¢or an XE, hold down the [OPTION]¢key.) Turn on your Atari and Antic¢dataBASE will start automatically.¢¢XXX¢ At the title screen, press any¢key to get the main menu:¢¢A. File Directory G. Add New Record¢B. Change Drive H. Modify Old Record¢C. Create File I. Print Records¢D. Modify File J. Display Records¢E. Exit to DOS K. Display Fields¢F. Format a Disk L. Sort File¢¢ First, format a disk for your¢data files. Then select C from the¢main menu to Create a File. Enter a¢short file description and a filename¢at the prompts. The inverse bars¢show how long each entry can be.¢¢XXX¢ The third prompt asks for the¢"Number of Fields in Record (2-8)" --¢this is the amount of different items¢you want to store in each record.¢For example, in an address file you¢might want to store each person's¢name, street address, city, state,¢ZIP code and telephone number. Each¢of these is a "field," and Antic¢dataBASE can search or sort an entire¢file based on the contents of a¢field.¢¢XXX¢ Important: once you've created¢a file, you can go back and alter the¢labels assigned to each field, but¢you can't change the number of fields¢in an existing file.¢ Think hard before answering the¢prompt "Field Length (1-37)." You¢can set it only once. The shorter¢your fields, the more you can store¢on a disk. But if a field is too¢short, you'll have to start¢abbreviating information.¢¢XXX¢ When all fields are defined, the¢screen clears, a summary of the file¢definition is displayed and the¢prompt "Press (Y) to Save File"¢appears. Pressing any other key¢returns you to the main menu.¢ SIZE LIMITS¢ While creating the file you¢probably noticed the "Record Size"¢number. Keep an eye on this total as¢you define the file, because the¢number equals the sum of all the¢field lengths defined up to this¢point. The maximum is 128.¢¢XXX¢ How much you can store in a file¢depends on the length of the records,¢disk density and the number of other¢files on that disk.¢ MAIN MENU¢ A. File Directory -- maintained¢in a file called INDEX. All database¢files must have a DB extender, which¢is automatically assigned to files¢created by Antic dataBASE.¢ B. Change Drive -- lets you¢specify which disk drive will be used¢in all data management operations.¢ C. Create File -- for creating¢a new database.¢¢XXX¢ D. Modify File -- lets you¢either delete a file or change¢labels.¢ E. Exit to DOS -- even if you¢have a MEM.SAV file on your disk,¢you'll have to reboot Antic dataBASE.¢ F. Format Disk.¢ G. Add New Record -- lets you¢add a record to an existing database¢file.¢ H. Modify Old Record -- lets¢you change an existing record, such¢as an address or phone number.¢¢XXX¢ I. Print Records -- sends any¢or all records from a file to the¢printer. You can print partial¢records as well.¢ J. Display Records -- prints¢the contents of any or all records to¢the screen.¢ K. Display Fields -- shows the¢fields defined for the records in any¢one or all of the database files on¢that disk.¢ L. Sort Files -- you can sort¢on any field in a record and in¢either ascending or descending order.¢However, you can't sort a file of 200¢or more sectors.¢¢XXX¢ HINTS¢ 1. Sorting is based on the¢ASCII codes of the letters and¢numbers in the field. An abbreviated¢ASCII table follows. (See your¢favorite computer manual for a¢complete chart of ASCII values.):¢ CHARACTER VALUES¢ 0 - 9 48-57¢ A - Z 65-90¢ a - z 97-122¢¢ Using this system, the word¢"ZODIAC" would appear BEFORE the word¢"aardvark" -- but AFTER a word like¢"07-APRIL".¢¢XXX¢ 2. Use Antic dataBASE to delete¢any database files, because your DOS¢won't update the INDEX file.¢¢
