Software of the Month Club 1998 June

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WaverlyStreet QuickRef Project Assistant (tm) version 2.2 User's Manual ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topics: 1) What can I expect to get out of QuickRef? 2) In a nutshell... 3) What do I have to put into using QuickRef? 4) Setup options 5) Adding projects 6) Single project screen 7) Switch between time and money modes 8) Add records - edit / delete records 9) "To-Do" items 10) Keeping notes 11) The Macro utility, and cutting and pasting between projects 12) Reports 13) Big reports (from multiple QuickRef users on a network) 14) Purge older records from a project 15) Closing out a finished project 16) Viewing your archived records 17) Completely removing a project 18) Project list 19) The file browser, and text editors 20) Network notes 21) Planning for network use (IMPORTANT!) 22) Installation, and "What the heck are all those files?" 23) Limitations (If you have not already done so, you may want to print this manual on paper. Press "P" if viewing it from the QuickRef help utility.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) What can I expect to get out of QuickRef? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fast, accurate, easy reports about the time and money you have invested in your work; both long-term, and things you've done just recently. Quick access to your notes concerning whatever you have going on, and handy reminders about things you have to do. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) In a nutshell... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QuickRef keeps short (quick) line item records of time and money expenditures grouped by projects (or categories, or tasks, or clients... or whatever name you use to think of groups of activity). These line items include a date and a short note field. Reports can be generated for selected projects, selected dates. Single line items can be found in thousands of others by searching for key words or numbers. Special line items that serve as reminders ("to-do" items) may be inserted in with both the time and money records so that you cannot forget to do important things. A free-form text "journal" or record file may be kept, linked to each specific project. To install the program, please use one of the included installation utilities, SETUP.EXE (for Windows) or DOS_INST.EXE (for DOS). These will create the directories and install the files needed for the basic operation of the program. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) What do I have to put into using QuickRef? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well... all the raw information. Unfortunately, there's no around that! However, QuickRef has been designed from the ground up with quick and easy data entry as the primary goal. It is based on the premise that it must be quick to use, otherwise it won't get used at all. From DOS, you can start QuickRef, make a couple of entries, and get back out in a just few seconds. Run it in the background in Windows or some other multi-task environment (recommended) and it's even quicker. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Setup Options ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you first start QuickRef, please go into the setup area by pressing F10 at the main screen. You will find the following options: User Name : Change this to either your or your company name User Initials : Enter your initials here (don't leave blank!) Passcode : optional Multiple Workers : If set to "N", then you will never even know that the program can handle multiple "workers". If set to "Y", then you will need to build a "worker" data file, and data entry and reporting sections will have one more step in them. Sub Divisions : Both time and money records may be tagged with a sub-division label. You may have up to nine divisions for each. Toggle through the four options available. Change Screen Colors: Hey, have fun! Current Data Path: Directory where records on current projects will be kept. The default is C:\QUICKREF\CURRENT\ Caution! Do not share a network data path with someone else unless it will NEVER be the case that you are both in the program at the same time! (It may seem to work OK, but eventual file corruption is inevitable.) Archive Data Path: Directory where records on closed projects will be kept. The default is C:\QUICKREF\ARCHIVE\ Again, don't share a network directory! Current Mirror : (optional) For network use - enter in a DOS file path where you want to "mirror" your current records, so that other users on your office LAN may look at them. Must be in the format: [Mirror Parent]\[user initials]\CURRENT\ Archive Mirror : (optional) For network use - a mirror of your archives. Must be in the format: [Mirror Parent]\[user initials]\ARCHIVE\ Mirror Parent : (optional) The parent directory of all QuickRef user's mirror directories. Required for the "Big Report" multiple-user reporting function. (Please see the end of this manual for additional information on installation and network usage.) Lines per page : The number of lines you want for your printer to print before starting a new page. Date format : Select MM-DD-YYYY or DD-MM-YYYY word for PROJECT : Although QuickRef is called a "project management" program, you might want to use it for something where the word "project" just doesn't quite "seem right". Well, change it! For example, if you are tracking time spent with clients, change "Project" to "Client". This re-definition carries through in all program functions, reports, etc. word for STATUS : (see above) Maybe "Type" or "Region"... word for LOCATION: (see above) Maybe "Dept." or "Store" or "Bldg.", etc... money character : Default is US dollar sign ($). Change to anything you want. Print this configuration information Print your configuration on paper. This is handy when you are setting up multiple users and want to make sure you are consistent with directory names, etc. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Adding Projects ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press the right arrow key, then <INSERT>. Add a name, then a project number. Duplicate numbers not allowed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Single project screen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the program first starts, records for ALL projects are shown. To narrow your view to only those records for a particular project, press the right arrow, then point to and select a project. The "header" information for that project is shown at the top of the screen. Press <F3> to change it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Switch between TIME and MONEY modes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press <F8> at either the main screen or the single project screen to toggle between modes. Note the indicator in the bottom right corner of the screen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Add Records - edit / delete records ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Make sure you are in the mode (TIME/MONEY) that you want. From main screen, press <INSERT>, then select a project. From single project screen, just press <INSERT>. Press <ENTER> to accept current date, or type in a new one. (Note - if record is for the current year, then you only need enter the month and the day and press <ENTER>. If for another year, you must type in the entire four-digit number - ie: 1997). When correct date is shown, press <ENTER>. Type in a numeric value to indicate either hours or money, and press <ENTER>. Indicate whether the amount is actual or an estimate. Type in a note, or use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through past notes. When the note is as you want it, press <ENTER>. Finally, confirm the new entry. To either edit or delete a record, pick it from the screen by pointing to it and pressing <ENTER>. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) "To-Do" items ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- If, when making a new entry, you leave the amount field blank (either time or money), then the entry will appear as a reminder. These will be printed as "to-do" items on "Snapshot" reports. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) Keeping notes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the most useful things QuickRef does is allow keeping a note file attached to each project. To view and/or work on your notes, press <F9> at the single project screen. If the file browser cannot find a note file it will offer to create one. The new note file will consist of the project number, project name, user name, and the note file's DOS path and file name. A new IMPORT FILE function has been added to the browser (to replace the "form file" scheme used in earlier versions). Just press <I> while in the browser, then type a file name. If the file to be imported is NOT located in the QUICKREF directory, you need to type the full DOS path to the file too. (The file STANDARD.FRM is the default import file name). Use the import utility to place standard "boiler plate" (checklists, forms, etc.) at the beginning of new note files. To edit your notes, press <E> while in the browser, to start your own external text editor (see below). Note files can be included in "Snapshot" reports or printed on their own. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) The Macro utility, and cutting and pasting records between projects ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QuickRef has a couple of functions that allow quick automatic insertion of multiple records into a given project; the Macro utility, and cut & paste. You may have the program automatically insert pre-defined sets of records by creating and playing back Macro Files. To run the macro utility, press <F3> at the main screen. Select "Make a new Macro" and press <ENTER>. Your external text editor should start, and display a template macro file called (oddly enough), "TEMPLATE.MCR". Please print out the template file and study it. Macros are great when you regularly do projects that are more or less the same each time around. Put in all the "to-do" items and money items that are required, and you will remember to do everything, over and over again! Things to keep in mind about macro records: 1) Records inserted by macro are always labeled as "estimates" - you have to manually change the label to "actual". 2) They do not have any worker or subdivision identification built in; again, you have to do that manually by editing the record after it is inserted. You may create as many macro files as you wish, and they may contain as many line items and TIME/MONEY mode changes as you wish. If you are only going to use one macro, or if you use one a lot more often than others, name it "STANDARD.MCR" to avoid having to type a filename each time. Another way to insert multiple records is to cut (copy) them from one project and then paste them into another. To do this, go to the single project screen for the project from which you want to COPY. Press <F5>, and all records for the mode (TIME/MONEY) currently displayed will be placed into a buffer. Now go to the single project screen for the project to which you wish to PASTE. Press <F7>, and then <ENTER> to paste the contents of the buffer to the project currently displayed. You may cut from any data set; your current or archive, and also from anyone's network mirror, current or archive. If you are set up in multi-worker mode, and/or are using subdivisions, and are cutting records from someone else's mirror, be aware that the pasted records will contain the worker identification and subdivision tags from the ORIGINALS, which may or may not be the same as your own local worker and subdivision data (see section on planning for network use). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) Reports ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QuickRef creates two basic report types, "Snapshot" reports on single projects, and larger reports that combine projects and compare them to each other. In either case, note that you may edit the report before printing it. You may create reports from either your own data, another person's data that has been placed in a network "Backup/Share" directory, or archived records on closed projects. To generate a "Snapshot", you need to be at a single project screen. Press <F4>, and answer the prompts that follow. To generate comparison reports, you must be at the main screen. Press <F4>. Press <A> to select all projects, <S> to select only certain projects. If you chose to select projects, there are more choices to be made: Press <W> to select by word. What this does is prompt you for a word, and then it searches all the project header information to find it. When a match is found, the header is displayed, and you must confirm whether or not to include it. Press <N> to search by project number. A string of eight stars are displayed, which you may edit to look for project numbers that match. For example, suppose your numbering system uses a single letter code in the third place to identify various types of projects, and you wish to have a report on projects of type "t". Change the line of stars to look like this -> **t***** and press <ENTER>. Finally, you may also simply pick projects from the main list one at a time. Press <O> to do this. Scroll through the projects and press <ENTER> to select. Whichever search method is employed, you are shown a list of selected projects. If you wish to add more, press <INSERT>. If you wish to remove one, point to it and press <ENTER>. When the list is as you want it, press <ESC> to continue. Once you have selected projects, you must specify a range of dates to include. Again, press <A> to select all dates, <S> to specify dates. Pressing <T> will create a special quick "report" that includes nothing but "to-do" items. Next, indicate summary or full report. Full reports include all time and money line items (and so can get to be rather long). There are a few more prompts (depending on whether or not you are in multi-user mode), and then the report is displayed on screen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) Big Reports (from multiple QuickRef users on a network) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are set up on an office network, you may create "Big Reports" that include records from any number of users. Press <B> at the main screen, then <Y> to confirm your choice. The Big Report data is placed in a temporary directory of your choosing, the default being C:\. (If you have a large RAM drive set up, use that.) Next, type the initials of the first user to be included. The _first_ user is quite significant - their header information takes precedence over subsequent users when more than one user has records for the same project number, and ALL subdivision information comes from the first user's configuration! Now specify the next user's initials. The data and header files from the two network mirrors are combined. When you are finished adding users, you are returned to the main screen. The composite data files can be viewed and used for reporting just like your normal LOCAL ARCHIVE data set. Actually, as you leave the Big Report screen, your default LOCAL ARCHIVE path is temporarily changed to be the same as the temporary directory you specified, so you can quickly get there by pressing <A> then <ENTER>. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) Purge older records from a project ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some projects go on forever (or a long time anyway), and the resultant accumulation of old records can slow down program operation. So from time to time you may wish to transfer records older than a certain date from the current data to the archive data. At the single project screen, press F10 to purge. Supply a cut-off date, and follow the other prompts. Only the line item records for the current mode (time/money) are transferred; not line items from the other mode (time/money) nor the project notes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) Closing out a finished project ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once a project is finished, you will want to transfer it's records from your current data area to the archive area. First of all, make sure that you have created an archive directory, and that you have correctly specified it in SETUP. To close out a project: Activate the project selection box (right arrow at the main screen). Press <DEL>. Point to the project you wish to close and press <ENTER>. Answer the prompts, and it's done. Verify that the records are being transferred correctly by pressing "A" back at the main screen, to view your archive directory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) Viewing your archive records ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press <A> at the main screen to switch to your archive directory. The program title and directory listing on the bottom of the screen will change to the "warning box" colors, to remind you that you are not in your usual files. Press <A> again (or the left arrow key) to return to your current data. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) Completely removing a project ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- In order to completely remove a project's records from the system, it must first have been transferred to the archive directory. Change to the archive directory (<A> at the main screen...), and proceed as if you were closing the project out. This time, however, the project is completely removed! Print a report first! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!!!!! Note: unless a project is a mistake or a "test" project, don't remove it. Huge archive files do not hinder normal program operation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) Project list ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Print a quick list of all your projects by pressing <P> when the "Select Projects" window is "on". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) The FILE BROWSER & text editors ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- All reports and project note files are initially sent to a built-in viewer, for on-screen preview. All viewer control options are shown at the bottom of the screen. The viewer is capable of displaying huge files (in excess of 32,000 lines in length) with great speed. If you are not satisfied with the viewer's print output, print to a file instead, and then read that into your favorite word processor. (Set the word processor margins to handle 78 columns (very wide)). QuickRef does not include it's own text editor. To edit files, the viewer shells out to an external editor of your choosing. Specify the text editor on the DOS command line, or in your Windows program item, properties, command line space, in this format: QR [name of editor's executable file] (Note the space between QR and the editor name.) Any DOS text editor that will accept a file name to open on the command line should work (depending on available memory). An excellent editor for the purpose is READ by WellsCom. READ can be found at all the major software archives and on all the major shareware CDs, generally in the DOS editor or text directory. READ uses very little memory, has a number of nice "word processor-like" features, and can handle very large files. If no editor is specified on the command line, QuickRef will attempt to use EDIT. (EDIT works, but READ is vastly superior.) One other point - the editor needs to be either in the same directory as Quickref, or in the PATH. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) Network notes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although QuickRef is designed to operate stand-alone, it includes provisions for sharing data with other users on a LAN. (See the end of this manual for suggested network directory structure.) Other users may view, but not change each other's records. To update you own network data "mirror", press <M> at the main screen, to run the Mirror Update utility. This simply copies all your data to the network directories you specify in setup. ("Laptop" users might specify a floppy drive for this, then copy the files from the disk to the server, or upload the files via modem.) To look at someone else's data, press <L> at the main screen. Change the directory shown to the one you are after, and press <ENTER>. The program title and directory listing on the bottom of the screen will change to the "warning box" colors, to remind you that you are not in your usual files. You can browse and generate reports just as if you were in your own data, but all data entry and editing functions are locked out. Press <L> (or <ESC> or left arrow) again to return to your normal data directory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) Planning for network use (IMPORTANT!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- In order to get the most out of QuickRef as a GROUP application, a certain amount of up-front planning is required. This section outlines the important things that need to be standardized, and offers some hints on effective group use. USER INITIALS Make sure everyone has filled in their initials in SETUP. Each time and money record contains the initials. Even though an individual may not be using the program in "multi-user" mode, an administrator doing a department-wide "Big Report" might want to look at the activities of a single person, or do a breakdown by worker. As long as all users are set up correctly, with their initials in place, this can be done. Time and Money SUBDIVISIONS Everyone has to be using the same subdivision tags if "Big Report" breakdowns are going to make sense and be accurate. The NAMES that individuals use for subdivisions don't matter, but the ORDER in which they are listed DOES matter. In other words, you must decide up front (as a group) that say, money division #1 is going to be used for miscellaneous expenses. User "A" might like to call this "misc. stuff", user "B" might call it "other expense". As long as both users have this at money subdivision tag #1, all will be well when a "Big Report" is made with combined data from "A" and "B". At installation/setup time, give a lot of thought to exactly what it is you wish to track with the subdivisions, and then stick to the plan from that day forward. DATE FORMAT Everyone must use the same date format. Mixed date formats in "Big Reports" will result in a lot of useless gibberish! (Note: a separate command-line conversion utility is available to change sets of records from one format to another.) USE "MY_NOTES.TXT" Pressing <N> at the main screen displays a file called "MY_NOTES.TXT". Use this as a custom-made help screen, specific to your installation. Outline macro file names and descriptions, note file "boiler plate" file names, and whatever other information your users need to help them use the program and work together. SHARE THINGS WITH EACH OTHER In particular, macro files, subdivision files, record file "boiler plate" and the "MY_NOTES.TXT" file. These things are all contained in the local QUICKREF directories on each user's computer. You can save a lot of duplicate effort, and ensure consistency by creating these once and then copying them to each user's machine. You might make a make a batch file to do this called "QRUPDATE.BAT" that copies whatever you want from the network parent directory to C:\QUICKREF. Place "QRUPDATE.BAT" in each user's QUICKREF directory. Each user can run QRUPDATE.BAT on their own whenever they want. The system administrator can then maintain common macros, subdivisions, etc., and simply tell the other users to update whenever appropriate. Sample QRUPDATE.BAT: copy f:\qrm\*.sdv c:\quickref\current copy f:\qrm\*.mcr c:\quickref copy f:\qrm\my_notes.txt c:\quickref ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) Installation, and "What the heck are all those files?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The included installation utilities will create the suggested default directories outlined below for you. Please use one of them. However, if you don't like using installation programs, or if the installer fails for some reason, the following will be useful: It is recommended that the program distribution files be placed in a directory called C:\QUICKREF (for illustration purposes, let's assume drive C:) Subdirectories called C:\QUICKREF\CURRENT (for current data), and C:\QUICKREF\ARCHIVE (for archives) MUST be present. (With version 2.0 and on, the words "CURRENT" and "ARCHIVE" MUST be used!, unlike with previous versions.) So, here is what that might look like, including files: Directory of C:\QUICKREF . <DIR> .. <DIR> CURRENT <DIR> (current data directory) ARCHIVE <DIR> (archive data directory) QRM <DIR> (default, LOCAL mirror parent directory) QR EXE (the program) VBDRT10 EXE (required run-time module) STATION INI (program creates this - contains SETUP information) QUICKREF TXT (the "about" file called at the help screen) TEMPLATE MCR (macro file template with instructions) QUICKREF MAN (this file - called from help screen) MY_NOTES TXT (user's own help file - called from help screen) STANDARD MCR (sample/default macro file) SWAN ICO (nifty WaverlyStreet Windows icon) WORKER DAT (worker info - only if multi-user set to "Y" in setup) After running the program through all it's paces, your CURRENT directory should look like this: Directory of C:\QUICKREF\CURRENT . <DIR> .. <DIR> TIME DAT (time records) PROJECTS DAT (project header records) MONEY DAT (money records) [proj] REC (plain text file(s) containing your project notes where [PROJ] is your project's number) TIME SDV (time sub division labels) MONEY SDV (money sub division labels) After a while (once you have closed out some projects) your archive directory will look like this: Directory of C:\QUICKREF\ARCHIVE [proj] REC (same as above) PROJECTS DAT (same as above) TIME DAT (same as above) MONEY DAT (same as above) TIME SDV (same as above) MONEY SDV (same as above) If you are connected to a LAN, and wish for other QuickRef users to be able to view your records, create "mirror" directories on the server, and specify them in setup. When you press "M" at the main screen, the Mirror Update utility will copy all the files from your local data directories to the mirror directories. Suggested network server mirror directory structure (assuming drive "F"): F:\QRM | F:\QRM\[user initials] - A sub directory for each user. | F:\QRM\[user initials]\CURRENT F:\QRM\[user initials]\ARCHIVE Note: the installation utilities create a QRM directory and CURRENT and ARCHIVE directories, within the LOCAL QUICKREF directory. If you are not on a LAN, just leave this default set-up alone. However, if you ARE on a LAN, you need to manually create new mirror directories as outlined above. Again, the words "CURRENT" and "ARCHIVE" MUST be used! Finally, the program creates and removes numerous temporary "scratch" files during the course of normal operation. These files have several different names, all with the extension ".@@@" Under certain circumstances (power failures, etc.), the program may fail to delete these files, and you might get some odd results such as "extra" information pasted onto reports. Once the problem circumstances are corrected, the program should clear the stray scratch files on it's own. At any time, however, you are safe to delete any files with the .@@@ extension from the QuickRef file structure. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) Limitations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe QuickRef is set up to handle more than large enough numbers of this and that for normal usage, but just so you know, here are some limits: The maximum number of active line items in either the TIME or the MONEY data files is 32,767 (each may have that many). The program will warn you that you are approaching the limit at 20,000, and again (more urgently) at 30,000. In general, the smaller the data files, the faster the operation. Closed projects should be retired if the data files are getting too large. (I have tested all functions of the program with computer-generated test data files over 32,000 entries. No problems except that it gets rather slow!) Note: If your archive records are approaching the limit, make another archive directory and change SETUP to show it as the default. (There can be as many as you need) The maximum number of projects and workers is also 32,767. Individual line item values for money should not exceed six places to the left of the decimal point ($ 999,999.99). For time, four places (9999.99 hours). Project subtotals for money should not exceed eight places to the left of the decimal point ($ 99,999,999.99). For time, six places (999,999.99 hours) Grand totals for money (all records in the system) should not exceed nine places to the left of the decimal point ($ 999,999,999.99). For time, seven places (9,999,999.99 hours). (Actually, the program can handle the math required for fifteen places to the left of the decimal, but it seems a little silly to accommodate that in the screen and report layouts. If you are dealing with numbers that large, go buy an accounting firm!) The maximum number of text lines (largest report) that the file browser can handle is also the magical 32,767. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please report bugs & make suggestions to: dgjess@infinet.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- QuickRef (tm) Project Assistant - (C) 1997 WaverlyStreet. All Rights Reserved -----------------------------------------------------------------------------