Magnum One/Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso/d10/pcm_d1.arc/README2.TXT

Text File | 1989-06-12 | 12KB | 331 lines

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            G e t t i n g   S t a r t e d   &   T u t o r i a l
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System Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This program runs under DOS 2.1 or higher.

Any IBM compatible micro computer using the 8088, 8086, 80286 or 80386 chip
will  run it.  Examples  of these  computers  are: Compaq,  Tandy, Amstrad,
Olivetti, Victor, Dell, Epson and almost any other PC clone world-wide.

The  minimum  memory requirement  is  512K.   Both colour  and  mono screen
displays are supported.

For  best results  a hard  disk is  strongly recommended.  You can  run the
program on a dual floppy disk machine.

The Contacts Manager may be installed  on a local area network (LAN). Usage
becomes exclusive to one particular user at a time.


Configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The statement  FILES=20 should  be contained  in your  CONFIG.SYS file. The
statement  BUFFERS=8  is  recommended.  Your  computer  has  probably  been
configured correctly already by various other software you run.

If you  are in doubt  and do not  know how  to check this,  try running the
program  first.  It  will  terminate and  advise  you  accordingly  if your
config.sys file requires correction.

HARD DISK USERS:

Supplied with the program is a file called SETFIG.BAT. You may use this
to place  a correct CONFIG.SYS  file onto  the root directory  of your hard
disk.  This  makes the CONFIG.SYS  file available  to DOS when  you boot up
your machine.

Otherwise,  you may  use  the CONFIG.SYS  file  which is  supplied  on your
distribution disk. You may copy this  CONFIG.SYS file to the root directory
of the hard disk. Insert DISK 1 into DRIVE A and type:

                   COPY A:CONFIG.SYS C:\*.*  ─┘

DOS will say "One file copied"  if typed correctly without spelling errors.
Then reboot the system before running the program again.

DUAL FLOPPY DISK USERS:

A correct CONFIG.SYS file  is supplied with this  program. You will have to
copy  it onto  your  normal boot  diskette.  Insert your  distribution disk
containing the  CONFIG.SYS file  into drive A.   Insert the  boot disk into
drive B. Then type

                   COPY A:CONFIG.SYS B: ─┘

In both instances you must reboot your computer before running the Contacts
Manager again.


Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A batch file called INSTALL.BAT is supplied on your distribution disk. This
will install the program on your hard disk.

It creates  a sub-directory  called CONTACTS.  It  also copies  a few batch
files to your  root directory. This will  save you having  to change to the
sub-directory when you wish to use the program.

To start, simply type: CONTACTS  ─┘.


Archived copies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An archived copy is one  where all files have been  merged into one to save
disk space. If you  have an archived copy of  the Contacts Manager you will
have 2 files  called CONTACTS.ARC and UNFOLD.BAT.  They should be installed
from one floppy diskette. Insert this diskette into Drive A, and type:

                        A> A:UNFOLD  ─┘

This will do  the same as  the INSTALL.BAT command  explained above, except
that it unfolds the archived files  to their original form first. (Own copy
of PKXARC required.)

Dual  floppy disk  computer  users should  use  normal files,  not archived
copies.  Archived copies  are specifically  for  installation on  hard disk
computers. The unfolding process requires more than 360K of disk space.


Office computers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If  more  than one  person  wish to  use  the  program on  the  same office
computer,  it  may be  a  good idea  to  copy  the program  on  to separate
directories, one for  each user. (Example:  C:\CONTACTS1, C:\CONTACTS2). By
setting   each  person's   name  under   the  Maintenance   menu  (Personal
Preferences), all data is then located  on the same machine. This makes the
information accessible to everyone without  the risk of users changing each
other's records unintentionally.

If a main DOS menu is installed,  ask your computer consultant to place the
Contacts Manager onto it, one menu option per person. He/she can quickly do
this by simply copying and editing the supplied CONTACTS.BAT file.


Tips regarding Dual Floppy Disk Computers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If  you use  a dual  floppy disk  machine, you  may ignore  the INSTALL.BAT
procedure. Instead, you  can run the  program from your  2 Contacts Manager
program disks as they are.  However, you must make sure of 2 things:

1. When you boot up, your boot diskette must contain a file called
   CONFIG.SYS.  This is a simple text file. You can edit it using any ASCII
   word processor. In this CONFIG.SYS file there must be the words
   "FILES=20".  If you don't see them, type them in.  Alternatively, follow
   the instructions above under the heading "Configuration".

2. The Contacts Manager needs to know which disk drives you are using. You
   tell it where to look with the DOS PATH statement.  For example, say
   your 2 disk drives are called "A:" and "B:".  From DOS, just after you
   have booted up, type the following:

                         A> PATH=A:\;B:\ ─┘

   To check your current DOS PATH, type only:

                         A> PATH ─┘

   Alternatively, use the supplied file called "DUALPATH.BAT". This will
   set the path for you.

Then insert your 2 Contacts Manager diskettes, Disk 1 into drive A and Disk
2 into drive B.  To start the program, type:

                        A> CONTACTS ─┘

If you require more space for data on disk 2, make a backup copy and delete
any unneeded README?.TXT, *.BAT or *.COM files. This should free about 65K.

This program is not likely to run on sole, single floppy disk machines.


Snow Screens
~~~~~~~~~~~~
To  remove shows  interference on  the screen  (Olivetti for  example), use
CONTAC instead of CONTACTS.   In other words, start  the program by typing:
CONTAC  ─┘.



Tutorial - How to use this system
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ADD NEW INFORMATION

You might like to add yourself to  the address book data bank. This way you
can follow exactly where the information comes from and where it goes.

Adding yourself should not be too  difficult. The first screen that appears
is the main menu.  One of  the options under letter "M" says: "Maintenance,
changes and preferences".

Press "M".  The next  menu will appear.  The second  item on this menu says
"A" for "Add a new record".

Press  "A".  A  blank form  will appear.   Enter your  own details  at your
leisure.  You don't  have to enter  all the fields,  only information which
you think might be useful.

Each person's particulars  are stored on  2 screens. Once  you have entered
the first screen, the second screen follows automatically.

You will  find uses  for some of  the fields  later.  "Classification", for
example, can be anything  you like.  This would depend  on what you use the
program for.  An accountant, for example, may use different classifications
than a  sales professional.  A home  computer enthusiast  may use different
classifications still,  or maybe  leave them  blank. Examples  are: Client,
social, business,  bills, prospects, girlfriends,  etc. -  anything one may
wish to categorise information under. You can later use your categories for
selections, mail-merging and sorting.

You can jump from one field to the next using your ─┘ key or TAB keys.
Using ─┘, ESC and F10 is usually  the fasted way to move around throughout
this program.

Pressing CTRL-HOME takes you to the  first field on the screen and CTRL-END
takes you to the last.  The ARROW keys allow you to move within each field.

You can toggle the insert and override mode by pressing the INSERT key.

To delete information, hold down the DELETE key. Information will disappear
from the right hand side of the cursor.  To delete information on the left,
use the BACKSPACE key.

When you come  to the fields for  storing comments and  notes, you will see
how the relevant text window pops up.  Use the keys suggested at the bottom
of the window. To let the window disappear, press ESC or F10.

Once  the  second screen  has  appeared  and you  are  satisfied  with your
entries, you  can either press  F10 or  ESC.  There is  a subtle difference
between the  two.  Pressing  F10 will  offer you  the option  of entering a
second record.  Pressing  ESC will take  you back to  the menu immediately.
Once you get  used to the system,  you may prefer the  fast method of using
ESC to bypass prompts of this kind.

RETRIEVE INFORMATION

The fasted way  to retrieve the details  you just entered is  by using "S -
Speed-show contact information" from the main menu.

Note that you  only have to enter  a few beginning  letters.  If found, the
screen with the relevant information will appear.

If you forget someone's name and can only remember a few letters of say the
last syllable, you can use "F - Find details by interrogation".

CHANGE THE COLOURS

Now press "M" for "M -  Maintenance, changes and preferences" from the main
menu.   The first  choice is  "P  - Personal  Preferences".  Press  "P" and
several questions will appear.

The  first question  will ask  you "Do  you wish  to change  the colours?".
Press "Y" for Yes.  A special colour setting screen will pop up. Follow the
simple  instructions and  experiment until  you  find a  colour combination
which you like.

Press ESC  and then ESC  so many  times until you  arrive back  at the main
menu.

BROWSE THROUGH THE DATA BANK

From the main  menu press "B" for  "B - Browse through  the data bank". You
will see a screen listing of names.  Follow the instructions on the screen.
You will see how, by  using the F5 and F6  function keys, you can jump from
the list  to individual  particulars.  F1,  F2, F3  and F4  show associated
comment windows.  F7 displays the telephone numbers. You can change details
on the screen  by pressing ENTER or  the ─┘ key. Pressing  ─┘ or an ARROW
key will take you out of the edit mode.

Now press the Shift and F2 keys together.  A special pop-up menu will show.
Experiment with the options.   Guidance is always offered  on the screen so
that you know what you can do next.

MANUAL DATE ADVISOR

Return to the  main menu.  Press  "D" for "D  - Date advisor".  Have a look
whose  birthday  is  coming  up using  "B  -  Birthdays"  and  who requires
Christmas cards using "C - Christmas".

Press "Y"  for "Y -  Year Planner".  It will map  all dates  arising in the
current year.

Note that  this is  not the  automatic date  advisor.  The  additional help
screen under "N - New User Tips" offers further explanations.


AUTOMATIC DATE ADVISOR

The automatic date advisor appears only when an important date is coming up
for your attention -  otherwise not.  When it does  appear, you will see it
after you have pressed "Q" for "Q - Quit" from the main menu.

If you do  not see yourself  mentioned by the  automatic date advisor, this
will be  because your  birthday is not  due within  the next  60 days.  You
might like  to enter the  program again and  change your birthday  to say 2
weeks from the current system date.  Then quit and the computer will advise
you of your birthday.

The system will retrieve special birthday messages for you if you mentioned
the same name in the text window  as given under "Person's name" heading in
the birthday section of your form.


This completes the initial tutorial of your system.  There are many further
features.  The  best way  to learn  about them  it is  by playing  with the
program. More explanations are given further on in this documentation.