Magnum One/Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso/d3/j203doc.arc/J203NW.DOC

Text File | 1990-01-20 | 30KB | 507 lines

J203Nw.Doc:  What's New in JEPRS version 2.0; for information on the changes
        from version 2.00 to 2.03, please see the very end of this file.

                        ┌───────────────────────────┐
                        │   JEPRS    Version 2.0    │
                        └───────────────────────────┘

1.  What is JEPRS?
        JEPRS (pronounced "Jeepers!") is the Journal and Editorial Personal
Reference System.  What does that mean?  That means that you now have an
easy to use, menu-driven program to keep track of reference citations to the
(scientific) literature.  Anyone who writes extensively, such as a scientist,
and needs an up-to-date list of references, needs JEPRS.
        Briefly, JEPRS allows you to add references to your database (either
directly or by importing a MEDLINE or BRS/Colleague formatted file), search
through those references with an easy but powerful search module, and format
those references for output to a file or printer in virtually any format
imaginable, including boldface, italics, underlining, superscripts, and sub-
scripts.  More information on specific features is provided below.

2.  Why use JEPRS and not some other program?
        I have seen people use any of three different types of programs to
keep track of their references.  These include 1) a word processor, 2) a
generic database system, and 3) a specialized reprint management system.
Let me explain why JEPRS is better than all of the above.
        1.  A Word Processor.  The main advantage of using a word processor
is that you can pre-format your references and fairly quickly import them
into your document which is written with your word processor.  You can also
perform simple searches rather easily.  The disadvantages are that 1) once
you type up your references in a set format, you have to reformat all of
them whenever a new format is required; 2) While simple searches are
easy, try combining terms, such as author "x" and journal "y"--you generally
can't do it!;  3) You cannot import references from MEDLINE.
        2.  A Generic Database, such as dBASE.  While these systems can be
quite powerful, they are also fairly complex to use, and setting one up is
no mean feat for a novice.  Searching is generally more powerful than with
word processors, but many don't provide for case sensitive and case insensi-
tive searches.  But their main drawback is their lack of formatting
capabilities;  most were written for tabular data, and thus are hard pressed
to provide line-oriented output with text features such as boldfacing,
italics, etc.  And like the word processor, you cannot import references
from MEDLINE directly into your database.
        3.  Specialized Reprint Management Software.  One of these that I
know of is really quite excellent, with a nice user interface and fairly
powerful formatting capabilities.  But there are many that aren't so great,
and ALL of them cost a pretty penny.  Sorry, but $495 is just a tad much for
my budget (and these generally aren't the kind of programs carried by your
local software discounter).  And beware of their pricing!  More than one of
the commercial programs have different "levels" of pricing, sometimes allowing
you only 100 or so references in your database at the lowest level.  In a
similar vein, almost all the commercial programs charge EXTRA for the ability
to import references from MEDLINE files.  There are several shareware
programs that are less than $50, but virtually all of them have crude
formatting capabilities, very much like generic data base programs.  Also,
most of them do not allow complex searches, such as "Find all papers written
after 1985 written by Jones or Smith or Johnson that appeared in the Journal
of Cell Biology with keywords DNA or protein".

        Pretty dismal, eh?!  Well, now there's hope.  JEPRS combines the best
of all these features in one program.  A program that is less than 150
kilobytes, and thus can run on any PC that has 320k or more of memory.  A
program that has on-line help, with the push of the F1 key.  A program with
pull-down menus and pop-up dialog boxes.  A program that can do a complex
search (like the one in the previous paragraph).  A program that allows up
to 30 USER-DEFINED output formats.  A program that costs only $30 (includ-
ing printed documentation, and a free update).

3.  JEPRS'S FEATURES.
        Allow me to go into a little more detail about JEPRS's features.
This section describes some of the more useful things about the program.
        1.  ADDING.  You enter the data for each publication on a well-laid
out screen.  There is space for Title, Authors, Journal, Volume, Pages, Year,
Citation Type (Journal, Book, or Abstract--each can be formatting differ-
ently!), Publisher, Editor, and Keywords.
        2.  IMPORTING.  Instead of typing each reference in by hand, you can
import them from MEDLINE and BRS/Colleague-formatted files (produced by, for
example, PaperChase and Current Contents on Diskette).  You can import all
references at once, or one at a time (in which case you can edit or delete
them before adding them to the database).
        3.  EXPORTING.  You can export any or all of your references in the
MEDLINE format.
        4.  FORMATTING.  You can define up to 30 formats of your own
choosing for formatted output.  Output can be sent to any combination of
screen, printer, or text file.  References can be sorted by author before
formatting.  Output can be underlined, boldfaced, italicized, super- and
sub-scripted (depending upon the capabilities of your printer).  You can
specify:  lines per page, characters per line, indenting, numbering of
references, numbering of pages, a header for each page, a title for the
first page, pausing after each page to allow you to insert a new sheet into
the printer, and you can format your references differently, depending on
whether they are an Abstract, Journal article, or Book (or chapter).  Another
unique feature of JEPRS--Let's say you want your output for books to look
like this:
     Differentiation of Muscle (1989), Edited by J Jones, Joe-Bob Press.
But let's say one book doesn't have an editor; most programs would make your
output look like this:
     Differentiation of Muscle (1989), Edited by , Joe-Bob Press.
JEPRS, however, allows you to have "conditional phrases", so that you could
define the output so it would look like you wanted it to:
     Differentiation of Muscle (1989), Joe-Bob Press.
JEPRS also allows you such luxuries as listing authors by:  a) initials first
followed by last name, b) last name, comma, initials, or c) last name, comma,
initials for the first author, and initials followed by last name for each
additional author.  You can also specify whether you want multiple authors
connected by "and" or by "&" (or anything else you choose, up to 10 charac-
ters).  And each of these can be different for every one of the 30 formats
you are allowed to define!
        5.  SEARCHING.  This is another area where JEPRS shines.  Many "menu-
driven" programs try to "simplify" your life by giving you a "form" to fill
in for your searches.  These other programs allow you to search, for example,
for ONE AUTHOR and ONE JOURNAL at a time, which is OK many times.  But what
if you wanted to search for one of SEVERAL AUTHORS in SEVERAL JOURNALS, and
even do complex searches with parentheses and AND/OR/NOT logic?  JEPRS can
do complex searches like:  "((Wright and Lin) or (Weintraub and Lassar)) or
((Science or Nature) and (Myogenesis or Differentiation)) not <1986".  Try
that on any other program!  In addition, references are displayed as soon as
JEPRS finds them, in a condensed, single-line format.  Want to see the entire
reference?  Just press <Enter>.  Want to edit it?  Just press <F4>.  You can
page through the found references using the arrow keys and PgUp and PgDn.
You can mark any references with an asterisk ('*') for output to printer
or file.  You can even modify your search if it hasn't found quite what you
were looking for!  Searches can be case-sensitive or case-insensitive, and
can be displayed sorted by author and year.
        6.  GLOBAL DEFAULTS.  JEPRS has a number of options on each menu.
But the nice thing is that they all have pre-set defaults, so if you don't
want to change them, just press Go to start the action.  On the other hand,
JEPRS is very user-definable.  There are a variety of options you can change
and have saved in a configuration file; this file is loaded every time you
start the program, so you can tailor JEPRS for yourself.  This Global
Defaults Menu is available from most major menus within JEPRS and allows you
to do such things as:  turn beeping on and off; select or modify a printer
definition; select or modify an output format; turn blinking on and off;
turn colors on and off (useful if you have a color video card and a single-
color monitor); send a form-feed to the printer; or temporarily go to DOS
to issue a command.
        As you can see, JEPRS is really quite powerful, and quite custom-
izable.  "So, what's the catch?" you say.  Well, let me be brutally honest:
no program is perfect, so let me describe JEPRS's limitations.
        1.  Indexing.  Many generic database programs allow you to "index"
your entries.  This makes searches seem almost instantaneous.  However, they
also require large amounts of disk space, and large numbers of data files.
In order to minimize space and file usage, JEPRS has only two data files.
Thus, its entries are NOT indexed, so you pay a small penalty in search
speed.  Let me say that JEPRS is a PERSONAL reference system--if you have
50,000 or 60,000 references, do not use this program!  But if you have up to
a few thousand references, JEPRS should be just fine.
        2.  Reformatting Word Processor Files.  A few of the more expensive
specialized reference management software packages allow you to enter your
reference numbers into your document, and they will scan through that word
processor file and automatically insert the proper reference.  This is some-
thing that JEPRS cannot (currently) do.  What JEPRS does do is allow you to
create a bibliography-type output that can be appended to the end of the
document; however, you must provide the reference numbers to JEPRS (either
at the keyboard or, for example, during a Search)--it can't read them in from
your word processor files.

4.  HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
        This is probably the best news of all.  It's not $495 or $195 or even
$95.  It's $30.  Period.  You get the latest version on diskette, as well
as printed documentation.  When the next version comes out, you get that
free, too (but printed documentation costs extra the second time around).
And what makes your investment worry free is that JEPRS is shareware.
"What's shareware?" you ask.  Shareware is NOT free software!  Shareware is
software that you can try out for free; but if you end up using it, you are
obligated to pay the author (that's me).  Try JEPRS at no risk for 30-60
days.  If you're not happy, you owe me nothing.  If you like it, register
using the order form (or just send $30 and specify a 3.5" or 5.25" disk).
That way, I have an incentive for continuing to update and improve JEPRS.
And you get great software at a great price.

        I love to get comments from users.  If you have any questions,
complaints, or suggestions about the program, please write (if you're not
a registered user, please enclose a 25c stamp for a reply--this is obviously
a low-budget operation!):
        Lou Miranda
        6033 East Northwest Highway, #1106
        Dallas, TX  75231-7463
        (CompuServe ID# 73567,471)


5.  THE HISTORY OF JEPRS AS WE KNOW IT:

Version 1.00 [Pascal]:  27 May 1987; 64740 bytes.
     Distribution limited.
     Written in `Pascal' language.
     Required 64k memory to run.
     Formatting:
        Only supported underlining;
        Printer codes limited to 3 characters;
     Searching:
        Could only search for 1 or 2 terms.
     Database storage:
        Each reference took 1000 bytes of storage, regardless
        of actual length;

Beginning in September 1987, JEPRS was converted to the `C' language.

Version 1.00 [C]:  05 December 1988; 71636 bytes.
     First release to general public.
     Requires 128k memory to run.
     Database structure:
        Rewrote database file structure: incompatible with
        `Pascal' version but files only take as much disk space
        as necessary;
        Now requires both database file and "key" file;
        Keywords field increased from 2 lines to 5 lines;
        Removed "status" field.
     Main Menu is now a "point and shoot" menu.
     Added program/computer status to Main Menu.
     Options/Defaults:
        Added Ordering Information;
        Added DOS Gateway (run DOS without exiting JEPRS);
        Added MedLine file import;
        Added disk space information;
     Formatting:
        Printer codes up to 40 characters;
        Formatting codes up to 80 characters;
        Added output to text file option;
        Added MedLine file export;
        Support for boldface, italic, superscript, and subscript;
        Allowed Heading/title for first page of output, and Header
        (including page number) for each additional page;
        User-definable page length and top and bottom margins;
        Included support for outputting reference number;
     Searching:
        Searching is now 2-3 times faster;
        Added search by Editor and/or Publisher;
        On-screen examples of correct and incorrect search terms;
        Allow <Esc> to terminate search early;
        Displays status of search on screen during actual search;
     Adding/Updating References:
        Now uses menu at top of screen;
        Allows user to return to a reference and edit it before saving
        or abandoning it;
        <Home> moves cursor to beginning of line;
        <End> moves cursor to end of line;
        <PgUp> moves cursor to first line of title;
        <PdDn> moves cursor to first line of keywords;
     Exit program:  now requests confirmation before exiting.

Version 1.10:  26 March 1989; 81082 bytes.
     First release to bulletin boards (Zenith Forum on CompuServe
     and Zenith/HUG Bulletin Board) and shareware distribution
     companies (Public Software Library).
     Options:
        Allows import of Current-Contents-on-Diskette files;
     Add/Update:
        Can press <Esc> at menu to return to Main Menu;
     Formatting:
        Can press <Esc> during output to text file or printer to
        terminate output;
        Formatting codes can be up to 100 characters;
     Searching:
        THIS MODULE WAS COMPLETELY REWRITTEN!
        Easy to use menu system;
        Pre-programmed defaults modifiable by user;
        On-screen help messages (even without Help file);
        Start and end search anywhere in the database;
        Stop search after specified number of successful matches;
        Can turn case-sensitivity on or off before searching;
        Output to any combination of screen, text file, number file,
        or printer, without having to press function key for each
        reference that was found;
        Can sort output by first author;
        Can specify up to ten(!) search terms with and/or/not
        "Boolean" logic, and can use parentheses to force specific
        interpretation of search order;
        Can modify search up to 3 times, and now displays number of
        references already found along with your original search
        terms;

Version 1.11:  09 July 1989; 81434 bytes.
     Distribution:  Now distributed via Dallas-PC RBBS; CompuServe
        Science, Zenith, and IBM Applications forums; Heath/Zenith
        Users' Group BBS; Shareware Distribution Network; and the
        Public (software) Library.
     Bug Fix:
        In version 1.10, if you pressed any function key not listed
        on the bottom of the List screen, you were prevented from
        entering any new numbers to List.  This bug has been fixed.
     Command Line Options:
        New command line options were added to allow users with a
        color video card (e.g., CGA or EGA) with a monochrome screen
        (amber or green) to user JEPRS and see all the text on screen.

Version 2.00:  November 1989;  138,028 bytes
     Requires at least 320k computer to run program.
     Output to Text files and Number files is now significantly faster;
     User Interface:
        The user interface has been completely rewritten, and is an
        enhanced version of JEPRS 1.1's Search menu; it now features
        pull-down menus, pop-up dialog boxes, on-screen instructions
        and messages, and user-definable (and save-able) defaults;
        A new, consistent color scheme has been implemented, which
        should be easier on the eyes of those of you with color monitors!
     On-line Help:
        You can now scroll through the Help screens with the arrow keys,
        the PgUp & PgDn keys, and Home and End.
     Searching:
        The Search Menu hasn't changed significantly, but how the found
        references are displayed is COMPLETELY NEW!  Each reference is
        displayed in a condensed, one-line format.  You can scroll through
        the found references using the up & down arrow keys and PgUp and
        PgDn.  The complete reference can be displayed by pressing Enter,
        and can then be directly edited by pressing F4.  PgUp & PgDn will
        display only the found references, thus allowing you the option
        of looking at the entire reference rather than just a 1-line sum-
        mary.  In the 1-line format, you can Mark and UnMark references
        by pressing the '*' key; Marked references can be output as a
        group to any combination of printer, text file, and number file.
        You can now exit the Search Results screen and do anything else
        with JEPRS; then by pressing F3 at the Search Menu, you can re-
        display your previous search results without having to perform
        the search over again.
        If you press Esc during searching, you are now prompted for confir-
        mation before terminating the search;
     Formatting:
        As implied under "User Interface" (above), the Format Menu is now
        a true menu with pull-down selection boxes, rather than an endless
        series of prompts;
        Formatted output can now be directed to any combination of printer,
        text file, and screen;
        Formatted output is now at least 2x as fast as previous versions;
        Input is any one of keyboard, number file, or reference file;
        You can now specify a range within the reference file as input;
        If using keyboard as input, the number is automatically incremented
        every time you press Enter;
        There is now a choice of up to 30 user-definable Format Styles;
        If you press Esc during formatting, you are now asked for confir-
        mation before terminating output;
        During formatting, you can now press ScrollLock to pause the
        screen output;
        Formatted output can now be sorted by author and year;
        You can now specify a page number in the heading of the output, and
        you can tell JEPRS what page # to start numbering at;
        If outputting in a comma-delimited format, you can now replace all
        occurrences of a double quote mark ('"') in your output with any
        other single character you specify;
     List References:
        There is no longer a separate Update function; now you edit your
        references by just pressing F4 at the List Reference screen;
        JEPRS automatically increments the reference number every time you
        press Enter;
        If you enter an incorrect or invalid number, the program will now
        display the nearest correct reference number rather than just display
        an error message;
     UTILITIES MENU IS NEW; Includes Export, Import, and Compress Database
     Export References:
        MEDLINE-formatted references can now be output to any combination
        of screen, text file, or printer;
        Input can be any range within the reference file, keyboard input,
        or a number file;
        Keywords can be converted to uppercase during output;
        JEPRS-specific printer codes can be stripped from your references
        during output, thus providing compatibility with other programs;
     Import References:
        In addition to MEDLINE files from PaperChase and Current Contents
        on Diskette, JEPRS can now import files from BRS/Colleague and
        CL-MEDLINE;
        Instead of displaying the lines that were ignored during the
        import, JEPRS now displays a graphical representation of how much
        of the file was imported after each reference;
        You are given the choice of importing the references all at once
        (the way JEPRS version 1.1 did it) or import one at a time; when
        importing one at a time, you are placed in Edit mode and you can
        edit the reference before adding it to the database or discard it
        altogether before continuing to the next imported reference;
        Items within the MEDLINE references that are usually not of
        interest to most people (such as source of funding and keyword
        subheadings) can be optionally ignored;
     Compress Database:
        Using this feature allows you to compress your database after
        entering and modifying a large number of references, thus
        conserving disk space;
     GLOBAL DEFAULTS IS NEW; it replaces the old Options choice on the
        Main Menu in version 1.1; and Global Defaults can now be accessed
        from the Main, Search, Format, and Utilities Menus
     Global Defaults:
        File name specification is now by a pull-down menu and pop-up
        prompt windows;
        For advanced users, Go-To-DOS now uses the ComSpec specification
        rather than just Command.Com; this allows you to use alternative
        DOS command processors;
        From within the JEPRS program, you can now:
           Turn beeping on or off;
           Use formatting in text file output (or not);
           Select one of the 5 Printer Defintions to use for output;
           Save the file name and default specifications in the Config
           file (see below);
           Select one of the 30 Format Styles to modify (see below);
           Select one of the 5 Printer definitions to modify (see below);
           Turn JEPRS into Color Mode or Black & White Mode, and turning
           format blinking on and off;
           Send a Form-feed to your printer to eject the last page;
           Get Ordering Information;
     CONFIG FILE IS NEW; it replaces the old Format.JPR file in version 1.1
        (but don't worry; registered users of version 1.10 and 1.11 will
        receive a free conversion program to convert your previously
        defined formats into the new Config file format)
     Config File:
        This file is editable from within JEPRS at the Global Defaults
        menu; it contains space for saving all the defaults (such as beep
        on/off, color mode, etc.), all 30 of your Format Styles, and
        5 Printer Definitions;
        Can modify Format Styles (journal formats) and Printer commands
        without exiting JEPRS (you no longer need an external editor to do
        this);
        Can program up to thirty journal formats, all within one file (no
        longer need multiple format files);
        Can program up to 5 printers in one file (no longer need one format
        file for each printer);
        The Config file you specify is automatically loaded when you start
        JEPRS, so that you no longer have to set up your defaults whenever
        you start the program over again--it's all saved for you!
     Documentation:
        The on-line Help file (accessed by pressing the F1 key) has been
        doubled in size;
        The printed documentation is now bound with a ring binder such
        that the pages lie flat when opened;
        The Tutorial was completely rewritten and now takes you through
        several sample sessions, such as Importing References, Searching,
        and Formatting References;
        The User's Guide was significantly enhanced, including:
           A table of contents and an index;
           More detail on entering Journal, Book, Chapter, and Abstract
           citations;
           Appendices covering how to setup Format Style and Printer
           definitions;
           Samples of Format Styles/Journal definitions and Printer
           definitions and their printed output;

Version 2.01:  17 December 1989;  138,686 bytes
       Several new features have been added:
           You can now directly export your files in word processor
           formats:  examples are given for WordStar 3.3 and WordPerfect 4.2
           (which can be used in WordPerfect 4.2, 5.0, and 5.1);
           This feature is made possible by two modifications to Printer
           definitions: if you set page length to zero then no Title or
           Header is sent to the output, and if you set characters per
           line to zero, then JEPRS sets char/line to infinity;
           You can now export in Comma Delimited format:  a sample is given
           in the Tutorial, and a sample Printer definition and Journal
           definition are provided in the Config file;
           When Exporting, if you turn screen output off, there is now a
           status line that tells you which references have been exported;
       A number of bug fixes have also been instituted:
           Text file formatting now works correctly (in version 2.00, it
           worked only on page one!);
           Search screen output now works correctly if the screen output
           has been turned off.
           In version 2.00, you would get a "NULL pointer assignment"
           message if you abandoned Number file output during a search; this
           no longer happens;
           Exporting references: if any keyword is >70 char, it is truncated
           to prevent JEPRS errors;
           A bug in version 2.00 prevented JEPRS from handling more than
           1000 references at a time (you could import them or add them,
           but you couldn't display them); this has been corrected;
           During Formating or Exporting in version 2.00, if you specified
           Input=Reference File and you specified a Begin # larger than
           an End #, JEPRS crashed!  This has been fixed.
           A number of small improvements in the Messages screens have been
           implemented.

Version 2.02:  20 December 1989;  138,702 bytes
     Bug Fixes:
        In version 2.00 & 2.01, pressing [End] during reference adding or
        editing placed the cursor under the last character, rather than
        after the last character;
        In version 2.00 & 2.01, if you pressed an alphanumeric key to replace
        text after a prompt, and you were in <Overwrite> mode, then the rest
        of the line was not deleted; this did not happen in <Insert> mode;

Version 2.03:  14 January 1990;  138,884 bytes
     New feature:
        You can now add and search for "foreign" (non-English) characters in
        the PC's extended character set in your references:
        ══>On the ADD REFERENCE and EDIT REFERENCE screens, you can add any
           character to your reference that your PC can display; characters
           not on the keyboard (such as "é" or "ß" or "█") are entered by
           holding down the [Alt] key and entering the ASCII code of the
           letter or symbol on the numeric keypad.  For example, to enter a
           "beta", hold down [Alt], press [2],[2],[5], and then let go of the
           [Alt] key, and you should see ß on your screen.
        ══>On the SEARCH MENU, you can also search for the extended characters
           you have entered into your references.  (However, you cannot search
           for the box-drawing characters (such as ╚├╣╕┴).)
        ══>When using these extended characters, and then searching for them,
           keep these facts in mind:
                1.  Make sure your printer can print them!  Not all printers
                    can print the PC's extended character set.
                2.  Realize that when searching, "a" is not the same as "à"
                    (that is, non-English characters do NOT match the English
                    ones); if you entered "à" in your reference, then you must
                    use "à" when searching for it.
                3.  Whether searching is set to CASE-SENSITIVE = NO or YES,
                    JEPRS will NOT convert lowercase extended characters to
                    their uppercase equivalents.  For example, if
                    you turn Case Sensitivity off, and search for "Léone",
                    then JEPRS will convert that to "LéONE" before searching;
                    it will NOT convert it to "LÉONE".
     You can now order JEPRS by credit card (Visa/MC) from the Public
        Software Library.  See the file JOrder.Doc for details.

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