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APROPOS Contact Management System User's Guide CheckBox Software One Leary Drive North Brunswick NJ 08902 U.S.A. Phone: (908) 545-3010 Copyright (c) 1992 Logistral Inc. Documentation written by Ken Cox Apropos is a trademark of Logistral Inc. All products mentioned in this manual are trademarked or copyrighted by their manufacturers. LOGISTRAL INC. o SHAREWARE LICENCE When used in this Licence: "We" and the "Author" mean "Logistral, Inc.". The "Trademark" means the mark "Apropos". The "Software" means the program and related text files and printed materials distributed by the Author under the Trademark. This Shareware Licence gives you a limited period to evaluate the Software. It also tells you how you can use the Software after the evaluation period ends, and *encourages* you to distribute it so that others can evaluate it. By using, evaluating, copying, uploading, giving away, displaying or distributing the Software, you agree to all of the terms, conditions and disclaimers in this Licence. OWNERSHIP The Author owns, or has licenced from the owner, all copyrights and trade secrets in the Software, and owns the Trademark under which it distributes the Software. Among other things, this means: [1] The Software is not public domain software and is not free. Your rights to it are only those provided by this Licence. [2] The rights granted by this Licence are on the condition that you will not modify, reverse compile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Software, in order to use or disclose any secret information of the Author that it contains. iii HOW AND WHY TO REGISTER You may evaluate the Software for 30 days after you first run any part of it on a computer. To use the Software after your evaluation period ends, you must register your use of the Software by completing the USER REGISTRATION FORM and sending it to an authorized agent together with the registration fee it indicates. As a registered user of the Software, you have the right to use the Software "just like a book". This means you and any number of people can use it, and it can be used on any number of machines, so long as -- just like a book -- there is NO POSSIBILITY that more than one copy will be used at a time. Please contact us to learn about our special rates for site and multiple user licences. Use of the Software beyond the trial period is copyright infringement unless you register and pay us the registration fee. Such use also threatens the continuation of the shareware revolution, which has benefitted users by its "try before you buy" philosophy and by slowing increases in software prices. Shareware enables hardworking shareware authors who don't have the marketing resources of a large software company to market some of the best and most innovative software to be found anywhere. SHAREWARE IS GOOD FOR YOU -- IF YOU LIKE THE SOFTWARE, PLEASE REGISTER YOUR COPY OF IT! YOU WANT TO UPLOAD THE SOFTWARE You have the right (and are encouraged!) to upload the Software to bulletin boards. iv IF YOU ARE A SYSOP You have the right to permit copies of the Software to be made electronically from computer bulletin boards. IF YOU ARE A SHAREWARE DISK VENDOR Since how Shareware authors and Shareware Disk Vendors do business affects both of their business reputations, we believe they should have a cooperative and mutually supportive relationship. Accordingly, we grant Shareware Disk Vendors the right to distribute the Software subject to their completion of the VENDOR APPLICATION FORM, and our return to them, in our discretion, of a copy of the Form signed by us. By this procedure, the Vendor and Author confirm their agreement to this Licence, including to the following mutual obligations and terms: [1] *Obligations of the Author*. The Author shall provide to Shareware Disk Vendors: [A] New releases of the Software; [B] Accurate descriptions of the important features of the Software; [C] Accurate descriptions of the hardware prerequisites of the Software; and [D] A recommendation as to the appropriate product classification of the Software for catalogue and advertising purposes. v [2] *Obligations of Vendors*. Shareware Disk Vendors agree to: [A] Market the Software as shareware using the words "try before you buy" or words of similar meaning, and not to misleadingly market it or label it as fully-paid software; [B] Endeavor, to the extent practicable, to sell only the most current version of the Software that the Author provides; [C] Make distribution copies of the Software only from master copies received directly from the Author or an authorized agent and only using high quality disks, labels, and software duplication technology; and [D] Hold the Author, its employees and agents harmless from damage, loss and expense arising directly and indirectly from the Vendor's acts and omissions in copying and distributing the Software; VENDOR SPECIFIC DISTRIBUTION RULES Sales of the Software on racks and on CD- ROM are strictly prohibited. GENERAL DISTRIBUTION RULES All Software distributed hereunder must be distributed in complete, unaltered form. Among other things, this means *no* distribution is authorized hereunder unless it contains all of the Software's files, including its text, order forms and documentation files, each in their original form. vi DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF REMEDIES [1] THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED TO ALL WHO RECEIVE IT "AS-IS". NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE AS TO IT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. [2] ALL WHO RECEIVE THE SOFTWARE HAVE NO REMEDY FOR INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE SOFTWARE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INCLUDING SUCH FROM NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, EVEN FROM A PERSON WHO HAS NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or the exclusion of consequential damages, so the above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS All of the Author's right, title and interest in and to the Software and the Trademark not expressly granted herein are reserved exclusively by the Author. These include, without limitation, the Author's rights to, in its sole discretion, terminate the distribution rights granted by it hereunder, and to alternatively or simultaneously market the Software other than as shareware. Authorization is not granted by this Licence to rent or lease the Software, or to sell it as part of any hardware or software package. HOW THIS LICENCE ENDS AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT DOES [1] THE RIGHT TO UPLOAD the Software to a bulletin board automatically EXPIRES at vii the end of December 31, 1994. If you wish to upload the program after that date, please contact us! We will be pleased to tell you about the latest version of the program and its licensing terms. [2] THE RIGHT OF REGISTERED USERS to use the Software is perpetual. [3] THE RIGHTS OF BULLETIN BOARD SYSOPS and SHAREWARE DISK VENDORS TO DISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE are perpetual. Each are, however, subject to an obligation to cease such distribution reasonably promptly upon a request by the Author. If the Vendor has and continues to honor this Licence, the Vendor may, after such a request to cease, distribute copies of the Software that the Vendor has in stock. [4] Expiration or termination of this Licence or your rights hereunder does not terminate your obligations hereunder to honor the Author's rights in and to the Software, and to hold the Author harmless. MISCELLANEOUS This Agreement [A] shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Province of Quebec as to its validity, construction and performance, without giving effect to the choice of law provisions thereof; [B] constitutes the entire agreement of the parties as to its subject matter and merges and supersedes all prior discussions, agreements, and understandings; and [C] may not be modified orally. With respect to every matter arising under this Agreement, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the provincial and federal courts sitting in Quebec City, Province of Quebec and to service by certified mail, return receipt requested. viii Logistral, Inc. is a member of the Software Publishers Association (SPA). ix TABLE OF CONTENTS LOGISTRAL INC. o SHAREWARE LICENCE ............iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................1 Apropos Means Business .....................1 Thank You For Using Apropos ................1 International Scope ........................1 You Are About to Get Organized .............2 In Quest of Total Quality ..................2 Ease of Use ................................2 What is in This Reference Manual? ..........3 Summary of Chapters .......................3 CHAPTER 2: USING THE KEYS, MOUSE AND MENUS .....6 Before You Begin To Work with Apropos ......6 Keyboard Conventions .......................6 Mouse Conventions ..........................7 Menus ......................................8 Pulldown Menu ..............................8 Radio Buttons ..............................9 Check Boxes ...............................10 Fields ....................................11 File Directory Screen .....................11 CHAPTER 3: THIS IS A SETUP ....................13 Getting Installed Without Getting Stalled .13 Confirming Information ....................14 A Second Disk .............................14 CHAPTER 4: TO BOLDLY GO ... QUICK START .......15 For The Bold and The Brave ................15 Minimal Instructions ......................15 CHAPTER 5: TUTORIAL PART ONE - CONTACT ........17 A Step-by-Step Tutorial ...................17 Get Your Mouse Loaded .....................17 Exercising Your Options ...................18 Your Own Devices - Printer and Modem ......18 Picking Your Favourite Date ...............19 A New File ................................20 Finally Making Contact ....................21 The Contact Management Screen .............22 Simple Sample Data ........................22 Entering Contact Data .....................22 Save, Save, Save ..........................25 Profiling the Client ......................26 Making a Note .............................27 Adding a Contact ..........................28 Finding - The Needle and the Haystack .....29 xi Connecting with the Autodialer ............30 Making History ............................31 CHAPTER 6: TUTORIAL PART TWO - ACTIVITIES .....33 Activating Activities .....................33 Entering Activity Data ....................33 Listing Activities ........................35 Scheduling Repeat Activities ..............35 Conflict Resolution .......................36 Other Exploratory Activities ..............38 CHAPTER 7: TUTORIAL PART THREE - DOCUMENTS ....40 Your Valuable Documents ...................40 Writing Documents from Within Apropos .....40 Write a Short Memo ........................41 The Index - Sorting it Out ................42 Understanding Indexing ....................42 Document Management Power .................43 What We've Learned ........................44 CHAPTER 8: TUTORIAL PART FOUR - REPORTING .....46 Preparing Reports on Contacts, Activities and Documents .............................46 More Data Please ..........................47 Checkmark the Fields ......................48 How Many Characters? ......................48 At Home On The Range ......................49 Reporting from Q to Z .....................50 Saving a Report Format ....................51 Printing to a File ........................52 An Apropos Pro ............................52 Even More Potential .......................52 A Happy Ending ............................53 CHAPTER 9: UTILITIES AND TECHNICALITIES .......54 How to Get Technical Support: .............54 Archives ..................................55 System Requirements .......................55 Keystrokes ................................55 Mouse .....................................56 DESQview ..................................56 Windows ...................................56 Colours ...................................56 Preferences ...............................57 Tools of the Trade ........................57 Backups ...................................57 File Extensions ...........................58 TSRs ......................................58 Config.sys and Files= .....................58 xi xii CHAPTER 10: REFERENCE .........................59 Apropos Menu Reference ....................59 (System) .............................60 File ....................................61 Options .................................64 Portfolios/Contacts .....................67 Portfolios/Activities ...................79 Portfolios/Documents ....................86 Archives ................................93 Reports ................................108 Help ...................................122 INDEX .........................................123 xii Chapter 1: Introduction CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Apropos Means Business Apropos is a powerful, yet easy-to-use program designed to help business people manage their contacts and related activities. Apropos provides you with the contact, activity and document management functions necessary to keep track of the people who are important to you. This convenient database program also offers state-of-the-art reporting, archiving, and file format conversion facilities. Thank You For Using Apropos We at CheckBox Software would like to thank you for choosing Apropos, our Contact Management System. We are confident that you will find that this practical and versatile software meets your needs. The purpose of this guide is to help you get the most out of Apropos in the shortest possible time. We know that you are eager to begin, but please take time to read through this guide before you install the software. International Scope It's a big world out there and markets are global. We have ensured that the Contact Management System can be configured for international use. This software reflects our attention to details, such as individual preferences for date formats and international character support. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction You Are About to Get Organized You've told yourself a thousand times, "One of these days I'm going to get organized!" Well, when it comes to managing data about your business contacts, your time has come! Welcome to the world of personal productivity. Everyone knows that your contacts - and the information about them - are far too precious to be relegated to scraps of paper which are stuffed into a drawer or left to clutter your desk. In today's competitive business climate you just can't waste time hunting for important documents, phone numbers or client notes. In Quest of Total Quality Customers expect you to handle their needs efficiently and instantly. When you promise a follow-up, they expect you to remember - no matter how many other tasks you have on your mind. Apropos helps you keep up with a total quality environment where all of your activities have to be organized and ready for streamlined reporting. Ease of Use One of the first things you'll notice about the CheckBox Contact Management System is its professional look and feel. Our smooth, logical approach ensures that you won't be jarred out of your chair by complicated or garish screens. Online help is always available for every command by pressing F1. Just by typing a few keys you can invoke a lightning-fast text search function which 2 Chapter 1: Introduction will display the vital information which you have stored about your contact. Another couple of keystrokes turns Apropos and a Hayes compatible modem into a time- saving autodialer. An accurate record of your call will be entered in the database in preparation for your next monthly activities report. You don't need a degree in computer science to get the most out of Apropos. We'll get you underway within minutes and then help you polish your expertise as you progress. What is in This Reference Manual? This documentation is designed for a wide range of computer users: timid novices to gung ho power users. Whatever your current prowess, we'll get you up and running at a speed which suits your individual needs and capabilities. Most of the learning process comes through a step-by-step tutorial. By entering your own data, you'll build your knowledge and put Apropos's features to work for you at the same time. Summary of Chapters Chapter 1, "Introduction," is what you are currently reading. It gives an overview of the features of the software and manual. Chapter 2, "Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus," introduces you to the keystrokes you will use to navigate through the Apropos screens and make choices. This section also explains a few basics about pointing with a mouse. 3 Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 3, "This is a Setup," shows you how to run the program INSTALL.EXE which copies and organizes the Apropos software on your hard disk. Everyone should read this section. Chapter 4, "To Boldly Go...Quick Start," is for power users and adventurers. These are advanced users who are well experienced with DOS programs and who just can't wait to get their teeth into this one. Chapter 5, "Tutorial Part One - Contact," gets you right into the heart of the program - but gently. You'll get a feel for the keystrokes, menus and features of Apropos. By the time you're finished you should be quite comfortable with the various display screens and the autodialer. Chapter 6, "Tutorial Part Two - Activity," builds on the knowledge which you have already gained. It concentrates on organizing Activities such as appointments, callbacks and similar tasks. Chapter 7, "Tutorial Part Three - Documents," shows how to keep track of various documents related to your contacts. This section includes an explanation of how to launch (run) your word processor from within Apropos. You'll also learn how to use the Index option for tailor-made sorting of document lists. Chapter 8, "Tutorial Part Four - Reporting," will soon have you producing and printing weekly reports 4 Chapter 1: Introduction on your contacts, activities, documents and telephone calls. Chapter 9, "Utilities and Technicalities," deals with more technical issues such as customizing the software to your suit individual preferences. As you gain confidence with the software, stop by here for a few more tips. Chapter 10, "Reference," is just that. It is organized like the menu commands. While the story line may be a bit drier than a steamy romance novel, you'll want to check out this chapter whenever you need a nudge to get over a specific hurdle. 5 Chapter 2: Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus CHAPTER 2: USING THE KEYS, MOUSE AND MENUS Before You Begin To Work with Apropos Apropos features an industry standard SAA/CUA-style interface. If you don't know what that means, don't worry*. Once you've got the program running, you'll probably recognize the uniform style of the pulldown menus and the intuitive layout of the options. Those who have experience with computer keyboards, pointing devices and program interfaces may wish to skim this chapter and then move on to other areas of the manual. Keep in mind that the Tab key is used to move from one field to another, although in some fields pressing Enter will do the same thing. *(SAA/CUA stands for Systems Application Architecture/Common User Access.) Keyboard Conventions Just to make sure that we are on the same wavelength, here are a few conventions for the keyboard: F1 indicates that you should press Function key number 1. In Apropos, pressing F1 brings up a context-sensitive Help screen. Esc means that you press the Escape key. Use this to leave a menu or "back out" of an option. You cannot use Esc to exit Apropos and return to the DOS command line. You must choose the Exit command. 6 Chapter 2: Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus Enter means press the Enter key. It may be called Return on your keyboard or perhaps it is just a hooked arrow sign. You generally use it to accept a menu or command choice. Alt-R means that while holding down the Alt key you also press the R key. Pressing Alt plus the highlighted letter of any main menu choice or work screen function invokes the command specified. You'll use these "hotkeys" or shortcuts to move quickly throughout Apropos. Tab means the Tab key. It is for moving the cursor from one field to the other in sequence. (We'll explain the term "field" later in this chapter.) In data areas, you can also move from field to field by pressing the Enter key. Shift-tab means holding down the Shift key while you press the Tab key. It moves the selection backwards through the fields. Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Up Arrow and Down Arrow all describe keys which move the cursor from one choice to another in menus. (For a full list of keystrokes used in windows, please see the chapter called Utilities and Technicalities.) Mouse Conventions Please, no jokes about this being a meeting of great mice. Basically, you move the mouse until the cursor on the screen is over the menu, the command or the choice you want to select. 7 Chapter 2: Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus Point means to move the mouse cursor (block) to the word, menu choice or symbol. Click means press the left button on the pointing device and quickly release it. Drag indicates that you hold down the left button while you move the mouse. Menus There are different types of menus in Apropos and several ways of choosing from them. While much of this is self- explanatory and intuitive, understanding the interaction between various keystrokes and the menus is important. In this section you'll also find important shortcuts via the use of "hotkeys". These allow you to navigate quickly to the appropriate screen. Pulldown Menu {A graphic appears here in the registered version manual} Menus are "pulled down" from the main menu which appears horizontally across the top of the screen. Note that some of the main menu items move you directly to the appropriate work screen without a pulldown menu. To choose: Press the Left and Right Arrow keys until the command you want is highlighted with the light bar. Press the Enter key. Or Hold down the Alt key and press the highlighted letter of the command. 8 Chapter 2: Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus If you have a mouse , move the mouse cursor to the option and Click the left button. Once you have displayed or pulled down a list of options, it is easy to select one: Press the Arrow keys until the command you want is highlighted by the lightbar. Press Enter to select it. Or Press the highlighted letter. If you have a mouse, move the cursor onto the command and Click the left button. If you wish to "back out" of a choice, press Esc. To back out with a mouse, Click on another option or on the Close Icon (that's the small block in the top left corner of some windows). Note: If an option is not currently available, its letter will not be highlighted and the lightbar will not stop on it. Radio Buttons In the some menus you'll notice Choices marked with brackets and a dot (.) while others contain only the brackets. These types of choices are known as Radio buttons. {A graphic appears here in the registered manual.} As with the pushbuttons on your car radio, only one choice is valid at a time. To "change stations": 9 Chapter 2: Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus Use the Tab key to move into the selection field. Use the Up Arrow or Down Arrow to highlight your choice. Press the Tab key to return to the Ok field and press Enter to confirm the choice. Or, using hotkeys, Hold down Alt and press the highlighted key of the selection. Press Alt-K to choose Ok. This accepts the choice and leaves the screen. If you have a mouse, move the cursor to the Radio Button choice and Click the left mouse button on it. Click on Ok to confirm your choice and exit. If you do not wish to keep your changes: Use the Tab key to highlight the word Cancel and press Enter if you wish to abandon any changes that you have made. If you have a mouse, move the cursor to Cancel and Click on it. Another way to abandon with a mouse is to Click on the Close Icon (the block in square brackets at the top left of the sample screen). Check Boxes Some menus include Checkboxes [X]. An X mark indicates that an option has been activated. Unlike Radio Buttons, Check Boxes allow more than one valid possibility in the group. To turn an option on or off: Tab to the Check Box and press the Space bar. The [X] will appear or disappear, depending on its status. 10 Chapter 2: Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus If you have a mouse, move the cursor to the Check Box and Click the left button to toggle the [X]. Fields Wherever you have the possibility of typing in data, Apropos presents a Field . In most cases the empty data area is displayed as a series of dots (.............). These dots can also indicate how many characters will fit in the field. In some cases, where there may be too many characters to fit on the screen at one time, the field will scroll laterally to accommodate the extra-length data. Remember that you need to Tab to the appropriate position before you gain access to the field. After you have entered the information, Tab to the next screen field. File Directory Screen At certain times you will be asked to load data which was previously stored on disk. In this type of directory screen, use the Arrow keys to highlight the name of the file. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} If there are too many files to display in the window at one time, scroll down with the Arrow keys to reveal the remaining file names. Press Enter to select and load the file. If you have a mouse, move the cursor to the name of the file, and rapidly double 11 Chapter 2: Using the Keys, Mouse and Menus Click on the left mouse button to load the file. (Some users find it easier to simply highlight the file name and Click on the word Ok.) If there are too many files to show in the window, Drag the small boxes on the scroll bars to bring the rest of the file names into view. With this summary of keystrokes and mouse movements you have a good grounding to start using the Contact Management System. The next step is to install Apropos. 12 Chapter 3: This is a Setup CHAPTER 3: THIS IS A SETUP Getting Installed Without Getting Stalled Before you install Apropos, you should make a backup copy of your master disk. If you are unsure of how to do this you should consult your DOS manual for the command Diskcopy. Apropos features an easy-to-use installation program. The automated process will set up the appropriate directories on your hard disk and organize the initial files you will need to run the program. Very little intervention is required on your part. Okay? Let's go. Insert your Apropos disk in drive A. (You can use drive B if necessary. Just substitute the alternate drive letter throughout these instructions.) Then log onto drive A by typing: A: and press the Enter key. Now you can start the installation process. Type: INSTALL and press the Enter key. Once the installation has started, you should simply follow the instructions shown on the screen. Press Esc to cancel the installation. To cancel with a mouse, Click on the Close Icon (the block in square brackets at the top left of the screen). 13 Chapter 3: This is a Setup Confirming Information Along the way, you will be asked to confirm certain information about the directory where the program files will be kept on disk. Normally you should accept the suggested parameters by pressing Enter on the word Continue. However, if you prefer a different directory or disk drive (perhaps you wish to use hard disk drive D) you can change it. Press the Tab key to move to the area you want to change and type in the new information. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Once you are satisfied with any changes you have made on the screen, press the Tab key until Continue is highlighted. Press Enter to accept the choice. A Second Disk Depending on the diskette format being used, the installation program may need to access files which are stored on another diskette. The program will prompt you to change diskettes if that is necessary. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} If the Apropos installation program discovers that you already have a version of the software on disk, it will automatically overwrite the previous program files. Previous data files will not be touched. 14 Chapter 4: To Boldly Go...Quick Start CHAPTER 4: TO BOLDLY GO ... QUICK START For The Bold and The Brave This section is for people who fall into one or more of the following categories: You are an experienced computer user and quickly feel at ease with new software, especially a standard interface. You hate manuals and prefer to read one only "if all else fails". Your sense of adventure drives you to jump head first into a program in order to discover for yourself what it can do. Minimal Instructions Before you leave us, here's what you need to do in order to get started with Apropos. 1. Make a backup of your master disk. 2. Check the file called README.DOC for late-breaking information, corrections and notes of special interest. Who knows, the answer to your first question might just be there. 3. Run INSTALL.EXE to set up your directories and files. 4. If you intend to use a mouse, make sure that the mouse driver is loaded. 5. Load APROPOS.EXE. Just a couple of things before you head out on your quest... Anytime you need context-sensitive online help, highlight 15 Chapter 4: To Boldly Go...Quick Start the choice which is puzzling you and press F1. Remember that in order to move from one data field to another, you should press the Tab key. The Enter key also moves the cursor in data fields. One of your first stops should be the Options screen to set up your personal preferences before you get too far into the program. Okay, go ahead, make the keys fly, and start to explore the dozens of features which are available to you in Apropos. Don't be shy about coming back to the tutorial and reference sections of this manual a little later to help fine tune the knowledge you've gained on your own. Since you are an experienced user, you will certainly benefit from information in the chapter called "Utilities and Technicalities". 16 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact CHAPTER 5: TUTORIAL PART ONE - CONTACT A Step-by-Step Tutorial This tutorial is a step-by-step explanation of how to set up your files and enter the information required for your contact management system. It refers to the actual screens used by Apropos to accept and organize your data. Along the way, it will be necessary to type in some sample data. We provide the information you need. Just remember that if you substitute your own names, addresses and other data, you will also have to modify your own input when experimenting with searches and other features. Apropos is designed to be flexible for a broad base of users. Some of the fields (areas containing data) won't apply to your particular situation. Just leave a blank in those fields which are of no use to you currently. As you progress, you might discover an excellent use for that space. Get Your Mouse Loaded If you plan to use a mouse, make sure that the mouse driver is loaded before loading Apropos. Check your mouse manual if you are unsure of how to do this. Okay, let's get started. First we load Apropos. To do that from the DOS command line type: APROPOS.EXE The program will pause for a moment and inform you that it is loading. The first 17 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact screen shows the version of Apropos you are using and the copyright message. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Notice the word "Ok" in a box at the centre of the screen? Simply press the Enter key to continue. Or If you have a mouse, Click on the "Ok". Exercising Your Options Before we get too far, you'll want to customize Apropos to your individual hardware configuration and your personal preferences. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} We want to change some options, so: Press Alt-O. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Option. A different pulldown menu appears with a number of choices: {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} While there are several aspects which can be changed here, we are interested mainly in two of them - Devices and International. Your Own Devices - Printer and Modem Press the highlighted letter E or use the Down Arrow key to move the lightbar to the word Devices and press Enter. 18 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact If you have a mouse, Click on the word Devices. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} The default values for printer and modem ports are displayed and can be changed here. If you are not sure of the parameters you need, leave the values as they are. You can always revise them later. In that case, press Esc to back out of the screen with no changes. In my case, my modem is connected to COM port 2. If yours is the same: Press Alt-O to push the Radio Button for COM2. Use the Tab key to highlight the word Ok. Press Enter to save the change and exit. Picking Your Favourite Date We need to set one more option, this time under International. If you aren't already there: Use Alt-O to select the Option choice. On the pulldown menu, press the Down Arrow key to highlight the word International and press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word International. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} You are given a number of choices for a date format. Press Alt plus the number of the format which suits your style. 19 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact In my case, I use Day/Month/Year which is shown as DDMMYY, so I press Alt-3. Once you are satisfied with the choice: Use the Tab key to highlight the word Ok and press Enter to store the preference and leave the screen. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Ok. The next step will use the menu which drops down from the word File. You should already be there, if not: Press Alt-F to pull down the File menu. If you have a mouse, Click on the word File. A New File If you think of your contact list as a file folder, you realize that the first step is to open the file to see what is inside. Since we are setting things up, we don't have a file yet, so we'll choose New to start a brand new file folder. Once a file exists, just choose Open to get access to it. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} There are several ways to make a choice: Press the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys until the lightbar is over the word New and then press Enter. Or Press letter N for New. If you have a mouse, Click on New. As the message indicates, we are creating a new set of files. It is best to use a 20 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact meaningful name for the file. In our case, we are dealing with our commercial real estate contacts, so we'll call the file Commerce: {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Type in the name "Commerce". Press the Tab key to move to the Ok field. Press Enter to accept this file name. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Ok. Apropos will organize the necessary files and return you to the main menu. Notice that since you have created and opened a file you have a larger number of menu choices than previously. Finally Making Contact In the next step, we'll deal with the option called Portfolios in order to enter some important information about our first contact. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Press Alt-P (remember, this means hold down the Alt key and press the letter P) Or Press the Right Arrow key until the word Portfolios is highlighted and then press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Portfolios. Three more options appear: {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} 21 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact Press the Arrow keys until the lightbar is over the word Contacts and then press Enter. Or Press the letter C for Contacts. If you have a mouse, Click on Contacts. The Contact Management Screen Suddenly the Contact Management screen blossoms forth. Since we haven't entered any data yet, the allowable menu choices are limited. Once Apropos has some data, more options and possibilities will become available. Use Alt-A to activate the Add command. Or Press the Tab key to highlight the Add option and press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Add. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Simple Sample Data Here's the scenario. We are working in commercial real estate. Our first client is a businessman whose wordprocessing/translation business has expanded beyond the space in his home. He is looking for a small amount of commercial space. It must be well situated and relatively inexpensive. Entering Contact Data You see that the REFerence field has been highlighted and awaits your input. This part of the database, unlike other areas 22 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact cannot be left blank. It requires one or more letters from A to Z. You may find that it is easier to deal with the reference by linking it to the company name, so let's make the reference code the first five letters of the firm's name - "SECRE". (Don't type the quotation marks used in these examples.) To move to the next item, Company: Press the Tab key. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Company. Along the way you'll notice the "Updated" line next to the reference. Apropos is keeping track of the date and time that you have entered and revised the information. The procedure for moving from one field to the other is the same - press Tab. If you have a mouse, Click the left button on the line where you want to enter data. Here's a rundown of the type of information we want to put in the fields: Ref: We've already filled in the reference code -"SECRE" Company: The name of our contact's company - "The Secretariat". Contact: The contact him/herself - "Alan Powell". Title: The person's title - "President". Dear: The salutation, as you would use it in a letter. If you are on a first 23 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact name basis with this person it would be just the name - "Alan". If you are more formal then he becomes "Mr. Powell". Industry: Our contact is in the wordprocessing and translation business so we'll put "Wordprocessing" here. Source: We gained this contact thanks to an advertisement in the Chronicle- Telegraph newspaper. We'll list the source as "The Chronicle". Secretary: We're on a first name basis with Monique, Alan's wife, so we'll insert her name here - "Monique". Address: The contact's street address goes here - "Cartier Avenue". City: That is simple enough, we type in the city - "Quebec City". State/Province: "Quebec". Zip/Postal Code: This field will take up to 20 characters in order to handle international postal codes - "G1A 1A1". Country: Although this is a local client, we'll include the country just for the sake of example - "Canada". Business Phone: We need to be careful with the telephone number because this number will be used by the autodialer option later on. If the telephone number is long distance, you must include the access and area codes. Likewise, you might need the prefix to obtain an outside line. In my case, it is a simple 7 digit number - "524-4006". Home Phone: The same as with the business phone. Include the numbers which you would dial manually from your telephone - "524-4006". Fax Phone: Our contact uses the same line for his fax and voice calls, so we'll include the number here - "524- 4006". E-Mail Address: Our client can be contacted through a local Fidonet 24 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact message service whose address is "1:240/1.12". Special Code #1, #2: These fields can be used for almost anything you want. In our case, it helps to know the number of square feet each client is seeking - "600". Well, that's enough data for this screen. If you want to alter any of the information, you can press Shift-Tab to step through the fields in reverse direction. Save, Save, Save Although we have typed the data on the screen, we have to make sure that it is actually stored within the Apropos database: Press Alt-S to Save your screenful of information to the file. Or Press the Tab key until you have highlighted the word Save and press Enter, If you have a mouse, Click on the word Save. If you need to go back and edit this screen of information after you have Saved it: Use Alt-E Or Tab to the Edit option and press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Edit. 25 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact Profiling the Client As they say, "Know Your Client". That's where the Profile screen comes in. To get there: Press Alt-R Or Tab until the word Profile is highlighted and press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Profile. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Some of the information from the previous screen is already displayed, including the client's Reference, Company and the Contact's name. Press Alt-E to edit the data on this screen. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Edit. You'll note that Apropos has recorded the date that this customer's record was last updated. Personal Interest: In his free time our client, Alan, loves computer bulletin boards - "Bulletin Boards". Spouse First Name: As we learned earlier, she is both his wife and his secretary - "Monique". Product Interest: Alan wants to expand into "Small Commercial" space. Personality: Here we are given some options to describe our client. As a small businessman, Alan falls into the category of "Cost Conscious". We just scroll the lightbar down to the description and press Tab or Enter to 26 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact move on. If you have a mouse, Drag the block to scroll through the descriptions or Click on your choice. Purchasing Power: Alan calls the shots in his business, we'll choose "Final". Needs: This client is just exploring new space but is talking about moving by the end of the year. We'll scroll the lightbar to "Within 6 months". Account Rep: In case I decide to share this client list with others in the firm, I'll want people to know that he is my client. I'll enter my name, "Ken Cox". Best Time to Call: There's no point calling Alan during his afternoon rush period. He has more time to think at "10:00". Note that this field uses the 24-hour (international) clock. Three p.m. would be entered as "15:00". Estimated Close: The best guess is that he'll rent the new space in November. Since I've set up my Preferences to record dates in the format Day/Month/Year, I'll enter "011192". (Refer to Option/International later on to change your preferences for the date format.) Actual Close: We'll just Tab past this field since there's no closing date. Don't forget to save the data: Press Alt-S Or Tab to highlight the word Save and press Enter on the word Save. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Save. Making a Note Just to remind myself of what Alan is after, I'll write myself a little note: 27 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact Press Alt-O to select the command Note. Or Use Tab to highlight the word Note and press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Note. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Here I'll enter the note: "Needs 600 square feet, not necessary to be storefront but must have quick access for couriers. Low cost is important. Willing to sublease. Maybe Laurier Mall." Press Alt-K to select Ok and exit. Or Press Tab to move to the word Ok and press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Ok. That pretty well wraps up the information we want to enter right now for this particular contact. We can now return to the Contact Management screen by using the Esc key or by pressing Enter on the word Quit. Adding a Contact We're now going to look at a very powerful function in Apropos called Find. But first, we need to Add another contact or two in order to show how it works. We'll just add some brief data for sake of example. Press Alt-A Or 28 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact If you have a mouse, Click on the word Add. We'll type in the data for another contact. In my case, it deals with the leasing manager at the Laurier mall: The Ref is "LAURI", the Company "LAURIER MALL", the Contact is Mr. George Raymond and we Tab to his business number, "555- 1314". Press Alt-S to save Or If you have a mouse, Click on the word Save. Here, we can show another feature of Apropos. For a complete list of the contacts in the current database: Press Alt-L for List. Press Esc to exit the list. Finding - The Needle and the Haystack Now here's a sub plot to our scenario. At some point in the future, Apropos will be storing hundreds of contacts. As I return from lunch one day, I'm handed a scrap of paper with a phone number scrawled on it. All I can be sure of are the numbers "4006". Rather than grumbling about the pitiful message-taking, I take action to Find out who called. Press Alt-F to select Find. Or If you have a mouse, Click on the word Find. A window appears with a field marked Text. Type in the numbers 4006. 29 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact Tab to the word Forward and press Enter. (If you are using your own data, type in a few characters which you know exist in connection with a contact.) {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Apropos searches through the current database and then displays the Contact Management screen containing the telephone number 524-4006. How about that - it was Alan Powell who was calling! Once you become accustomed to using Find, you'll wonder how you could ever get along without it. When a contact in the current database calls "out of the blue", just give Find a few significant characters, like part of the person's last name or a word contained in a Note. You'll impress the contact with your "total recall" - their data is at your fingertips. Connecting with the Autodialer Whenever I call my client, I want to have a record of the time, date and subject. Let's use the autodialer to call Alan about that space in the Laurier Mall. The autodialer will use the telephone numbers which have been designated in the Contact Management screen. From the Contact Management screen: Press Alt-C to select Connect Or Use the Tab key to highlight the word Connect and press Enter. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Connect. 30 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Pick up the handset of the telephone which is plugged into the same line as the modem. Press Tab to highlight the word Ok. Press Enter on the word Ok to start the autodialer. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Another window will appear, and you will hear the dialing sound. Once the dialing is completed, carry on the telephone conversation. At the end of the call: Press Enter on the word Hangup. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Hangup. Yet another window pops up, this one for storing the result of your call. You'll notice that Apropos logs the start time and end time for the conversation. Unfortunately, Alan was busy with one of his customers. We'll just type that information into the Result field: "Busy today - Call him tomorrow". {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Select Ok to return to the Contact Management screen. If you have a mouse, Click on the word Ok. Making History Having made a call with the autodialer, we made history! 31 Chapter 5: Tutorial Part One - Contact Press Alt-T to check the History window. If you have a mouse, Click on the word History. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} By making calls via the Apropos autodialer, we'll have a complete log for later reference and for use in a report. So far, we've learned how to handle the Contact Management screen, including the Profile, Connect, and History commands. In the next chapter of the tutorial, we'll work with Activities Management. From this point, we're going to assume that you understand how to use the Tab, Alt, Esc and Enter keys to manoeuvre around the Apropos screens and select menu options. Likewise, we'll assume that you have the mouse action well in hand. We'll just ask you to Choose, Select and Type as necessary. If you still need help with the keyboard or mouse, it might be worthwhile to review the earlier chapter which deals with Keyboards, Mice and Menus. 32 Chapter 6: Tutorial Part Two - Activities CHAPTER 6: TUTORIAL PART TWO - ACTIVITIES Activating Activities This section of the tutorial centres on the Activities management screen. This is where we keep track of the many activities which need to be carried out in a day. These tasks could range from a quick telephone call, to a sales meeting appointment, or a reminder that a project report is due on a given date. At the end of the previous episode our customer, Alan, asked me to call back tomorrow. Therefore, I've got an activity to enter - so as not to forget. First, we have to find our way back (using Esc) to the main menu and the Portfolios option. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Entering Activity Data Select Activities. The Activities management screen appears. In our case, we simply want to select Add (Alt-A) to enter a reminder to give Alan a call: Ref: Here, we'll insert the reference code for The Secretariat which is SECRE. Note that a reference code is not required in this field. However, if a code is entered it must already exist in the current contact database. Action: A brief one-liner on what is to be done such as "Call Alan". Date: The date when the action should be taken. In our case, the 22nd of the same month - "22/06/92". If you have set up your preferences for the month- 33 Chapter 6: Tutorial Part Two - Activities day-year format, your date will look like "06/22/92". Time: Once again, we enter the time of the action. Alan is most available in the morning - "10:00". Duration: This activity, a telephone call, isn't going to take very long. We'll set aside just 5 minutes for it by entering "00:05". {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Status: If this activity were to "Write report", we might indicate whether the report was complete or incomplete. In our case, we haven't called Alan yet so we'll just say "pending" or leave it blank. Priority: This is where we gauge the importance of the activity in the event of a scheduling conflict. For instance, our phone call to Alan could be delayed without much difficulty. On a scale of 1 to 99, we could give it a 75 priority at best. If we had an appointment with other clients at the lawyer's office to close a deal, that would certainly warrant a higher priority, probably a 95. It is possible to tell Apropos to ignore lower priority events when checking for conflicts. We'll discuss that a bit further on when we look at Conflicts. For Alan, we'll enter "75" as the Priority level. Code #1, Code #2: Once again, these are fields which are available to provide flexibility. We'll just Tab past them, since we don't need them at this time. 34 Chapter 6: Tutorial Part Two - Activities So, we Tab to Save and press Enter to ensure that our information is safely stored. Listing Activities One option which you will use frequently from the Activities management screen is List. Pressing Alt-L will list all of the activities for this database. They are displayed in order of date and time, with the oldest activities at the top of the window. (The sort order can be changed with the Index command. We'll see more about that later in the tutorial.) We only have one entry so far, but whenever your screen is filled with names, use Next to display the following group. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Scheduling Repeat Activities Let's face it, many activities are routine. They can repeat every day, every week or the interval can be longer. For instance, you know right now that for the next 20 weeks you'll have a sales meeting every Friday morning. Rather than type the activity 20 times, let Apropos do the repetitive entries for you. First, make sure that the activity to be repeated is displayed on the Activities management screen. Enter the data (if need be) complete with the time and duration. Then choose Schedule (Alt-H). {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} 35 Chapter 6: Tutorial Part Two - Activities Apropos opens a window and shows the activity which is to be repeated, along with the start date and associated information. In our case, we want the activity to be repeated weekly, so under Frequency we ensure that the Radio Button for "every week" is selected. (If we wanted to repeat an activity every year, we would push the Radio Button for "every [ ] weeks" and enter the number 52 between the square brackets.) It is important here to fill in an ending date for the activity. This is done in the field marked To. Apropos needs to know just how far into the future this activity will be repeated. In our case it will repeat up To October 23, 1992. Thus, we enter "23/10/92". (Note: I use the DD/MM/YY format for dates.) Apropos will go to work, automatically adding the repeat activities to the database up to and including the date chosen in the To field. Note: Be careful with your choice of an ending date. If you choose a Frequency of "every day" and then ask for the activity to repeat until a date three years later, you are asking the program to create over a thousand new activities. Conflict Resolution We touched on Conflicts when entering data under Priority. Using Add (Alt-A), let's enter and Save two more sample activities using these dates and times: Action MEET ACCOUNTANT Date 25/07/92 Time 11:00 36 Chapter 6: Tutorial Part Two - Activities Duration 00:30 Priority 75 And, Action GOLF Date 25/07/92 Time 09:00 Duration 05:00 Priority 60 Use Next or Previous to display the Golf date on the screen: {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} It is fairly obvious that the meeting with the accountant conflicts with the golf game. (Unless of course the accountant is golfing with you.) To see how Apropos handles this, select Conflict (Alt-T). The window seeks a Scope for the conflict check. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} When the button is pushed for "From current activity", Apropos looks at the date and time of the activity which is currently displayed on your screen and then searches for conflicts. Select Ok. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Apropos looks ahead to the next activity (the meeting with the accountant) and finds a conflict (the golf game). 37 Chapter 6: Tutorial Part Two - Activities If you push the button for "From current date and time", Apropos ignores the date of the activity displayed on your screen and jumps directly to the next activity (based on the PC clock). It ignores past activity conflicts - only future activities will be checked. Advanced users may want to use the optional Priority level for testing conflicts. For instance, if two simultaneous activities are scheduled with priority levels of 75 and 25 respectively, setting the Minimum Priority to 50 would suppress the conflict warning for the event which has been designated as level 25. Hint: It is best to keep the active Index on Date + Time when dealing with Conflicts. Otherwise Next and Previous may not display conflicts in chronological order. Other Exploratory Activities When you have the time, there are all sorts of interesting features which you will want to explore here on the Activities screen: Calendar: Shows you a six month calendar which includes the current month. To display another six months, choose Next. To display the previous six months, choose Previous. Note: Gives you room to write a longer explanation of what the activity is all about. For instance, you might want to 38 Chapter 6: Tutorial Part Two - Activities jot down the materials and documents you will require for an appointment. Find: Works like the Find command which we saw on the Contact Management screen, except that it searches through the Activities area. Just give it a few characters which you know are in the current file and let Apropos work its magic. Search: This option will prompt you for the search data based on your choice of Index. For instance, if your index is set to the date, you will be asked for information in a date format. Look for an explanation of indexing in the next chapter. In this section of the tutorial we have learned how to manage Activities and look for Conflicts. Read on, and your important documents, such as letters and memos, will soon be as well-organized as your contacts and appointments. 39 Chapter 7: Tutorial Part Three - Documents CHAPTER 7: TUTORIAL PART THREE - DOCUMENTS Your Valuable Documents There's no doubt that the computer age with its powerful word processors has increased our speed and efficiency in handling written communications. But co- ordinating all that elegant electronic prose can leave a lot to be desired. Once again, Apropos is going to get you organized. Writing Documents from Within Apropos In a moment, we're going to write a short memo within Apropos. But before going any further with Document Management, we need to go to the Options Menu which is found on the main menu. Just press Esc to "back out" of your current location to reach the main menu. Once there, choose Options. From the pulldown menu, select Directories and press Enter. A window appears which allows us to set the default directories. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} What we are after is App. #1. This refers to Application number one. Usually, it will be the name of our word processor. In my case, I write short notes with a handy text editor called QEdit. Therefore, I'll Tab to App. #1 and type in C:\QEDIT\Q.EXE. I've included the disk drive, path and full name of the text editor. You might use WordPerfect 5.1 for wordprocessing, in which case you would type in something similar to C:\WP51\WP.EXE. Note that Apropos checks that you have entered a valid name for the application. 40 Chapter 7: Tutorial Part Three - Documents When you are satisfied with the information concerning Application #1, select Ok to return to the main menu. Next, choose Portfolios and Documents. The Documents management screen is displayed. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Write a Short Memo Back to our story, we're going to write a short memo to our executive assistant to have him check on the cost and availability of office space this fall for Alan Powell and The Secretariat. We choose Add and then enter our information: Title: The title of the document is "Laurier Mall". Description: A short explanation of the contents of the memo - "Rental space". Filename: We have to be careful here. This refers to the name of the file as it will be passed to our word processor. In DOS, a file has a single name and optionally an extension. For our purposes we'll just ask the word processor to create the file "LAURIER". Keyword #1 to #4: To help us track down a letter or memo in the future, it will be handy to include some keywords. While it may not be necessary for a short memo, we'll put them in just for practice - "Powell", "Mall", "Laurier" and "Secretari". After choosing Save to ensure that the data is stored, we get ready for action. Use Alt-1 to select App. 1 and watch as Apropos fires up the word processor and hands it the filename "LAURIER". From 41 Chapter 7: Tutorial Part Three - Documents there, we're all set to write that memo, save it, print it, and exit from the word processor back to the Document Management screen. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} The Index - Sorting it Out Index is a feature of the Contact, Activity and Document Management screens which we've been holding back until now because it may be a bit confusing at first. Don't worry, it isn't hard. The Index is really just a term which informs Apropos which of the elements to focus on when sorting a list. Understanding Indexing Here's a homespun example of indexing. Let's say you have five children at home and you want to "sort" them into some order. You could line them up according to their ages, youngest to oldest. Thus, you have used age as the index for sorting. Or, you could decide to organize them by their height, shortest to tallest. Another index for sorting them could be their first names in alphabetical order. In Apropos, just think of the basis on which you want to sort your data. Depending on the screen, you have a variety of choices for your index. Here in the Document management screen, the Index is normally set to sort the list in alphabetical order according to the 42 Chapter 7: Tutorial Part Three - Documents title of the document. You would rather have it sort by the date of the last revision of the document? No problem. Just choose Index to open the Index window. "Punch" the Radio Button for Date using Alt-D and then save the change by using Alt-K for Ok. The Index is now looking at the date. When you choose List to check the list of files, they'll be sorted according to the date of the last revision rather than by their titles. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} It is important to understand the concept of sorting based on the Index. It is one of the powerful features of Apropos. Later on, try adjusting the Index and then check the effect on List. That's the easiest way to grasp how the Index is working. Note: When you change the Index on the Contact, Activity and Document Management screens, it is only temporary. It reverts to the default Index once you leave the screen. To make the new Index permanent, see Preferences in the Option menu. Document Management Power When you have more time, there are many more features of the Document Management screen which you can explore: App. #2: Like App. #1, it allows you to identify and run another program from within Apropos. For instance it could be a DOS utility for creating a label for an envelope. Launch: Works much the same as the Apps, except that you must enter the 43 Chapter 7: Tutorial Part Three - Documents program name (and extension) each time, as you would from the DOS command line. You can use it to run other programs (excluding TSRs) without leaving Apropos - perhaps a Shell or a utility which UNdeletes files. Make sure you include the full path to the program which you wish to launch, the exact name of the file, plus the filename extension. Find: We've dealt with this one earlier in the tutorial but it is worth a reminder here. Give it a few characters which are contained in the current document database - or in the document itself - and Apropos will show you the entire record - pronto. List: As we saw previously, List presents you with a nicely sorted list of files based on the Index which you have chosen. Search: This option will prompt you for the search data based on your choice of Index. For instance, if your Index is set to the date, you'll be asked for information in a date format. Note: Search restricts itself to the active Index. That makes it lightning fast. Use Find for a broader text search. Delete: We haven't discussed this one but please be careful. When you delete a document, don't count on getting it back. Press Esc to back out, or Tab to Cancel to avoid making a mistake. What We've Learned That sums up the handling of documents in Apropos. We've learned how to call a word 44 Chapter 7: Tutorial Part Three - Documents processor for writing letters within Apropos and how to search for a document. We've also grasped the notion of an Index for sorting our data. By now you are almost an expert. But there's one final area which merits some close attention - creating reports based on your Contacts, Activities, Documents and Phone Calls. 45 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting CHAPTER 8: TUTORIAL PART FOUR - REPORTING Preparing Reports on Contacts, Activities and Documents One of the advantages of having your contacts, activities and documents so well organized with Apropos is that it is easy to produce accurate reports. The basic concepts are the same for reports on Contacts, Activities, Documents and Call History. Reporting may be as simple as producing a list of all of your recent telephone calls to show the boss how hard you've been working. Or you may want something more sophisticated. How about a list of all of your contacts whose company name starts with C and whose city is Quebec City. And they should be sorted according to their industry. Apropos can handle it with ease. Before we get too far, we should go to the main menu and select Option. From there, we want Devices. If you have just one printer, chances are it is on Lpt 1. If you know it is otherwise, change the Radio button to reflect your device. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} While we're here, note the Lines per page and Characters per line. If your printer is set up to print more than 80 characters across, you can insert that figure here. To keep any changes, select Ok and return to the main menu. 46 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting More Data Please In order to prepare a report and show some of the power of Apropos, we need at least five sample contacts in our database. It would be best to use these exact examples because we'll be focusing on some specific fields for our report. You can delete these contacts later. From Portfolios, select the Contacts screen and then use Add to enter five new records. To keep down the amount of typing, we are only going to include a reference letter, the contact name, industry, and city. Here's the information for the five contacts: Ref Contact Industry City A Alan Powell WordprocessingQuebec City B John Oliver Accounting Quebec City C Suzette Rideout LawQuebec City D Ronald Allard LawMontreal E Chantal Poulin Wordprocessing Ste-Foy Once you have safely Added and Saved the information into the contact file, use Escape to return to the main menu. Since we will be doing a report on these Contacts, choose Reports (Alt-R) and the Contacts option to open the Contacts Reporting screen. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} In this example, we are going to create reports to be displayed on the screen. If you would rather send them to the printer, 47 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting push the Radio Button to make the Printer the Destination (Alt-P). {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} We're going to include three of the four fields in our report: Contact, Industry and City. We'll leave out the Reference. To proceed, select the option called Fields (Alt-F) Checkmark the Fields Use the Arrow keys to move the lightbar to Contact. Notice the number in brackets which indicates that this field will take 30 characters in our report. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Press Enter or Space to put a checkmark to the left of the field. If you change your mind, pressing Enter or Space a second time removes the checkmark. Move down to our next field, Industry, which needs 15 characters. Again, press Enter or Space to turn on the checkmark. Finally, move to City (25 characters) and press Enter to show the checkmark. How Many Characters? Some quick arithmetic tells us that we have a total of 70 characters (30 + 15 + 25 = 70) per line to print. Since our printer can handle 80 characters, there's no problem if we decide we want hard copy for this report. If we were greedy and tried to use too many fields with too many characters, Apropos would ignore the excess beyond 80. (The number of 48 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting characters can be set in the Devices window under Options off the main menu.) When you're satisfied with the checkmarked fields, press Escape to return to the Contact Reporting screen. Since we want page numbers, the date and time and a title to appear on our report, we'll leave those Options selected [X] in the three Check Boxes. Tab to the Title field and give this report a title... let's say "All Contacts in All Cities". Okay, time to take a look at the report. Choose Ok. Apropos displays a new screen (or starts the printer if you have selected the printer as the destination). The report which results contains all five contacts with their industry and city. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Press any key to return to the Contact Reporting screen. At Home On The Range Apropos has much more power than simply printing the entire contents of a file. It can be very selective. We're going to narrow down the range of information to be included in our report - while keeping the Contact, Industry and City fields. Let's say we want to report only on the contacts whose industry is Law. We'll Tab to the Title to amend it to read "Contacts in Law in All Cities". {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} 49 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting Next, Tab to the field marked Industry. We want to restrict the report's contents by narrowing down the range. In fact, we're going to narrow it down to just one Industry - Law. First, we give Apropos a starting point for its alphabetical order. In the column called Starting With we type LAW. This effectively excludes any industry names which start with A to K. Next, we Tab over to the column marked Ending With. Here, we want to exclude everything that comes after Law, so we type in LAW. It is simple logic - nothing before Law, nothing after so that leaves only contacts in the industry Law. Okay, let's try it. Choose Ok. If all is correct you should have two contacts in the report, both in LAW. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} When you've finished admiring your work, press any key to return to the Contact Reporting screen. Reporting from Q to Z Here's our final example. Let's say we want to report on all contacts whose city starts with the letter Q to Z. Back to the Contact Reporting screen we go. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} We'll change the Title to "Contacts in Q to Z Cities". Don't forget to remove the words LAW if they are still in the Industry field. In the City field, we put 50 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting Q under Start With and then Tab to the next column to put Z under Ending With. When ready, select Ok to show the resulting report. Sure enough, our Montreal contact is excluded from this report because the city's name does not start with Q to Z. Quebec City and Ste-Foy are there as expected. {A graphic appears here in the registered printed manual} Note: When using dates to restrict the range of a report, remember that 01/01/80 is the same as leaving the field blank. Saving a Report Format Having worked so hard to narrow the parameters of a report, it would be a shame to have to start all over the next time the report is needed. No need to waste time - you can save the Report Definition to a file. Select Save. Apropos prompts for a file name. Since this configuration reports the contacts in cities from Q to Z, you might want to call the definition file CITYQZ. Select Ok to save the file. At any time in the future you can Load that same file to reproduce this type of report. If you make adjustments to the parameters, like changing the range of dates, just Save the file again using the same filename. Doing so will replace the old definition version. 51 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting Printing to a File It may be more convenient to store the results of a report as data for wordprocessing purposes. In that case, push the File button in the Destination option. Apropos will prompt you for the name of the file. You may need to include the disk drive letter and path along with the name, such as C:\WP51\REPORT.TXT. An Apropos Pro We have come to the end of the tutorial on Reports. In it you have learned how to direct reports to the screen, printer or a file. We've seen how to choose the fields to be included in the report, and narrow down the range of data by using a starting point and an ending point. Although our tutorial dealt with Contact Reporting, you'll find that the procedures are almost identical for Activities, Documents and Telephone calls. By now you have harnessed the power of Apropos and become familiar with its major features. The concepts you've acquired will serve you well as you explore other areas of the program. Even More Potential Look through the other sections of this manual to unlock the full potential of this software: Archive: It compresses the size of data files for long-term storage, to save disk space, and/or for efficient transfer to another computer. The same files can be unarchived to restore them to the normal format used by Apropos. 52 Chapter 8: Tutorial Part Four - Reporting Rebuild: If a power blackout or other mishap corrupts the indexes in a database, Rebuild should put everything back in order. If you notice some unusual characters in your data or erratic operation, try a rebuild. A Happy Ending Oh... we have some unfinished business. Remember Alan, whose wordprocessing business we have used as an example throughout the tutorials? He ended up renting space in the Laurier Mall and is currently keeping track of his growing number of Contacts, Activities and Documents with Apropos. 53 Chapter 9: Utilities and Technicalities CHAPTER 9: UTILITIES AND TECHNICALITIES How to Get Technical Support: To obtain technical support, please contact CheckBox Software at: Telephone - (908) 545-3010 10AM-4PM Eastern Standard Time Fax - (908) 418-1441 Mail - CheckBox Software, One Leary Drive, North Brunswick, NJ, U.S.A. 08902 CompuServe - 71034,2654 America Online - CHECKBOX InterNet #1 - 71034.2654@compuserve.com InterNet #2 - checkbox@aol.com MCI Mail - TO: CheckBox Software (EMS) EMS: COMPUSERVE MBX: 1034,2654 AT&T Mail - s/c=us/ad=compuserve/pd=csmail/d.id=71034.2654 X.400- Country=US ADMD=CompuServe PRMD=CSMail DDA=71034.2654 Telex/Twx - Machine No. 3762748 (On first non- blank line enter "TO: 71034,2654") Forem-Net - Mike Mezaros, Node 593 FidoNet - Mike Mezaros, Node 1:107/331 BBS - Z*Net News Service BBS (908) 968-8148, Conference #9 "CheckBox Software" 54 Chapter 9: Utilities and Technicalities Archives Archiving compresses data files for long- term storage, for backups, to save disk space, and/or for efficient transfer to another computer. The same files can be unarchived to restore them to the normal format used by Apropos. This process can be carried out on Contacts, Activities and Documents. A starting point and an ending point can be provided to narrow the range of records which are to be archived or unarchived. For instance, to archive all contacts from A to F, Starting With would be set at A and Ending With would be set at F. To archive only those contacts in Quebec City, Starting With would be set at Quebec City and Ending With would also be set at Quebec City. Many of the concepts used in the Reporting tutorial apply to Archiving and Unarchiving, including the use of Definition files. System Requirements Apropos requires an IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or IBM compatible computer with at least 512k RAM, a hard disk, a Colour Graphics or Monochrome adapter, a monitor, and MS- DOS or PC-DOS version 3.0 or later. A mouse and printer are optional. Keystrokes Here's a list of keys used in the Apropos interface: F1: Context-sensitive help. F5: Toggles between a window and full screen. 55 Chapter 9: Utilities and Technicalities Control-F5: Activates Arrow keys to move a window. Press Enter to end. Alt-F5: Resizes a window. Press Enter to end. Space: Toggles the selection in Check Boxes. Arrow keys: Move between options in Radio Buttons. Alt-(plus highlighted letter): Selects an option or button. Tab: In entry screens it advances to the next field. Shift-tab: In entry screens it backs up one field. Esc: Exits without saving changes. Enter: Accepts data or advances to the next field. Mouse A mouse driver , if used, must be loaded into memory before Apropos. If you wish to suspend the use of the mouse pointer while in Apropos, use the Check box switch in the Preferences area under Option. DESQview This program is compatible with Quarterdeck's DESQview multi-tasking software (DESQview aware). Windows Apropos will run in a DOS window in Microsoft Windows 3.1. Colours A number of colour schemes are available under Option on the main menu. Experiment with the one which suits your particular 56 Chapter 9: Utilities and Technicalities hardware setup or change it daily to suit your mood. Preferences Use this option to set the indexes for each of the major database components: Contacts, Activities and Documents. Apropos refers to the Index in order to sort the information which is stored in the databases. This window includes a Check box switch to disable the mouse. The mouse pointer will disappear. Tools of the Trade We would like to express our appreciation to the following companies for their superior products used in the development of Apropos: Borland International: Turbo Pascal Professional. Intersolv: PVCS Professional Editor Technojock Software Inc. and Bob Ainsbury: Object Toolkit Turbo Power: B-Tree Filer and Object Professional This User's Guide was written with Word For Windows 2.0 from Microsoft, QEdit from Semware and The Graphics Workshop from Alchemy Mindworks. Backups The names, addresses, telephone numbers, documents and notes which you store in Apropos files are important to you. Protect yourself from the inevitable hardware failures and similar disasters by making regular backups. Apropos files can be archived to save disk space. 57 Chapter 9: Utilities and Technicalities File Extensions To assist you in sorting out the files which accumulate on your hard disk, here is a guide to the file extensions used by Apropos: .DAT: Data files .IX: Index files .DA1: Archive files .AR1, AR2, AR3: Definition files .RP1, RP2, RP3: Definition files .UA1, UA2, UA3: Definition files TSRs TSR (Terminate/Stay Resident) programs should not be run from within Apropos. Config.sys and Files= If you encounter an error which indicates that there are too many files open, check the FILES= statement in the DOS CONFIG.SYS file. It should be set at 20 or greater. You may wish to refer to your DOS manual on how to increase the number of FILES. 58 Chapter 10: Reference - System CHAPTER 10: REFERENCE Apropos Menu Reference This chapter is designed to help you understand all of the menu commands and functions available in Apropos. The section is arranged along the lines of the main menu choices. You'll find the following main sections: (System) File Options Portfolios /Contacts/Activities/Documents Archives Reports Help Following each choice is the full complement of subsidiary commands, options, functions and fields. 59 Chapter 10: Reference - System (System) This menu, indicated by three horizontal lines, provides basic information about Apropos. About System Info About About displays the Apropos copyright information and the name of the registered user. System Info System Info describes the class of computer, the video graphics adapter, the number of parallel and serial ports and the number of floppy drives. It reads the system to discover the amount of random access memory (RAM) available, and it identifies any extended and/or expanded memory. The operating system and BIOS type are also displayed. 60 Chapter 10: Reference - File File File is a pulldown menu. It offers various choices for loading (opening) existing databases, creating new ones, repairing files, closing them and deleting them. This pulldown menu also gives access to DOS without leaving Apropos. The last option smoothly exits the program. Open New Close Rebuild Delete Shell to DOS Exit Open Open loads a database file. It displays a directory of files in a window. Scroll through the directory window with the Arrow keys to highlight the file you wish to open. Press Enter to open (load) the selected database. If you have a mouse, Click on the name of the file you wish to load. New New is used to create a brand new set of database files. Apropos prompts you for a name for the file. The filename must be eight characters or less. Do not use a file extension. Note: A new file cannot be created while another database is open. If the New option cannot be activated, Apropos has detected that another file is open (in use). Use Close first, then New. Close Close terminates the use of the database files which are currently open. The Close 61 Chapter 10: Reference - File option is not available if there is no database file in use. Rebuild Rebuild repairs and recreates indexes for the set of files which is currently selected. If inappropriate data appears in files, or if operation of the program appears erratic, the indexes may have been corrupted. Use Rebuild to repair damaged files. Delete Caution: Delete erases entire files in the active (open) set. Once erased, files are not recoverable.. Use the Tab, Arrow keys and Space bar in the Check boxes to select or deselect categories of files to be erased. Normally, the Contact file should NOT be deleted. Press Esc or Cancel to abort deleting files. To preserve a database file while removing individual records within it, refer to the delete option in the various Management screens. Shell to DOS Shell to DOS leaves Apropos temporarily to return to the operating system and DOS prompt in the current directory. To resume using Apropos from the DOS prompt, type EXIT and press Enter. The Shell leaves only a small kernel (about 4k) in memory. The program is temporarily swapped out to Extended or Expanded memory, or to disk. Exit Exit closes any open database files and quits Apropos. It returns you to the DOS prompt in the currently active directory 62 Chapter 10: Reference - File or to another program which has called Apropos. 63 Chapter 10: Reference - Option Options The Options menu allows you to customize Apropos to individual hardware and user preferences. These possibilities include the directories where files are stored, the colour scheme to be used throughout the program, indexes used in sorting data, printer and modem parameters, and the format for displaying dates. Directories Colours Preferences Devices International Directories This menu lets you direct Apropos to the location of the drives and directories for database files (Contacts, Activities, Phone calls, Documents) and the configuration files (Definition). Normally there is no need to change these directories after the initial installation. The Directories menu also stores the full drive, path, and filename information for the two Applications options. You may wish to use App. #1 for the name of the DOS word processor which will be loaded and run in the Document Management screen. App. #2 can be used for a frequently-used utility such as a file search. The Check box switches determine whether or not Apropos swaps to memory or disk while running another application. Swapping is required for all but the smallest programs. Depending on the speed of the computer system, there may be a delay while program data is written to disk. 64 Chapter 10: Reference - Option Colours Colours sets the hues used on Apropos screens. All schemes are accessible to users with colour monitors. If a monochrome monitor is detected, any other colour scheme will be overridden. Preferences Preferences sets the indexes for each of the major database components: Contacts, Activities and Documents. Apropos refers to the Index in order to sort the information which is stored in the databases. This option also includes a Check box switch to disable the mouse - the mouse pointer will disappear. Devices Devices sets parameters for the printer and modem. Apropos can be configured to use one of three Line Printer devices for printed output. If only one printer is connected, it is usually referred to as LPT1. The number of Lines per page indicates the number of lines between page breaks when printing reports. Characters per line is normally set to 80 unless the printer is configured otherwise. Users with a serial printer should refer to the MS-DOS Mode command to redirect printer output from LPT. Apropos can use a Hayes- compatible modem for autodialing. The modem must be configured to use one of two communication port devices, COM1 or COM2. The Dial string means the series of characters which must be sent to the modem as a dial command. The telephone number to be dialed is entered in the Contact Management screen. Hangup string refers to the command which instructs the modem to hangup or go into on-hook status. 65 Chapter 10: Reference - Option International International sets the date format to be used throughout Apropos. For instance "DDMMYY" allows two numbers each in the order Day/Month/Year. The Separator is the character which separates date elements. While it is usually a slash (/) it can also be a dot (.) or a dash (-). Apropos expresses time using the international 24 hour clock. Midnight is 00:00. Three-ten a.m. is 03:10. Noon is 12:00. Eleven- thirty p.m. is written as 23:30. 66 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact Portfolios/Contacts The Contact Management screen stores key information about contacts such as names, addresses and telephone numbers. It also gives access to a variety of supplementary options. A reference code of up to seven letters is required for each contact. Use the Tab key to move from one field to the next. If the autodialer option is used, telephone numbers on this screen must contain only the digits which would be dialed manually. Profile Note Edit Abort Save Quit Help Personal Interest Spouse First Name Product Interest Personality Purchasing Power Needs Account Rep Best Time to Call Estimated Close Actual Close History Activity Connect Note Find Next Previous List Search Add Edit Abort Save Delete 67 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact Index Quit Help Ref Company Contact Title Dear Industry Source Secretary Address City State/Province Zip/Postal Code Country Business Phone Home Phone Fax Phone E-Mail Address Special Code #1 Special Code #2 Profile Profile gives access to a screen of supplementary information about the contact. This extra data can range from the name of the person's spouse to his/her purchasing power and the best time of day to call. Note Note gives access to a free-form data area which is associated with the contact. The note can contain up to 15 lines of 60 characters each. Press Tab to move in and out of the data-entry field. Edit Edit permits changes and additions to the Profile of an existing contact. After making any modifications to the Profile, 68 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact use Save to ensure that they are stored in the database. Abort Abort abandons any changes or additions to the Profile of an existing contact. It will highlight the Edit command without saving any modifications. If the Abort command is not available, it means that the existing data has not been altered. Save Save writes the existing Profile data for the contact to the database. If the Save command is not available, it means that the existing data has not been altered and therefore does not need to be saved. Quit Quit closes the Profile screen and returns to the main Contact Management screen. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Personal Interest Personal Interest contains a leisure activity, hobby, or sport of interest to the contact, e.g. Golfing. Spouse First Name Spouse First Name contains the given name of the contact's spouse/companion, e.g. Monique. Product Interest Product Interest contains the primary need of the contact in the business relationship, e.g. Office space. 69 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact Personality Personality offers choices which characterize the contact. Scroll through the list with the Arrow keys or mouse to highlight the personality description which best suits the contact. Purchasing Power Purchasing Power offers choices which describe the capacity of this contact to authorize the purchase of a product or service. Scroll through the list with the Arrow keys or mouse to highlight the description which best suits the contact. Needs Needs offers choices which describe the contact's requirements for delivery of goods or services. Scroll through the list with the Arrow keys or mouse to highlight the description which best suits the contact. Account Rep Account Rep indicates the individual who is responsible for this contact's account. It can be useful when sharing database files with others. For instance, Ken Cox. Best Time to Call Best Time to Call indicates the preferable time of day to reach this contact, e.g. 10:00. Note: Apropos uses the 24 hour clock. Estimated Close Estimated Close is used to indicate the date on which a sale or contract is expected to be formally signed or concluded, e.g. 02/02/93. 70 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact Actual Close Actual Close is used to indicate the actual date on which a sale or contract has been formally signed, e.g. 03/03/93. History History provides a list of the telephone calls to this contact (if there are any) as recorded in the Call History file. Ten calls are displayed on the screen at a time. Use the Next and Previous commands or the PageUp and PageDown keys to page through the call list. Activity Activity provides a list of the activities associated with this contact, if there are any. Activities, including those from the past and those scheduled for the future, are displayed from earliest to latest. Ten activities are displayed on the screen at a time. Use the Next and Previous commands or the PageUp and PageDown keys to page through the Activities list. Connect Connect invokes the autodialer function if a Hayes-compatible modem has been installed and configured. Connect automatically dials the business or home telephone numbers which have been entered in the Contact Management screen. Pick up the handset on the telephone which is plugged into the modem. Press Enter on Ok to start the autodialer. Another window will appear while you hear the dialing sound. After the dialing has been completed and the other party has answered, carry on the telephone conversation. To terminate the telephone call, press Enter on the word Hangup. A 71 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact prompt window seeks the result of the call. Connect logs the start time and end time of the conversation. Only calls dialed via Connect are logged to the call History file. Note Note gives access to a data area which is associated with the contact. The note can contain up to 15 lines of 60 characters each. Press Tab to move in and out of the data-entry field. Find Find carries out a free form search of text in the current contact database. Type up to 30 characters of the desired text. Tab to the word Forward or Backward and press Enter to initiate the search. If the text is found, the record will be displayed on the Contact Management screen. To find another occurrence of the same text, invoke Find again. Apropos presents an error message if the search text was not found. Next Next displays the next record in the Contact database. The sort order is based on the setting of the active index. The current index is indicated near the bottom of the Contact Management screen, e.g. Index: Reference. Previous Previous displays the previous record in the Contact database. The sort order is based on the setting of the active index. The current index is indicated near the 72 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact bottom of the Contact Management screen, e.g. Index: Reference. List List displays a list of all contacts. The contacts are sorted in alphabetical or chronological order based on the requested active index. Ten contacts are displayed on the screen at a time. Use the Next and Previous commands or the PageUp and PageDown keys to page through the contact list. Search Search prompts for a number of characters and then carries out a rapid search of the current contact database for a match. The record containing the search text is displayed, if it is found. Otherwise, the next greater record is displayed. Note: The search inquiry is restricted to the active index. For instance, if the active index is set to the Company field, Search will attempt to find the text among all the company names in the Company field but will not look in the remaining fields such as Contact. If Exact Match Required is selected in the Check Box [X], the entire text must be identical, otherwise, Search returns an error. Add Add prepares a fresh screen in order to add a new contact to the database. The Reference field is highlighted to prompt for a unique name or character. A reference name is required before Apropos will accept any other data on the screen. Use the Tab key to proceed from one field to the next. 73 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact Edit Edit permits changes to an existing contact. After making any modifications to the contact, use Save to ensure that changes are stored in the database. For creating new entries, choose Add. Abort Abort abandons any changes or additions made to an existing contact. It redisplays the unchanged version. If the Abort command is not available, it means that the existing data on the screen has not been altered. Save Save writes the existing data for the contact to the database. If the Save command is not available, it means that the existing data has not been altered and therefore does not need to be saved. Delete Delete erases the current contact record from the database, along with all the activities and telephone calls related to it. Caution: Deleted records cannot be recovered. Press Escape, or Tab to Cancel to back out of deleting a record. Index Index is used to advise Apropos of the field on which it should base the sorting of contacts. Thus, the records can be displayed or listed alphabetically according to the first letter(s) of the reference, the company, the contact name, the telephone number, etc. The index can also be set to a date. Note: Any change 74 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact made to the active index from this screen is only temporary. Apropos will revert to the default index once you exit this screen. To make a permanent change to the default index for Contacts, refer to the Option menu and the Preferences window. Quit Quit closes the Contact Management screen and returns to the main menu of Apropos. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Ref Reference is a code of one to seven letters for the contact, e.g. LOGIS. A code is required for each contact in the database. Company Company contains the name of the contact's firm or organization, e.g. Logistral Inc. Contact Contact holds the first and last name of the contact, e.g. Alan Powell. Title Title identifies the contact's position in the organization, e.g. President 75 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact Dear Dear contains the salutation, as used in a letter, upper and lower case. e.g. Mr. Powell or Alan. Industry Industry indicates the type of business in which a contact works, e.g. Wordprocessing or Law. Source Source contains the source by which this person became a contact, e.g. Newspaper advertisement or walk-in. Secretary Secretary holds the name of the contact's secretary, e.g. Monique or Mrs. Rideout. Address Address holds the contact's street address or post box number, e.g. 1 Cartier Avenue or P.O. Box 483. City City indicates the name of the contact's municipality, e.g. Quebec City. State/Province State/Province holds the name of the contact's state, province, or territory e.g. Quebec. Zip/Postal Code The Zip/Postal Code field will take up to 20 characters in order to handle the 76 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact contact's international zip or postal code, e.g. G1A 1A1, 80209-0601. Country Country holds the name of the contact's country e.g. Canada. Business Phone Business Phone contains the contact's telephone number at work. The following characters are the only ones accepted for telephone numbers: 0123456789 ()/.,*-+. Note: If the autodialer is to be used, enter the telephone numbers as they would be dialed manually, including access, regional and country codes, e.g. 1 (418) 285-4003, 9 524-4006. Home Phone Home Phone contains the contact's telephone number at his/her residence. The following characters are the only ones accepted for telephone numbers: 0123456789 ()/.,*-+. Note: If the autodialer is to be used, enter the telephone numbers as they would be dialed manually, including access, regional and country codes, e.g. 1 (418) 285-4003, 9 524-4006. Fax Phone Fax Phone contains the telephone number of the contact's facsimile machine, e.g. (418) 285-4003. The following characters are the only ones accepted for telephone numbers: 0123456789 ()/.,*-+. 77 Chapter 10: Reference - Contact E-Mail Address E-Mail Address is the electronic mail address of the contact, e.g. Compuserve 70313,1071 or Fidonet 1:240/1.12. Special Code #1 Special Code #1 is an undesignated field to provide for flexibility. It can be used for miscellaneous data about the contact. For example the contact's preferred language, English. Special Code #2 Special Code #2 is an undesignated field to provide for flexibility. It can be used for miscellaneous data about the contact. For example the contact's usual payment method, Cheque or VISA. 78 Chapter 10: Reference - Activity Portfolios/Activities The Activities management screen stores key information about activities such as appointments, deadlines, routine tasks, errands and anniversaries. The screen gives access to a sorted list of activities, the Contact list, a 6-month calendar and a notepad. It allows automatic repeat scheduling of activities - daily, weekly or longer interval. It also warns of conflicts in the schedule. Contacts Schedule Conflict Calendar Note Find Next Previous List Search Add Edit Abort Save Delete Index Quit Help Ref Action Date Time Duration Status Priority Code #1 Code #2 Contacts Contacts lists all of the contacts which are contained in the current database. Ten 79 Chapter 10: Reference - Activity contacts are displayed on the screen at a time. Use the Next and Previous commands or the PageUp and PageDown keys to page through the Contact list. Schedule Schedule permits automatic repeating of the displayed activity on a daily or weekly basis, or longer interval. Push the appropriate Radio Button for the re peat frequency. An annual event would be entered as Every [52] weeks. Note: An ending date must be entered in the To field in order to set repeating activities. Conflict Conflict warns of activities which have been scheduled at the same date and time or which overlap. For instance, an activity which is scheduled to begin at 18:00 with a duration of 30 minutes will conflict with an activity which is due to start at 18:15. An optional priority level may be given to test conflicts. For instance, if two simultaneous activities are scheduled with priority levels of 75 and 25 respectively, setting the Minimum Priority to 50 would suppress the conflict warning for the event which has been designated level 25. Calendar Calendar displays a six-month calendar which includes the current month. To display another six months, choose Next. To display the previous six months, choose Previous. 80 Chapter 10: Reference - Activity Note Note gives access to a data area which is associated with the activity. The note can contain up to 15 lines of 60 characters each. Press Tab to move in and out of the data-entry field. Find Find carries out a free-form search of text in the current activity database. Type up to 30 characters of the desired text. Tab to the word Forward or Backward and press Enter to initiate the search. If the text is found, the record will be displayed on the Activity Management screen. To find another occurrence of the same text, invoke Find again. Apropos presents an error message if the search text was not found. Next Next displays the next record in the Activity database. The sort order is based on the setting of the active index. The current index is indicated near the bottom of the Activity Management screen, e.g. Index: Date + Time. Previous Previous displays the previous record in the Activity database. The sort order is based on the setting of the active index. The current index is indicated near the bottom of the Activity Management screen, e.g. Index: Date + Time. List List displays a list of all activities. The activities are sorted in alphabetical 81 Chapter 10: Reference - Activity or chronological order based on the requested active index, usually the date and time. Ten activities are displayed on the screen at a time. Use the Next and Previous commands or the PageUp and PageDown keys to page through the Activity list. Search Search prompts for a number of characters and then carries out a rapid search of the active index in the current activity database for a match.. The record containing the search text is displayed, if it is found. Otherwise, the next greater record is displayed. Note: the search inquiry is restricted to the active index. For instance, if the active index is set to the Date field, Search will attempt to find the text value among all of the dates in Date field but will not look in the remaining fields such as Action. If Exact Match Required is selected in the Check Box [X], the entire text must be identical. Otherwise, Search returns an error. Add Add prepares a fresh screen in order to add a new activity to the database. Use the Tab key to proceed from one field to the next. Edit Edit permits changes to an existing activity. After making any modifications to the activity, use Save to ensure that changes are stored in the database. For creating new entries, choose Add. 82 Chapter 10: Reference - Activity Abort Abort abandons any changes or additions made to an existing activity. It redisplays the unchanged version. If the Abort command is not available, it means that the existing data on the screen has not been altered. Save Save writes the existing data for the activity to the database. If the Save command is not available, it means that the existing data has not been altered and therefore does not need to be saved. Delete Delete erases the current activity record from the database. Caution: Deleted records cannot be recovered. Press Escape, or Tab to Cancel to back out of deleting a record. Index Index is used to advise Apropos of the field on which it should base the sorting of activities. Thus, the records can be displayed according to the date and time or alphabetically according to the first letter(s) of the reference, the status, the priority etc. Note: Any change made to the active index from this screen is only temporary. Apropos will revert to the default index once you exit this screen. To make a permanent change to the default index for Activities, refer to the Option menu and the Preferences window. Normally, activities are sorted according to Date and Time. 83 Chapter 10: Reference - Activity Quit Quit closes the Activities Management screen and returns to the main menu of Apropos. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Ref Ref is the reference code for a contact in the contact database. An example of a reference code is "SECRE". Note: The field may be left blank when entering an activity. If you wish to link the activity to an existing contact, enter the contact's reference code. If the reference code is incomplete or incorrect, Apropos will generate an error message. Action Action is a brief one-liner description of what activity is to be carried out such as "Call Alan" or "Prepare summary". Date Date is the date when the activity should be carried out. For instance an activity scheduled for June 6, 1993 would be entered as "06/06/93". Time Time is the time the activity is to be carried out. Apropos used the 84 Chapter 10: Reference - Activity international 24 hour clock, e.g., "10:00". Duration Duration indicates the amount of time which is being set aside for the activity. For instance, 30 minutes would be entered as "00:30". Status Status indicates the current state of this activity, e.g. Completed. Priority Priority indicates the level of importance (1-99) of this activity in case of conflict with another activity. Apropos can be configured to ignore conflicts which have a priority below a certain level, e.g. 75. Code #1 Code #1 is an undesignated field to provide for flexibility. It can be used for miscellaneous data about the activity, e.g. Rush! Code #2 Code #2 is an undesignated field to provide for flexibility. It can be used for miscellaneous data about the activity, e.g. Approved. 85 Chapter 10: Reference - Document Portfolios/Documents The Documents management screen stores key information about documents such as letters and memos. The screen gives access to a sorted list of documents which have been created within Apropos. A find option searches through the text in related documents. Apropos can launch (load and run) two previously-configured applications, one of which is usually a word processor program. The filenames of the application, along with the complete location (path) and file extension, must be entered in the Directories area of the Option menu. A third command launches programs based on the filename typed in at a prompt. App. 1 App. 2 Launch Find Next Previous List Search Add Edit Abort Save Delete Index Quit Help Title Description Filename Keyword #1 Keyword #2 Keyword #3 Keyword #4 86 Chapter 10: Reference - Document App. 1 Application #1 launches (loads and runs) the program which has been designated in the Directories window. Directories is accessed via Option on the main menu. Usually the application is a word processor. Apropos passes the filename, as it is shown in the record, to the application. App. 2 Application #2 launches (loads and runs) the program which has been designated in the Directories window. Directories is accessed via Option on the main menu. Apropos passes the filename, as it is shown in the current record, to the application. Launch Launch runs another program (often a shell or utility) from within Apropos. A prompt appears for the command line data, which should include the disk drive, path, filename and file extension, e.g. C:\PCTOOLS\PCSHELL.EXE. Use the Check Boxes [X] to indicate whether the filename from the current record should be passed to the application and whether Apropos should swap itself to RAM or disk before execution. Note: Swapping may be very slow on 8088-class computers. Find Find carries out a free-form search of text in the current document database, including the user-created documents associated with it. Type up to 30 characters of the desired text. Tab to the word Forward or Backward and press Enter 87 Chapter 10: Reference - Document to initiate the search. If the text is found, the record containing the text will be displayed on the Document Management screen. To find another occurrence of the same text, invoke Find again. Apropos presents an error message if the search text was not found. Next Next displays the next record in the Document database. The sort order is based on the setting of the active index. The current index is indicated near the bottom of the Document Management screen, e.g. Index: Title. Previous Previous displays the previous record in the Document database. The sort order is based on the setting of the active index. The current index is indicated near the bottom of the Document Management screen, e.g. Index: Title. List List displays a list of all documents. The documents are sorted in alphabetical order based on the requested active index, usually the title. They can also be sorted chronologically, based on the last revision date or by keywords Ten documents are displayed on the screen at a time. Use the Next and Previous commands or the PageUp and PageDown keys to page through the Document list. Search Search prompts for a number of characters and then carries out a rapid search of the active index in the current document 88 Chapter 10: Reference - Document database for a match.. The record containing the search text is displayed, if it is found. Otherwise, the next greater record is displayed. Note: The search inquiry is restricted to the active index. For instance, if the active index is set to the Date field, Search will attempt to find the text among all the dates in Date field but will not look in the remaining fields such as Title. If Exact Match Required is selected in the Check Box [X], the entire text must be identical. Otherwise, Search returns an error. Add Add prepares a fresh screen in order to add a new document to the database. Use the Tab key to proceed from one field to the next. Apropos automatically inserts the date that the document was created and the date of the last revision. Edit Edit permits changes to an existing document record. After making any modifications to the document information, use Save to ensure that changes are stored in the database. For creating new entries, choose Add. Note: Be careful when altering the filename of an existing document, as Apropos will create the new filename and lose track of the original document. Abort Abort abandons any changes or additions made to an existing document entry. It redisplays the unchanged version. If the Abort command is not available, it means 89 Chapter 10: Reference - Document that the existing data on the screen has not been altered. Save Save writes the existing data for the document to the database. If the Save command is not available, it means that the existing data has not been altered and therefore does not need to be saved. Delete Delete erases the current document and record from the database. Caution: Deleted records and documents cannot be recovered. Press Escape, or Tab to Cancel to back out of deleting a document. Index Index is used to advise Apropos of the field on which it should base the sorting of documents. Thus, the records can be displayed according to the date of the last revision or alphabetically according to the filename etc. Note: Any change made to the active index from this screen is only temporary. Apropos will revert to the default index once you exit this screen. To make a permanent change to the default index for Documents, refer to the Option menu and the Preferences window. Normally, documents are sorted according to Title. Quit Quit closes the Document Management screen and returns to the main menu of Apropos. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive 90 Chapter 10: Reference - Document help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Title Title contains the title of the document which is being included in this record, e.g. August '93 Notes Description Description is an explanation of the contents of the document, e.g. Progress notes in preparation for annual meeting. Filename Filename holds the actual DOS name of the document file as it will be passed to the word processor. It may include the disk drive, path, filename and extension, e.g. C:\WP51\AUG93.TXT. Keyword #1 Keyword #1 is an optional field which is useful for rapid sorting and searching of documents. It can be used to maintain a category, e.g. August. It can also be a keyword contained in the document, e.g. Legal. Keyword #2 Keyword #2 is an optional field which is useful for rapid sorting and searching of documents. It can be used to maintain a category, e.g. Personal. It can also be a keyword contained in the document, e.g. Commercial. 91 Chapter 10: Reference - Document Keyword #3 Keyword #3 is an optional field which is useful for rapid sorting and searching of documents. It can be used to maintain a category, e.g. Offers. It can also be a keyword contained in the document, e.g. Powell. Keyword #4 Keyword #4 is an optional field which is useful for rapid sorting and searching of documents. It can be used to maintain a category, e.g. Billings. It can also be a keyword contained in the document, e.g. Discount. 92 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Archives Archiving compresses the size of data files for long-term storage, for backups, to save disk space, and/or for efficient transfer to another computer. The same files can be unarchived to restore them to the normal format used by Apropos. Parameters can be used in order to select the range of records (starting point and ending point) to be archived or unarchived. For instance, this would allow for archival storage of contact records and documents which have been inactive for a given number of months or years. Archive Archive copies selected records into a new file and stores them in a compressed format. This process can be carried out on Contacts, Activities and Documents. It is often used to store inactive records. A starting point and an ending point can be provided to narrow the range of records which are to be archived. For instance, to archive all contacts from A to F, Starting With would be set at A and Ending With would be set at F. To archive only those contacts in Quebec City, Starting With would be set at Quebec City and Ending With would also be set at Quebec City. Contacts Options Directory File Description Starting With/Ending With Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete 93 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Activities Options Directory File Description Starting With/Ending With Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Documents Options Directory File Description Starting With/Ending With Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Contacts Contacts gives access to the archiving of databases used in the Contact Management screen. Options Options provides a Check Box [X] for Erase After. This is to indicate whether the records which are to be copied into the archive file should be deleted from the active file after completion of the compression operation. Directory Directory holds the disk drive, path and directory where the archived file will be stored. 94 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives File File is the name of the archived file (up to 8 characters, no extension), such as CONT92. Description Description is a short explanation of the contents of the archive for future reference. For instance, Contacts to Aug. 1993. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be archived. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To archive all contacts up to January 1, 1993, enter 01/01/80 under Starting With (the default start point) and 01/01/93 under Ending With. Ok Ok initiates the archiving operation based on the parameters which have been supplied in the data area. Cancel Cancel aborts the archiving operation and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves an archive definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for archiving. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With parameters) for records which are to be compressed. 95 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Save Save stores the parameters for archiving. For instance, the saved definition file may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With parameters) for records which are to be compressed. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future archiving. A name for the file must be given, e.g. CONDEF1. Delete Delete erases the selected archive definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Activities Activities gives access to the archiving of databases used in the Activity Management screen. Options Options provides a Check Box [X] for Erase After. This is to indicate whether the records which are to be copied into the archive file should be deleted from the active file after completion of the compression operation. Directory Directory holds the disk drive, path and directory where the archived file will be stored. File File is the name of the archived file (up to 8 characters, no extension), such as ACTIV92. 96 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Description Description is a short explanation of the contents of the archive for future reference. For instance, Activities to June 1993. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be archived. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To archive all activities up to January 1, 1993, enter 01/01/80 under Starting With (the default start point) and 01/01/93 under Ending With. Ok Ok initiates the archiving operation based on the parameters which have been supplied in the data area. Cancel Cancel aborts the archiving operation and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves an archive definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for archiving. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be compressed. Save Save stores the parameters for archiving. For instance, the saved definition file may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be compressed. Once saved, the definition 97 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future archiving. A name for the definition file must be given, e.g. ACTDEF1. Delete Delete erases the selected archive definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Documents Documents gives access to the archiving of databases used in the Document Management screen. Options Options provides a Check Box [X] for Erase After. This is to indicate whether the documents and records which are to be copied into the archive file should be deleted from the active file after completion of the compression operation. Directory Directory holds the disk drive, path and directory where the archived file will be stored. File File is the name of the archived file (up to 8 characters, no extension), such as DOCS93. Description Description is a short explanation of the contents of the archive for future reference. For instance, Documents January to June 1993. 98 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be archived. If the fields are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To archive all documents up to January 1, 1993, enter 01/01/80 under Starting With (the default start point) and 01/01/93 under Ending With. Ok Ok initiates the archiving operation based on the parameters which have been supplied in the data area. Cancel Cancel aborts the archiving operation and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves an archive definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for archiving. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be compressed. Save Save stores the parameters for archiving. For instance, the saved definition file may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be compressed. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future archiving. A name for the definition file must be given, e.g. DOCDEF2. 99 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Delete Delete erases the selected archive definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Unarchive Unarchive restores selected records from the compressed format into the regular format used within Apropos. This process can be carried out on Contacts, Activities and Documents. It can be used to recall previously-stored inactive records. Starting With and Ending With may be used to narrow the range of records which are to be restored (unarchived). For instance, to unarchive only the contacts from A to F, Starting With would be set at A and Ending With would be set at F. To restore only those contacts in Quebec City, Starting With would be set at Quebec City and the Ending With would also be set at Quebec City. Contacts Options Directory File Description Starting With/Ending With Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Activities Options Directory File Description Starting With/Ending With 100 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Documents Options Directory File Description Starting With/Ending With Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Contacts Contacts gives access to the unarchiving of databases used in the Contact Management screen. Options Options provides a choice between two Radio Buttons (.), Do Not Overwrite or Overwrite. This is to tell Apropos whether the records which are to be restored from the archive file will replace those which already exist in the active file. Caution: Records which have been overwritten by unarchived records will no longer be available. Directory Directory holds the disk drive, path and directory where the file to be unarchived has been stored. 101 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives File File is the name of the archive file which is to be unarchived (restored), e.g. CONT92. If Apropos is unable to locate the archive file name, an error will be generated. To avoid difficulties with filenames, it is best to Save the filename along with other parameters in a definition file. Description Description is a short explanation of the contents of the archive and its purpose. For instance, Unarchive of Dec. 1992 contacts. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be unarchived. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To unarchive all contacts up to January 1, 1993, enter 01/01/80 under Starting With (the default start point) and 01/01/93 under Ending With. Ok Ok initiates the unarchiving operation based on the parameters or ranges which have been supplied in the data area. Cancel Cancel aborts the unarchiving operation and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves an unarchive definition file which has previously been saved. A 102 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives definition file stores the parameters for unarchiving. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be restored. Save Save stores the parameters for unarchiving. For instance, the saved definition file should include the archived filename, a description of the contents and any ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be restored. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future unarchiving. A filename must be given for the definition, e.g. CONUN1. Delete Delete erases the selected unarchive definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Activities Activities allows for the unarchiving of databases used in the Activity Management screen. Options Options provides a choice between two Radio Buttons (.), Do Not Overwrite or Overwrite. This is to tell Apropos whether the records which are to be restored from the archive file will replace those which already exist in the active file. Caution: Records which have been overwritten by unarchived records will no longer be available. 103 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Directory Directory holds the disk drive, path and directory where the file to be unarchived has been stored. File File is the name of the archive file which is to be unarchived (restored), e.g. ACT92. If Apropos is unable to locate the archive file name, an error will be generated. To avoid difficulties with filenames, it is best to Save the filename along with other parameters in a definition file. Description Description is a short explanation of the contents of the archive and its purpose. For instance, Unarchive pre-94 contacts. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be unarchived. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To unarchive all activities up to January 1, 1993, enter 01/01/80 under Starting With (the default start point) and 01/01/93 under Ending With. Ok Ok initiates the unarchiving operation based on the parameters or ranges which have been supplied in the data area. Cancel Cancel aborts the unarchiving operation and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. 104 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Load Load retrieves an unarchive definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for unarchiving. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be restored. Save Save stores the parameters for unarchiving. For instance, the saved definition file should include the archived filename, a description of the contents and any ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be restored. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future unarchiving. A filename must be given for the definition, e.g. ACTUN1. Delete Delete erases the selected unarchive definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Documents Documents gives access to the unarchiving of databases used in the Document Management screen. Options Options provides a choice between two Radio Buttons (.), Do Not Overwrite or Overwrite. This is to tell Apropos whether the records which are to be restored from the archive file will replace those which already exist in the active file. Caution: Records which have been overwritten by 105 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives unarchived records will no longer be available. Directory Directory holds the disk drive, path and directory where the file to be unarchived has been stored. File File is the name of the archive file which is to be unarchived (restored), e.g. DOCS92. If Apropos is unable to locate the archive file name here an error will be generated. To avoid difficulties with filenames, it is best to Save the filename along with other parameters in a definition file. Description Description is a short explanation of the contents of the archive and its purpose. For instance, Unarchive 1992 documents. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be unarchived. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To unarchive all documents created or revised since January 1, 1992, enter 01/01/92 under Starting With, and then enter 01/01/80 (the default ending point) under Ending With. Ok Ok initiates the unarchiving operation based on the parameters or ranges which have been supplied in the data area. Cancel Cancel aborts the unarchiving operation and returns directly to the main menu. 106 Chapter 10: Reference - Archives Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves an unarchive definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for unarchiving. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be restored. Save Save stores the parameters for unarchiving. For instance, the saved definition file should include the archived filename, a description of the contents and any ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be restored. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future unarchiving. A filename must be given for the definition, e.g. DOCUN1. Delete Delete erases the selected unarchive definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. 107 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Reports Reports prepares a summary of Contacts, Activities, Documents or Telephone Calls. The content of the report is configurable by designating the Fields to be used, and by setting a range of values under Starting With and Ending With. The sort order of the entries is based on the active index. The report can be printed to the screen, to the printer or to a file. Note: Unless Apropos and the printer are configured to print over 80 columns, do not choose fields whose length totals more than 80 characters. Contact Index Fields Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Destination Options Title Starting With/Ending With Activity Index Fields Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Destination Options Title Starting With/Ending With Document Index Fields 108 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Destination Options Title Starting With/Ending With Phone Call History Index Fields Ok Cancel Help Load Save Delete Destination Options Title Starting With/Ending With Contact Index Index is used to advise Apropos of the field on which it should base the sorting of records. Thus, the records can be printed in the report alphabetically according to the first letter(s) of the reference, the company, the contact name, the telephone number, etc. The index can also be set to a date. Note: Any change made to the active index from this screen is only temporary. Apropos will revert to the default index once you exit this screen. To make a permanent change to the default index for Contacts, refer to the Option menu and the Preferences window. 109 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Fields Fields indicates the fields of data which can be selected for inclusion in the report. A window opens to display the names of the eligible fields. The number of characters for the field is indicated in brackets. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to highlight and scroll through the fields. Press Enter or Space on a highlighted field to mark it with a checkmark for inclusion in the report. Note: Unless Apropos and the printer are configured for more than 80 columns, Apropos will limit the printout to 80 characters per line, truncating the remainder. Ok Ok generates a report based on the parameters or ranges which have been supplied in the data area and the fields which have been selected for inclusion. A report may be printed to the screen, to a printer or to a file. Cancel Cancel aborts the generation of the report and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves a report definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for 110 Chapter 10: Reference - Report reporting. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in the report, as well as the designated fields. Save Save stores the parameters for report generation. For instance, the saved definition file may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in a report, as well as the designated fields. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future reporting. Delete Delete erases the selected report definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Destination Destination Radio Buttons(.) indicate whether the report should be printed to the screen, to the printer or to a file. Note: If field lengths totalling more than 80 characters per line have been selected under Fields, and if output to an 80 column printer has been selected, Apropos will print only the first 80 characters, ignoring remaining fields. Options Options presents Check Boxes [X] to include or exclude a Title, Page Numbers, and/or a Date/Time stamp in the report. All, some, or none of the options can be 111 Chapter 10: Reference - Report selected. For a title to appear on the report, it must be entered in the Title field. Title Title is a short description of the report. The title will be printed as part of the header if you have checked the Title box under Options. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be included in the report. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To limit the report to Companies from A to H, enter A under Starting With, and then enter H under Ending With. Activity Index Index is used to advise Apropos of the field on which it should base the sorting of records. Thus, the records can be printed in the report alphabetically according to the first letter(s) of the reference, the company, the action, the status, etc. Note: Any change made to the active index from this screen is only temporary. Apropos will revert to the default index once you exit this screen. To make a permanent change to the default index for Activities, refer to the Option menu and the Preferences window. Fields Fields indicates the fields of data which can be selected for inclusion in the report. A window opens to display the 112 Chapter 10: Reference - Report names of the eligible fields. The number of characters for the field is indicated in brackets. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to highlight and scroll through the fields. Press Enter or Space on a highlighted field to mark it with a checkmark for inclusion in the report. Pressing Enter or the space bar a second time unselects the highlighted field. Note: Unless Apropos and the printer are configured for more than 80 columns, Apropos will limit the printout to 80 characters per line, truncating the remainder. Ok Ok generates a report based on the parameters or ranges which have been supplied in the data area and the fields which have been selected for inclusion. A report may be printed to the screen, to a printer or to a file. Cancel Cancel aborts the generation of the report and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves a report definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for reporting. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in 113 Chapter 10: Reference - Report the report, as well as the designated fields. Save Save stores the parameters for report generation. For instance, the saved definition file may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in a report, as well as the designated fields. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future reporting. Delete Delete erases the selected report definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Destination Destination Radio Buttons(.) indicate whether the report should be printed to the screen, to the printer or to a file. Note: If field lengths totalling more than 80 characters per line have been selected under Fields, and if output to an 80 column printer has been selected, Apropos will print only the first 80 characters, ignoring remaining fields. Options Options presents Check Boxes[X] to include or exclude a Title, Page Numbers, and/or a Date/Time stamp in the report. All, some, or none of the options can be selected. For a title to appear on the report, it must be entered in the Title field. 114 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Title Title is a short description of the report. The title will be printed as part of the header if you have checked the Title box under Options. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be included in the report. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To limit the report to activities between 01/01/92 and 03/03/92, enter 01/01/92 under Starting With, and then enter 03/03/92 under Ending With. Document Index Index is used to advise Apropos of the field on which it should base the sorting of records. Thus, the records can be printed in the report alphabetically according to the first letter(s) of the title, a keyword or according to the date. Note: Any change made to the active index from this screen is only temporary. Apropos will revert to the default index once you exit this screen. To make a permanent change to the default index for Documents, refer to the Option menu and the Preferences window. Fields Fields indicates the fields of data which can be selected for inclusion in the report. A window opens to display the names of the eligible fields. The number of characters for the field is indicated in brackets. Use the Up Arrow and Down 115 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Arrow keys to highlight and scroll through the fields. Press Enter or Space on a highlighted field to mark it with a checkmark for inclusion in the report. Pressing Enter or the space bar a second time unselects the highlighted field. Note: Unless Apropos and the printer are configured for more than 80 columns, Apropos will limit the printout to 80 characters per line, truncating the remainder. Ok Ok generates a report based on the parameters or ranges which have been supplied in the data area and the fields which have been selected for inclusion. A report may be printed to the screen, to a printer or to a file. Cancel Cancel aborts the generation of the report and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves a report definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for reporting. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in the report as well as the designated fields. 116 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Save Save stores the parameters for report generation. For instance, the saved definition file may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in a report, as well as the designated fields. Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future reporting. Delete Delete erases the selected report definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Destination Destination Radio Buttons(.) indicate whether the report should be printed to the screen, to the printer or to a file. Note: If field lengths totalling more than 80 characters per line have been selected under Fields, and if output to an 80 column printer has been selected, Apropos will print only the first 80 characters, ignoring remaining fields. Options Options presents Check Boxes[X] to include or exclude a Title, Page Numbers, and/or a Date/Time stamp in the report. All, some, or none of the options can be selected. For a title to appear on the report, it must be entered in the Title field. 117 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Title Title is a short description of the report. The title will be printed as part of the header if you have checked the Title box under Options. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be included in the report. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To limit the report to titles from A to C, enter A under Starting With, and then enter C under Ending With. Phone Call History Index Index is used to advise Apropos of the field on which it should base the sorting of records. Thus, the records can be printed in the report alphabetically according to the company or according to the date Fields Fields indicates the fields of data which can be selected for inclusion in the report. A window opens to display the names of the eligible fields. The number of characters for the field is indicated in brackets. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to highlight and scroll through the fields. Press Enter or Space on a highlighted field to mark it with a checkmark for inclusion in the report. Pressing Enter or the space bar a second time unselects the highlighted field. Note: Unless Apropos and the printer are configured for more than 80 columns, 118 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Apropos will limit the printout to 80 characters per line, truncating the remainder. Ok Ok generates a report based on the parameters or ranges which have been supplied in the data area and the fields which have been selected for inclusion. A report may be printed to the screen, to a printer or to a file. Cancel Cancel aborts the generation of the report and returns directly to the main menu. Help Help provides on-line assistance for Apropos options. For context-sensitive help, use Tab to highlight the command and press F1. Load Load retrieves a report definition file which has previously been saved. A definition file stores the parameters for reporting. For instance, it may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in the report, as well as the designated fields. Save Save stores the parameters for report generation. For instance, the saved definition file may include the ranges (Starting With and Ending With) for records which are to be included in a report, as well as the designated fields. 119 Chapter 10: Reference - Report Once saved, the definition file may be loaded on a later occasion thereby saving time in future reporting. Delete Delete erases the selected report definition file. It displays a directory of definition files (if there are any). Press Enter to Delete the file or Esc to abort the deletion. Destination Destination Radio Buttons(.) indicate whether the report should be printed to the screen, to the printer or to a file. Note: If field lengths totalling more than 80 characters per line have been selected under Fields, and if output to an 80 column printer has been selected, Apropos will print only the first 80 characters, ignoring remaining fields. Options Options presents Check Boxes[X] to include or exclude a Title, Page Numbers, and/or a Date/Time stamp in the report. All, some, or none of the options can be selected. For a title to appear on the report, it must be entered in the Title field. Title Title is a short description of the report. The title will be printed as part of the header if you have checked the Title box under Options. Starting With/Ending With Starting With/Ending With are used to select the range of records to be included 120 Chapter 10: Reference - Report in the report. If the areas are left blank, Apropos uses the entire available range. To limit the report to calls between 01/01/92 and 03/03/92, enter 01/01/92 under Starting With, and then enter 03/03/92 under Ending With. 121 Chapter 10: Reference - Help Help Apropos provides context-sensitive help for virtually all program functions and menu choices. To obtain online help for a particular feature, press F1 when that feature is selected or highlighted. Press Escape to remove the help window and return to the program. 122 INDEX A Activity Management Add, 33 Calendar, 38, 80 Conflict, 34, 80 Contacts, 79 features, 79 Find, 39, 81 Index, 83 List, 35, 81 Note, 38, 81 Priority, 34 Schedule, 35, 80 Search, 39, 82 tutorial, 33 Add activities, 33 contact, 28 documents, 41 Alt keys, 7 Applications, 87 wordprocessor, 40 Archives, 52 Erase After, 94 features, 93 ranges, 93 storage, 55 Autodialer COM port, 19 using, 30 using modem, 71 B Backups, 57 C Calendar, 38 display, 80 Cancel command, 10 with mouse, 10 Check boxes, 10 Checkmark report fields, 48 Close 123 files, 61 Code fields, 85 Colours, 65 option, 56 COM port, 19 Configuration date format, 19 devices, 18 preferences, 18 time, 66 Conflict activities, 80 Conflicts Activities, 36 Connect autodialer, 71 with autodialer, 30 Contact Management Add, 22, 28 Connect, 30 Edit, 26 entering data, 22 Find, 29 History, 32 List, 29 menu, 67 Note, 28 phone numbers, 24 Profile, 26 screen, 22 tutorial, 17 Cursor keys, 7 D Date format, 19, 66 in reports, 111 Delete, 44 database files, 62 DESQview use with, 56 Destination printer, 48 reporting, 111 reports, 120 Devices 124 configuration, 65 modem, 19 printer setup, 46 Dial modem data, 65 Document Management Add, 41 Delete, 44 features, 86 Find, 44, 87 Index, 42, 90 Launch, 43, 87 List, 44 screen, 41 Search, 88 tutorial, 40 wordprocessor, 40 E Edit, 26 documents, 89 Ending date Schedule, 36 Ending With example, 50, 51 in archives, 55, 95 use in reporting, 112 Enter key, 7 Erase after archiving, 94 Error message too many files, 58 Escape key, 6 F F1, 122 online help, 6 Fields, 23 data entry, 11 inclusion in reports, 112 length in reports, 111 printing reports, 110 File archive, 52 archives, 55 Close, 61 directories, 11, 64 125 menu, 61 names, 21 names and extensions, 58 New, 20 Open, 20 rebuilding corrupted, 53 report definition, 51 Save, 25 Files= statement in CONFIG.SYS, 58 Find, 29 activity, 39 contacts, 72 documents, 44 free form search, 81 Frequency repeat activities, 36, 80 H Hangup, 31 modem, 71 Help about, 122 F1, 6 History, 32 telephone calls, 71 Hotkeys, 7 I Index contacts, 74 example, 42 in Activity reports, 112 in Contact reports, 109 sorting in reports, 115 Index function, 42 INSTALL.EXE, 13 Installation directory, 14 Quick start, 15 setup, 13 International 24 hour clock, 27 date, 19 date format, 66 postal codes, 24, 77 time format, 66 126 K Keys Alt-, 7 Arrow keys, 7 Enter, 7 Esc, 6 F1, 6 interface, 55 Shift-tab, 7 Tab, 7 Keywords, 91 documents, 41 L Launch, 43, 87 List, 29 Load program, 17 report definition, 51 with keystrokes, 11 with mouse, 12 M Menus backing out, 9 Checkboxes, 10 lightbar, 9 main menu, 59 pulldown, 8 types used, 8 using alt keys, 8 with mouse, 9 Modem autodialer, 30, 71 configuration, 19, 65 Mouse Close icon, 13 directories, 12 driver, 17 driver loading, 56 Radio buttons, 10 use of, 7 N New file creation, 61 Note, 28 activity description, 38 127 contact, 68 contact screen, 72 O Open loading a file, 61 Option menu, 64 Overwrite archives, 103 P Phone Call History Fields, 118 in Reports, 118 Portfolios Activities, 33, 79 Contacts, 21, 67 Documents, 41, 86 Preferences configuration, 57, 65 Printer configuration, 19, 65 number of characters, 48 Printing to file, 52 Priority, 34 activity conflict, 80 conflicts, 38 Profile contact, 68 data, 26 Q Quick start, 15 R Radio buttons, 9 with mouse, 10 Range of data in reports, 49 Readme.doc, 15 Rebuild, 53 repairing files, 62 Reference code Activities, 33 REFerence field, 22 Repeat activities, 80 Report 128 definition file, 51 Index, 109 Reporting definition file, 51 Destination, 48 destination, 111 example, 47 including fields, 48 page numbers, 49 printing to disk file, 52 Reports features, 108 tutorial, 46 S Save, 25 definition files, 96 Schedule, 35 activities, 80 Scope conflicts, 37 Search activity, 39 contacts, 73 documents, 44 Separator character, 66 Shell to DOS, 62 Sorting, 42 Special codes, 78 Starting With example, 50, 51 in archives, 55, 95 use in reporting, 112 Swapping, 64 System About, 60 requirements, 55 T Tab between fields, 11 Tab key, 7 Telephone with autodialer, 30 Time format, 66 in report header, 49 129 Title in reports, 112 To repeating activities, 36 TSRs, 58 U Unarchive features, 100 overwrite, 101 storage, 55 W Windows moving and resizing, 56 use with, 56 Wordprocessor within Apropos, 40 130