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1992-10-05
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
CONTENTS
I. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. LICENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
III. TECHNICAL SUPPORT (HOW TO REACH ME) . . . . . . . . . . 1
IV. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
V. REGISTRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A. Upgrades Are Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
B. The Other Five Benefits of Registration . . . . . . 3
C. How Much Does Such a Priceless Gem Cost? . . . . . . 4
D. How to Get a FREE Registered Edition . . . . . . . . 5
VI. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
VII. FILES WHICH MAKE UP THE PACKAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
VIII. RUNNING What Mailing List? FOR THE FIRST TIME . . . . . 8
A. Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
B. Using a Monochrome Monitor with a Colour Card . . . 9
C. Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
D. Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
IX. MANAGING FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
A. Creating a New File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
B. Opening an Existing File . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
C. Saving a File / Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
D. Deleting a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
E. Making Back-up Copies of Your Files . . . . . . . 12
F. Restoring Files from a Back-up Copy . . . . . . . 13
G. Formatting Floppy Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
H. Fixing Damaged Index Files (Re-Indexing) . . . . . 13
I. Removing Records Which Are Marked for Deletion
(Packing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
J. Importing Data from Other Software . . . . . . . . 14
1. Importing ASCII Files (14) _____________________
2. Importing WML 1.x Files (15) _______________________
3. Importing WML 2.x Files (16) _______________________
4. Importing Other dBase Files (16) ___________________________
K. Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1. WordPerfect Merge (17) _________________
-i-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
2. Microsoft Word Merge (17) ____________________
3. Ventura Publisher (17) _________________
L. SELECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1. Selection Examples (18) __________________
M. PRINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1. Group List (20) __________
2. Phone Book (20) __________
3. Laser Envelopes (21) _______________
4. Laser Labels (22) ____________
5. Continuous Labels (dot matrix) (22) ______________________________
X. DATA ENTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
A. Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1. Special Keys and Moving Through the File (23) ________________________________________
2. Using Filters (23) _____________
3. Help, Find, and Group (F1/F2/F3) (24) ________________________________
4. Adding New Records (25) __________________
5. Changing Existing Records (26) _________________________
6. Using the Delete/Omit/Bad Address Flags (26) _______________________________________
7. Using Smart Zip (27) _______________
B. Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
C. Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
XI. INDEXING (CONTROLLING THE SORTING SEQUENCE OF
ENTRIES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
A. Changing the Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
B. Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1. Setting a Filter (29) ________________
2. Clearing a Filter (30) _________________
XII. PREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A. Setting Your Return Addresses . . . . . . . . . . 30
B. Choosing a Back-up Method . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
C. Mailing to Various Countries (Country setting) . . 31
D. Setting Envelope Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
E. Selecting Continuous (Dot Matrix) Label Types . . 32
F. Defining your Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1. Default Directory for Laser Printer Soft Fonts _______________________________________________
(33)
G. Duplicate Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
XIII. HELP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
-ii-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
I. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
THIS SOFTWARE PROGRAM AND DOCUMENTATION ("WML") IS PROVIDED
"AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THOSE CONCERNING MERCHANTABILITY
AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. BY USING WML, YOU ARE
EXPRESSLY RELEASING ANGEL BABUDRO FROM ANY LIABILITY RESULTING
FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION. YOU MUST ASSUME
THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING WML. YOU ARE ADVISED TO TEST AND
SUPERVISE WML THOROUGHLY BEFORE RELYING ON IT.
II. LICENSE
1. WML is being distributed as Shareware. This program is
not free. WML is licensed for individual personal use and
evaluation for an unlimited time. Use and evaluation by
businesses, corporations or individuals in a commercial venture
is limited to 60 days, after which time the REGISTERED Edition of
WML must be purchased or the use of Unregistered Edition of WML
must be discontinued.
2. You may keep as many backup copies of WML as you wish,
but you may not run WML simultaneously on more than one computer.
Additionally, you are granted the right to share WML with others,
as long as you distribute the WML archive exactly as you received
it, with all associated files included. REGISTERED USERS MAY NOT
DISTRIBUTE THE SEPARATE FILE CONFIG.WDT since it contains the
registered user's name.
3. Under no circumstances may you charge any fee or receive
any other form of consideration for distributing the WML files
without express written consent from the copyright holder, Angel
Babudro, other than to charge a fee of not more than US$6 (six
dollars) which shall be solely for the service of distribution.
(Put another way, I sell the software, you sell your service.)
III. TECHNICAL SUPPORT (HOW TO REACH ME)
Thanks for trying my software. Please throw your comments,
suggestions, criticisms, etc. my way. Check out the Registration
section below for ways to get a free registered copy of WML.
Sysops and shareware vendors please see VEND-BBS.DOC for
distribution information and sysop pricing.
-1-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
Mail Angel Babudro, "Organic Computer Wizardry",
28 Mulberry Street, Clinton, NY USA 13323-1506
Phone (315) 853-6942 9am - 5pm Eastern Time, Mon-Fri
BBS Angelo Babudro
West Coast Researcher's BBS, So Cal (805) 949-8151 USR DS
East Coast Nite-Air, Central NY (315) 339-8831 USR 14.4
Odie's PCBoard Central NY (315) 339-6713 USR DS
IV. INTRODUCTION
Introducing What Mailing List? version 2.0. Since it's
beginning in the summer of 1989, WML was written using
QuickSilver. I gave the dBase world my best go, but it's too
slow and bulky, so WML has been re-written in PDS/BASIC 7.1.
Thanks to Researcher's BBS sysop Skip Taylor for all his beta
testing and for urging me back to BASIC, and a strong
recommendation for EZ-Windows by John Strong to other QB/PDS
programmers. Thanks to HDM author Jim Haas for checking out WML
and reporting bugs, as well as for HDM, my favourite of the dozen
or so menu shells I've ever tried.
What Mailing List? provides a simple and flexible way to
easily manage and print mailing lists. I made WML to keep track
of customers, friends, family, etc. and print envelopes or
labels. My focus has been providing the tools to track
relatively small amounts of information (on the order of 500 to
2,000 names per list, in up to 250 lists). WML is ideally suited
for those times when you want a good-looking, laser-printed
envelope or dot matrix label -- but just one or two, not a
thousand. I print single envelopes on my laser and labels on my
dot matrix using WML regularly; it's very fast and easy to do.
Learning WML can probably be done as you are using it,
without little or no help from this manual. Keep an eye on the
bottom of the screen since that is where I put special function
keys. If you use a mouse, most of these commands can be accessed
with the mouse as well. You cannot unknowingly erase anything --
WML will always warn you before you erase any information and ask
your permission to continue.
This shareware manual is intended for computer-literate
people who have a good understanding of computers, MS-DOS, and at
least a theoretical understanding of what a data base is. A
typeset manual is available to registered users which is more
-2-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
thorough, covering subjects for the computer novice as well as
more technical topics not covered here.
Any trademarks I happen to mention here are, of course,
property of their respective owners.
V. REGISTRATION
Registration entitles you to many benefits. You will get
the latest version of WML, some soft fonts, and there is no
reason to wait because version 2 upgrades are free!
A. Upgrades Are Free
That's right. Register yourself for WML version 2 and your
registration is valid for ALL releases of WML version 2 . You
can download the latest version from a bulletin board and it will
run in "Registered Mode" for you. If you cannot find WML on a
bulletin board in your area, tell your sysop you want it and give
her/him my address and/or BBS contact numbers.
If, for some reason, I must provide a new registration file
due to programming considerations, or if you want to get a new
disk through the mail, I will provide upgrades from any prior
version of WML on disk for seven dollars (US$7), including
shipping, to U.S. addresses; Cdn$14 to Canadian addresses; other
countries please contact me. Prices are subject to change, but
basically I just want to cover all my costs and give the upgrade
for free.
B. The Other Five Benefits of Registration
1. You will receive free soft fonts for use with WML and a
PCL laser printer, including a postal bar code font.
2. You may order the complete manual, printed & bound or
on-disk/ready to print for your laser printer.
3. The 7-second pause at start-up will go away.
4. Technical Support: My 4-month-old son handles all the
tech support calls ;), but for everything else you will
have a real person who is 100% knowledgeable about WML
whom you can contact with suggestions, comments,
questions, problems, etc.
5. You'll have helped one of the little guys -- someone who
isn't a huge corporation. (Thank you...)
-3-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
C. How Much Does Such a Priceless Gem Cost?
Single Copy -- A single copy costs $25 in U.S. or Canadian funds;
I wish there weren't any exchange rate, so I'm willing to
forget that there is one... You will receive the latest,
Registered Edition of What Mailing List? with automated
installation, the latest revision of this documentation on
disk, some PCL soft fonts that I have put together
(including a postal bar code font), and notification of
updates. See below for detailed manuals on paper or disk.
Multiple Copies / Wholesale -- If you would like to resell What
Mailing List?, give it to clients as a promotional item,
have multiple locations at which you would like to install
WML, etc., please send:
Qty. 2-4 $15.00/disk
Qty. 5-8 $12.50/disk
Qty. 9 or more $11.50/disk
Site License -- purchase one copy of WML and use it on as many
computers as necessary at a single location of a single
business.
Up to 4 computers $50.00
Up to 10 computers $100.00
Up to 20 computers $150.00
Any number of computers $400.00
Manuals -- these are typeset with Ventura Publisher, printed on a
laser printer, and bound in a flexible binder (very nice
looking). Every screen is shown and explained, basic
computer and data base terminology are discussed, and an
index is included to locate topics quickly. Although I
want people to have and use these manuals, I am concerned
about our planet hurting from deforestation, so I would
like to encourage people to only order manuals if
necessary. Experienced users will probably have little
need for these detailed manuals; they are intended more for
the occasional or novice computer user. Purchasing
multiple copies or a Site License gives you the right to
photocopy the manual yourself, if you prefer, for the
number of copies purchased or number of computers licensed.
Pricing for manuals is as follows:
First copy $8.00
2nd through 4th copies on same order $7.00 each
5th copy and beyond on same order $6.00 each
-4-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
Formatted output of the detailed manual for
your printer from Ventura Publisher (many
megabytes, hard disk required) $5.00
D. How to Get a FREE Registered Edition
My Shareware career is just getting started, and I know I
need some help from all of you BBS users to be successful. So
here is how I'd like to thank you:
1. Write a review of one of my packages and post it on a bulletin
board. Send me a copy of the review with the BBS's header on
it and the name and phone number of the BBS. Just give me
your honest criticism and praise in a good review (not a one-
liner), and I'll send you a registered copy.
2. If you upload a package to at least five BBS's, send me the
names and phone numbers of the BBSs you uploaded to and I'll
send you a registered copy. Please be honest, folks; I want
your help, but this costs me money, after all...
3. If you have an idea that would make my software better please
send it to me. If I use your idea I will send you a
registered copy with your idea in it.
These offers subject to withdrawal or change at any time
without notices. Prices are subject to change without notice.
Bulletin Board Sysops please see the file VEND-BBS.DOC for
special pricing and information.
Angel Babudro
28 Mulberry Street
Clinton, NY 13323-1506
(315) 853-6942
Please register the Shareware you keep.
-5-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
What Mailing List? INVOICE
Your Name______________________________________________________
Company Name___________________________________________________
Address________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
City_________________________ State/Prov_____ Zip code_________
WML disks Single copy - just $25
2-4 copies Qty _____ x $15 each
5-8 copies Qty _____ x $12.50 each
9 or more Qty _____ x $11.50 each _______
Site Up to 4 computers = $50.00
License Up to 10 computers = $100.00
Up to 20 computers = $150.00
Unlimited license = $400.00 _______
Printed One copy is $8
Manuals 2-4 copies Qty _____ x $7 each
5 or more Qty _____ x $6 each _______
Disk Manuals Full manual output from Ventura Pub.
Circle PCL or Postscript. $5.00 _______
Shipping & Please add $2 $2.00 _______
Expenses Please add $3 for 8" disks _______
Shipping to Canada add $5 extra _______
** T O T A L ** _______
Disk size & quantity [__] 3½" [__] 5¼" [__] 8"
Drive density [__] Low (DD) required [__] High (HD) ok
NOTE that WML has been delivered to and accepted by
customer. All prices are in U.S. or Canadian dollars. Please
contact me for orders to other countries. Orders to New York
State please add sales tax for your area or provide a copy of
your resale certificate.
Mail this page with your cash (use Registered mail), cheque
or money order to Angel Babudro, 28 Mulberry Street, Clinton, NY
13323-1506. Thank you!
-6-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
VI. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Any IBM-PC-compatible with a 720k floppy or better amd at
least 350k of free RAM will work. I recommend an 80286 or
faster, a hard disk, and MS/PC-DOS 3.3 or later. WML has been
tested on MS-DOS 3.3 and 5.0. It should work properly under PC-
DOS or MS-DOS version 3.1 or later. You will need about 400k of
disk space for WML and its necessary files plus disk space for
the files you will create. PCL laser printers are supported,
including the LaserJet III and its scalable fonts. Epson-type
printers are supported at this time. Please let me know your
printer type when ordering so I can make sure I have it in the
printer file.
WML will detect whether you have a monochrome or colour
card installed, but it cannot detect what type of monitor you
have. If you have a monochrome monitor with a colour card and
the screen is difficult to read, try starting with the "/M"
switch (for "M"onochrome): "WML /M".
WML was designed to manage relatively small mailing lists.
Although the system is capable of handling 5.5 millions names per
mailing list file, you would need a supercomputer or a lot of
time to manage it. A 386dx/20 handles 2,000 names or less well;
a 386dx/40 can handle 3,000; a PC/XT gets bogged down at around
700 names or so. I imagine that a 486dx can probably handle
4,000 to 7,000 names per list without much trouble. Remember,
you can have hundreds of files; these are just practical limits
for each of those files. Duplicate Checking slows things down,
so if you have a huge list or a very slow computer, you might
want to turn Dup Checking off.
WML supports two printers concurrently -- a laser printer
and a dot matrix printer on LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3. The laser
printer must be a PCL 1-5 printer (compatible with H-P LaserJet
I, II, or III). The dot matrix printer should be Epson- or
IBM-compatible. Please let me know which printer you have when
you register and I will be sure to include it. Also, please let
me know of any troubles you may have. I test everything on my
NEC P5300, but that's no guarantee that it'll work for you. So
check with me first if you have problems. Thanks!
-7-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
VII. FILES WHICH MAKE UP THE PACKAGE
What Mailing List? is made up of the following files:
WML.EXE The executable file
WML.HLP The help file
WML.TXT The ASCII text file of this document
WML.WP The WordPerfect file of this document (so you
can format it for your printer)
POSTAL.DAT Zip codes file
PRINTER.DAT Printer definition file
READ.ME A text file of late-breaking news; read this
first
ORDER.FRM Order form for all of my software
VEND-BBS.DOC Information file for BBS Sysops & Shareware
distributors
These are the files which are provided with the
unregistered package. Additional files will be created in the
same directory as you use WML. The Registered Edition also
contains:
*.SFP Portrait soft fonts
*.SFL Landscape soft fonts
MAILCODE.SFL Landscape USPS postal bar code font
VIII. RUNNING What Mailing List? FOR THE FIRST TIME
A. Quick Start
Type "WML" from the DOS prompt, press "P" to open the
Preferences menu. Go down the list and fill in each preference
window as necessary. Then use File/New to create a file, and
enjoy.
Before you can start entering addresses you will need to
create at least one mailing list file. Do this by selecting the
"New" option under "File" (described below). Before you can
print anything you will have to set your Preferences, at the very
least defining your printer(s).
Here's a more detailed explanation: Highlight
"Preferences" and press RETURN (or press the letter "P", or point
& click with your mouse) -- you will see a list of choices.
-8-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
Select each item by pressing the highlighted letter or by
highlighting it using the arrow keys and pressing <-+Enter.
After you are done setting your preferences, press ESC to
close the Preferences menu then press "F" for the File menu. If
no files are on disk, the only option available will be "New" and
"Exit". Press "N" and type a name for your mailing list file.
In a couple of seconds the list will be created and you'll be
ready to go. That's all there is to it!
WML should be installed in its own directory. This not
only help keep things organized on your hard disk, but it also
speeds up execution as there is not as large a directory to
search.
If you have old List Manager files or files made with WML
prior to 6/30/90 please refer to the section on Importing WML 1.x
Files. If you decide to place WML 2 in a different directory you
should move or copy all of your DBF files into the new directory.
Again, refer to the Importing WML 1.x Files section.
To start What Mailing List?, go to the disk and directory
which contains the programme (e.g., "C:" <Enter> "cd \WML"
<Enter>) and type "WML". In a second or two you will see the
welcome screen and the menu will appear. On unregistered copies
some licensing information is displayed and a 9-second reading
pause is enflicted upon the unregistered user...
B. Using a Monochrome Monitor with a Colour Card
If you have a monochrome (aka Black & White) monitor
connected to a colour adapter card then WML will use colours
which may not be very readable. CGA adapters are the worst, VGA
may look fine. In any case, you can start WML in monochrome mode
by using the "/M" switch like so:
WML /M
Add the "/M" to your WML.BAT file using a text editor. An
even better way is to use a menu, such as HDM. There are a few
screens which do not "listen" to the /M -- it's a low priority,
but I am working to fix this. Please let me know if you have
difficulty.
-9-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
C. Using the Menus
I have used what I understand to be an SAA-compliant
(Standard Applications Architecture, an IBM slogan) menu system.
Most folks know it better as the Macintosh or Windows menu
standard. Basically, there is a horizontal menu of choices --
File, Data Entry, etc. Under each of the horizontal choices is a
menu of functions pertaining to that item -- it is a two-
dimensional menu, in other words. The last item of the left-most
menu is always Exit, to end the programme or the sub-menu you are
on.
There are two ways to select an item from the main menu:
1. Press the letter which is highlighted in the option
description
2. Use the Up/Down/Right/Left arrows to highlight the
option you want then press <-+Enter (a.k.a. RETURN or
CR).
Some menus do not have highlighted options. On these menus
you must use the arrow keys to highlight your choice then press
<-+Enter.
If you want to cancel an operation you selected, just press
the Esc ("Escape") key.
D. Status Line
WML has two status lines: at the top & bottom of the
screen. At the top is the title of the programme and the WML
file you have open (if any). At the bottom of the screen is a
bar which looks like this:
Total|Selected|Bad/Omit|Pack|Index|01-01-1980
From left to right the items are:
1. Total records in the open file
2. Total records selected for printing
3. Total records bad or excluded from mailings
4. The word |Pack| if there are entries to be erased
5. Selected indexing method (name, company, address, or
zip).
6. To-day's date (so far as the computer knows). If you
have a filter chosen, this will be replaced with
"Filter" followed by:
-10-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
* "Sel" for Selected records only,
* "Del" for Deleted records only, or
* "SelDel" for both.
If the filter message is bright the selection is
unchanged, otherwise changes have occured. For
example, suppose you have set the filter to "Selected
Only" then cleared the selection status of a record.
The filter message would change to dim since the filter
is no longer accurate.
IX. MANAGING FILES
The choices under the File menu are New, Open, Close,
Delete, Back-up, Restore, Format Floppies, Index, Pack, Import,
Export, Select, Print, and Exit. Many of these options cannot be
used at certain times (e.g., you have an empty mailing list file
so the Select option is useless). When an option is not valid it
will be "gray" with no highlighted letter.
A. Creating a New File
File/New let's you create new mailing list files. Up to
250 files can be managed by What Mailing List? (if anyone ever
has a problem with this, let me know and I'll increase it). When
you press RETURN while this option is highlighted you will be
asked to enter a name for the new file. The name you enter will
be check for proper syntax. In addition you will be warned if
you enter the name of a file which already exists. A few seconds
after you enter a valid name, your new file will be created,
opened, and ready for use.
B. Opening an Existing File
Just like using a filing cabinet, you have to open a file
before you can see what's in it. File/Open let's you open a file
which has been previously created.
After you select this option you will be presented with a
list of the WML files in the current directory. Use the up and
down arrow keys to highlight the file you wish to use, then press
<-+Enter.
Note that entries will be displayed and printed in the
order indicated on the bottom status line. To change the sort
order use the Index menu.
-11-
What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
C. Saving a File / Close
WML saves your information every time you change something.
If you enter information and press the Esc key or click on a
"Cancel" button with your mouse a message will warn you about
losing any changes you have made. The only danger comes with a
power outage or anything else that causes WML to end improperly
(e.g., the reset button or Ctrl-Alt-Del are used). However, even
in this case the only thing you would have to do is re-index the
file -- no information would be lost.
Just the same, it's always safest to Close a file when you
will be away from your computer for a while. That way if
anything happens while you are away your information is saved.
The other use for Close is when you want to delete the open file.
The Delete function (below) will not let you delete an open file,
so you must close it first.
D. Deleting a File
WML contains all the tools you need to manage your mailing
list files. The File/Delete function gives you a convenient way
to remove files from your disk. When you select this option you
will get the same file list you see with the "Open" option.1
Highlight a file and press <-+Enter, and the computer will read
the name back to you (to be sure you picked the right one) and
ask for permission to continue. If you press <-+Enter (or click
on "Ok") then the file will be erased from the disk (along with
it's indices) and will no longer appear on lists.
E. Making Back-up Copies of Your Files
File/Back-up protects your information by allowing you to
copy it to another disk. Under the Preferences menu you should
have decided how you wanted to perform a back-up -- using the DOS
COPY command, ARJ, LHARC, or PKZIP. After you select this option
you will see a summary of the files to be backed-up. If you have
more than one floppy disk drive you will be asked to select one.
All WML data files will then be backed-up to the floppy disk.
Please see also the section on choosing a back-up method
under Preferences.
____________________
1 The list will not contain the name of the open file (if
any), only the files which are "put away."
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
F. Restoring Files from a Back-up Copy
If you ever need to recover data files from a floppy disk
you made using the Back-up command (above), just place the floppy
disk in its drive and select File/Restore. If you have more than
one floppy disk drive you will be asked to select one, then the
data files will be copied from the floppy disk onto your hard
disk.
G. Formatting Floppy Disks
This option is for those times when you have decided to
make a back-up copy of your data but don't have a formatted disk
handy. File/Format Floppies lets you format a floppy disk to
your computer's standard density without exiting WML. If you
have a high density drive you can only format high density disks
(in other words, WML doesn't pass any parameters to DOS FORMAT).
If you have What Floppy Format? (WFF.EXE) available
somewhere in your search path WML will automatically access it
for formatting floppy disks (so you can do whatever you want).
You will receive a complimentary copy of the latest version of
WFF with your WML registration.
H. Fixing Damaged Index Files (Re-Indexing)
Sometimes a data base's index files can be damaged. This
can typically happen with a power outage, Ctrl-Alt-Del while in
WML, etc. File/Re-Index allows you to re-build the indices for a
mailing list. Just open a file then select this option;
everything is automatic.
I. Removing Records Which Are Marked for Deletion
(Packing)
File/Pack is used to remove deleted records from the
mailing list data base which is currently in use. When an item
is marked for deletion from a mailing list file the records are
not removed from the data base until this option is chosen. This
can be handy if you accidentally mark a record for deletion
because you can "un-mark" it; or you could use this feature to
mark all the records you want to delete then review the records
on the screen before actually packing the file.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
J. Importing Data from Other Software
File/Import allows you to read data from other files to
become a part of the mailing list file you are using. Once you
select import, you will be shown a menu of file types:
- ASCII
- What Mailing List? 1.3 file
- What Mailing List? 2.x file
- Another dBase file
Highlight the type of file you would like to import and
press RETURN.
1. Importing ASCII Files _____________________
An ASCII file must have commas delimiting each field
and one record per line (i.e., CR/LF or ASCII 13 10
terminates a record). The structure of a record is:
- First name (up to 15 characters)
- Surname (last name) (up to 15 characters)
- Company name (up to 35 characters)
- Address line 1 (up to 35 characters)
- Address line 2 (up to 35 characters)
- City (up to 21 characters)
- State abbreviation/Province (two upper-case letters
in American mode or up to 15 characters in Canadian
or International mode)
- Zip code (up to 9 numbers (no dash) in American mode
or up to 10 characters in Canadian or International
mode)
- Phone (up to 10 numbers)
- Phone Extension (up to 4 numbers)
- FAX phone number (10 numbers)
- BBS or other phone number (10 numbers)
- Group definitions (20 characters, ASC(1) through
ASC(255) representing group #1 through 255)
- Comment #1 (up to 76 characters)
- Comment #2 (up to 76 characters)
- Comment #3 (up to 76 characters)
- Number of times this record has been printed
(integer)
- Last mail date, Year (integer, ####)
- Last mail date, Month (integer, ##)
- Last mail date, Day (integer, ##)
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
- Bad address flag (integer True/False)
- Exclude from mailings (integer True/False)
- Selected for printing? (integer True/False2
That's a lot of fields! Well, don't worry. You don't
have to include them all. If your ASCII file only contains
names and addresses, that's fine. Just put each entry on a
separate line in the file. For example, your ASCII file
might contain:
John Doe,123 Main St,,Anywhere,CA,0000
Jane Doe,321 Side St,Apt. 5,Somewhere,WV,0000
NOTE: Version 2.0 is only able to import the first 8
fields. Anything past these will be ignored. Version 2.1
will have complete flexibility in ASCII importing.
If you are importing another What Mailing List? file,
you can choose whether to import all the records in the
file or just those records which are selected for printing.
This is a very handy way to separate a group of entries
which have grown very large. For example, let's say you
had a list of clients grouped by occupation and one
occupation became very large. You could select all of the
records with that particular group for printing. Then,
create a new file and import the selected records. Back in
your old file you can delete all of the selected records.
Now you have a new file with just the records you want in
it!
2. Importing WML 1.x Files _______________________
If you have been using version 1 of WML (or earlier
versions of List Manager) you can import these files into
WML 2. Please note that List Manager files need to be
imported into a WML file since there were structure changes
between these versions. So use your old WML to create new
____________________
2 Versions of WML prior to 6/26/90 had the Selected flag as
the first item of a record. If you have files created with these
older versions you can convert them with your old version of WML
1.x by creating a new data base and then importing the original
file (File/Import/WML File). Then you can import the newly
created file into WML 2.x and delete the old files.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
files & import any of those List Manager files, then bring
up WML 2 and select this option.
After you select File/Import/WML 1.x you will see a
list of DBF files in the current directory. I haven't
figured out a good way to allow disk drives to be navigated
in this file lookup window, so you are restricted to the
current directory.
After you select a file to import you will see a graph
showing progress and the number of records imported will be
shown on the status line.
3. Importing WML 2.x Files _______________________
This option is handy for consolidating several files
into one. Just select File/Import/WML 2.x and you will see
the file list box. Choose a file, then choose whether to
import all of the records or just those which are selected
for printing, and away it goes. As usual, you will see a
progress graph and the record number count on the bottom
status line will be updated.
4. Importing Other dBase Files ___________________________
To import another dBase file What Mailing List? needs
to know a few things. Once you type the name of the file
you will see a screen of field names. These are the field
names in the dBase file you are trying to import (only the
first 40 fields will be shown). One at a time, What
Mailing List? will ask for a corresponding field to its own
fields. For example, it will first ask for the "NAME"
field. Enter the number for the field which will be read
into the "NAME" field (and subsequent others).
If the dBase file you are importing does not have a
field corresponding to one of What Mailing List?'s, just
press RETURN. If more than one field corresponds to one of
What Mailing List?'s (e.g., the file you are importing has
two fields for the name: first name & last name) just
separate the fields with a plus sign (+). For example, you
might enter "1+2" to combine field #1 and #2.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
The fields you will need to define are the same as
those shown for the ASCII Import specifications (above).
K. Export
Export is the reverse of Import: It allows you to send
information to these file formats:
- ASCII
- WordPerfect merge
- Microsoft Word merge
- Ventura Publisher
Most commonly information is exported to an ASCII file and
then imported into a word processor, spreadsheet, or other
programme. All export types except for WordPerfect and Word
merge place all fields in the export file; the mail merge formats
place only the name, address, city, state, zip code, attention,
and phone information in the file.
1. WordPerfect Merge _________________
When you select this option you will be asked for a
file name. Enter the full file name you wish to use,
including drive and path if necessary. Once you finish
with this function you will have an ASCII file which
contains WordPerfect's merge codes. To use the file, run
WordPerfect, import the file (Ctrl-F5, 1, 2) and save it.
2. Microsoft Word Merge ____________________
Just like with the WordPerfect Merge file, this option
will make you an ASCII file which is in Word's merge
format. To use the file, run Word then import the file.
3. Ventura Publisher _________________
This is a special form of an ASCII text file. The
resulting file will be given a "TXT" extension and each
line of the data will begin with an "at" sign (@), the name
of the field, a space, an equal sign (=), another space,
and then the data. For example:
@NAME = ABC Company
@ADDRESS_1 = 123 Main Street
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
The file will be double-spaced since this is how VP
determines end-of-paragraph in an ASCII file.
L. SELECT
This option lets you select or clear the records you wish
to print. After you choose it, a new menu will appear with the
options: Select, All, Group, Date, City, State, Zip, Individual,
and Actions. "All" lets you mark or un-mark all records in the
data base. "Group" lets you select or clear records according to
the groups to which they belong. "Date/New" will mark or un-mark
records which have never been printed (i.e., the number of last
mail date = 0); "Date/by Date" will select or clear records based
on a specific date you provide. "Individual/All" will allow you
to scan the entire data base, marking and un-marking records one
at a time; "Individual/Selected" will allow you to scan only
those records which are currently selected. City/State/Zip
options let you select or clear options based on exact matches in
these fields.
The "Action" submenu lets you perform actions on the
selected records. This is somewhat of a "query" function, if you
like data base terminology. Once you have selected records you
can reset the group settings for the records, flag them as
deleted, or clear the delete flag. Please note that if you use
the Group function it will replace existing group definitions
with the new definition you specify.
To exit the Select menu, use the "Exit" option under
"Select" (which is the only option available) or press the Esc
key.
1. Selection Examples __________________
WML's Select feature may seem limited at first glance,
but it is actually very comprehensive. At the time of this
writing I found myself thinking that WML couldn't do a
certain type of query and then realizing that it could, so
I think some examples are in order.
Let's say you have two groups defined in a mailing
list: Team A and Team B. Of the entries on file, some are
part of Team A, some Team B, and some are both.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
Now, let's say you want to send a mailing to all Team A
members. First you may want to choose All/Clear to clear
any existing selection, then you would choose Groups/Select
and flag the group Team A in the Groups Window.
For another mailing you want to include all members of
Team B who are not members of Team A. First, clear any
existing selection. Second, use Groups/Select to flag all
members of Team B. Finally, use Groups/Clear to clear all
members of Team A from the selection.
For another mailing you may want to include all members
of Team A who have not yet received a mailing. Use the
Date/New option to select these. Or you can use Date/by
Date to select members who last received a mailing on a
certain date.
Whatever you need to do, chances are WML will do it.
If you can't figure out how to get what you want, please
let me know!
M. PRINT
This is the area of the programme which is really useful,
because is puts your work on paper. This menu has options to
print envelopes, labels, a group list, or to select the records
you wish to print. The number of records which are selected for
printing appears on the status line at the bottom of the screen.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
Here is an overview of the sequence of events for printing:
Print Menu
|
Group List Phone Book Envelopes Laser Labels DM Labels
| | | | |
+-> Which printer? Select | |
| return | |
| address | |
| | | |
+----> Which Font? <------+-------<-------+
Group List & <----------+ | +--->-----+--------->-----+
Phone Book: | | |
Print & End | Define Pick
| labels labels
| | |
+----->-------+---------<-----+
|
Print
|
Update Times Mailed and
Last Mail Date
1. Group List __________
The Group List option lets you print a list of the
groups you have defined. If you have two printers defined
you will be asked to choose the one to use.
Group List only appears if you have defined groups, and
does not update the times mailed or last mail date.
2. Phone Book __________
Since WML can track phone numbers, it would be nice if
it could print them, wouldn't it? Sure! A nice 2-column
phone book, suitable for folding into one's pocket.
You can print the phone book on your dot matrix or
laser printer. A 12cpi to 17cpi mono-spaced (fixed) font
will work best for the phone book, although the entries
themselves work quite well with proportional fonts. If you
use a proportional font for the titles you will find that
the index at the top right of the page "floats." Short of
figuring out how to do width tables, this was the best I
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
could come up with. So just use Courier 12 or something
like that. Experiment to find the best method to print the
phone book on your equipment.
The phone book will only include records which have
been selected for printing, and does not ask to update the
Times Mailed and Last Mail Date. Entries without a phone
number will just show the name & address (no trailing dots
after the name).
3. Laser Envelopes _______________
Laser Envelopes lets you print envelopes on your laser
printer (I know WML works with a Panasonic KX-P4450 and a
LaserJet III, and it should work on any PCL 1-5 laser
printer).
First you will be given a choice of return addresses to
print on the envelopes if any have been defined. If you
did not set up at least one return address this menu will
not appear and no return address will be printed.
Otherwise you will see a menu of three choices: None, the
first address, and the second address you defined. Select
one and press <-+Enter.
Next you will be asked to select the font you wish to
use for printing. If you opted to print a return address
you will be asked twice for a font selection -- for the
return address and addressee. Use the up and down arrow
keys to highlight a font then press RETURN. If you want to
use a soft font just select the first option, "Select a
soft font" and you will be prompted for a drive and path
name, with the default being that which you set on the
Preferences/Laser Fonts screen. Once you enter the drive
and path you will be given a list of soft fonts ending in
SFL (landscape fonts). Highlight a font and press RETURN,
or press Esc to cancel the print operation.
Following font selection any soft fonts will be
downloaded (including the postal bar code font, if present)
and the envelopes will be printed. After they are printed
you will be asked if you want to update the Times Mailed
and Last Mail Date for the records printed. Answer by
pressing the RETURN key for "Yes" or the Esc key for "No."
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
4. Laser Labels ____________
Select this to print sheets of labels on your laser
printer. You will be asked for the specifications of your
labels (number across and inches (vertically) between
labels), and the font you would like to use.
5. Continuous Labels (dot matrix) ______________________________
Select this to print continuous-feed labels on your dot
matrix printer. You will be given a list of label types
from which to choose, followed by a list of your printer's
fonts.
Please note that the default set-up for 1-across labels
includes a left margin setting of 1½-inches. I set it this
way because my printer's paper sensor is 1½-inches in from
the left. You can use Preferences/Label Types to change
this if necessary.
X. DATA ENTRY
This menu of What Mailing List? lets you enter data into a
mailing list or define groups and abbreviations. "Names"
accesses the mailing list entry screen. "Groups" accesses the
group definition window. "Abbreviations" accesses the
abbreviations definition window.
A. Names
This is the main data entry screen of WML since it is where
you enter and change your mailing list information. You can only
use this function when you have a mailing list file opened for
use. When you choose Names a window will open which has room for
all of the information for a single entry. If the file in use
has any entries the window will be filled with the first entry on
file. If the file is empty, a blank (new) record will be
displayed.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
As you move through a mailing list file, a file position
indicator on the right side of the screen will change to show you
the displayed record's position in the file. When you are
entering a new record the indicator turns yellow (or bright white
on a monochrome monitor) and is positioned at the bottom.
1. Special Keys and Moving Through the File ________________________________________
While on the Names screen there are several special
keys (such as PgDn) and key combinations (such as ^PgDn)
shown at the bottom of the screen.
PgDn Move forward (down) through the file. If you press
PgDn on the last record on file, What Mailing List?
will beep.
PgUp Move backward (up) through the file. If you press
PgUp on the first record on file, What Mailing
List? will beep.
^PgDn "Control-PageDown" -- hold down the key marked Ctrl
and press the PgDn key. This tells WML to begin
adding new records.
^Home "Control-Home" -- moves to the first entry on file.
Hold down the Ctrl key then press the Home key.
^End "Control-End" -- moves to the last entry on
file. Hold down the Ctrl key then press the
End key.
2. Using Filters _____________
If you have selected one or more filters from the Index
menu the entries you see will be only those included in the
filter at the time the filter was set. The Names screen
will begin with the first entry with the filter criteria
(e.g., the first deleted record on file may actually be the
fifth record).
When records within a filtered set of records change,
those records remain within the filtered set of records.
To illustrate, if you have the filter set to show you only
those records which are selected for printing, then you go
to the Names screen and change the Select flag for a
record. Since this record is no longer selected for
printing it doesn't "belong" in the filtered set of records
any more, but WML leaves it there so you can review the
changes you have made to the records which were originally
filtered.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
To reset a filter (e.g., using the above example, to
eliminate the records which were changed from the filtered
set), just toggle the filter setting OFF then back ON
again.
As you use the PgUp and PgDn keys the display will jump
to the next or previous entry with the filter criteria.
The F2 (Find) key will display only those selections
included in the filter.
Note: I decided that filters are more useful if they do
not change dynamically. That is, if you have the filter
set to Selected records then you Clear (or un-select) a
record, that record will still be in the filtered list
until you reset the index or filter options. Think of it
this way: if you are reviewing a bunch of records you had
marked for printing to make a final decision, it would be
really a pain if, every time you changed a Select status
flag, entries disappeared from your review list so you
couldn't see which ones you had Cleared from being printed.
If you want to reset the filtered list after changing
many records, just go to the Index menu and turn the filter
off and back on.
3. Help, Find, and Group (F1/F2/F3) ________________________________
On the bottom of the screen you will see several
function keys defined. To use a function just press the
key shown.
F1 Help -- Available only in State/Province field; brings
up a list of U.S. State and Canadian Province names
from which you may browse and select one. The
abbreviation for the selected State/Province will be
placed in the record.
F2 Find -- Opens a window showing all of the entries on
file. You can browse through the list to jump directly
to the entry you want.
F3 Group -- Opens a window showing all of the groups
defined with arrows next to ones to which this record
belongs. Highlight a group and press <-+Enter; the
arrow will appear and disappear (toggle).
When you press F2 Find you will notice new function
keys at the bottom of the screen. You can press a letter
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
or number to go directly to the entry beginning with that
letter or number (please note that you will go to the first
letter or number of the index key (name, company name,
address, or zip code) which is displayed on the status
line). Use the arrow and PgUp/PgDn/Home/End keys to move
around the list. Press <-+Enter to use the entry which is
highlighted.
When you press the F3 (Group) key a window appears
showing the groups defined. Inside the window all of the
group descriptions for this mailing list file are displayed
(up to 255 groups). You can move through the list using
the up/down arrow keys, the PgUp/PgDn keys, or by pressing
the first letter of the group description you wish to find.
When a group is highlighted, press <-+Enter to select it or
clear the selection. Selected groups have an arrow to the
left of them. When a group is Selected for an entry, it
means that this person or business is a part of that group.
For example, if you have a group called "Christmas List"
you can Select this group for all people you want to be on
your Christmas list.
4. Adding New Records __________________
When you first use the Names screen on a new (empty)
file, WML will automatically place you in Add mode. Once
the file has information, however, you are initially placed
in Edit mode (i.e., existing information is displayed for
you to view and/or change).
To add a new record to the file just press ^PgDn (hold
down the Ctrl key then press the PgDn key). This places ____ ____
you in Add mode. You will see a blank data entry form and
the file position indicator will go to the bottom and turn
yellow (or bright white on a monochrome monitor).
While adding new records What Mailing List? checks for
duplicate names and addresses. If you have duplicate
checking enabled (on the Preferences menu) you will see an
information window telling you about any duplicates and
asking permission to continue. An entry must contain
something unique in personal and company name. You can't
enter two records with the same personal names and company
name. The only time I can think that you might need to
enter a duplicate is if the same person & company has two
offices. I may figure out a way around this soon...
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
When you are finished entering new addresses you can
change modes in one of three ways:
1. Press ESC on a blank form to return to the menu (if you
press ESC and have changed any information on the
screen you will be given a message and an opportunity
to save it -- don't worry)
2. Press PgUp to move "up" to the existing records in the
file (i.e., switch to "change" mode)
3. Press F2 (Find) to locate an existing record
To abandon new information (i.e., if you have started
entering something on the screen and decide you don't want
to save it), press the Esc key before you finish the ______
screen.
5. Changing Existing Records _________________________
While an existing record is displayed you can change
information, mark it for deletion, exclude it from being
printed, or mark it as being a bad address.
You can use your mouse to go to the field you want to
change or use the arrow keys to move around. After you
have made changes just press F7 (Save), or press Esc
(Cancel) to abandon any changes you made.
6. Using the Delete/Omit/Bad Address Flags _______________________________________
On the right side of the Names data entry window you
will notice four lines which have square brackets [ ] to
the left of them. These are called flags (since they flag _____
a condition) or toggles (since they act like toggle _______
switches, being turned on and off). If there is a check-
mark ( ) inside the brackets then this item is selected,
otherwise it is not. For example, if a check-mark is next
to the "Delete" flag then this record is marked for
deletion and will be removed from the file the next time it
is Packed.
You can set the toggles either with a mouse or the
keyboard. To use a mouse just place the mouse cursor
anywhere on the item you want to change and press the left
button. The check-mark will turn on and off as you click
on the option. To use the keyboard just press the Alt key
(Menu); this will bring up a menu of the toggles. Just
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
highlight the one you want to change and press <-+Enter.
Press Esc to cancel the menu.
The Delete toggle indicates whether a record is to be
removed from the file the next time the File/Pack option is
used. The Bad Address toggle indicates that the entry is a
bad address and should not be printed. Likewise, Exclude
indicates an entry which should not be included in print-
outs. Records marked Bad or Exclude cannot be selected for
printing. The Select flag indicates whether the entry is
selected for printing. Only those entries which are
selected for printing will print.
7. Using Smart Zip _______________
Release 2.0g of WML brings Smart Zip -- a feature which
can save a lot of typing if your mailings tend to target a
region. Using Smart Zip is easy -- it's automatic, there's
nothing to do. Every time you type in a zip/postal code,
WML will look for it. The state/province will always be
filled in for you, although it is not always 100% accurate
since some states overlap (according to the information I
have). If the exact zip code is on file (5 digits checked
for U.S. zip codes) the city will also be filled in. If
the exact zip is not on file, the city and state/province
you enter will be remembered. The next time you type that
zip code the city & state/province will be filled in
automatically!
B. Groups
Use this screen to define and change up to 255 group
descriptions. Grouping entries together makes it easy to select
just the people you want for mailings. For example, if you are
setting up a mailing list for your business which will contain
retail stores and service companies you might want to make groups
for each type of business. You might also want to set up groups
to identify the people who have responded to a mailing and those
who have not.
Note: Groups are an optional part of each record. An
entry may belong to no groups at all, or it may belong to a
maximum of 20 groups.
Use the Up and Down Arrows to highlight existing entries
and press <-+Enter to edit. Press the Ins (Insert) key to insert
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
a new entry. Press the Del (Delete) key to delete (erase) an
entry.
Note: When you tag a mailing list entry as belonging to a
particular group, WML remembers the record number of the group,
not the actual name. So if you change the name of a group all
entries will reflect the change. If you delete a group, any
entries which were part of that group will remember the record
number; next time this record gets used for a new group these
entries will "belong" to the new group. The reason for this is
that it could be a very slow process to have WML search through
every mailing list file to remove a group codes from all files --
if you had many large mailing lists it could take minutes or
hours to delete a group code. I didn't think that was a good way
to do things...
C. Abbreviations
This is a handy feature of WML -- it lets you define as
many abbreviations as you want to be used in entering your data.
Abbreviations will be used on the city, address and comment lines
of entries.
Use Ins/Del to insert and delete abbreviations, or use the
Up/Down arrows to highlight and change existing abbreviations.
An abbreviation entry consists of an abbreviation and the
full text for the abbreviation. For example, an abbreviation
might be "LA" and the full text "Los Angeles." Any time you put
"LA" on the city, first address line, or any of the comment lines
it will be expanded to say "Los Angeles."
XI. INDEXING (CONTROLLING THE SORTING SEQUENCE OF ENTRIES)
This menu lets you change the order in which the entries in
your mailing list are displayed and printed. There are four
indexing options and two filter options from which to choose:
1. by Name -- will sort entries by Surname plus First Name
plus a portion of the Company Name.
2. by Company Name -- will sort entries by Company Name
plus Surname plus a portion of the First Name.
3. by Address -- will sort entries by the first address
line plus a portion of Surname plus a portion of First
Name plus a portion of Company Name.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
4. by Zip/Postal code -- will sort entries by zip/postal
code plus a portion of Address.
5. Filtered to include Selected records only. This
option, when activated (a dot appears to the left),
allows only the records which are selected for printing
to be displayed and modified. To state the reverse,
any records which are not selected for printing will
seem to be gone -- they will not show up on the screen
nor on the F2 (Find) window.
6. Filtered to include Deleted records only. When
activated (a dot appears to the left), only records
which are marked for deletion will show up on the Names
data entry screen, including the F2 (Find) window.
Any potential conflicts of keys (as noted in earlier
releases) have been removed (if you don't know what I'm talking
about, don't worry about it - it's fixed).
A. Changing the Index
The active index has a dot to the left of it. To select a
different index and/or to clear any filters (on the bottom
section of the Index menu), just highlight or press the first
letter of the index you would like to use. Only one index can be
active at a time.
B. Filters
A filter is a way of limiting what you see, just like a
camera filter. This makes it easier to review certain entries,
especially in very large mailing lists.
1. Setting a Filter ________________
Let's say you selected all records in Group A for
printing and then wanted to browse that list, eliminating a
few here and there to reach a goal of 75 mailings. Just
use the Index menu to set the "Selected filter" ON (a dot
will appear to the left when it is ON). You will see a bar
graph as the open file is filtered (on smaller files it may
fly by so quickly you'll barely know it was there). Now,
when you go to the Data Entry/Names screen you will see the
first record on file which is selected for printing (which
may not necessarily be the first actual record on file).
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
Pressing the PgUp and PgDn keys will move you around
with the filtered list. If you press the F2 (Find) key,
the window will contain only the filtered list. It may
seem as if the other records are gone, but a quick look at
the status line at bottom of the screen will tell you that
the number of records in your file has not changed.
2. Clearing a Filter _________________
To clear a filter just select it again from the Index
menu. Filters are toggles -- select once to turn ON, again
to turn OFF, again to turn ON, etc. etc.
XII. PREFERENCES
The Preferences menu contains options which help you
customize the operation of WML and set necessary parameters, such
as the type(s) of printer(s) you have. Preferences are in two
groupings on the menu, separated by a horizontal line. The upper
options are screens; the bottom two options are toggles (i.e.,
they are either "on" or "off"). A dot next to either of the
bottom two toggles indicates that it is "on."
Please check each Preferences screen before making full use
of WML, otherwise something might seem wrong with the software
whereas it is due to the set of conditions under which WML is
operating.
A. Setting Your Return Addresses
You can set up to two return addresses which you would like
to print on laser envelopes. Each address may contain up to four
lines, and can include punctuation, even quotation marks and
commas.
When you are finished with this screen you can click on
"Ok" to save the information and exit, "Cancel" to ignore any
changes and exit, or use the keyboard keys F7 to Save or Esc to
cancel.
B. Choosing a Back-up Method
Under the File menu is an option which allows you to back-
up your data to floppy disk for safety. This back-up will use
the DOS COPY command unless you use this option to change it.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
After selecting this option you will see a menu of four
choices of methods to use when backing-up: DOS COPY (the
default), ARJ, LHARC, or PKZIP. In order to use ARJ, LHARC, or
PKZIP compression software you must have the compression
programme available in your DOS PATH.
C. Mailing to Various Countries (Country setting)
WML has been designed to validate data differently for
U.S., Canadian, and other (International) addresses. By using
the proper country setting you will have the following abilities
and features:
The U.S. setting will only allow numerical zip codes in
the format #####-####, telephone numbers in the format
(###) ###-####, dates in the format MM/DD/YYYY, and state
two-letter abbreviations. If you enter a full State name
(properly spelled, of course) WML will find its
abbreviation for you.
The Canadian setting allows postal codes only in the
format A#A #A# (where A is a letter and # is a number),
telephone numbers as (###) ###-####, dates in the format
DD-MM-YYYY, and province abbreviations. If you enter a
full province name WML will find its abbreviation for
you.
The U.S. & Canadian setting accepts data in either of the
formats mentioned above. Dates are presented in the
format "## AAA ####". For example, "17 Sep 1992".
The International setting does the least "work" for you:
it does not format zip codes or telephone numbers and
does not look up state/province abbreviations.
Everything you enter is treated as literal information.
Dates are displayed in yyyy-mm-dd format.
D. Setting Envelope Size
I expect that most folks, like me, tend to use the same
kind of envelope time and again, and it's probably a #10
"business" envelope. So I decided to keep this screen simple and
just have a single definition for an envelope which can be
changed from time to time, if necessary.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
There are just three numbers to fill in: The width of the
envelope (left to right), the length (top to bottom), and the
left margin for the return address. Enter fractions of an inch
as decimal figures (e.g., 1/2 is .5, 1/8 is .125, etc.). The
left margin adjustment can be negative or positive. A negative
number will move the return address to the left, a positive
number will move it to the right.
E. Selecting Continuous (Dot Matrix) Label Types
Version 2 brings a vastly enhanced label system. Now,
instead of picking two labels from a list, you always have access
to the entire list of defined label types. And instead of only
one user-defined label type, ALL label types are now user-
definable.
WML is pre-configured for a few common label types, such as
the ever-popular 1-across 3½-inch by 15/16-inch labels which are
commonly sold in boxes of 5,000. There are several blank,
undefined label types which you can set up yourself. In
addition, you can even change the pre-defined labels to whatever
you need.
First you will see the menu of label choices. Highlight
the one you want to change and press <-+Enter. A window will
open showing the name of the label and all of the measurements.
Type a short name (such as "Mailing", "Shipping", "Disk", etc.)
to indicate the type of label. Enter the width of the actual
label (i.e., how much room there is upon which to print), the
vertical distance from the top of one label to the top of the
next, the horizontal distance from the left side of one label to
the left side of the next, and the number of labels across.
You can use the Up and Down Arrow keys to move between
lines, or point and click with a mouse. When you are finished
click on "Ok" to save or "Cancel" to abandon any changes, or use
the keyboard keys F7 to Save or Esc to cancel.
F. Defining your Printers
Before you can print anything you will have to tell WML
what type(s) of printer(s) you plan to use. WML can use two
printers, a laser and a dot matrix. The laser can be used to
print envelopes and laser labels. The dot matrix can be used to
print continuous labels. Either printer can be used to print
group lists and phone books. Until you define your printer(s)
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
and font(s) there will be a flashing message at the bottom of the
screen and you will not be able to use the File/Print option.
The Printer definition window shows the current settings.
Use the arrow keys to move around, and press the F3 key to change
anything. For example, to set your dot matrix printer move the
cursor down to that line then press F3 and a menu of choices will
appear. Highlight your printer (or one compatible with it) and
press <-+Enter. Then move down to the font definition and press
F3 again. Highlight your font selection and press <-+Enter.
When you are finished, highlight the "Ok" button and press
<-+Enter. Alternately, you can press F7 to save the screen and
exit.
1. Default Directory for Laser Printer Soft Fonts ______________________________________________
Version 2 of WML is much more flexible in handling
laser printer soft fonts. After you set your laser
printer, highlight this field and press F3. Enter the
directory name on your hard disk (e.g., "D:\VENTURA\")
which contains your soft fonts. WML will check to see if
the directory name you entered is valid and if it exists,
and will inform you if not. Once set, WML will present a
list of all available fonts whenever you need to choose
one.
G. Duplicate Checking
If you want to have WML check for duplicate company names
and/or addresses while you are entering information, just select
either of these toggles. A dot to the left of the toggle
indicates that it is turned on. You can toggle them on and off
as necessary. The setting of these toggles will be saved when
you exit WML.
Using duplicate checking is a good way to avoid duplicate
entries which have different personal names attached to them or
ones which have identical addresses but a different name. The
drawback to duplicate checking is that it slows the computer
down. If you are working on a large mailing list duplicate
checking may be best turned OFF.
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What Mailing List? __________________
Copyright (c) 1989-92, Angel Babudro. All rights reserved.
XIII. HELP
The Help menu has two options: About and Index. About
just gives you some information about your memory and a copyright
notice. Index will give you a Help Index menu from which you may
choose a topic and press <-+Enter, whereupon a helpful window of
information will appear :) It's a handy (albeit brief) on-line
manual, in other words.
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