TMS4 is divided into 4 modules. All 4 are integrated into one main menuing system that allows for a consistent interface across modules and even across platforms. (In English...they all look and work alike!) this means that once you have learned the basics for one module, you know how to operate most of the program. For this reason, we are going to cover the basic parts of a TMS module in this section and then get to the particulars of each screen. In all sections there are certain letters highlighted on the screen in the names of buttons or menu pads (In DOS they are usually a different color, in Windows they are underlined) For the purpose of demonstration I will make all of my examples relate to the Master Member screen.
The Control Window
With the exception of the Bulletin Builder, each window in TMS is made up of two parts. The main data entry window and the Control Window. The control window will be on the screen any time a window is active that needs it. It automatically will close itself and close all the windows that need it. When you are not adding a new record to a database or editing an existing record, the control window will be the active window.
Add Clicking on the Add button will clear the information out of the active window and prepare it for you to add a new record to the database. This initializes all of the fields on the screen and places you in the first editable field of the screen. I
Edit After you have added records to your database, you can go back and edit any of them by clicking on Edit.
Delete If you decide that you no longer want the current record displayed in the window, clicking on Delete will prompt you to remove the record.
Browse Browse is the quickest and simplest way to find a record in a database. When you click on the Browse button, you will see displayed a section of the current database with the current record highlighted. You can scroll through the list to locate the record you wish to work on.
LookUp If you cannot locate the record you are looking for using the browse feature or you want to filter the database to only show certain records, you can use the LookUp feature.
Exit Exits the current window. (Not the entire program) This will close the current window and if necessary, the control window.
Directional Controls....The second row of buttons in the control window are the directional controls. These allow you to move through the current database and see the information stored there.
The Control Window simplifies the overall look of your screen and reduces the size of each window. As you experiment with the different functions, you will learn how they operate and inter-operate with each other. With a little practice you'll be navigating like an old hand.
The Menu Bar
The other standard part of the Music Secretary is the Menu Bar. This is the bar across the top of the screen with additional options and commands. Some of these commands are generic and operational in all modules and even when no module is currently active.
System Menu...
Calculator Calendar/Diary Puzzle 25/50 lines
Preference Wipe Music History Wipe CMS History Reindex All File
Pack All File See Filter Clear User Flag
File Menu....To remain compliant with the Windows standards, we've placed a File menu pad on the main Menu also. The only option under the File Menu pad is Quit.
Edit Menu....The next pad over is the edit pad. The options available under Edit are only available when you are editing a record. Undo and Redo undo and redo the last change you made. Cut and Copy will only be available if you highlight data in a field. (Hold down the left mouse key and drag it across the data.) The other option in the Edit menu is Clear. This simply clears the current field without moving the contents to the clipboard.
Modules Menu....The other menu pad that is available at all times is the Modules pad. This is where you select what module you want to open next.
Now let's look at the menu parts that are only available when a module is active. The pads we are about to discuss are available in all modules except in the Bulletin Builder. Because of the unique nature of the Bulletin Builder, the menus pads, and the Control Window are not available when it is the active module.
Report/Labels Menu....Reports and labels are the two most used options in any area of The Music Secretary. It is through these that you present the information that you have stored in your computer in usable ways.
The information presented in this dialog box will vary depending on the module you are in. The information presented will depend on which of the two options you selected. The dialog box presented will show a list of the reports available for the current module. To the right you will see a brief description of the currently highlighted report.
Below the description you will see the sort options. When available you can select how you would like the records sorted when they are printed. TMS will remember the last sort you used for each report and it will come up as the default the next time you print it.
Below the sort list is the a set of Radio Buttons to select either Ascending or Descending. This is applied to the sort you select.
When you have selected the report you want, the sort and the direction too, click on O.K. to continue on or click on Cancel to return to the active module. Clicking on O.K. will bring up the Output Options dialog.The Output Options is where you specify options like the device to send the report to. (LPT1-3, COM1-4, Screen or File) Additionally, you can set certain print-time options like Page Ejects and print headers. If you are printing labels, you can define a one-line message that will print at the top of each label. After you click on O.K., the program will prompt you for the message. When you have all the options set the way you want click on OK to print the report.
Find Menu....As mentioned in the section on the LookUp option, if you can't find what you are looking for with the Browse or the LookUp, there's Find. Find is a much more complex option but with the complexity comes power.
Utilities....The next menu pad that is always present is the Utilities pad. This is a catch-all for things that don't go anywhere else. Currently there are only two utilities available in TMS4, REORDER and EXPORT
Exit Menu....The last menu pad that is always present is EXIT.
The Choir Program
Before we begin looking at the individual parts of the Choir Module, lets go over a little design theory about TMS4. Choirs are admittedly the most difficult things we kept track of with TMS III. To offer maximum flexibility, TMS4 divides choir maintenance into three areas:
Master Member
Master Organization
Individual Organization
Master Member
As we stated before, Master Member is where you initially put each person who is in a choir in your choir program. In addition to their name and address, we need to tell the computer what family they are a part of, what their dress/coat size is and, (if you know it) their birthday and anniversary.
Master Organization
The Master Organization screen is where you enter all the information pertaining to a particular organization. This is also where you can get reports on how a choir is doing overall attendance-wise. The fields in Master Organization seem fairly self-explanatory but I'll go through them in case you have a question.
Two very importan things about Master Organization are the ability to ZAP all attendnace for a given choir. If you want to start recording attendance from a fresh start, you can use the Zap feature to clear out all the existing attendnace. The other new feature is Graduate. If you are using TMS4 to track your graded choir program, you can use the new Graduate feature to move childer from one choir to the next automatically. As you graduate each choir, a list of the members of that choir is brough up and you can select any that will not be graduatin
