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- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 01
-
- In this series of slides we will demonstrate how to get data from the PAYROLL
- USA system into PC-File+ . As with all the PAYROLL USA export routines either
- current (most recent pay cycle) or year to date data can be exported. PC-File+
- is a ShareWare database manager from ButtonWare, Inc. (Jim Button). It is user
- friendly, quite popular, and very reasonably priced. The above is the PAYROLL
- USA screen which is displayed when the PC-File .HDR (Database definition) and
- .DIF (Data) files are created. This routine was written some years ago and
- since then ButtonWare, Inc. have introduced an alternate version of PC-File
- which uses dBASE files. The PAYROLL USA dBASE export may be more appropriate
- for that later version, however the original format of PC-File is still in use
- by many so we will keep the export to it available for a while longer.
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 02
-
- After creating the files we start up PC-File+ in the normal way and tell it
- where the drive and directories we wish to use are. We press D to tell PC-File+
- that the data is on drive D, on your machine it may be C or some other disk
- drive.
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 03
-
- Then we tell PC-File+ which directory to use. Normally, if you have only one
- employee file, it will be \PAYOUT . If you are using multiple employee files it
- may be something like \SMITH\PAYOUT where SMITH is the PAYROLL USA
- configuration file name for these employees. If you are unsure of directories
- run PAYUSA and access the configuration program to check where the output
- directory is set to.
-
- After this screen PC-File+ will, as normal, ask you to select which file you
- wish to use from a list of filenames. PAYPCFIN (Income), PAYPCFDD
- (Deductions), and PAYPCFGV (941 Etc.) will be displayed. We had to split the
- files up as there are too many fields to fit on one PC-File+ screen. Key
- information, Social Security Number, Employee Number, and Pay Date are common
- to all files so you can re-link them together as one relational database if
- necessary. Depending in what data you want, you many need to select all of
- them, but we only have room to show you one of them. Just do one at a time
- following this model for the others. We started with PAYPCFIN.
-
- PC-File+ will then report there are zero records in the PAYPCFIN database. That
- is because PAYROLL USA created the data as a .DIF file and it first has to be
- translated to the PC-File format. So, select U for Utilities from the PC-File
- menu.
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 04
-
- We arrive at the Utility Menu. Do not press enter with Q showing as the
- selection, instead change the Q to an I then press enter to Import a File
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 05
-
- Select O for Other file
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 06
-
- Then we go through the selection of drive and directory for the file to be
- imported. This is not a duplication of effort, the first time we did this we
- selected the .HDR file which has the definition of the database we are
- importing into. This time we are selecting for the .DIF data that is to be
- imported into that database and PC-File+ does not know that is on the same
- drive and directory as the .HDR unless we tell it so here.
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 07
-
- Supply the directory path for the .DIF file
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 08
-
- PC-File+ displays a list of ALL files on the directory. We previously selected
- the PAYPCFIN file (which actually loads the .HDR file) so now we tell it that
- the data is in 8 PAYPCFIN.DIF. Note that 9 PAYPCFIN.DTA (the database file)
- already exists - it was created by PC-File when we started it up but at this
- point it is empty, we are now going to copy the records from PAYPCFIN.DIF into
- PAYPCFIN.DTA .
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 09
-
- Do not press enter with the default choice X showing, instead change the X to D
- (for DIF), then press Enter.
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 10
-
- and tell PC-File+ to import ALL records by pressing A
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 11
-
- PC-File+ presents us with the first record. At this point reply by changing
- the default Y to an X to say it is O.K. to import this and all remaining
- records. The 6th and 7th fieldnames down from the top right of the screen have
- been partially overwritten by the data from the left hand column. "AGES" should
- read "REGWAGES" but it has been overwritten by the trailing spaces at the end
- of STREET, and "1AMT" should read "OTIME1AMT" but it has been overwritten by
- the trailing spaces at the end of TOWN. This is because of the maximum
- possible length being allowed for STREET and TOWN, it will affect the display
- only and will cause no harm in the use of PC-File+ providing you remember the
- full names for these two fields if you need to reference them individually.
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 12
-
- PC-File+ imports the remaining records then reports that the Import is
- Complete. Press Enter to return to the Utilities Menu.
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 13
-
- We are returned to the PC-File+ Utility Menu, but we want to get out of here so
- we press Q for Quit
-
- Screenfile PCFILE.SCN Screen# 14
-
- We are returned to the normal PC-File+ Menu. Select F for Find a Record. The
- original .DIF file is still on the directory, but it has now been copied and
- reformated into a regular PC-File+ file and all the usual PC-File+ functions
- will work with it just as though it had been keyed in the hard way. You need
- to repeat the file select and import for each of the remaining two files,
- PAYPCFDD & PAYPCFGV.
-