home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Fresh Fish 5
/
FreshFish_July-August1994.bin
/
bbs
/
biz
/
bbaseiii-2.1.lha
/
bBaseIII-2.1
/
bBase.doc
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-05-02
|
71KB
|
1,598 lines
DOCUMENT bBaseIII V2.1 © 1993, 1994 by Robert Bromley
bBaseIII
Version 2.1
by
Robert Bromley
May 1, 1994
0.0. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is bBaseIII?
1.2 Feature Summary
1.3 Hardware Requirements
1.4 Software Requirements
1.5 Restrictions
1.6 To Order the Registered Version
1.7 Starting bBaseIII
1.8 The bBaseIII Screen
1.9 Copyrights
2 THE REQUESTERS
2.1 The ARP File Requester
2.2 The Input Requester
2.3 The Choice Requester
3 THE CURSOR KEYS
3.1 If the Input Requester is NOT Open
3.2 If the Input Requester IS Open
4 THE SCREEN GADGETS
5 THE PROGRESS BAR
6 THE NOTES OPTION
7 DESCRIPTION OF MENU ITEMS
7.1 Project Menu
7.1.1 Create a New Database <F1>
7.1.2 Open an Existing Database <F2>
7.1.3 Show All Records <A>
7.1.4 Show Tagged Records
7.1.5 Save Database <F3>
7.1.6 Save As
7.1.7 Save Tagged Records
7.1.8 Merge a Database
7.1.9 Show Available Memory
7.1.10 Encrypt/Decrypt a File
7.1.11 Help <Help>
7.1.12 About
7.1.13 Quit <Esc>
7.2 Sort Menu
7.2.1 Incremental Sort <F4>
7.2.2 Decremental Sort <F5>
7.3 Search Menu
7.3.1 Search Fields <F6>
7.3.2 Search Notes
7.3.3 Tag All
7.3.4 UnTag All <U>
7.3.5 Tag Invert
7.3.6 Next Tagged Record <X>
7.3.7 Goto a Record <G>
7.4 Change Menu
7.4.1 Field Titles
7.4.2 Swap Position of 2 Fields
7.4.3 No. of Lines in Notes Area
7.4.4 Fast Forward/Reverse
7.4.5 Screen Colors
7.5 Print Menu
7.5.1 Displayed Record (to Printer) <F8>
7.5.2 Displayed Record (to a File)
7.5.3 Select Print Options <F9>
7.5.4 Form-feeds
7.5.5 Create WordPerfect Mail-Merge Data File
7.5.6 Create Final Copy Mail-Merge Data File
7.5.7 Create Final Writer Mail-Merge Data File
7.5.8 Create ProWrite Mail-Merge Data File
7.6 Add Menu
7.6.1 A Field
7.6.2 A Record <F10>
7.6.3 Add Record At
7.6.4 Displayed Record <C>
7.6.5 RAM:bBase_clip
7.7 Delete Menu
7.7.1 A Field
7.7.2 Displayed Record <Del>
7.7.3 All Tagged Records <D>
7.7.4 UNdelete a Record
7.8 Notes Menu
7.8.1 Enable
7.8.2 Disable
7.8.3 View/Edit <N>
8 OTHER FEATURES
8.1 The "Disable Save" Option
8.2 The Low Memory Warning
8.3 The Print Options Window
8.3.1 Hardcopy Reports
8.3.2 Mailing Labels
9 SUMMARY OF KEYBOARD COMMANDS
9.1 With the Main Window Open
9.2 With the Input Requester Open
9.3 With the Notes Window Open
9.4 With the Print Options Window Open
10 EXAMPLE DATABASES
11 MAKING AUTO-LOADING ICONS
12 THE COMPETITION
13 A NOTE ON ERROR MESSAGES
14 IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. What is bBaseIII?
bBaseIII is a full-featured, graphically interfaced, reasonably fast
and, I think you will agree, quite an easy-to-use database program.
Basically, it will sort, search for, display and print out stored
information, but wait, there's more!
Refer to Section 1.2 - `Feature Summary'.
Once a database has been loaded from disk, all modifications are done in
computer memory, and will NOT be permanently saved until the database is
saved to disk. This can be done using the menus, the function keys,
or upon quiting.
Almost all functions of bBase may be accessed from the menus, and most
also have keyboard equivalents. These are all described in Section 9 -
` SUMMARY OF KEYBOARD COMMANDS'.
It multi-tasks extremely well, as it does not burn up CPU time while not
actually performing operations.
bBaseIII was written in HiSoft BASIC Version 1.05, and compiled using
the HiSoft BASIC Professional © compiler.
1.2. Feature Summary
Some of the features of bBaseIII are:
* Very straightforward and EASY to use.
* Complete Graphical User Interface.
* Incremental or decremental sort, on any field.
* Uses a fast shell-sort algorithm.
* Comes with it's own color palette requester.
* Add or delete a field at any time.
* Restore deleted records.
* Copy a record to a "clip", ie. an ASCII text file, that may be
imported into another program.
* Save records in a format which can be (mail) merged into form
letters created by popular word processors.
* Merge bBaseIII databases.
* Optionally display entire database, or a filtered list, a screenful
at a time.
* Print out a record, a filtered list, or the whole database,
in many different formats.
* Print mailing labels.
* Reference to the documentation can be made from within the program,
in AmigaGuide hypertext mode if you use AmigaGuide, or in ASCII style
if you do not use AmigaGuide. The appropriate file will be loaded
automatically.
* Databases may be scrambled for security, and then restored.
* A "Note" may be optionally attached to each record, independent
of the sorting fields, which will store over 1K of data.
* Search in any/all field(s), or the "Notes" Area (if active).
* Range Search, (less than or greater than) in any (or all) field(s).
* Any record may be quickly accessed with just a few mouse-clicks.
* Optionally disable the "Save to Disk" option to prevent accidental
alteration of the database.
* Well behaved in a multi-tasking environment.
* See the Revision History file for a more complete list.
1.3. Hardware Requirements
Database programs can tend to gobble up large amounts of memory.
bBaseIII is no exception. Since bBaseIII opens on it's own screen,
and reserves memory to hold the entire database, it requires about
850K of available memory to run. bBaseIII_600 and the Demo version
require about 550K.
Therefore, bBaseIII will not run on a basic 512 Kb machine.
I have personally tested bBase on unaccelerated A500 and A2000
computers using WB1.2, WB1.3 and WB2.04, and an '030 A3000 running
WB2.05 (does it ever fly on that machine!). Other users have told me
that it also works "great" with a 40 mhz 68030 processor, some 32-bit
SRAM, and an A4000 with WB3.0, so I think it will work on any Amiga.
1.4. Software Requirements
The arp.library MUST be present in your LIBS: directory for bBaseIII
to run.
Those users who want to change the screen colors from the default
settings will also need to have the color.library in LIBS:.
These libraries are included with this package. Clicking on the
Install_Lib icon will execute a script that will check which versions of
these libraries you already have, if any, and ask if you want the
included ones installed.
Some other standard AmigaDOS libraries are also utilized.
1.5. Restrictions
bBaseIII: A database of approximately 500K without Notes option,
(270K with Notes), or 1250 records, whichever comes first.
bBaseIII_600: A database of approximately 250K without Notes option,
(140K with Notes), or 600 records, whichever comes first.
Both:
Maximum Number of Fields: 9 (plus the Notes area)
Maximum Number of Lines in the Notes area: 16
Maximum Length of Field Titles: 19 characters
Maximum Length of Database Name: 20 characters
Maximum Field Length: 46 characters (72 characters in the Notes area)
Maximum Record Size: 414 characters (1566 characters with Notes enabled)
1.6. To Order the Registered Version
bBaseIII is a shareware program. Having tried the Demo version, if you
would like to obtain a copy of the Registered version, with the full
1250 record capability, just send your shareware registration fee to the
address shown in Section 14 - ` IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!'.
The requested registration fee is a minimum of $15 U.S.,
or the equivalent in your currency, except:
1. Previously registered users of bBaseIII can obtain this upgraded
version for $7 U.S.
2. For shipment to addresses in Canada, Can. dollars will suffice.
1.7. Starting bBaseIII
From the CLI; usage is: Run bBaseIII [-i -s -fFilename]
Including the -i switch will put bBase on an interlaced screen, but it
will be stuck up in the top half of the screen. Strictly for diehard
interlacers - I don't expect it will be used much!
Including the -s switch will start bBase with Saves disabled.
Including the -f switch will automatically load the requested database
file. If using this switch, it must be the last switch on the command
line. Do not leave a space between "-f" and the filename, and do not
include the ".bbase" extension. EG.:
Run bBaseIII -s -fDF0:Files/Recipes
will automatically load the file "DF0:Files/Recipes", and the Save
function will be disabled.
From the Workbench; just click on the bBaseIII icon.
If you click on one of the example "Recipes" or "Addresses" icons, bBase
will run, and then automatically load the appropriate database. There
was some work required to make this happen, however. Refer to Section 11
- ` MAKING AUTO-LOADING ICONS', for instructions on how to create icons
which will auto-load a database, and enable the three switches described
above to be used from the Workbench.
When bBase is initially run, all of the menu items, except five items
in the Project menu, will be ghosted until a database file is loaded.
The exception, of course, is if the "-f" switch is used, in which case
a file will already be loaded.
1.8. The bBaseIII Screen
The bBaseIII screen is a full (NTSC) size, high resolution, borderless,
non-interlaced (by default) screen using 8 colors. It will autoload
the Topaz 8 font if it is not already being used, to prevent data from
over-writing the screen borders.
If you don't like the default screen colors, they can be changed using
the palette requester. (Refer to Section 7.4.5 - `Screen Colors').
To date, my compiler does not allow gadgets to be put on the screen
itself, so bBase does not have a back or front gadget. This means that
some WB1.x users may be unable to access any other screens, with the
exception of using <Left Amiga - N> to return to the Workbench screen.
A "screen shuffler" program, of course, will solve this problem.
To anyone who still does not have one of these programs, I highly
recommend that you get one - they generally make life easier. There are
a variety of shufflers available in Fred Fish's collection: AutoCLI,
Mach (II, III, IV) and MouseAide to name just three, or if space is at a
premium, try QMouse. There are two flavors of QMouse, one for WB1 and
another for WB2. Both of these tiny little wonders do a lot in under 4K.
As an aid to those who may have this problem, QMice will be included on
the Registered disk. QMouse V1.6 is a shareware program by Lyman Epp.
QMouse V2.02, by Dan Babcock, is PD.
On computers running AmigaDos Release 2, the default <Left Amiga - M>
combination of the IControl commodity seems to do the job well.
1.9. Copyrights
bBaseIII is © 1993, 1994 by Robert Bromley. All rights reserved.
This program, and its documentation, is provided "as is", without
warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited
to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose. Use this program at your own risk and discretion.
bBaseIII is shareware, and not Public Domain. The Demo version ONLY
may be distributed, providing:
1. This file is included, unaltered, with ALL distribution copies.
2. If bBaseIII is included with other programs in a compilation disk or
set of disks, then one copy of each of these disk(s) is sent to me at
the address shown in the shareware message which appears immediately
after the program starts. This message identifies the version as
being a Demo version.
The Demo version is identical to the Registered version in all respects,
except that it will not load databases of larger than about 125K, or
save databases of larger than 30 records. This is enough to give you the
"flavor" of the program.
ARP is © 1987, 88, 89 by ARP Authors.
HiSoft BASIC Professional is © 1988 by HiSoft and MichTron, Inc.
ColorTool library is © 1989 by dissidents software.
MuchMore is © 1991 by Fridtjof Seibert.
AmigaGuide is © 1991-3 by Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
All trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
2. THE REQUESTERS
2.1. The ARP File Requester
The requester used when asking for a file to load or save is the
standard ARP file requester.
2.2. The Input Requester
This requester is used for general data input. It has full editing
capabilities. Pressing <Ctrl - Q> will move the cursor to the Start of
the text, <Ctrl - W> will jump the cursor to the beginning of the next
Word, and <Ctrl - E> will move the cursor to the End of the text.
It may be blanked at any time by pressing <Ctrl - X>.
Any time this requester is open, pressing <Esc> will close it. In this
case, the data line will revert to what it was before the requester was
opened, ie. the changes will be lost. To accept the changes, use either
<F10>, or the <Return> key.
2.3. The Choice Requester
This is the "Are you sure?" type requester. It appears at the upper-left
corner to provide information, or advise you of some impending action.
Typically, it will give you the option to Proceed, or Cancel that action.
2.4. The Pop-Up Requester
If bBase requires information from the user that cannot be answered by
just a Yes or No, this requester will appear, sometimes in the
Information Box, and sometimes at mid-screen. This is the same as the
Input Requester, except that the allowable input is sometimes restricted.
EG, if you want to delete a field, you will be asked which one. If the
database only has 7 fields, an answer of 8 will not be accepted.
3. THE CURSOR KEYS
3.1. If Input Requester is NOT Open
Pressing the Cursor Up key will take you directly to the First Record.
The Cursor Down key displays the Last Record.
The Cursor Left key shows the Previous numerical Record, and
the Cursor Right key will show the Next numerical Record.
You can also move through the records using the mouse.
(Refer to Section 4 - ` THE SCREEN GADGETS').
Please note that for "browsing" through the database, the Left/Right
cursor keys are the slowest way to do it. If you are looking for a
particular record, I would encourage users to either search for it,
or use the Alphabetic Jump Bar. This will be much faster.
(Refer to Section 4 - ` THE SCREEN GADGETS', SubSection 3).
3.2. If the Input Requester IS Open
Whenever you are in Edit Mode (when the input requester is open, so that
you may enter or change data), Cursor Left/Right moves the cursor
within the gadget, while Cursor Up/Down moves through the fields.
You may also position the cursor by clicking in the requester, or by
using the Ctrl keys. (Refer to Section 2.2 - `The Input Requester').
4. THE SCREEN GADGETS
At the top left corner of the screen, there is a gadget labeled "Esc".
Clicking on this gadget is the same as pressing the <Esc> key. The
action performed when this gadget is clicked depends on your present
situation, and is explained in the relevant sections, but generally
it will cancel an action, or close a window. If no extra windows are
open, it will initiate the Quit sequence.
Just above the upper-right corner of the Data area is the Tag Box.
Any records which are currently on the Tag List will be identified by a
check-mark in this box. Clicking in this gadget will act as a toggle.
If the currently displayed record is not on the Tag List, ie. not
"tagged", then clicking here will add it to the list. If the displayed
record is tagged, then clicking here will remove it from the list.
Pressing <T> is the keyboard equivalent of this feature. (Refer to
Section 7.3.3 - `Tag All'), and Section 7.3.4 - `UnTag All <U>').
The number of records currently on the Tag List, if any, will be
displayed just to the left of the Tag Box.
The Information Box at the bottom of the screen contains / \
a gadget that looks something like that shown at the | |
right. This gadget represents the cursor keys, and << <== G ==> >>
you can move about the database using these gadgets and | |
the mouse instead of the cursor keys, if you so desire. \ /
Clicking on the Up Arrow will take you directly to the First Record.
Clicking on the Down Arrow will take you to the Last Record.
The inner Left Arrow will show the Previous numerical Record, and the
inner Right Arrow will show the Next numerical Record.
There are several other gadgets which will be helpful to those who
have large databases. They will help you to position yourself in the
database more easily. These are:
1. The outer horizontal arrow gadgets are Fast Forward (or Reverse)
gadgets. Clicking on either of these will send you forward (or backward)
through the database 10 records at a time. This number is user
configurable. (Refer to Section 7.4.4 - `Fast Forward|Reverse'). The
keyboard equivalents of these "fast" gadgets are the "<" and ">" keys.
2. Clicking on the "G" in the center of the arrows (or pressing <G> on
the keyboard) will bring up the pop-up requester, asking for the number
of a record to "Go to". After entering a legal number, the requested
record will be displayed. Press <Esc> to cancel.
3. There is an "Alphabetic Jump Bar" located just below the Record
Number, consisting of the letters a to z. Clicking on one of these
letters will open a window showing all of the records that begin with
the selected letter, in the field that the database is sorted on.
EG, if your first two fields are First Name and Last Name, and the
database is sorted on the second field, then clicking on "h" will show
all records of persons whose LAST name begins with "H". If no last name
begins with "H", you will be informed. The keyboard equivalents to
clicking on these letters are the <Shift - Letter> keys - eg,
<Shift - H> would do the same as described above.
I have reluctantly extended this feature to include the fields which are
sorted numerically. Pressing one of the UNshifted number keys, from 1
to 0, will show you all records begining with that number, IF the
database was sorted on a field containing numbers. Otherwise, you will
be informed that there are no records begining with the selected number
in the sort field. The problem with this is that if you are aligning
your numeric entries, (Refer Section 7.3.1 - `Search Fields <F6>', for
a discussion on aligning numeric entries), you will not be able to use
this feature to go to these records. At any rate, this restriction only
applies to databases which are sorted on fields with numeric data that
must be aligned for sorting or searching purposes, which I suspect will
not be too many.
To help you remember which field the database is sorted on, after a sort
has been done, an "s" will be displayed between the Title and Data
areas next to the sorted field.
If the word "Note" appears on the screen, just below the Data area, it is
also a gadget. Clicking on this word (or pressing <N> on the keyboard),
will display the Notes area for that record.
5. The PROGRESS BAR
When time consuming actions are being performed, eg. loading, searching,
saving, sorting, etc., a Progress Bar will appear, in place of the
Jump Bar, to assure you that "something is happening", and visually
display to you just how the job is progressing. The length of the bar
represents the number of records involved in whatever operation you are
performing.
6. THE NOTES OPTION
bBase may be run with, or without the Notes option active. When a
database is first created, you will be asked if you want to activate
this option. When a database is loaded, bBase will determine if this
option should be activated, and react accordingly.
Without the Notes option, the record storage is limited to 9 fields,
for a total capacity of 414 characters. This will result in faster
searches, sorts, saves, etc., as there is less information to process.
With the Notes option, each record has available an additional Notes area
of up to 1152 characters, which can be searched, but not sorted.
This increases each record's capacity by up to 378%, but slows down
program processing somewhat. Also, the database will not be able to hold
as much data, as some of the alloted memory is reserved for a full Notes
area, whether it is used or not. (Refer to Section 1.5 - `Restrictions').
The choice is yours.
The Notes option may be activated or de-activated, and the number of
Note lines set, at any time from within the program.
(Refer to Section 7.4.3 - `No. of Lines in Notes Area', Section 7.8.1 -
`Enable', and Section 7.8.2 - `Disable').
7. DESCRIPTION OF MENU ITEMS
The most logical way to describe the operation of bBaseIII is probably
by describing the menu operations. The keyboard equivalents, where
applicable, are shown along with the menu titles.
7.1. Project Menu
7.1.1. Create a New Database <F1>
(If you are working on an existing database, and it has been altered,
you will be asked if you want to save it before creating a new one).
This will bring up the ARP file requester, asking for a name for your
new database. Any filename of 20 characters or less will do.
The pop-up requester will then ask if you want to activate the Notes
option. If you respond <Y>es, you will be asked how many lines the Notes
area will have. The maximum is 16 lines of 72 characters each, for a
total capacity of 1152 bytes. The number of Notes area lines may be
altered anytime. (Refer to Section 7.4.3 - `No. of Lines in Notes Area').
Next you are asked how many fields the new database will require.
There may be up to 9 fields in each database. Fields may be added or
deleted at any time.
You are then asked for the TITLES of each field of the database.
Each field title may be a maximum of 19 characters long, and may be
changed at will. (Refer to Section 7.4.1 - `Field Titles').
A "(1)" will appear, along with the input requester. Enter the title of
your first field, eg. Last Name, First Name, Company, Address, or
anything else. When it is correct, hit <Return>, and a "(2)" will appear
on the next line with the requester. Enter the title of the second, and
all other fields, in this manner.
The screen will now show all the field titles, an Information Box, the
filename as first entered, a blank Data area, and the record number,
which at this point will be "1". The total number of records is
continuously displayed beside the record number. It will now also
show "of 1".
The input requester will now appear in the first field of the first
record, ready for you to enter data. Enter the data.
NOTE:
Double quotes are not accepted in any data field, as that would mess
up the alignment of all the following fields. Single quotes are OK.
A data entry may be a maximum of 46 characters long. When it is correct,
hit <Return>, and the requester will move to the second field. When all
fields are complete, (or you press <F10>), the requester will close.
To add more records, select "Add - A Record" from the Menu, or press
<F10> again. Complete all records in this manner. In this version,
there is a limitation of 1250 records.
7.1.2. Open an Existing Database <F2>
If you have previously created a database, and the ".bbase" file for that
database is stored on a disk, then use this item to access it. If you are
working on an existing database, and it has been altered, you will be
asked if you want to save it before loading another.
Select the database file in the requester, and that database will be
retrieved and shown on screen. At this time, the available memory
and the relative database size will be briefly displayed.
Refer to Section 3 - ` THE CURSOR KEYS', and Section 4 -
` THE SCREEN GADGETS', for instructions on moving about the database.
While a record is displayed, the Information Box will instruct you to
press "<Return> to Change Data". Do so, and the requester will appear
in the first field, with that field's data. <Return> or <Cursor Up/
Cursor Down> to the field you want to change, and make the changes.
At this point, you may either <Return> through all fields, or press <F10>
to exit Edit Mode. The altered record is now displayed.
NOTE:
ANY time you are in Edit Mode, whether entering, changing or
searching for data, pressing <F10> will exit Edit Mode, and use
the data shown when you exited. Pressing <Esc> will also exit Edit
Mode, but any changes made to the line will be lost.
7.1.3. Show All Records <A>
If you want to quickly glance at more than one record at a time, this
will open a full-sized window, and display the first 70 or so characters
of ALL records, one record to a line. Click on "Cancel" to leave this
function. If you see a record you want to examine in detail, just click
on it. You will then exit the Display window, and return to the Main
Screen, with the requested record displayed.
7.1.4. Show Tagged Records
This works the same as `Show All Records <A>', except that ONLY the
tagged (Refer to Section 7.3.1 - `Search Fields <F6>') records are
displayed.
7.1.5. Save Database <F3>
If the database has been altered since last saved, it will be saved to
disk under the current filename, after confirmation. The file will have
the extension ".bbase" automatically appended.
If it has NOT been altered, you will be so informed, and given the
oportunity to abort the save.
NOTE:
Saving a large database may be a slow process on an unaccelerated
computer. If you find that this is the case, I suggest you save it to
RAM: first, then use the AmigaDOS or Workbench "Copy" function to copy
it to disk.
7.1.6. Save As
You will be prompted for a name to save the database. It is not
necessary include the ".bbase" extension at this time - it will be
appended automatically.
7.1.7. Save Tagged Records
The tagged records may be saved as a separate .bbase file. It may be
useful to use just some records as the seed of a new database.
7.1.8. Merge a Database
Two similar databases can be merged together. In order for this to work,
both databases must have the same number of fields in both the Data and
Notes areas. If the field titles are different, you will be informed,
however the merge may continue.
7.1.9. Show Available Memory <M>
This repeats the action which is performed after any database is loaded.
The remaining memory available to bBaseIII is checked. If it is low,
(Refer to Section 8.2 - `The Low Memory Warning'), you will be advised.
The number of available bytes remaining are then shown, along with the
approximate relative size of your database. This is shown as a
percentage of the maximum size, taking into account both the number of
available records remaining, and the number of available bytes remaining.
7.1.10. Encrypt|Decrypt a File
For people who have databases with "sensitive" data, (or for people who
are just plain secretive), bBase offers the capability of "scrambling"
a database - or any other file, for that matter.
The file requester will appear. Select the file to be scrambled.
You are then asked for a password. After confirmation, the file will
then be read in, scrambled, and written back to disk under the same name.
Examination of the file will now show that the file characters have all
been changed, many of them are now gibberish.
To restore the file, you need only select this menu item again.
Select the same file, and enter the same password. The file will then be
read in, and written back to disk in its original form. For what it is
worth, executable programs, as well as data files, may be scrambled and
restored - try it with a copy of bBase!
It should go without saying that it is essential that the same password
be entered to unscramble the file as was used to scramble it. If the
wrong password is entered, the scrambled file will be re-scrambled.
The only way to get it back now is to select this item again, and enter
the last password. This will restore the file to the first scrambled
state. Now, if you can still remember the first password, run this file
through once more using it to restore the file to its original state.
Please note that this is a time-consuming operation on large files,
and it does not utilize the Progress Bar.
7.1.11. Help <Help>
This is used for reference to the documentation from within the program.
If the location of your prefered text reader has not been saved with the
database, you will be prompted for it's location. Then, if the
documentation file is in the current directory, the text reader will be
run with the file loaded for viewing. If either the text reader or the
documentation are not where they should be, you will be informed.
When the database is saved, the location of the text reader will be saved
with it, and will thereafter be loaded automatically.
The default text reader is AmigaGuide ®, Commodore's freely distributable
(with restrictions) hypertext file reader. If you select AmigaGuide as
your text reader, the file "bBase.guide" will automatically be loaded.
If you select another text reader, the ASCII file "bBase.doc" will be
loaded. Both of these files are included. The appropriate file must be
in the current directory to be loaded. The "bBase.doc" file is not as
"pretty" as in previous versions, due to the formating requirements of
hypertext documents.
NOTE:
When MuchMore runs, it opens on top of the bBaseIII screen, as you
would expect. However, when AmigaGuide runs, it opens on the
Workbench screen, behind the bBaseIII screen. Therefore, although it
may appear as though nothing has happened when this is selected, if
push the bBaseIII screen to the back (default <Left Amiga - M>), you
should see the bBase.guide help screen. Refer to Section 1.8 -
`The bBaseIII Screen', for information on screen shufflers. I hope
that by the next release, I will know enough about public screens to
be able to avoid this situation.
For AmigaGuide users, there is also an index file provided. If used,
bBase.index should also be in the current directory, along with
bBase.guide. Clicking on the AmigaGuide "Index" gadget will take you to
the bBase index, which is an alphabetical list of relevent keywords.
Clicking on one of those keywords will bring up the appropriate section
of the bBase.guide document.
I you do not use AmigaGuide, I highly recommend MuchMore © as the text
reader of choice. MuchMore should also be included with this package.
The entire AmigaGuide package must be distributed intact, and is too
large to fit on a disk with the bBaseIII package. It is therefore not
included, but can be obtained on Fred Fish Disk 920, and other places.
7.1.12. About
The usual stuff, including the version number.
7.1.13. Quit <Esc>
If the database has been altered, you will be asked if you want to save
before quiting. The <Q> key can also be used for this function.
7.2. Sort Menu
You may sort the records in the database based on the data in any field.
The sort algorithm is designed to be most efficient when sorting a
database which is already mostly sorted, as will be the case with
databases over 90% of the time. Initial sorts will take a little bit
longer. Naturally, the larger the database, the longer it takes.
After the database has been sorted, an "s" will be displayed between the
Title and Data areas, so that you will always know at a glance which
field the database has been sorted on.
NOTE:
Any time that the database is sorted, the Tag List will be lost,
(ie. all records become "UnTagged"), since sorting the database
scrambles the list, and renders it meaningless.
7.2.1. Incremental Sort <F4>
The requester will ask which field you want to sort on. The records will
be incrementally sorted on that field, and record number 1 of the new
list will be shown.
7.2.2. Decremental Sort <F5>
Same as `Incremental Sort <F4>', except records are sorted and displayed
from Z-A, or 9-0.
7.3. Search Menu
7.3.1. Search Fields <F6>
The input requester will appear in the first field of a blank record.
<Return> or <Cursor Up/Down> to the field that contains the data you
want to search for, and enter it. A search string may be entered in more
than one field. When all the criteria has been entered, <Return> through
all the fields, or press <F10>. All records that match ALL the search
criteria become the Tag List, and the first match is displayed. When a
match is found, you may Print it, Cancel the search, Display the "Notes"
for that record, UnTag (or ReTag) the record, Delete the record, or
Review all the records on the Tag List. (Refer to Section 7.1.4 -
`Show Tagged Records'). Pressing <Any Other Key> will display the next
matching record in the list. Searches are NOT case dependent.
If a match cannot be found, you will be advised "No Matching Records".
Range Search is also available. EG., if you want to search an address
database for all names before Jones, or after Smith, simply add a "<"
or a ">" immediately before the name, with no intervening space.
Or, if you had a field containing birth years, you could find all those
born before (or after), for example, 1965, by entering "<1965".
You could also combine the two, and find all those entries before
(alphabetically) "Jones", and who were born after 1965.
Equal-or-less-than and equal-or-greater-than may also be used by
preceeding the search string with "=<" or "=>" respectively.
Note that the equals sign must come first; "<=" will not work.
Bear in mind that in a search for entries "<p", (which will be treated as
"<P", because search is case independent), bBase will find all entries up
to and including all of the "O" entries, as you would expect. But, if
you search for ">p", the found entries will not start with the Qs, as you
might expect, but will show the Ps as well. This is because, to a
computer, "pa", or "pill", or "pasquale" are all greater than just "p".
So, if you want to search for Qs and above, you should enter ">pzz", or
better still, ">q".
Note also that bBase does not employ the concept of field TYPES, ie,
there are no numeric fields - all fields are of the string type.
Therefore, if you are storing numbers in a field, (eg. 9, 60, & 500),
and you search for all records "<500", bBase will report "No Matching
Records". This is because all strings are compared on a character-by-
character basis. So, when the first character is examined, all other
first characters are compared to "5". All we find is a "9" and a "6",
so bBase deduces that there are no records less than 500.
When entering numeric data that you may wish to search or sort,
therefore, you must ensure that the data is properly aligned. If you
will be entering numeric data with three digits, they must all be
entered with three digits. So, when entering "9", it must be entered as
"009" or " 9", and the "60" entered as "060" or " 60". You will then
find that searches and sorts operate as expected. Searching for entries
of "<70" must now, of course, be entered as "< 70" or "<070".
7.3.2. Search Notes
The requester will appear in the first field of a blank record. Enter
the string you want to search the Notes area for. Once the string has
been entered, the search will begin, and the first record which contains
the entered string in the Notes area will be displayed. You now have the
same options as described above - Print the Record, (the Notes may be
optionally included, if all fields of the record are to be printed),
Cancel, Delete, Display the Notes, Review the tagged records, or Display
the Next tagged record.
NOTE:
Although the string is entered in a field, the fields have nothing
to do with this search. It is just a handy place to enter it.
7.3.3. Tag All
All of the records in the database are "Tagged", ie. added to the Tag
List. (Refer to Section 4 - ` THE SCREEN GADGETS').
7.3.4. UnTag All <U>
All records are "UnTagged". The Tag List is discarded, and all
references to tagged records in the menus are ghosted. This may be handy
if you want to create a new Tag List by clicking in the Tag Box of some
individual records. Otherwise, the tagged records would be added to the
current Tag List.
7.3.5. Tag Invert
Inverts the Tag List. All Tagged records become UnTagged, and all
records that were UnTagged become Tagged.
7.3.6. Next Tagged Record <X>
If you interrupt your "Display the Next Tagged Record" sequence, bBase
will remember where you were in the sequence. Selecting this item will
immediately display the next tagged record after the last one you have
already looked at. As mentioned above, if you should sort the database,
this item will become inoperable.
When the last record on the List has been displayed, you will be advised,
"End of Tag List". Selecting this item now, will skip through the tagged
records again, starting at the top of the List.
7.3.7. Goto a Record <G>
Activates the Goto a Record requester - the same as pressing <G>.
(Refer to Section 4 - ` THE SCREEN GADGETS').
7.4. Change Menu
7.4.1. Field Titles
Use this item to change the titles of your fields. The data itself
is unaffected by this procedure.
7.4.2. Swap Position of 2 Fields
Exchanges the position of two fields and their titles in the database.
EG, move field 3 to where field 7 was, and visa versa.
7.4.3. No. of Lines in Notes Area
The number of lines in the Notes area may be changed at any time.
No loss of data will occur except if the number of lines is reduced.
Then, naturally, data contained in lines greater than the new number of
lines will be lost. In this instance, you will be notified that data
will be lost if you proceed, and how many records will be affected.
You then have the option to Abort, Proceed, or View a list of the
affected records, (which will also abort the procedure).
NOTE:
If the number of lines is reduced, and later increased before
leaving the database, the lost data will be recovered.
Fewer lines result in slightly faster searches, sorts, etc.
7.4.4. Fast Forward|Reverse
The "Fast Forward" arrow gadgets will skip through the database a default
10 records per click, but this is user-configurable. Use this item to
set your own number (maximum 999).
7.4.5. Screen Colors
The default screen colors may be changed at any time using the ColorTool
and the color.library. If you decide to attempt this, however, you may
find it a meaner job than you bargained for. As you change one color to
contrast with another, you will find that the same color will also change
in places you never even thought of, making the color there almost
unreadable.
Right off, I would like to thank dissidents software for making their
ColorTool available, especially for use in a BASIC program, which is
often ignored by Assembly and C programmers.
NOTE:
This Menu item will always be ghosted if the file "color.library"
is not present in the LIBS: directory.
Although the use of ColorTool is quite intuitive, it came with complete
documentation of its own. Rather than duplicate that here, the essential
parts are reproduced in the file "ColorTool.doc", which should be part
of this package. Read it for further information.
Briefly, when the ColorTool appears, you may change the colors, and the
changes take place immediately. If you like them, click on Save, and you
will exit the ColorTool, using the new colors. This gadget might better
have been labeled "Use", as the new colors are not actually saved
anywhere.
If you click on Cancel, you will exit the ColorTool using the original
colors. If you click on Default, nothing will happen, except...
If you have a file named "bBase.colors" in your S: directory, clicking on
Default will cause the colors to immediately change to the colors defined
in that file. In other words, you can store your preferred color palette
in this file, and invoke them with just a few mouse-clicks. Refer to
ColorTool.doc for instructions on how to create this file. As an
example, there is a "bBase.colors" file included with this package
(no icon). If you want to test this feature, copy the "color.library" to
LIBS:, and "bBase.colors" to S: before running bBaseIII. Then bring up
the ColorTool, and click on Default. I should mention that I personally
do not like these new colors - they are presented only as an example.
7.5. Print Menu
With the Print Menu, you can:
- Copy a record either to the printer, or to an AmigaDOS file.
- Print the entire database, to the printer or a file.
- Create a data file to Mail-Merge with a word processor.
7.5.1. Displayed Record (Printer) <F8>
This item will first ask how many fields are to be printed, and then in
which column position, from 1 to 80, to start printing (in case you want
to print onto a mailing label, or directly onto an envelope).
If you elect to print all of the fields, you will then be asked if you
want the Notes printed as well (if this option is active). If you elect
to have the Notes printed, you will then be asked if you also want the
blank lines printed. Some people may want this to make a more
symmetrical report. Otherwise, only those lines containing data will be
printed. (If you want the odd blank line to be included as a "spacer",
then just put 1 blank space on that line, and the space will be printed).
It will then send all characters of the requested number of fields
(and Notes) of the currently displayed record to the PRT: device.
NOTE:
If the alignment of the report is not correct, switch the printer Off,
then back On, just prior to using this item.
7.5.2. Displayed Record (to a File)
The File Requester will appear, asking for the name of the file you want
to create, holding all of the data in this record, (including the Notes).
The default is "RAM:bBase_clip". Once the data, eg. an address, has been
copied to this "clip", it may then be imported into another database
(Refer to Section 7.6.5 - `RAM bBase_clip'), or another program, such as
a word processor, if desired.
7.5.3. Select Print Options <F9>
Opens the Print Options Window from which various formats of hardcopy
reports and mailing labels may be chosen.
(Refer to Section 8.3 - `The Print Options Window').
7.5.4. Form-feeds
Form-feeds may be generated at any position, or suppressed entirely.
You will be told the current setting (Default, Suppressed, or the setting
you have selected), and be prompted for a new setting.
The Default is to generate a form-feed after 62 lines of an Adjacent or
Aligned report (there will also be the Title line on the first page), or
approximately the same for a Block report. bBase will attempt to keep
the entire block on the same page, so this will vary somewhat.
Suppressed means that NO form-feeds are generated by bBase. There have
been cases of other programs form-feeding along with bBase, resulting in
a lot of waste paper. Use this if you want another program to do the
form-feeding.
At the prompt, enter "0" to get the Default, "-1" to suppress form-feeds,
or any other number to customize your form-feed setting.
7.5.5. Create Word Processor Data File
This will save all of the tagged records in a format that will be
accepted by the selected word processor as a secondary, or data file in
a Mail Merge operation. So far, WordPerfect, Final Copy, Final Writer
and ProWrite word processors are supported. You will be asked how many
fields of the records to use, and then the file requester will ask for a
filename to save the data file. The default is "RAM:bBase_merge".
I hope to eventually make this feature compatible with other word
processors, but so far I do not have the information on the format
required by others. If your word processor is not listed, try one
that is - the format just might be the same.
7.6. Add Menu
7.6.1. Add a Field
If you do not already have the full complement of 9 fields, this item
will add a blank field, in a designated location, with a title
consisting of 20 dots. The title may be modified at any time.
(Refer to Section 7.4.1 - `Field Titles').
7.6.2. Add a Record <F10>
Positions you at an empty record, with the input requester open,
ready for you to enter data into the first field of the new record.
Use the <Esc> key to abort if you arrived here by mistake.
The new record will be at the end of the database.
7.6.3. Add Record At
Same as `Add a Record <F10>', except that you will be prompted for a
record number. When completed, the new record will be inserted into
the desired spot in the database.
7.6.4. Displayed Record <C>
This item will copy the record which is presently being displayed, and
add it as the last record. bBase will then move to this new, last
record, display it, and open the input requester. It assumes that you
will not want two identical records, and will be wanting to make some
changes to it. If this is not the case, just hit <Esc>. This will be
very handy if you are entering similar records - it will be easier to
make some corrections to an existing record, than enter the whole new
record in from scratch.
7.6.5. RAM bBase_clip
If you have previously copied a record to RAM:bBase_clip, (Refer to
Section 7.5.2 - `Displayed Record (to a file)'), then that record may be
added to the current database using this item, IF the clipped record has
the same number of fields as the current database.
7.7. Delete Menu
7.7.1. Delete a Field
You will be asked which field you want to delete. As usual, press <Esc>
to abort. The requested field, and all information contained in that
field in all records will be deleted.
7.7.2. Displayed Record <Del>
After confirmation, the record currently displayed is deleted.
7.7.3. All Tagged Records <D>
After confirmation, all of the tagged records are deleted.
To preview exactly which records will be deleted, refer to
Section 7.1.4 - `Show Tagged Records'.
7.7.4. UNdelete a Record
This item is active when a record is UnDeletable. When a record is
deleted, it is first copied to the file "RAM:bBase_deleted". If UNdelete
is selected, a full-size window will open, showing the first 23 records
that were deleted. Simply click on the record you want to restore, and
it will be added as the last record in the database.
If the database structure is altered after a record has been deleted,
by adding or deleting fields or note lines, or swapping fields, this
item will be unavailable, as the recovered data would be meaningless.
The file "RAM:bBase_deleted" is itself deleted when a new database is
loaded, or when bBaseIII is quit.
7.8. Notes Menu
7.8.1. Enable
If the Notes option is currently disabled, this will enable notes.
The database structure will be re-writen to allow a default number of
four note lines per record. This number can be changed anytime.
(Refer to Section 7.4.3 - `No. of Lines in Notes Area'). If this feature
is used, the database must be saved, and then re-opened before being
used further, or it will become corrupted. You will be reminded of this
fact.
7.8.2. Disable
If the Notes option is currently enabled, this will disable notes.
All data in the Notes area will be lost, if the action is not aborted at
the next requester. The database must now be saved, and then re-opened
prior to further use.
7.8.3. View|Edit <N>
If there is a Note attached to a record, even as much as one blank space,
the word "Note" (how original) will appear on the Main Screen, at the
bottom-right corner of the Data area. If there is no Note, the word will
not appear.
To view the Notes area, just select this menu item, press the <N> key,
or click on the word "Note". The Notes area consists of up to 16 lines
of data, each of which may hold a maximum of 72 characters, for a total
possible storage of 1152 bytes of data per record.
To edit the data in the Notes area, just press <Return> while the Notes
Window is open. From there, it works identically to the Data area of
the Main Screen, except that the keyboard combinations of <Ctrl - I>,
<Ctrl - D> and <Ctrl - U> are used to Insert, Delete or UNdelete a line.
<Ctrl - I> will Insert a blank line at the active line, and all following
lines move down 1 position. <Ctrl - D> will Delete the active line, and
all following lines move up 1 position. <Ctrl - U> will UNdelete, or
restore the previously deleted line to the active line, and all following
lines move down 1 position. In the Insert and UNdelete cases, if there
is data in the last line, you will be advised that it will be lost, and
given the chance to abort. As in the Main Data Screen, <Ctrl - X> will
blank the line, and no other lines will move.
Pressing <Esc> will exit Edit Mode, and any changes made to the active
line since it became active, will be ignored. Pressing <F10> will exit
Edit Mode with all changes intact.
While not in Edit Mode, press <Del> to delete the entire Note attached
to that record. To return to the Main Screen, press <Esc>, <F10>, or
the <Space Bar>.
8. OTHER FEATURES
8.1. The 'Disable Save' Option
As a simple security device, mainly as a guard against someone
accidentally altering or erasing data, I have added an option which will
disable the ability to save database changes to disk.
To disable saves, simply press <Ctrl - S> simultaneously. The titlebar
will briefly inform you that saves are disabled, and now any attempt to
save the database to disk will be circumvented. In this case, upon
quiting, a requester will ask if you want to save the database (as
usual). If you select "Save", a second requester will inform you that
the Save option has been disabled. To save the database, at the next
requester, "Do you Really want to Quit?", select "Cancel", re-enable
saves, and quit again.
If you are running bBase from the CLI, using the "-s" switch on the
command line will start bBase with the saves already disabled.
The <Ctrl - S> combination will toggle between Save Enabled and Save
Disabled. A message will appear briefly in the titlebar to keep you
informed of the current status as it changes.
8.2. The Low Memory Warning
When bBaseIII is run, it reserves about 600K of memory to use for
database storage in RAM, arrays, etc. No matter how much RAM your
computer has, this is all that is available to bBase!
When a database is first loaded, bBase will check the available memory
left in the program pool. If the memory available to bBase is less than
5K, this means that very few more records may be added before the program
will generate an error message.
You will be advised if this low memory situation exists. Press any key
to cancel the warning. The recommended action is:
1. If you are using bBaseIII_600, start using bBaseIII.
2. Trim down the size of your database by deleting some old
records, or some of the record notes.
3. If you cannot get all of your information into one database,
some users have split the information over two databases. The
split can be, eg, alphabetical (Names A-M, and Names N-Z),
chronological (Invoices up to 1992, Invoices after 1992), or
catagorical (Classical Tapes, Pop Tapes).
4. Drop me a line. It's possible that a custom version of bBase
that will set aside more memory (if you have it), will solve
the problem. For a $7 fee, I will attempt to create a
"customized" version. Tell me what you need.
5. If these are not feasable, you may have to consider a different
database program.
The available memory can be checked any time by using the "Show Available
Memory" item in the Project menu.
8.3. The Print Options Window
Choosing "Select Print Options" (from either the Print menu, or by
pressing <F9>) opens the Print Options Window. Select from this window
using the mouse, keyboard, or the Up/Down cursor keys. The keyboard
equivalents are the underlined letters of each label.
At the top, there are toggle gadgets to select "Print All Records" or
"Print Tagged Records"; "Bold On" or "Bold Off"; and "Print to PRT:"
or "Print to File".
Print All Records will do just that. Print Tagged Records will print
all currently tagged records. Note that this toggle is inoperative if
there are no tagged records.
Bold allows you to select either Bold or Normal print styles. Although
you may select Bold On at any time, it is only effective, on my printer
at least, if the Pitch is set to Pica (80 characters per line). Other
printers may not have this restriction.
PRT: or File determines whether the requested records will be printed,
or copied to a File. In the latter case, the file requester will appear,
and you may specify the filename to copy the records to. The default is
"RAM:bBase_report".
At the bottom are gadgets labeled "Print!", "Help" and "Cancel".
"Cancel" is self-explanatory. "Help" opens a Help Window which explains
the terms used in the Print Options Window, so this information is not
included here. "Print!" will print (or copy) the selected records using
the selected format. The <Return> key is another keyboard equivalent
for "Print!".
8.3.1. Hardcopy Reports
Database reports can be obtained in these formats:
Adjacent Single Line (Pica, Elite or Condensed).
The "Notes" attached to your records may optionally be also
printed out using this format. Follow the prompts.
Aligned Single Line (Pica, Elite or Condensed).
Block, 2 across
Block, 3 across
Super Space Saver (Block, 5 across)
These are explained in the Help Window, but try them all, and see which
one (or more) best suits your needs.
With each report there will be a title line, containing the name of the
database, and, if your system is showing a current date, the date of the
printing. You will also be given the oportunity of inserting a (maximum)
26 character comment on the title line, between the title and the date.
Just type it in when prompted.
Along the top of the Data area are 4 white pixels. These pixels will
align with the data entry cursor at the 24, 25, 38 and 43 character
positions. As some of the above reports are truncated to these number of
characters (Refer to the Help Window), they are a guide to indicate that
the data beyond will not be printed when some print options are selected.
8.3.2. Mailing Labels
Mailing labels of 15/16 inch, and 1 7/16 inch, in 1-across roll type,
and 2 or 3-across sheet type are all supported.
If you have selected a mailing label option in the Print Options Window,
when you click on "Print!" you will be asked whether your labels are 1,
2 or 3-across, how many fields of your database you want printed on the
label, and in which column you want the printing to start. The column
defaults work for me, but your paper may be aligned a bit differently.
Once this information is received, the printing (or copying) operation
will start.
If you tell bBase you want, for example, 4 fields printed, then the first
4 fields will be printed, in numerical order. Make sure that these are
the ones you want printed. You can temporarily move the fields around,
if desired, to get the alignment you want.
(Refer to Section 7.4.2 - `Swap Position of 2 Fields').
Due to the size constraints of the labels, there are limits on the number
of characters of each field, and the number of fields, that this function
will print. This information is in the Help Window.
There is a problem in this area that I have been unable to solve.
If you are printing mailing labels, and you have selected "Bold On",
the printer will generate one carriage return before the printing starts.
This will disrupt your label vertical alignment by one line.
As a kludge, I have inserted a five second pause here, before the
printing will start. This will give you time to re-align the labels.
Another answer, of course, is to not use bold with the mailing label
option. Sorry, all - I'm still working on it.
9. SUMMARY OF KEYBOARD COMMANDS
Generally, pressing the <Esc> key will close a window or requester, if
one is open, abandoning the last change; pressing <F10> will close the
window or requester leaving all changes intact.
9.1. With the Main Window Open
Create a New Database <F1>
Open an Existing Database <F2>
Save the Database <F3>
Incremental Sort <F4>
Decremental Sort <F5>
Search the Fields <F6>
Print the Displayed Record to the Printer <F8>
Open the Print Options Window <F9>
Add a Record <F10>
Show All Records <A>
Copy the Displayed Record <C>
Delete All Tagged Records <D>
Goto a Record <G>
Show Available Memory <M>
View or Edit the Notes <N>
Tag or Untag the Displayed Record <T>
UnTag All Records <U>
Display the Next Tagged Record <X>
Saves Enable/Disable (toggle) <Ctrl - S>
Fast Forward/Reverse through the Records < or > (actually , or .)
View All Records Beginning with a Letter <Shift - Letter>
View All Records Beginning with a Number <Number>
Delete the Displayed Record <Del>
Quit <Esc> or <Q>
9.2. With the Input Requester Open
Clear the Requester <Ctrl - X>
Place Cursor at Start of Text <Ctrl - Q>
Jump Cursor to Start of Next Word <Ctrl - W>
Place Cursor at End of Text <Ctrl - E>
9.3. With the Notes Window Open
Insert a Line <Ctrl - I>
Delete a Line <Ctrl - D>
UnDelete a Line <Ctrl - U>
Blank a Line <Ctrl - X)
9.4. With Print Options Window Open
Print All Records/Tagged Records (toggle) <A>
Select Bold print On/Off (toggle) <B>
Select Print to Printer/File (toggle) <T>
Cancel Print and Close Window <C> or <Esc>
Open the Print Options Help Window <H> or <Help>
Start Printing <P> or <Return>
10. EXAMPLE DATABASES
There are two example databases included in this package. The file
"Recipes.bbase" is a sample database showing one way of keeping track of
recipes, without having to re-type them all. It merely shows where they
can be found when needed. With this database you can sort the recipes by
Name, Catagory, or anything else. You can search for all recipes
containing a listed ingredient, recipes you have already served to given
people, or just the location of the recipe if you have forgotten which of
your 647 recipe books it is in. I have found this to be very useful.
Address databases have their own unique problem. Most people prefer to
sort this database on the Last Name of the person on record. This
necessitates having separate fields for the Last Name and the First
Names, or using one field with an entries such as "Smith, John", and
"Smith, Mary". Unfortunately, when you want to print this record to a
mailing label or envelope, it does not look too good.
My prefered method of getting around this is shown in the database
"Addresses.bbase". The first field is the sorting field, in the format
of "Smith, John". The sixth field holds the Mailing Name, which can
include a formal salutation, eg. Mr., Doctor, Captain, etc.
Now, when you want to print this record, just exchange the positions
(Refer to Section 7.4.2 - `Swap Position of 2 Fields') of fields 1 and 6,
and it will print the way you want it. After printing, you can just swap
them back, or quit bBase without saving the change.
This example database also shows another useful method of tagging some
records for a particular purpose. I use a database similar to this
example to store the addresses of friends, family, neighbours and
acquaintances. I was going to open a separate database for my Christmas
card list, but then thought it would be more efficient to use the same
one, since all of the recipients were in that database.
So, somewhere in the record of the Christmas card recipients, I added a
distinctive word - in this case "xmas". Now, come December, I open this
database, search for "xmas", and all of these records become tagged.
I then go to the Print Options Window, select "Print Tagged Records" and
"Mailing Label", then click on "Print", and my card list is printed on
labels. The labels then serve as my hard-copy card list, and as I write
the cards, I stick the label on the envelope rather than having to
address the envelopes by hand.
The example shows the word "xmas" in the first field, but if the Notes
option is being used, it would probably be neater to stick the word
somewhere in the Notes, and use the "Search Notes" menu item to tag the
desired records.
11. MAKING AUTO-LOADING ICONS
If you examine the included icon "Recipes.info" you will see that it is
an ordinary Project icon, whose default tool is "C:IconX". As you may
know, when this icon is double-clicked, IconX will open a window, and
look in the Current Directory for an ASCII file called "Recipes", and
Execute it. In this case, the file "Recipes" contains the following
single line:
Run bBaseIII_600 -fRecipes
Refering to Section 1.7, `Starting bBaseIII', you will see that we are
simply using the CLI terminology to run bBaseIII, and therefore any or
all of the three startup switches (-i, -s or -f) can be used with an
icon.
The easiest way to load a database is still to simply click on the
bBaseIII icon, then select "Open an Existing Database" from the Project
Menu. If you want to make auto-loading icons for your databases, though,
just do the following:
Assuming that your database is called "Videos" :
1. Make a copy of the file "Recipes", and Rename it "Videos".
2. With a text editor, change the file "Videos" from
"Run bBaseIII -fRecipes" to "Run bBaseIII -fVideos".
You can add the -i and/or -s switches if you like.
3. Copy "Recipes.info", and Rename it "Videos.info".
4. Double-click on the "Videos" icon, and, if "IconX" and "Execute"
are in your C: directory, where they should be, that's it.
NOTE:
If you double-click on one of these icons while bBase is already
running, it will attempt to load bBase again, and you may get an
"Out of Memory" error.
12. THE COMPETITION
I have put literally thousands of hours of work into bBase, and I am
quite proud of the result. For various reasons, though, there are
limitations in the program, (primarily the number of fields and the
number of records), which may make it unsuitable for some purposes.
There are other fine non-comercial database programs available, and I
would encourage you to try them and compare. I have looked at most of
them, and frankly, I prefer bBase, (could I possibly be biased?).
But, some may have features that bBase does not have, which could make
them more suitable for you.
Following is a list of the programs I have noticed. Most of them are
in the Fred Fish collection, and so are readily available.
DataEasy - Fred Fish 526 WBase - Fred Fish 653
DataFiler - Fred Fish 721 VCRFiler - Fred Fish 721
AmigaBase - Fred Fish 792 ProData - Amiga Format Coverdisk Feb 93
Addresser - Fred Fish 767 AMaster - Fred Fish 827
Quickfile - Fred Fish 919
13. A NOTE ON ERROR MESSAGES
Listed below are a some of the error messages that could be
encountered while using bBase, and a possible solution.
* "Insufficient memory". This is pretty self-explanitory - bBase is
requesting more memory than is available. Free memory can be
increased by deleting items from the T: directory, or quitting
other background programs (perhaps a memory cache program?).
* "DEVICE UNAVAILABLE!" Every time I have received this message, it was
due to trying to open a window (Show All Records, Show Tagged Records,
View Notes, or even About), when the system had insufficient Chip RAM
to do so. Closing the windows of other runing programs might help.
* "CAN'T FIND PRINTER DRIVER!". There were five reported cases of this
error occurring in bBaseII. All were from England, and all occcurred
when trying to print a database. The error was caused by independent
companies putting bBase on a self-booting disk that contained a
Release 1.x "devs/system-configuration" file which assumed a printer
driver that was not available.
To prevent the error:
a) Copy the "system-configuration" file from your normal boot disk
to the bBaseIII self-booting disk, or,
b) Examine the "system-configuration" file on the bBaseIII disk to
determine what driver it is looking for, and ensure that driver
is located in your "devs/printers" directory.
14. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!
If you find that either the Demo or Registered versions of bBase do not
perform according to the information found in this documentation, please
let me know. This is your program - you paid for it, and it should work
for you.
Descriptions of problems are difficult, at best. To assure a
satisfactory solution to your problem, please do the following:
1. Re-read this documentation. The answer could be right here.
If not ...
2. Copy your version of bBase onto a disk, along with a copy of one of
the databases that you are having trouble with, and mail it to me,
along with a detailed description of the problem, and the steps you
must take to make the problem recur. This will accomplish two
things. First, it will confirm that this is your legitimate,
unaltered copy, (refering, of course, to Registered versions), and
second, with the problem right in front of me, I will almost
certainly be able to ascertain, and perhaps correct, the problem.
In any case, I will naturally return your disk, hopefully with the
problem corrected.
3. Include in your letter a brief description of your computer system,
ie. Amiga model, Workbench version, amount of memory (Chip and Fast),
accelerators (if any), etc. This information will be very useful in
trouble-shooting.
Thank you for your interest in bBaseIII. If you have any comments or
suggestions regarding this program, I would be pleased to hear from you.
All correspondance will be answered.
__ Email to: (not guaranteed)
/_/ __ /_
_ /_/ /_/ /_/ _ Bob_Bromley@amusers.victoria.bc.ca
Robert Bromley
1168 Timber Lane
Victoria, B.C.
CANADA V8Y 1E4