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Introduction APT Mailing Assistant provides you with an easy way to produce professional looking envelopes and labels using only your personal computer's laser, deskjet, or dot matrix printer. The program supports several sizes of envelopes and mailing labels All envelopes and some labels will be printed with United States Postal Service approved POSTNET delivery point bar codes to allow you to take advantage of Postal Service automation, helping speed your mail to it's destination. Additionally, using delivery point codes may qualify you for additional discounts when doing bulk or presorted first class mail. Contact your Post Office for more information. The program supports any Lexmark or HP compatible laser printer, HP compatible Deskjet printer, or Epson compatible dot matrix printers. Envelopes or labels may be fed manually or automatically (feeding envelopes automatically will require an envelope feeder attachment on most printers). When printing single labels on a laser or deskjet printer, the program allows you to print on any label on the sheet, thus eliminating unused labels. Some laser printers generate too much heat to allow the reuse of label sheets. You need to test your specific printer by reusing labels sheets to see how well this feature works for you. Names and addresses may be saved in one or more address files. Multiple address files are supported allowing you to easily categorize your mailings into personal, business, or other groups. For bulk mailing, the program can be used to generate a mailing using all or part of an address file. Bulk mail envelopes and labels are printed in zip code sequence and, along with the program's zip code statistics, allow you to easily package the mailing into the various zip code groups. If you have a bulk mailing account at the Post Office, you may print the permit box in the upper right corner of the envelopes you use, saving the cost of using a print shop to pre-print these envelopes. Finally, APT Mailing Assistant can print personalized return envelopes you can include in your mailing for that special touch. Installation System Requirements APT Mailing Assistant requires at least the following: -OS/2 2.0 or greater -Approximately 250K of space on your hard disk for program and sample files -At least one of the following printers A Lexmark or HP compatible laser printer An HP Deskjet compatible printer (except the 500/500C models) An Epson compatible dot matrix printer OS/2 Printer Driver APT Mailing Assistant uses PCL language when generating envelopes and labels on a laser printer. If you have a laser printer that supports multiple printer languages (such as the Lexmark 4019 or 4029 models) you must insure that you have the OS/2 printer driver chosen for that printer that supports PCL language (for the 4019 and 4029 this would be the LASERJET.IBM driver). Compatibility If you have been using APT Mailing Assistant for DOS, you will find that address files and the program information file (i.e. APTMA.INI) are totally compatible with files created by APT Mailing Assistant for OS/2. Installing the APT Mailing Assistant The APT Mailing Assistant program may be installed to your hard disk by performing the following steps: Place the installation disk in a floppy drive on your system (usually A: or B:). Type A:INSTALL or B:INSTALL to begin the installation program. Follow the instructions on the screen. The installation program will ask you for the directory where you want the program installed. You should switch to this directory to run the APT Mailing Assistant program. You should add the directory specified during installation to the PATH, LIBPATH, and HELP paths of your CONFIG.SYS. APT Mailing Assistant Files When you install APT Mailing Assistant a number of files will be copied to the installation directory. This will include at least the following files. Please check the README.DOC file for any additional files that may be included when you install this program. File Description APTMA2.EXE The OS/2 APT Mailing Assistant program. APTMA.INI The program information file that keeps track of last used information, printer and option settings, etc. APTMA2.HLP Contains information for the program's help screens. SAMPLE.ADR Sample name and address file (base portion) SAMPLE.PTR Sample name and address file (pointer portion) KFSOS220.DLL DLL for program support routines. README.DOC A file containing any updates to the documentation that were made too late to be included in the manual, as well as other information about APT Mailing Assistant. HISTORY.DOC A file documenting the history of APT Mailing Assistant. Mailing Regulations Before we get into the operation of the program itself, let's take a moment to discuss some basic terminology, rules, and suggestions from the Post Office about your mail. We will not cover all of the rules governing the various types of mail, for that you will need to check with your local post office, but we will cover some of the areas that govern the way APT Mailing Assistant works. If you will not be using the APT Mailing Assistant to do bulk mailing, the Bulk Mail and CASS Certification sections may be skipped. Zip Codes We're all familiar with zip codes; however, it's important to understand there are two kind of zip codes and they must be in a specific format. Each address in APT Mailing Assistant has its own field where an address's zip code must be placed. Five digit zip codes, of course, must be 5 consecutive digits (nnnnn such as 40383). Nine digit zip code (sometimes called ZIP+4) must have 5 digits followed by a dash followed by four more digits (nnnnn-nnnn such as 40383-0047). POSTNET Codes or Bar Codes These are the long and short vertical bars seen on your mail. POSTNET codes can be at the bottom of an envelope, above the send to address, or below the send to address (APT Mailing Assistant prints them below the address). These codes are derived from the zip code and, possibly, the delivery address. Delivery of mail containing POSTNET codes can be significantly faster than mail without codes since much manual handling within the post office is eliminated. Note that 9 digit zip coded pieces are sorted more precisely than 5 digit pieces, again possibly resulting in faster delivery. Mailing Addresses APT Mailing Assistant provides you with 5 lines of address you can use for a return or sending address. The Postal Service also has certain suggestions as to how you should address your mail. The first line of any address is considered the person or company for whom the mail is destined. APT Mailing Assistant will use this name to keep track of the address in its address files. If the first line contains an individual's name and you are sending this mail to their business address, the second line should contain the company name. The last line of the address must be the city, state, and zip code of where the mail is to be delivered. APT Mailing Assistant requires that this also be the last line of the address field in its menus. The next to last line of an address is the street address or post office box where the mail is to be delivered. This is considered the "delivery point" address for the mail and is used to generate the delivery point portion of the bar code for mail that has 9 digit zip codes. APT Mailing Assistant requires only that this address line be the last completed line prior to the city, state, zip code line. It does not have to be the physical line on the screen just above the city - state - zip line since blank lines are not printed on an envelope or label . Delivery points are required on most mail to get certain discounts for bulk and presorted first class mail. For examples or the various kinds of addresses, view some of the addresses in the SAMPLE.ADR address file supplied with this package or obtain the Postal Service publication Postal Addressing Standards. Bulk Mail With bulk mail, the Post Office gives you a discount if you help the post office do some of the work. This mail is also considered third class mail. Among other things, bulk mailing means: your mailing must have a minimum number of pieces (currently 200) the mail must be sorted and bundled in a certain way by zip code the mail can be envelopes, brochures, flyers, etc. additional discounts are available if your mail meets other criteria; like delivery point bar coding the mail with a CASS certified program (such as this one) and CASS certifying your mailing lists. the mailing can be paid for by special bulk rate stamps or by having a bulk mail account at the post office. Having an account allows you to print a special bulk mail permit box on the envelope. There is another, similar, type of mass mailing available called presorted first class. Presorted first class has its own set of requirements and discounts. For more specific information on both of these type of mailing see your local post office. CASS Certification In order to get certain discounts, your mailing list must have been checked by the U.S. Postal Service and certified to be correct. That is, the cities, states, and zip codes are checked and the proper zip+4 is appended to the address. This certification is done with a system called the Coding and Accuracy Support System (CASS). To obtain certification for your mailing list, you must send the mailing list on a diskette to the National Customer Support Center for the Postal Service. The center checks and manipulates the data on the diskette and returns the diskette to you as a certified mailing list. APT Mailing Assistant provides a means of creating a file from its address files that can be sent to the support center. When the diskette is returned, APT Mailing Assistant can then create a new address file with the certified list. Publications The U.S. Postal Service has many publications you can obtain for more information about the subjects we've been discussing, including: Postal Addressing Standards Third-Class Mail Preparation Designing Business Letter Mail Additionally, your local post office will be more than happy to discuss these subjects with you. In Summary After all of this you must be thinking that you seemed to be getting along just fine without knowing all of these rules and regulations. You will find that the Postal Service and the APT Mailing Assistant are both very lenient in allowing you to address mail. However, addressing mail properly and having the bar codes provided by APT Mailing Assistant can significantly speed up the delivery of your mail. In addition, if you want to take advantage of some of the post office's other services and discounts, you must be more diligent in addressing your mail. Formats and Limits APT Mailing Assistant expects certain types of information to be in specific formats. Additionally, there are certain limits on the length of some information. These formats and limits are as follows: Bulk Mail Permit City Due to limitations in the permit box, this field is limited to 16 characters. Bulk Mail Permit Numbers Due to limitations in the permit box, this field is limited to 5 digits. Address File Names The total length of the path and file name cannot exceed 255 characters. Address files consist of two OS/2 files working together, the file you name and another file with the same base name but a .PTR extension. For this reason, you cannot name an address file with a .PTR extension. Names and Addresses The first four lines of a name and address are limited 39 characters each. The city is limited to 25 characters (except for the bulk mail permit city), the state is 2 characters, and the zip code 5 or 9 digits and a dash (see Zip Codes below). The first line of the address will be the key used to store that address when it is saved. The last non-blank line in the address prior to the city, state, and zip is used to calculate the delivery point code. Zip Codes Zip codes must be in the format nnnnn for 5 digit zip codes or nnnnn-nnnn for 9 digit zip codes. Running the Program To start the APT Mailing Assistant program : switch to the directory where you installed APT Mailing Assistant type APTMA2 and press [Enter]. After pausing for the copyright screen, the program will stop at the primary window shown below. Primary Window The primary window shows several things about the envelope or label you are about to print. The address where the letter or parcel is to be delivered (i.e. the send address) appears in the center of the window. The upper left corner contains the return address that would appear on any envelopes that are printed. APT Mailing Assistant gives you a choice of printing the return address in either normal print or compressed print. Compressing the return address allows the send address to be more noticeable on the envelope or label. If the return address appears in a smaller type face than the send address in the primary window, compressed print has been chosen. If the return address does not appear in the primary window at all, it either means the paper type you have chosen does not have room for a return address (such as labels 5013, 5160, 5161, 5162, and 5163), or you have chosen to leave the return address blank. If a stamp appears in the upper right corner of the window, an envelope has been selected as the paper to be used. This can also be determined by looking in the APTMA Selections window that occupies the lower portion of the primary window. This window contains information about the printer, paper, and address file selections you have made. The first line in the selections window is the current address file being used. The next line indicates the printer that has been selected, the type of paper to be used, and whether you want to use the printer's manual or automatic feed. No feed information will appear if you have selected a dot matrix or deskjet printer. Now let's discuss the pull down menus available from the primary window. File Menu The File pull down menu contains the following options: Most options concerning address files. This includes changing the current address file, deleting address files, and merging two address files. An option for you to select the type of paper for printing, the type of printer you are using, if you want manual or automatic feeding of the paper, and if you want the return address printed in compressed or normal format. A Print option to print a single envelope or label. An option to exit the program. We'll begin by discussing the Printer/Paper Setup and Print options first. Printer/Paper Setup The first time you use APT Mailing Assistant, you should go to Printer/Paper Setup to select the type of printer you are using, the size of the envelopes or labels you are printing, how you want to feed the paper into the printer, and, finally, how you want return addresses to print. The options you set here will remain in effect until you return to this menu to change them. The options selected here are shown in the APTMA Selections window that appears in the lower portion of the primary window. Printer/Paper Setup Window Paper Size APT Mailing Assistant supports several sizes of envelopes and labels: #7 Monarch envelopes. These are envelopes 3 7/8" by 7 1/2". #9 business envelopes. These are usually used for business reply envelopes and measure 3 7/8" by 8 7/8". #10 business envelopes. The standard business envelope that measures 4 1/8" by 9 1/2". Avery 4013 or compatible labels (15/16" x 3 1/2", 1 across) for printing on a dot matrix printer. You cannot choose this paper size if a laser or deskjet printer is chosen as your printer. These labels will only contain a POSTNET code if the address being printed is less than 5 lines. Avery 5160 or compatible labels (1" x 2 5/8", 3 across a sheet, 10 down) for printing on a laser or deskjet printer. You cannot choose this paper size if a dot matrix printer is chosen as your printer. These labels do not have room for a POSTNET code. Avery 5161 or compatible labels (1" x 4", 2 across, 10 down) for a laser or deskjet printer. You cannot choose this paper size if a dot matrix printer is chosen as your printer. POSTNET codes will be printed on these labels. Avery 5162 or compatible labels (1 1/3" x 4", 2 across, 7 down) for a laser or deskjet printer. You cannot choose this paper size if a dot matrix printer is chosen as your printer. POSTNET codes will be printed on these labels. Avery 5163 or compatible labels (2" x 4", 2 across, 5 down) for a laser printer. You cannot choose this paper size if a dot matrix printer is chosen as your printer. POSTNET codes will be printed on these labels. Avery 5164 or compatible labels (3 1/3" x 4", 2 across, 3 down) for a laser printer. You cannot choose this paper size if a dot matrix printer is chosen as your printer. POSTNET codes and a return address will be printed on these labels. Printer Type APT Mailing Assistant supports three classes of printers, laser, deskjet and dot matrix. You may select: HP compatible laser printer. Lexmark/IBM compatible laser printer. HP Compatible Deskjet printer. Epson compatible dot matrix printer. The paper size you choose also implies the orientation of that paper. For a dot matrix printer, all envelopes and labels must be fed in portrait (i.e. "normal") orientation. However, for laser and deskjet printers, labels are printed in portrait orientation while envelopes are printed in landscape (i.e. edge first) orientation. Check your laser or deskjet printer owners manual for more information about feeding envelopes into your printer. Not all laser and deskjet printers support all envelope sizes. Please check your printer manual for what types of envelopes it will support. Manual or Automatic Feed Used with laser printers only, whether the labels or envelopes will be fed automatically or manually. For labels, automatic feeding means the labels are loaded in the primary paper source. For envelopes, automatic feeding means your printer is equipped with an envelope feeder and recognizes the PCL command to select that source. Compressed or Normal Return Address You may choose to print return addresses on envelopes and #64 labels in either compressed mode (17 characters per inch) or normal mode (10 characters per inch). The setting selected here is indicated on any menu containing a return address by showing that address in a compressed or normal font. Print (Single Envelope or Label) The Print option from the File pull down menu will print a single envelope or label containing the names and addresses shown in the primary window. This will print on the paper and printer indicated in the APTMA Selections window. If you are printing a label on a laser or deskjet printer, you will be shown a sheet of labels and asked to click on which label you want to use. This allows you to reuse laser label sheets and reduces the number of labels that are wasted. The number of times you can reuse a sheet of labels depends on the heat generated by your laser or deskjet printer. Changing the Current Address File This option changes the current address file being used by APT Mailing Assistant. This is the file that will be used whenever you perform an operation that requires an address file. Operations requiring a current address file include saving send and return addresses, deleting an address, and bulk mail. You will find that using address files can help organize and categorize your mailing lists. While it is a good idea to name your address files using a naming convention to make them easy to find (such as having the same extension such as .ADR or .DAT), the system imposes only one restriction on their names. APT Mailing Assistant address files cannot have an extension of .PTR. This is because when address files are created, a second file with a .PTR suffix is automatically created by the program. These two files work together to provide your address file. When changing the current address file to a file name that does not exist, you will be given the option to create it. Delete Address File APT Mailing Assistant files are a pair of normal OS/2 files working together and may be deleted by using the OS/2 "DEL" command as long as both the base file and the .PTR file are deleted. However, you may use the Delete Address File option to easily delete an address file. When this option is chosen, you will be shown a file dialog that allows you to choose the address file you want to delete. You must choose the base file name (i.e. not the .PTR name) to delete. You should not use this option to delete files that are not APT Mailing Assistant address files. List Address File This option allows you to list an address file to either the display or the system printer. When you select this option you will see the following dialog. List Window You may choose to list only those addresses in the file that are in a specific city, a specific state, a specific city-state combination, or within a range of zip codes. If you specify a city or state, the zip code range is ignored. Merge Two Address Files Selecting this option will bring up the following dialog: Merge Window APT Mailing Assistant allows you to merge the addresses from one address file into another ("target") file. If the target file does not exist at the beginning of this operation, it is created. If it does exist, all of the records in the from file are merged into the target file in their proper place. As the merge occurs, a check is made to determine if the target file already contains the name being inserted. In these cases you are asked if you want to include the record being merged in the target file or if you want to skip it. At the conclusion of the merge the target file contains all of its original records plus all of the selected records in the from file. The from file still exists after the operation. "Merging" an address file into a new file is an easy way to copy an address file. You may choose to merge only those records in the from file that are in a specific city, a specific state, a specific city-state combination, or within a range of zip codes. If you specify a city or state, the zip code range is ignored. Address Menu The Address Menu contains all options required to create and maintain addresses including: Changing the send or return address in the primary window Saving send or return addresses into the current address file Swapping the send and return addresses in the primary window Deleting an address from the current address file Change Return Address Selecting this option brings up a dialog where you may type in the name and address information or you look up an address in the current address file (Find). This option only changes the return address in the primary window, it does not save the address in the current address file unless you select the Save pushbutton, in which case the return address is updated in the primary window and saved in the current address file.. Change Address Window Change Send Address Selecting this option brings up a dialog where you may type in the name and address information or you look up an address in the current address file. This option only changes the send address in the primary window, it does not save the address in the current address file unless you select the Save pushbutton. Save Return Address This option saves the return address shown in the primary window in the current address file. If a record with the same name exists in the current address file, you will be asked if you want to replace the existing name or add this name as a new record. Save Send Address This option saves the send address shown in the primary window in the current address file. If a record with the same name exists in the current address file, you will be asked if you want to replace the existing name or add this name as a new record. Swap Addresses This option exchanges the send and return addresses in the primary window. The addresses are not saved in the current address file. Delete an Address This option will display a list of names in the current address file. You may select the name and address to be deleted. Bulk Mail Menu APT Mailing Assistant provides a business or organization the ability to generate a bulk mailing using the current address file. There are three options under the bulk mail menu: Bulk Mail Statistics Return Envelopes All three are designed to work together to provide you with the function needed to complete a bulk mailing. Selecting any of the options will produce the dialog shown below that allows you to limit the bulk mailing (or statistics or return envelopes) to only a certain range of zip codes. Bulk Mail Window Note that if the current address file contains the return address name shown on the screen, no envelope or label will be printed with this name as the send to address (or return address when printing return envelopes). Bulk Mail The bulk mail option causes one envelope or label to be printed for each name in the current address file that meet any of the selection criteria you specify. The envelopes or labels are printed in zip code sequence using the information shown in the APTMA Selections window. If you are using a laser printer, APT Mailing Assistant can also print your bulk rate, nonprofit, or presorted first class permit boxes on your envelopes. If you have presorted first class mail that qualifies for the ZIP+4 automation discount, you can cause "ZIP+4 BARCODED" to be printed in the permit box. Statistics The statistics option allows you to obtain a statistics sheet with information about the zip code groupings for your bulk mailing. These statistics will always be printed on your printer using automatic feed and the paper in your primary paper source, irrespective of the paper or feed shown in the APTMA Selections window. The statistics will tell you how your mailing breaks down into 9 digit zip code, 5 digit zip code, 3 digit zip code, state, and multistate groups, as well as how many pieces are delivery point bar coded, allowing you to easily bundle your mailing into the proper groups that the Postal Service requires. Statistics must be run using the same city, state, and zip code range selection criteria as was used to run the bulk mailing. Return Envelopes APT Mailing assistant allows you to print personalized return envelopes for your bulk mailing. Selecting this option causes each selected address in the current address file to be printed in the return address portion of the envelope and the return address portion of the dialog to be printed in the send address portion of all the envelopes. This pull down option is only available if an envelope has been selected as the paper type and the permit box information is ignored. Import/Export Menu The Import/Export menu allows you to import or export APT Mailing Assistant address files in two different formats. One provides a means for you to transfer data between the APT Mailing Assistant and your favorite database program. The second provide you with a facility to create files to send to the U.S. Postal Service for CASS certification and to build new address files from the certified files returned to you. Exchanging Data with Databases Using Text Files Names and addresses you already have in another database program (such as PC File or DBASE) can be imported into APT Mailing Assistant. You can also "export" name and address information from an APT Mailing Assistant file to another database. In each case the information is transferred by creating an intermediate file in the common "comma delimited string" format. Most common database programs can import and export files with this format. Check your database program's documentation to see if it supports this format. To use the import or export capability you should be aware of the field definitions within APT Mailing Assistant that make up a name and address record. These definitions are as follows: Field Name Length First line (usually name) 39 Second Line (company, attn., etc.)39 Third Line 39 Fourth Line 39 City 26 State 2 Zip Code 10 In the import file, there must be exactly 7 fields for each record in the order shown above. If one of the fields empty its position in the import record must contain "",(quote-quote-comma). Importing a file is similar to merging two address files. That is, if a record already exists with the same name as a record being imported, you will be asked if you want to add, replace, or ignore the duplicate record. Additionally, if the target address file does not exist, you are asked if you want to create it. For more information see your database manual. CASS Certification for Mailing Lists You may export an APT Mailing Assistant database to create a file to send through the U.S. Postal Service's CASS certification process. If your mailing list has been CASS certified, then you may be eligible for some automation discounts when using bulk or presorted first class mail. To obtain certification for a mailing list contained in a APT Mailing Assistant address file, you would follow the following steps: Export your mailing list using the Export to CASS File option. Complete the Address File Standardization on Diskette form available from your post office. The field lengths you must specify in this form are shown in the Completing the Address File Standardization on Diskette Form section below. Send the form and a diskette containing the exported database to the address listed on the form. When your certified diskette is returned, import the file on this diskette using the Import CASS File option. As part of the certification process you will get a list of any error codes associated with records in your address list and the meaning of these codes. Some codes require you to take some action to ensure certification of the mailing list, while others are for your information only. In addition, you can request APT Mailing Assistant to generate a list of each record being imported and any associated error or information codes associated with it. Some of these informational messages can be used to make your address list more accurate even if it did not fail certification. When you have completed these steps, you will have a CASS certified mailing list. Completing the "Address File Standardization on Diskette" Form When sending an address list to the U.S. Postal Service for certification, you must complete the Address File Standardization on Diskette form. This form provides the Postal Service with information about how the data is stored in the file you are sending them. The following information must be placed in the appropriate place on the form: Section C Record length = 189. Section D Note - Leave output field lengths empty. Name Length Input Field Start 3. Name 40 1 4. Firm Name 40 41 5. Delivery Addr. 40 81 6. Puerto Rico **leave blank **leave blank 7. City 26 121 8. State 2 147 9. Zip code 5 149 10. **answer NO 11. County code **leave blank **leave blank 12. Carrier route 4 154 13. Zip+4 10 158 15. DPBC 2 168 16. DPBC Check **leave blank **leave blank 17. Footnote 16 170 18. Record Type 2 186 19. Return Code 2 188 Import Text File The Import Text File option imports a comma delimited string ASCII text file into a APT Mailing Assistant address file. The import window has two fields: Import Text File Window Text File Name The path and name of the text file to be merged into an APT Mailing Assistant address file. This file must contain comma delimited strings as described in the previous section. Address File Name The path and name of an APT Mailing Assistant address file to contain the records being imported. If this file exists, the imported records are merged into it. If a name being imported already exists in the address file, you are given an option as to accept or reject the duplicate name. If the file does not exist, it is created. Export to Text File The Export to Text File option exports an address file into a sequential ASCII text file containing comma delimited strings as described in the previous section. This window has two fields: Address File Name The path and name of an APT Mailing Assistant address file to be exported. Text File Name The path and name of the text file to contain the exported information from the address file. This file will contain comma delimited strings as described in the previous section. Import CASS File The Import Cass File option imports a file that has been CASS certified by the U.S. Postal Service into a new address file. A CASS certified file must be imported into a new address file to insure that all records in the address file are certified. This window has the following fields: Import Cass File Window CASS File Name The path and name of the CASS certified file returned to you from the U.S. Postal Service National Customer Support Center to be used to create an APT Mailing Assistant address file. This file must be have originally been exported using the Export CASS File option. Address File Name The path and name to be used to create an APT Mailing Assistant address file that will contain the certified mailing list. This file must not already exist. Print CASS Report Checking this box will produce a report detailing each record being imported and any associated certification codes. Many of these codes will not be errors and the meaning for all of the codes is shown in the "Address File Standardization on Diskette - Order Form and Instructions" pamphlet available from the Postal Service. Export to CASS File The Export to CASS File option exports an address file onto a diskette in a form acceptable to the U.S. Postal Service's mailing list certification process. This window has two fields: Address File Name The path and name of an APT Mailing Assistant address file to be exported. CASS File Name The path and name of the text file to contain the exported information from the address file. This file will be in a format that can be sent to the Postal Service Customer Support Center for certification. Also see the previous section on Completing the Address File Standardization on Diskette Form.