Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/BUSINESS/DISP1.ZIP/DISP.HLP

Text File | 1994-01-05 | 29KB | 759 lines

     <1

                 DISP v1.0 COPYRIGHT(C)1994
                      DISPATCHER 1.0
                       Eric Jarrett
                      P.O. Box 34749
                    Richmond, VA 23234


          NOTICE:  This  is  an  EVALUATION  version  and
          MAY  be  duplicated as long as it is duplicated
          IN  FULL  and none of the files are  altered or
          missing. To obtain a fully-functioning  version,
          please write the address above. See registration
          info from Pulldown menu at Main screen.


  NOTE: For details of program requirements and limitations
  please see the 'README.TXT' file included with this program.
  You should also find a self-displaying text-file called
  'README.COM'. To see it, from DOS type README + [ENTER].


 GENERAL HELP:

 How to Use Help:

   You can access help from any of the screens where
   you see 'Help' displayed at the top pull-down menu.
   If using a mouse, click the menu, otherwise press
   ALT + H (Press 'H' key while holding down ALT key)

   The help message you will get will depend on which
   screen you are at when selecting help. If you find
   you get the same help message from different areas,
   it is because you are not EXITING the help window
   from the help window menu. Exiting in this way clears
   the current help-text.

   Once your help-screen opens, you can either use the
   'scroll-bars' to the right of the help-box to scroll
   through the text, or use the PGUP/PGDWN or arrow-
   keys.



 How to use Pop-Up windows:

   Throughout this program, pop-up windows will be found
   for ease of use. The interface works very much as any
   MS-Windows program does in that most of the pop-up
   windows may be resized, moved, closed, etc. The easiest
   way to do this is with the mouse. With the mouse, to
   move a window, click on it's upper border and move as
   you hold the left mouse-button down. To resize, click
   on it's corner and drag up or down as desired. To close
   or minimize, click the small box in the upper-lefthand
   corner.

   A Mouse is recommended for using this program, but there
   are key-combinations to perform these same tasks. Mainly
   combinations of CTRL with the F-Keys. For example, to
   MOVE a window, press CTRL + F7. When a changeable box
   is open, pressing ALT + '-' will open a small menu with
   other key-options. (That's the ALT key and the minus key).

   The pull-down menus may be opened by the mouse or using
   ALT + the highlighted letter of the menu.

   There are also buttons, text-boxes, etc. all of which may
   be accessed with the mouse, or in most cases by pressing
   the TAB key you will cycle through the options.

   We have tried to make sure that you won't do anything you
   don't want to do by inserting many messages and error-traps
   to warn or prevent you from making an obvious mistake.


   About Setup:

   The first time you start the program, you should get
   a message that the setup file 'DISP.CFG' is missing.
   You will also get this message if somehow the file
   is later deleted or somehow corrupted.

   To Setup, select Utilities from the pull-down menu,
   and then select Setup. Here you select your printer-
   port (default is LPT1) and enter a company name to
   be put in the program. If you are unsure which printer
   port your printer is connected to, check your computer
   manual. Most systems are at LPT1. If you specify the
   wrong printer port, PRINTING WILL NOT OCCUR. If you
   are unable to print anything, and DON'T get a message
   telling you what is wrong, then you have probably set
   up your printer port incorrectly.



   About Accounts:

   The program was designed so that you can use your
   client's phone number for their account number. I
   have done this for many years and found it to be
   quite convenient since all phone numbers are unique.
   It helps to identify the client's location and one
   number can then serve 2 purposes. You don't HAVE to
   use it that way, however.

   Tracer Numbers:

   Since each day's jobs are kept in a separate file,
   'tracer' numbers will begin at 1 each day. For the sake
   of easier tracing, if you give a tracer number to a
   client for later reference, I suggest adding the file
   name in front of the tracer number. For example, if
   the date is 01-01-93 then this will be your Job-file
   name for that day. Any tracer numbers for that day
   could be called 01-01-93X (where 'X' is the actual
   tracer number). This should make it VERY easy to track
   down a job no matter when it was done or entered.


   Running under DOS or Windows:

   To run the program under DOS, log onto the drive and
   directory where the program files are, and type
   DISP1 + [ENTER].

   Although this is technically a DOS program, you do
   have the option of running in it Windows provided you
   have sufficient memory to do so. You should have a
   small file called DISP.EXE. You also need a copy of
   VBRUN200.DLL, which MUST be placed in your WINDOWS
   directory or whatever directory your WINDOWS files
   reside in. The file DISP.EXE 'connects' DISP1.EXE
   to the Windows operating system. There are 2 ways you
   can run Dispatcher from within Windows:

   To do this from the DOS prompt, type DISP + [ENTER].
   This should start Windows AND Dispatcher. OR, you may
   'install' the program into Windows as follows:

      From the program manager, select File from the
      pull-down and then select 'NEW'. From the next
      prompt select 'Program Item' (see your Windows
      manual if necessary). Then in the description box
      type Dispatcher, in the 'Command-Line' box type
      DISP.EXE (NOT DISP1.EXE) and in the path/dir
      box type in the correct directory to the DISP.EXE
      and DISP1.EXE files. An delivery van ICON should
      appear in the currently selected program group.



    DISCLAIMER:

    We offer no warranty for DISP1(Dispatcher) Version 1.0
    whether express or implied, including without limitation
    any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a
    particular purpose. We will not be responsible for any
    special, incidental, consequential damages, either direct
    or indirect resulting from use of this product. The user
    bears all risks as to the quality and performance of this
    software, and in no case shall the liability for any
    damages ever exceed the price paid for the software.

    As always, you should make a backup copy of your original
             disk. Please refer to your DOS manual.



  >

  <2

   Job Input Help:

     The Job Input screen is the 'MAIN' screen of the program.

     Note that the reason the program alerts you to your system
     date when starting is because unless you load another file
     the file you will be adding jobs to will be named using
     the current system date.

     If the date shown at this screen is incorrect you should
     do one of two things:

     1. Exit to DOS and reset the system date. To do this
     at DOS prompt, type DATE + [ENTER]. The system date
     should be shown. If it is incorrect enter the new date
     as prompted.

     2. Choose "initialize file" from the 'File' pulldown
     menu and enter the correct date as prompted. After you
     do this and exit your program, you should also do the
     above as described in item "1".


     When the program begins, the Job Input screen opens and
     the program is ready to begin taking your input, however
     if you have not entered any account data, you will need to
     do that first. There will be help there as well, so here
     we will only deal with the Job Input.

     Assuming you have client data, the Job Input screen will
     be ready for you to put in a client number. This is a
     unique number the program gives each client and must
     not be changed. If you don't know any client numbers, press
     [ENTER] while in the Client # box, and the Accounts window
     will open, from there, you may press the Search button and
     will be asked for a Search-string (group of letters or
     letters and numbers to search for in account names)
     Then Simply select your choice by double-clicking on
     it with the mouse, or by pressing [ENTER] which it is
     highlighted (you can use the arrow-keys on these boxes).

     Now you should be back at the Job Input screen, and the
     Name, Address and Number of the selected client should be
     at the top of your screen. You should now be at the next
     field for input.

     Simply enter the data in each field, and press either TAB
     or [ENTER] to move to next field. You can press the SAVE
     button at any point to save the job. You don't have to
     use all the fields, but there are some built-in
     warnings in case the main fields are empty.

     The fields used were given labels which should apply to
     MOST Courier/Air Freight companies, but you can use them
     as you wish except that the currency fields will not
     operate properly if non-value characters are entered.

     The program will assign a 'TRACER #' to each job. You
     cannot change this number, it must remain constant.
     (Similarly to the Client Number in the client data file)

     You may also perform the following operations on your
     Job Data:

   Search... one job at a time by pressing the Next or
     the Back button. While in the Search mode, you may make
     changes to your data and save it. Saving it will save
     it with your changes.

   Search... by field by pressing the Search button. This
     will open a window with a list of your data fields in
     it. The FIRST field is the TRACER #. This is the best
     way to search, since there should be no duplicates.

     The only one of the Account data fields by which you can
     search is the Account Name. If a search is done by fields,
     a [NEXT] button will be shown next to the list which will
     show the next match with your input.

     Note that when prompted for a search-string, you need not
     enter the entire field of data. Any part of the field data
     is enough, but obviously to narrow your search down, enter
     as much as is known.

     >

     <3

   Account Data help:


     The Client or Account list shows what clients are in the
     client database, and also allows you to ADD new records,
     Search for specific records, Remove or edit them.


     IMPORTANT TIP
     You may also find an entry in a long list by pressing
     the first letter of the name. The box will then display
     the first entry beginning with that letter.


     Press [ENTER] or double-click the mouse to return to
     the MAIN Job-Entry screen and at the same time, the
     account selected will be put on the current new Job.
     This makes it easy to enter Account data for new jobs
     rather than having to re-enter Account data each time.

     DETAIL/EDIT
     If you need to see more detailed data on a particular
     client, simply select it either by a single mouse-click
     or by using the arrow-keys, then press the Detail button.
     From the small window which will open, you can make any
     changes you want and then press the Save button.

     ADD
     To ADD a new client, press the Add button. NOTE that
     adding will create a NEW record with a new client number.
     Input your data and then press the Save button.

     REMOVE
     This program can handle up to 32000 accounts.
     If you Remove any clients, they will no longer
     be part of your data-base, but the empty record will
     remain in the file. This is because the POSITION in
     the file is used as the Client Number, so that if the
     record positions should change, so will the client
     numbers.


     There is a utility which will 'compress' the CLIENT.DAT
     file and remove any empty records, but this should not be
     done unless either you get a message that you are
     approaching 30000 accounts or your program runs slow
     locating clients due to a large file.

     When this 'compressing' is done your client numbers
     will be reassigned, so you may want to print out a
     client list before you start, and after you are done.


     SEARCH
     The Search button allows you to search through your account
     database. Pressing this button will bring up a prompt for
     a search string. Any number of characters may be used here
     and a list will then be shown of all accounts which have
     data matching your input. Note that you DO NOT need to
     input a whole word...if you input 'a' as a searchstring, all
     accounts with an 'a' in the NAME, Account #(or phone #) or
     Client Number will be listed in the search window.

     No address or other client data is searched.

     When the window displays with your 'found' list, pressing
     [ENTER] or double-clicking with the mouse will choose the
     selected search item from the main listing.

     If no matches are found, you will get a message.

     When adding new clients, if you have several with a
     similar name...for example, you might have ABC Delivery
     in several locations, after the name enter the airport
     code or some other information to identify them since
     client names are often used for accessing various data.

     PRINT
     There are two print options in the Account mode. You can
     either print Client Numbers which will print a complete
     list of your Client database, but only the Name and the
     Client number, OR you can choose print Client Data which
     will print Client Name, Address, Contact, Phone and the
     client numbers.

     >

     <4

   Backup or Billing File Selection

     To select files, they must be with the program file
     in the same directory. If they are, they should be
     listed in the left box. To select them, either double-
     click them or select them with arrow-keys and then
     press [ENTER]. Selected files will display in the
     box on the right. To remove (or de-select) them,
     select them in the right box, and then press the
     Remove button. Note that pressing the REMOVE button
     will not alter any files on your disk. It only
     removes them from the selection box.


     BACKUP
     Once files are selected, you will need to select the
     destination or target drive to copy them to. There
     is a small box above the buttons which if clicked
     on the rightmost arrow, will display the available
     drives (or use [ENTER] when the box is selected).

     Copy or Move options

     If the copy option is chosen (default) then the
     selected files will be copied to the destination drive
     with the originals remaining intact, with the program.

     If the Move option is chosen, the files will be copied
     but the originals will be delted from the origin drive.
     The main purpose of doing this is after you have done
     all billings from the files selected, it will remove
     the old files and relocate them on your backup diskette
     to avoid unnecessary clutter. You should probably do
     this after your end-of-month billing...assuming no
     more billing need be done from the listed files.


     Once you have selected your drive, press the Begin
     button and as files are copied, they will be high-
     lighted.


     BILLING
     Once files are selected, (you can select up to 31)
     make sure that the four buttons to the right are set
     to the type of biling you want to do. Monthly is the
     default, or click Bi-Monthly, Immediate or ALL. The
     jobs from the files selected will be selected according
     to your setting. There is no reason you can't select
     Monthly, then do a monthly billing, then return and
     select Immediate using the same files and do that
     type of billing as well. (In fact, you will probably
     need to do this on occasion.)

     After your files are selected, and the type of
     billing, press Begin. If there are any unrated jobs
     in these files, a list will appear alerting you. You
     may then press Print to print the list, or Continue.
     If you press Continue, you will be asked if you want
     to do the billing AS-IS or cancel and modify (rate)
     the jobs listed.

     Be prepared, if you press OK to continue with the
     billing as-is since after a moment of compilation
     of text-files, the printing will begin. If you press
     Cancel, you will exit the billing mode.

     The billing function will print each client name and
     address on the left side of the page, and will print
     the date, invoice number and Page number on the right.
     It will then list columns with the Job date, your
     'Ref/Job' data, the 'To:' field from each job and the
     charges. Up to 35 jobs will print on each page, being
     totaled on the final page. You will be prompted for paper
     as needed and have the option to abort between each client.

     When the invoices are done, a window will display showing
     the number of invoice and the total billed.

     I strongly suggest doing a billing report after EACH
     billing.

     If you want to print envelopes for the clients billed
     you should do it next, since billing leaves a file
     which the Envelope function uses. This file will be
     overwritten with the next billing. You can print
     regular #10 envelopes on most line-printers as long
     as the envelopes are inserted in the same way as the
     sheets of paper (as opposed to lengthwise).

     To print envelopes, select it from the pull-down menu
     at the main screen. It will ask you as it gets each
     client name if you want to print an envelope for that
     client or not. You can skip any you want to by pressing
     the NO button, or press the Cancel button to abort
     the Envelope printing function.

     >



     <5



   REGISTRATION & SUPPORT:
   This program is 'shareware'. this means that although it IS
   copyrighted, you are permitted to use, copy and share it as
   desired, EXCEPT: 1.) It MUST be copied IN FULL, with all of
   it's files, including this one. 2.) None of the files may be
   altered in any way, and 3.) No fee may be charged for it,
   except for a small copying/distribution fee by distributors.
   You are permitted to use this software only for evaluation.
   This version is limited, if you register you will be sent
   a fully-functional version with any other improvements we
   feel should be added. The evaluation period should not
   exceed 30 days.



   HOWEVER: If you like the program, and would like to support
   the development of quality, low-cost software such as this,
   you should register it with the author. To register, if you
   have a printer, print the included file INVOICE.DOC, or if
   not, then send your fee to the address below.

   REGISTRATION fee is $50.00. When we receive your fee, we
   will immediately ship you the newest fully-functional
   version. We offer full support as well and will try to
   answer any questions or correct any problems you may have.

   Your $50.00 fee is for ONE-SITE use of the program. This
   means you MAY use multiple copies on multiple computers
   as long as they are at the SAME location.

   Customized version are also available upon written request
   and these rates are much less than you may expect. We can
   add your company name, label data-fields to your needs,
   etc. etc.

   WE ARE VERY INTERESTED in any features you would like to
   see added to this program in future versions, please let
   us know.

   Be sure to specify your DISK SIZE & TYPE (High Density or
   Double Density).

   ***   Only U.S. Check or money order will be accepted. ***


   For further information, registration or support, contact:



                      * Eric Jarrett
                      * P.O. Box 34749
                      * Richmond, VA. 23234

    Please be sure to specify the program name, and where you
    obtained your copy. (The BBS or catalog).


    If you have a modem, you may either download our programs
    or leave us a message at either of these BBS'S:


    ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
    ║   Blue Ridge Express(ERICJ Sub-Board): 804-790-1675   │
    ║                        Or                             │
    ║   Valhalla BBS.......................: 804-560-0701   │
    ╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


    DISCLAIMER:

    We offer no warranty for DISP1 Version 1.0 whether
    express or implied, including without limitation any
    implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a
    particular purpose. We will not be responsible for any
    special, incidental, consequential damages, either direct
    or indirect resulting from use of this product. The user
    bears all risks as to the quality and performance of this
    software, and in no case shall the liability for any
    damages ever exceed the price paid for the software.

    As always, you should make a backup copy of your original
             disk. Please refer to your DOS manual.

   >

   <6

 Report functions

   There are two report generating functions within the
   program from the main menu. There is also an unrated-
   job report generated every time billing is done, if there
   are any jobs lacking an amount in the Total Charge field,
   which you can print from there if desired.


   COURIER REPORTS

   Courier reports are generated when this option is chosen
   from the main pull-down menu. This report gathers data
   from the LOADED file only, so the data pertains to a
   particular DAY.

   When you choose this option, if there are any jobs in
   the currently loaded file in which there is no courier
   rate, a message will appear regarding each one and giving
   the courier name as well as the Tracer number, so you
   can easily look them up if desired.

   After these messages are cleared, a window will open
   showing each courier name, and the total amount for each
   for all the jobs in the current day. Note that if you do
   not enter the courier names exactly the same each time,
   you may see multiple listings of the same courier.

   The report may then be printed, or the function may
   be exited.


   BILLING REPORTS


   The billing report is strictly a printed report and
   there is no screen display of the data.


   When billing report is chosen (I recommend this is
   done each time a billing is performed), data is gathered
   from a file generated at billing time (BILLING.RPT) and
   a report is printed showing the date and then columns
   under which the following data is printed: Client Name,
   Total Charges, Invoice Date, Invoice number, Total Air
   Charges, Total Courier cost and total Agent charges.

   At the bottom of the report will be totals of all the
   columns.

   If this is done after each billing, it should be easy
   at the end of the year or at the end of each month to
   gather figures for various purposes.

          ***        IMPORTANT NOTE:       ***
   Each time a billing is done, this file is over-written,
   so if you don't create the report before your next
   billing, it will be too late.


   >


   <7


 Files


   Load File

   This option will list all existing .DSP files in
   current directory. To load one, double-click it with
   the mouse, or use arrow keys & [ENTER].

   Initiate File

   Normally, you should not need to use this option since
   the program does this automatically each new day that it
   is run. However, if for some reason you need to enter a
   job in a file which does not exist (which means you haven't
   run the program on the date the file would be named after),
   then choose initiate file.

   This will prompt you for a file name which MUST be a month-
   day-year in the format MM-DD-YY. Other entries will be
   rejected or if the file exists you will be told so. The
   program will add the .DSP extension to your file name. No
   files without the .DSP extension will load.



   For ease-of-use this program has been designed so
   that the user will have little concern with file-
   maintenance, however the following information is
   important:


   List of Files:

   Job-Data files will automatically be created new
   whenever the program is run if the date in the
   computer has changed. This will automatically create
   a job file for each day using the date for the name
   of the file with the extension '.DSP'. In other words
   for Jan. 1 1994, a file will be created called

              01-01-93.DSP

   The files in this format are the Job-data files.


   Suggestion:

   We recommend that after you have completed all billings
   you will do from a given data-file that you move it to
   another diskette or directory. Or you could do this after
   month-end when all clients have been billed. The benefit
   is that you will not have so many data-files to search
   through when selecting some for billing, backup, etc.
   (Note: you can do this with the Backup function by
   choosing the MOVE option from the backup file selection.)


   Other files are as follows:


   VBRUN200.DLL is a file required if you want to run
   Dispatcher from within Windows. It must be placed in
   your Windows directory (or whatever directory Windows
   is in.) If you do not wish to use Dispatcher in Windows
   you do not need to install this file.

   README.TXT is a small text-file with any updated
   information not contained herein.

   README.COM is a self-displaying format of README.TXT.
   To view it, type README at the DOs prompt.

   DISP1.EXE is the main program file.

   DISP.EXE is a file which can enable you to easily run
   Dispatcher from within MS-Windows, assuming you have
   Windows 3.X and enough memory. See General help for
   more information about using DISP.EXE. This file need
   not be installed if you are not going to run Dispatcher
   in MS-Windows.

   DISP.HLP is this help-file.

   CLIENT.DAT is the Account or client database, when
   using the program's Back-Up function this file and
   the data files you select are copied to the target
   drive.

   BILLING.RPT is a text-file which contains your billing
   data from the last billing done. It will be over-
   written when the next billing is done, but is needed
   if a report is to be done on your last billing.

   COURIER.RPT is a text-file containing courier data for
   the Courier Report. This small file is overwritten each
   time a new courier report is generated.

   BILLING.TMP is a text-file containing certain data from
   your most recent billing. This is used in the billing
   process and is left (rather than deleted) for other
   functions such as envelope printing. It will be over-
   written when the next billing is done.

   DISP1.INV is a text-file which keeps track of invoice
   numbers. It will reset after it reaches 99999999. If
   you don't want your invoice numbers to start at 1, then
   edit this file by using a text-editor and change the
   number then save the file in ASCII format.

   DISP1.CFG is a configuration file.

   INVOICE.DOC is a text-file invoice for you to register
   and receive the full-featured version of Dispatcher.


   Utilities Menu

   COMPRESSING CLIENT-FILE:

   If your program becomes slow accessing Account data, or
   if you get a message that you are reaching the maximum
   number of clients, AND  you have many vacant client numbers
   you should compress your client file (CLIENT.DAT).

   *********************************************************
      IMPORTANT:

   You SHOULD NOT do this otherwise, since it will assign
   new numbers to many of your clients.

   *********************************************************

   Before compressing the client file, you should
   be sure to REMOVE any clients you do not want in your
   client database file.

   The compression program will Compress CLIENT.DAT
   and rename it CLIENT.OLD.  The program cannot use the
   file as CLIENT.OLD since it looks for CLIENT.DAT, but
   you can keep CLIENT.OLD if you want for a back-up copy
   of the old file which could be renamed.



   >