Night Owl 6/Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso/007a/mailist.zip/MAILLIST.DOC

Text File | 1986-04-05 | 14KB | 323 lines

STEPS IN OPERATING PROGRAM MAILLIST   ( .EXE VERSION )

1.  Load DOS 1.1
2.  Run  program  - Just type in MAILLIST and MAILLIST.EXE will load
    and run
3.  Respond to the following question - Does the mail list reside/or
    is to reside on Drive A or B? Type either A or B.
4.  Then a menu of six items will be presented on the screen.

NOTE:  If  the mail list file is new,  the program will  immediately
transfer  to the ADD ADDITIONAL ENTRY portion and will  not  display
the  main  menu.  DO  NOT  remove the data disk  until  the  program
terminates and returns to P.C. DOS or data will be lost.



The mail list program is broken down into six options:

A.  List mail list on the CRT
B.  List the mail list on the line printer
C.  Edit mail list
D.  Add additional entries
E.  MicroPro mailmerge interface
F.  Terminate mail list program     (return to PC DOS)


WILD CARD USAGE

Wild cards may be used in item 7,  option A; option C; and option D,
listed above.  The wild card character is the asterisk (*). The wild
card  may be used when you are unsure of the name of the  individual
you  wish to list on the CRT or edit. All characters that follow the
asterisk  are ignored.If the asterisk is used in the last name,  the
first name of the individual will never be requested.  The  asterisk
may  be  used  in the last name field or the first  name  field.  In
option  D,  the wild card duplicates the same field of the  previous
entry.  For example,  if the previous "city entry" were LOS ANGELES,
depress  the  asterisk  in the city field and LOS  ANGELES  will  be
displayed on the CRT and inserted in the record. This can be done in
any  of the specified fields when a field of a previous entry is  to
be duplicated.


MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

1.  I.B.M. P.C. with 96K of memory
2.  160k byte disk drive
3.  I.B.M. line printer or equivalent
4.  DOS 1.1
Note:  The equivalent line printers to the I.B.M. line printer would
be the Epson MX-80 or Epson MX-100.

SORT CODE - User defined field

This  field  can contain upto five characters composed of upper  and
lower  case letters and numbers.  There are three ways to  use  this
field:

1.   As  a  sort  option  - The entire field is  used  as  a  single
variable.  The user may use up to five characters in this field. For
example: all doctors could be designated "doc".

2.   As an extraction option used with sort options 2,  4, 5, and 6.
Each character in the field is a specific user defined catagory. See
option A ( LIST MAIL LIST ON CRT ).

3.   As  an index to  the nineteen possible mailmerge interface  op
tions.  ( OPTION E - MAIL MERGE INTERFACE )

Note:  If  you use both options 2 and 3,  it would be  advisable  to
restrict  the usage of capital letters A thru I and numbers 0 thru 9
for   use  with  option  3  to  avoid  the  possibility  of   option
interference  since option 3 ( MAILMERGE INTERFACE ) uses  the  last
printable character to determine the format of output.


OPTION A - LIST MAIL LIST ON CRT presents a menu of seven items:

1.  no sort/no extract
2.  sort on name
3.  sort on sort code   (full field)
4.  sort on zip code
5.  sort on area code
6.  sort on company name
7.  list individual entry

If  you choose item 1,  your entire file will be listed in the order
that  it was entered.  If you choose items 2-6,  your file  will  be
sorted  as the name of the item indicates.  If items 2-6 are chosen,
then an additional question will be asked:  Do you wish to list  the
entire  sorted file or extract a portion of the file?  If you choose
to  extract a portion of the file,  you must give a start  and  stop
string. In other words, you must type the upper and lower limits for
your  output.  For example,  if you sorted on the ZIP CODE,  you may
define  the start string as 92 and the stop string as 98.  Then  any
person's  record  which resides within this zip code range  will  be
listed.  A sub-sort is performed in items 3-6 according to the name.
A special extraction feature is built into the sort code for options
2,4,5,  and 6. The user may designate each character position within
the  sort  code to represent a chosen catagory.  Each  character  is
specific.  Upper and lower case letters and single digit numbers may
be  used to represent different catagories.  This means that a total
of sixty-two possible catagories are available of which five may  be
used  for each name.  For example,  you may designate a sort code as
ABC12  in  which each letter and number stands for  a  user  defined
catagory.  If you input to the program that you wish to extract ZA5,
then  anyone who has a Z or an A or a 5 in any position in his  sort
code  will  be listed on the CRT,  as long as other conditions  have
been met.  If you choose item 7, you will be asked to input the last
name  of the individual entry followed by the first name  (see  wild
card  explanation).  You  may  wish to use this item as  a  personal
telephone directory.

OPTION B - LIST ON THE LINE PRINTER

The  exact same menu as was presented in OPTION A except for item 7,
LIST MAIL LIST ON CRT,  will be presented with one additional  ques
tion: Do you wish listings or labels? If you choose labels, then the
list  will  be  presented on labels with the  following  dimensions;
single column,  3 1/2 inches by 15/16 of an inch.  You will also  be
asked  if  you  wish  the  labels to  be  centered  or  blocked.  An
additional  question will be asked if you wish the company  name  or
the  individual's  name to be first on the label.  A final  question
will  be  asked concerning the number of labels per  entry.  If  you
choose  the  list option,  the printout on the line printer will  be
presented  in  the form of three entries per row and  six  rows  per
column for a total page count of eighteen entries.

OPTION C - EDIT MAIL LIST

You  will  first  be asked to input the last name  of  the  person's
record  whom  you wish to edit,  followed by the first name  of  the
person's record to edit.  If this entry is found,  you will be asked
if this is the correct entry to edit since it is possible for two or
more people to have the same name.  If it is the correct entry,  you
will  be asked if you wish to delete the entry.  If the response  is
affirmative,  you will be asked,  ARE YOU SURE?  If the entry is de
leted,  a  hole is made in the file which will be filled by an addi
tional entry.  If the entry is not deleted, you will have the option
of changing any or all parameters in the following manner. By moving
the cursor with the keypad controls to the entry on the screen,  you
may perform the following functions:

1.   Overwrite what is there

2.   Press insert on the keypad control and insert characters. NOTE:
An  entry  other than an alphanumeric character will  terminate  the
insert.   If field overflow occurs while you are in this  mode,  the
trailing characters which disappear on the screen are lost.

3.   Delete the character over the cursor.  Deletion is performed by
using the delete on the key pad control.

NOTE:  It  is very important not to depress the enter or the  escape
key  until  all  entries are correct since that will  terminate  the
edit. You can only edit the mail list parameters. Boundry conditions
are checked so no over flow can occur between the fields. If you are
editing the telephone number,  the area code is considered a  single
field,  the three digit prefix is considered a single field, and the
four digit suffix is a single field. You may make as many changes as
you wish but once the enter or escape key is depressed, that edit is
complete.  What is displayed on the CRT is exactly what is stored in
the file. You will notice a slight hesitation between the time you
depress a character on the keyboard and when the character is prese
nted on the CRT. This is normal due to the loop time of the edit.


OPTION D - ADD ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

If  the mail file is new,  the program will automatically enter this
option without presenting the main menu.

A list of all the mail list parameters will be displayed on the CRT.
You  may enter characters wherever the cursor is positioned  by  the
program.
NOTE: If the entire field is filled,  the cursor will  automatically
be moved to the next field.  Do not press the enter or escape key if
the  field is full or you will skip the next field.  If the field is
not filled,  then you must either press the enter key or the  escape
key to jump to the next field.  If a character is typed erroneously,
you  may use the backspace to change that character.  The fields are
shaded so you may see the relative position of the characters to the
field.  When  all fields have been entered or skipped,  you will  be
asked if the entries are correct.  If you indicate that an entry  is
in error, the program will transfer to the edit mode and will permit
the  record  to be edited prior to writting the record to the  disk.
NOTE:  Use the same controls to edit as in option C, EDIT MAIL LIST.
Upon  completion  of  the edit you may proceed to  the  next  entry.
However,  termination  of the ADD ADDITIONAL ENTRY is  performed  by
depressing  either  the escape key or the enter key prior to  typing
any  character  in the LAST NAME ENTRY.  Character  verification  is
performed while you are typing individual entries.  For example,  no
number  can appear in a name nor can a letter appear in a  telephone
number. If you do press the wrong key, the character will be ignored
and it will not be presented on the CRT.  A control B (^B) will back
you up to the previous field.



OPTION E - MAIL MERGE INTERFACE

The  mail merge file is determined by the user as any file name  may
be used.  The user,  also,  has the option of determining which disk
drive to write the file to.

The exact same menu as was presented in OPTION A,  LIST MAIL LIST ON
CRT,  will  be presented with the exception of item 7.  All sort op
tions and extract options are available to the user.

There  are  nineteen  (19)  different possible mail  merge  type  of
address entries available. These entries are determined by the LEAST
SIGNIFICANT PRINTABLE CHARACTER in the SORT CODE.  An example of  an
option entry would be: sort code= ABC12. Then the option entry would
be 2. An other example would be: sort code=AA. Then the option entry
would  be  A.  Digits 0 thru 9 and letters A thru I are used in  the
selection  of the format for the individual entry.  If  the  program
does not find a match,  it will default to code  0. Please note that
options  A thru I are capital letters and not lower case.  If  lower
case  letters  are used,  no match will occur and the  program  will
default to code 0.

The codes are as follows:

     0    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MR. LAST NAME
     1    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MS. LAST NAME
     2    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MRS. LAST NAME
     3    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MISS LAST NAME
     4    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,FIRST NAME
     5    ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MR. LAST NAME
     6    ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MS. LAST NAME
     7    ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MRS. LAST NAME
     8    ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MISS LAST NAME
     9    ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,FIRST NAME
     A    FN-MI-LN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MR. LAST NAME
     B    FN-MI-LN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MS. LAST NAME
     C    FN-MI-LN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MRS. LAST NAME
     D    FN-MI-LN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MISS LAST NAME
     E    FN-MI-LN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,FIRST NAME
     F    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,GENTLEMEN
     G    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MESDAMES
     H    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,SIR
     I    CN,ADDR,CITY-STATE,ZIP CODE,MADAM

CN        Company name      FN      First name       LN    Last name
ADDR      Street address    MI      Middle initial

Note  that formats 0 thru 4 and formats A thru I use the  same  Mail
Merge  format  while  formats 5 thru 9 use a  different  Mail  Merge
format.

The  interface file is attached to the WordStar/MailMerge letter  by
the  .DF directive.  Formats 0 thru 4 and A thru I are described  by
the  .RV  COMPANY,ADDR1,ADDR2,ADDR3,NAME directive while  formats  5
thru  9  are described by the .RV ADDR1,ADDR2,ADDR3,NAME  directive.
Please refer to your WordStar Mailmerge manual for further  explana
tion.  WordStar and Mailmerge are copywritted programs from MicroPro
Corporation.



OPTION  F - TERMINATE MAIL LIST PROGRAM- You will be returned to  PC
DOS.


The mail list is composed of the following fields:

1.  Up to eighteen characters describing the last name
2.  Up to twelve characters describing the first name
3.  One character for the middle initial
4.  Up to seventeen characters for the company name
5.  Up to twenty six characters for the street address
6.  Up to four characters for the apartment number
7.  Up to twenty characters for the city name
8.  Two characters for the state
9.  Five characters for the zip code
10. Four  characters for the zip extension (not yet implemented  by
    the postal authority)
11. Up to five characters for the user defined sort code
12. Three characters for the telephone area code
13. Three characters for the telephone prefix
14. Four characters for the telephone suffix
15. Up to four characters for the telephone extension



SUMMARY OF AUTOMATIC FEATURES

1.  Use of wild cards (*)
2.  Method of editing
3.  Highlighting
4.  Visual messages
5.  Multiple methods of sorting and extraction
6.  Requires  only one file to  contain entire mail list.  No  other
    file will ever be generated (except for the mailmerge file).
7.  The mail list file may reside on either drive A or B
8.  The Mailmerge file may reside on either drive A or B and  may be
    any name of your choice.







Alpha Computer Service
P.O. Box 2517
Cypress, California
90630

and  may be
    any name of your choice.







Alpha Computer Service
P.O. Box