Big Blue Disk 57/bbd57.zip/WATER.TXT

Text File | 1991-05-09 | 9KB | 183 lines

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     |E║ |5Helpware|E ║         ^1 Water Conservation Manager |E         ║ |5Helpware|E ║
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^C^1by^0
^C^1Robin C. Johnson^0


        With the urban population of the United States steadily
     increasing, the availability of clean water for industrial,
     agricultural, and residential uses continues to diminish.  In some
     areas, such as central and southern California, the shortage of water
     is so serious that some communities have begun rationing programs.
     Many other areas are asking for voluntary cut-backs of water use.
     Even in areas with plenty of water, citizens have an interest in
     reducing consumption, if only to lower their utility bills.

        WATER CONSERVATION MANAGER can help you comply with water
     rationing restrictions in your community and provide important and
     timely information on this topic.  In this age of increasing
     environmental concern, keeping the subject of water conservation up
     front and visible should help all of us take steps to reduce our
     personal water use.


^C^1What It Does^0

        WATER CONSERVATION MANAGER has two primary purposes:

     (1) To track water use for up to 12 years, by month, and
         provide comparisons with previous years.

     (2) To provide educational material about ways to reduce water
         consumption in the home.

        Up to twelve years of information about your monthly water use can
     be entered from water bills or directly from your water meter.  Water
     bills often show consumption in units, where a unit is equivalent to
     748 gallons.  As you accumulate information in the water database,
     the selected year's data is compared to the previous year's data to
     give you a picture of how well you are conserving.  If you have saved
     water bills from previous years, that data may be entered as well.
     Once the numbers have been entered, the data can be displayed
     numerically in a list and graphically in a bar chart and may be
     viewed on the screen and printed.

        In addition to the water use analysis features, a chart of water
     conservation tips is provided as an information-only item.  One of
     these tips is randomly selected and displayed every time the Main
     Menu is invoked.  Also included as an information-only item is a
     chart showing where water is typically used in the American home.
     You may view both charts on the screen as well as print them.


^C^1Using It^0

        WATER CONSERVATION MANAGER is completely menu-driven and requires
     no memorized commands.  The Main Menu offers 7 selections which can
     be chosen by highlighting the desired option with the up/down arrow
     keys or by pressing the first letter of the choice, and then pressing
     <ENTER>.  The <HOME>, <END>, <PGUP>, and <PGDN> keys also move the
     highlight bar.  The <ESC> key will move the highlight bar to the exit
     option.  In general, <ESC> will allow you to exit out of what you are
     currently doing and eventually return you to the Main Menu.

        Under the Main Menu, a randomly chosen water conservation tip will
     appear.  Pressing <F1> from the Main Menu will display a general
     help screen.  <ESC> exits you from the help screen.

        The following is an explanation of each of the available Main Menu
     options.

     ^1Select A Year^0
        This item allows you to choose a year to work with.  The currently
     selected year is shown at the top right of the screen.  Initially, it
     is set to NONE, indicating that no year has been set.  When you
     select this option, a pop-up box will appear to the left displaying
     the years that have been entered so far (up to 12).  Scroll through
     these years with the arrow keys, and press <ENTER> to make your
     selection; you will be returned to the Main Menu with your selected
     year displayed.  All further menu selections operate on this year
     until it is changed.  Press <ESC> to quit with no update; you will be
     returned to the Main Menu without changing your selected year.  Press
     <F2> to enter a new year (1900 and greater) and <F3> to delete an
     existing year.  If you type a new year, you will be asked to verify
     your response.  Entering a new year creates a new data file in the
     current directory (water usage data for 1991 would be saved in the
     file 1991.USE).

        If you wish to record more than 12 years of water usage
     information, simply use multiple directories.  For example, place

        1980.USE - 1989.USE in the directory WATR1980,
        1990.USE - 1999.USE in the directory WATR1990,
        etc.

        Remember, all .USE files will be stored in the current directory,
     and the maximum is 12 files per directory.

     ^1Input Monthly Water Usage^0
        This item allows you to enter data into the water use database.
     When you select this option, a pop-up box will appear to the right
     showing the months of the year and the water usage for each month.
     Scroll through the months with the arrow keys, and press <ENTER> to
     update the data for the highlighted month.  Press <ESC> to save your
     changes and return to the Main Menu.

        When entering water usage, use whole numbers and do not include
     punctuation.  The largest number that can be entered is 99999.  If
     this is not sufficient, scale your numbers by dividing all your data
     by 10 or 100.  If you do this, remember to multiply by that scaling
     factor when interpreting your results.  Any measurement unit may be
     used in entering data, but be consistent.

     ^1List Water Usage For Year^0
        This item displays a report of your water usage for the current
     year and the previous year if it is available.  The report will show
     your water usage change and the percent of increase for each month
     between the two years.  A positive percent increase means that
     you used more water for this month of the selected year than you
     did for the same month last year.  A negative percent increase
     is actually a decrease; you used less water this month than during
     the same month last year.  Press <ESC> to return to the Main Menu.

     ^1Graph Water Usage For Year^0
        This item draws a bar chart depicting the year's water use by
     month.  The graph is scaled to the data, and thus may be used for
     widely varied data.  Although any measurement unit may be used for
     water usage (gallon, liter, unit, etc.), it is important to be
     consistent.  Otherwise, comparisons between years will not be
     meaningful.  Press <ESC> to return to the Main Menu.

     ^1Conservation Tips^0
        This information-only item displays 50 water-saving tips that we
     can all use to better conserve water.  Some of these tips are more
     obvious than others, but they are all recognized by communities
     trying to save water as safe, practical, and often effortless ways
     for citizens to conserve water.  Use the <PGUP> and <PGDN> keys to
     move between pages.  You may want to print this list out as you begin
     your water conserving efforts, letting every family member become
     familiar with it.  Press <ESC> to return to the Main Menu.

     ^1Usage Statistics^0
        This information-only item is provided to give you an
     understanding of where water is used in your home.  It shows, for a
     typical house, the percentage of water used in various domestic
     activities and how much water is used by certain appliances and
     activities on a routine basis.  By recognizing how water is used in
     your home, you will be better able to control its use.  Press <ESC>
     to return to the Main Menu.

     ^1Exit Program^0
        Choose this option to quit Water Conservation Manager.


^C^1Printing Reports^0

        Reports may be printed for the List, Graph, Tips, and Statistics
     Main Menu options.  To print these reports, press <P> while viewing
     those screens.  A pop-up box will appear that allows you to press
     <ENTER> to print the report or <ESC> to cancel the print request.  If
     you choose to print the report, make sure that your printer is
     on-line and loaded with paper.


^C^1Final Words To The Home Planet^0

        Clean water is a precious natural resource that we often take for
     granted.  In fact, we often assume there is an unlimited supply for
     our needs, until suddenly there is a shortage.  It is important that
     we recognize the need to conserve our water supplies just as we do
     our air, forests, and wildlife.  Good luck in your personal
     conservation efforts!


^C^1Outside of BBD^0

        To run WATER CONSERVATION MANAGER outside of ^1Big Blue Disk^0,
     type ^1WATER^0.

     Disk files this program uses:
^FWATER.EXE
^F*.USE