home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Best of www.BestZips.com (Collector's Edition)
/
Best of WWW.BESTZIPS.COM Collector's Edition (JCSM Shareware) (JCS Marketing).ISO
/
bother__
/
scbatr25.zip
/
HISTORY.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-02-22
|
27KB
|
456 lines
HISTORY.DOC
SCBA Trak History For Version 2.5x
==================================
REGISTERED USERS NOTE: To upgrade your current copy of the program, you
will need to copy the following files into your \SCBATRAK directory, at
a minimum: SCBATRAK.EXE SCBAHELP.DBF SCBAHELP.FPT QM_DICT.DBF
or run the installation program on the diskette, if any.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCBA Trak v2.50 02/22/96
--------------- --------
1. Added a query function to the inventory and fill log modules. You
can now build custom queries to extract information not currently
present in one of the built-in reports. Example: A manufacturer
recently issued a safety notice following an air bottle rupture
which only affected bottles with certain serial number prefixes.
Although it was later determined that extensive external damage had
been inflicted on the bottle, the initial notice required these
certain bottles be depressurized and removed from service.
With the new query system, you could build a plain language query
such as "Serial Number begins with ALT649 and Working Pressure
equals 2216". The query system will rapidly isolate only those
records meeting the query condition. While the query is in effect,
all reports and screens will show only those records meeting the
query. Thus, a printout of the air bottle inventory would in fact
show only those bottles meeting the query condition. A new header
and footer are automatically printed on the reports describing the
query condition. A message is displayed on the bottom of each
screen, describing the query, to remind you that a query is in
effect and not all records are visible.
On registered versions, you can save and reuse all queries you've
built and tested. On the trial version, queries aren't saved. You
have to re-enter each query every time you want to reuse it.
And yes, you can use the query system to search the "Notes" for a
particular word or phrase. Spelling, however, is critical.
2. Added Alt+U from the main menu to allow a user to rebuild the
"Maintenance Due" file. A few users asked for this, even though
it's done automatically.
3. Added the "Last Filled" column to the air bottle "Update Records
For Maintenance Performed" function. Bottles overdue for filling
were showing up, but you didn't know why they were there because
there was no column for the last filled date.
4. Fixed a bug in the "print a single back pack by ID" on registered
versions. The "Print to: Printer/File" dialog box wasn't being
displayed on the screen.
5. Added some printer control settings to the "Options" screens. You
can now set the top margin, bottom margin, and the total number of
lines per page for your printer. Some users wanted to print the
reports on their letterhead, but couldn't, because there was no way
to set the top margin. These settings will take some experimenting
to find the correct numbers for your printer. For example, most dot
matrix printers use 66 lines per page, while most laser printers
only use 60. Some ink jet printers will use 63 lines per page if
you have the "skip over perf" switch turned off. But, if this
switch is turned on, they then use 60 lines per page. I suggest
setting the top and bottom margin to the same number, then changing
the total number of lines per page until the top and bottom margins
on the printout are the same. Then you can vary the margins as
desired.
And, in order to print more information, a compressed font is being
used on some of the reports. The Due List and most of the Back Pack
reports are examples. The compressed font used is equivalent to 17
characters per inch, versus the previous 12 characters per inch. If
your printer is so old that it doesn't support compressed print,
the reports using the 17CPI font are going to look a bit strange,
with the end of one line wrapped to the beginning of the next line.
6. Added the ability to change some of the field names as displayed on
the screen and used on the reports. Some users wanted to change the
wording to accommodate their procedures. The field names are
changed on the "Options" screens.
Air Bottle Module - Added the ability to replace the ten character
phrase "Air bottle" with any phrase of your choice, up to twelve
characters long. It could be "Air cylinder", "Oxygen tank", or even
"Extinguisher". These changes will also show up in the Fill Log.
PASS Unit Module - Added the ability to replace the nine character
phrase "PASS unit" with any phrase of your choice, up to eleven
characters long. It could be "PASS Device", "Mask mike", or even
"2-way radio".
Mask Module - Added the ability to replace the nine character
phrase "SCBA Mask" with any phrase of your choice, up to ten
characters long. It could be "Facepiece", "Face piece", or even
"SCUBA mask". Added the ability to replace the thirteen character
phrase "Certification" with any phrase of your choice, up to
thirteen characters long. You will also need to change the seven
character abbreviation "Certif." to any appropriate abbreviation,
up to eight characters long. Example: "Bench Check" and "Bnch chk".
Back Pack Module - Added the ability to replace the thirteen
character phrase "Certification" with any phrase of your choice, up
to thirteen characters long. You will also need to change the seven
character abbreviation "Certif." to any appropriate abbreviation,
up to eight characters long. Example: "Bench test" and "Bnch tst",
or "Overhaul" and "Overhaul". You can have this phrase in the back
pack module set differently from the phrase in the mask module.
Main Menu Header - Added the ability to replace the eleven
character phrase "SCBA & PASS" on the top of the screen with any
phrase of your choice, up to twelve characters. My Australian
customers can now change the phrase to read "CABA & DSU" .
NOTE: These changes DO NOT affect any of the entered data. If you
change the phrase "Air bottle" to "O2 tank", for example, the
program will start calling your SCBA bottles "O2 tanks". You have
two alternatives. The first would be to change "Air bottle" to just
plain "Cylinder". Then turn on the Multi-Owner mode and create a
new owner named "Oxygen Tanks". Enter all of the O2 cylinders with
that owner name. That way, you could keep the records separate. Or,
you could change the "Last Known To Be On" field to read
"OXYGEN/SQ-1" to indicate an O2 cylinder stored on Squad-1.
Or, you could reinstall the program into a different directory and
make the changes as needed to the second copy of the program. This
is probably a better procedure, as it allows better descriptions to
be used and also keeps the records separated. Note that if you're
going to be using both copies of the program at the same time, you
will need to purchase a second license for the new copy.
7. Changed the air bottle budget report to pop up a new dialog box
when the report is selected, asking: "Do you want to limit the
report to only composite air bottles needing replaced ?". If you
answer YES, the report will only show the composite bottles that
will reach their ultimate life between those dates, and how much
money you're going to have to budget to replace them. If you answer
NO, the report will work as before. Note that the end-of-life date
defaults to the first day of the month. Thus, a report from January
1, 1996 through December 31, 1996 will produce the same list as a
report from January 1, 1996 through December 1, 1996. It also means
that if you have several thousand dollars of bottles needing
replaced on January 1, 1997, they won't show up on the report.
8. In previous versions, you could select whether you wanted items
listed in order by Serial Number or I.D. Number, and that selection
applied to all of the modules. Now, you can select which modules
you want ordered which way. Example: You can have the Back Pack and
PASS Unit inventories ordered by I.D. Number, while having the Air
Bottle inventory, the Mask inventory, and the Fill Log ordered by
Serial Number. Or whatever. This selection is made on the Options
screens. If you had "I.D. Number" selected before, you'll have to
go and reset it. I'm using "Serial Number" as the default.
If you select "I.D. Number order", the I.D. Number field on that
module's data entry screen will be moved so it's displayed before
the Serial Number field instead of after.
9. When adding bottles into the Fill Log, the "Last Filled" and
"Filled By" data will be stored in memory and automatically entered
for any subsequent bottles. If you're entering several bottles
which were filled on the same day or entering bottles as they're
being filled, this will eliminate some typing. If you need to
change these items, just type in the new data and it will be used
for subsequent entries.
Also, the "Working Pressure" field has been moved so it's after the
Serial Number and I.D. Number fields, to be consistent with the air
bottle inventory screen.
10. The procedure for adding bottles into the Fill Log has changed a
bit. Previously, the automatic importing of data from the air
bottle inventory file only worked for the Owner name programmed to
the F1 key. Now, on the rest of the F keys, data import is
possible. After entering the Owner name and then the Serial Number
(or I.D. Number), a search is made of the air bottle inventory for
a match between the entered number and the Owner name. If a match
is found, the I.D. Number (or Serial Number), Working Pressure, and
the Last Hydro Test Date are automatically imported. The cursor is
moved to the Last Known To Be On field and the list box of names
pops up. If no match is found on the Serial Number (or I.D. Number)
field, when you then enter the I.D. Number (or the Serial Number),
another attempt to locate a match in the air bottle inventory will
be made.
NOTE THAT THE SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION OF THE NAME PROGRAMMED TO
THE "F" KEY MUST MATCH THE AIR BOTTLE INVENTORY "OWNER" NAME
* EXACTLY * OR IT WON'T BE FOUND. Capitalization is irrelevant. To
help you out, the "Program Owner names..." function has changed a
bit. When you select the fill log module from the main menu, a scan
is made of the list of Owner names in the Owner list box, which is
compared to the names programmed to the "F" keys. If the scan finds
an owner name (not case sensitive) that's not already programmed to
an "F" key, it adds that name to the next blank "F" key slot.
After entering the Last Known To Be On field (or pressing Escape to
remove the list box and leave the field blank), and assuming the
remainder of the fields are filled in as needed, you can tap the
Page Down key to terminate the entry and save all the data.
EXAMPLE: You're using a bar code reader to read your I.D. Number
stickers, you've put a computer at your fill station, and the first
bottle has already been entered (necessary to assure the "Last
Filled" date is present). You're looking at a blank "add" screen.
Pressing the appropriate F key enters the Owner name. You scan the
bar code into the program I.D. Number field. An automatic import of
the Serial Number, Working Pressure, and Last Hydro Test Date is
done. You verify the imported data looks reasonable (mistakes do
happen ...). You enter the Last Known To Be On name, if any, and
tap the Page Down key. The entry is terminated, the fill log and
air bottle records are updated, and you're ready to enter a new
bottle. Minimal typing done, and minimal errors made!
11. Added a new question to the Options screens: 'Do you want to use
the "F" keys as hot keys for entering owner names in the fill log
instead of the owner name list box ?' Leaving this question
answered Y keeps operation the same as in previous versions.
Answering it N removes the list of "F" key assignments, replacing
it with a list box of owner names. This was requested by service
centers who had more than twenty owner names and needed to be able
to enter those names rapidly when in the fill log.
12. Added a dialog box to the "Update Records For Maintenance
Performed" selection asking if you want the list sorted according
to the "Assigned To" or "Last Known To Be On" field. This will make
updating records faster when you've just completed the weekly
inspections on a single truck. Fixed an error in the "Limit..."
portion of this function which caused it to occasionally not display
some items which actually were within their lead time.
13. Added an online context-sensitive help system. Almost all fields
and menus have a help screen attached to them. Pressing F1 will
bring up the help for that field or function. To reduce the size of
the printed manual, all items which are now covered in the help
system have been removed from the file MANUAL.DOC. The help files
are stored in three new files: SCBAHELP.DBF, SCBAHELP.FPT, and
SCBAHELP.CDX. The instructions for the query system are found in
the MANUAL.DOC file, not the help system. The query screens do,
however, have helpful hints on the screen to guide you in building
a query.
14. Changed the "Add new xxxxx to the inventory" functions so they
bring up a new empty record immediately after adding a record.
Previously, you were kicked back to the menu and you had to press
Enter once to add another record. Also changed the screen layout
slightly so it's now identical to the "browse" screen. Both the
"PgUp" and "PgDn" mouse buttons will cause the newly-entered record
to be saved, the same as pressing the PageDown key did before.
Press Esc to cancel entering another record. And you can now press
the F2 key at any time to enter notes.
15. Added a new field to the back pack inventory, "Harness/Pack S/N".
Some manufacturers are now adding separate serial numbers for the
pack frame assembly, whereas SCBA Trak was using the Pressure
Reducer serial number or the I.D. number instead. The previous
field "Pack/Reducer S/N" has been renamed throughout the program to
"Press. Reducer S/N" for clarification. Sorry if this causes any
problems, but I couldn't think of a better way to handle it.
16. Added a "speed search" feature to the pop-up list boxes which have
a scroll bar attached. Previously, you could type the first letter
of an item and the cursor would jump to the first matching item.
Then you had to cursor through the list to find what you wanted.
Unfortunately, if you had entered Social Security numbers in the
"Mask Assigned To" field, this approach was rather useless. Now,
you can continue typing the number you're looking for and the
program will keep looking for matches. If you first type a "T",
it'll jump to the first item starting with a "T". If you then type
an "R", it'll jump to the first item starting with "TR", etc. If
nothing matches, you'll get a beep (even if you have the beeps
turned off on the Options screens). As a reminder, every key you
type will be displayed along the bottom border of the list box. The
"backspace" key can be used to "back up" the search. The search is
not case-sensitive.
The "space" is now a valid search character, so tapping the space
bar will no longer bump the cursor bar down to the next item
(although it still works this way on menus and dialog boxes). To
move one item at a time, tap the cursor arrow keys. When you do so,
the search will be canceled and you can move anywhere in the list,
just like before. Note that the cursor bar is now locked in
position on the second item, and the list of names scrolls through
the bar.
17. Changed the operation of the main menu "Name list changes and
corrections" function. Previously, you could only change one name
at a time. After entering the changes, each database file would be
searched and corrected, and then the name list rebuilt. If you
needed to change multiple names, this took a lot of time. Now,
after entering the first change, you'll be given a dialog box
asking if you want to make any more changes at the same time. If
you answer YES, you can keep adding name changes to a list. The
list of name changes to be made will be displayed in the upper left
corner of the screen. If more than ten changes will be made, only
the last ten are displayed. It's not possible to edit the list, but
you can enter the same name to be changed multiple times. Only the
latest change you entered will be made.
When you finally answer NO, the program will search each file,
checking each record to see if it's name is contained in the list.
If so, the change is made and the next record checked. It took
about twenty seconds to make one hundred name changes on eight
hundred records on a 386/33.
18. Split the Fill Log reports away from the Fill Log menu into a
separate "Reports" module for consistency with the rest of the
program, and because the single Fill Log menu was getting too
large.
19. Added a new selection to the Fill Log Reports menu: "Print a blank
form for logging fills". The old file FILL_LOG.FRM has been removed
from the program archive and incorporated into the program. After
making this selection you'll be prompted for the number of copies
to print. If you need a customized form, print it to a disk file,
change it as desired using your word processor or editor, and then
print the modified copy manually.
20. In the back pack module, you used to need either a Pressure Reducer
Serial Number or an I.D. Number for the program to accept the
entry. This has been changed to allow the new Harness/Pack Serial
Number field or the Mask Regulator Serial Number field to also be
used as the sole number, if needed. One manufacturer now has a
quick disconnect on their mask regulators, so they can be assigned
to individuals for sanitary reasons. This change will allow you to
track such equipment.
21. Expanded the "Bottle Type" field from nine characters to fifteen
characters to accomodate users wanting to enter the DOT exemption
number or some longer description. Changed the associated list box
so it now stores the "Working Pressure" and "Hydro Test Pressure"
data to reduce the needed keystrokes. The list box now pops up when
the Working Pressure field is zero. You can no longer edit the
"Bottle Type" field. It's only changeable through the list box.
If you need to pop up the list box to make a change, change the
Pressure field entry to zero and hit Enter.
22. Expanded the Working Pressure field from four digits to five digits
to accomodate Kpa (kilopascals). 30,000 Kpa = 4400 psi, roughly.
Added a new "Hydro Test Pressure" field to the air bottle
inventory. The only report that this field shows up on is the
maintenance history printout.
Added the ability to replace the pressure unit of measurement
phrase "psi" with a phrase of your choice, up to four characters.
Added the ability to have a different phrase to designate your unit
of pressure measurement for the hydrostatic test pressure field. In
some countries, "Kpa" is used for the working pressure, while "Mpa"
is used for the test pressure.
23. Removed the question "Do you want the inventory listing printouts
grouped according to the "Assigned To" and "Last Known To Be On"
fields?" from the Options screens. Added a pop-up dialog box to
each module to ask this question just before printing the inventory
listing. This will allow you to decide at report time whether you
want that particular report to be grouped. The default answer to
the question will be the same as how you answered the question
last.
24. Added a new question to the Options screens: "Do you want the
"Owner Name" field on each data entry screen to be "locked" to
prevent inadvertent changes?" Answering Y will allow the Owner
name to be displayed, but not changed unless you go into the
Options screens and answer this question N . The default is N .
This only applies when the Multi-Owner mode is "off." When it's ON,
and the records are limited to just one owner, the Owner name is
locked by default
25. Changed the format of the Due List Detailed Printout to group all
equipment belonging to each owner together. After the list for each
owner is printed, the page number is reset and a new page started
for the next owner in the list. Changed the format of the Due List
Summary Printout to add a listing of owner names who's equipment
showed up on the summary.
26. Enhanced the inventory "Search for by serial number, I.D. ..."
operation by giving the user a menu to allow selection of the exact
field they want to search on. This was necessary since the back
pack module can be now searched by Pressure Reducer Serial Number,
I.D. Number, Assigned To, Harness/Pack Serial Number, or Mask
Regulator Serial Number.
In previous versions, the list of names displayed when doing a
search by the "Last To Be Known On" or "Assigned To" fields
contained all the names used in any of the inventory modules, even
if the name wasn't used in this particular module. Now the only the
names used in this particular module are shown.
27. Added a new selection to the main menu: "Master Inventory Report By
Location". This report allows you to see at a glance all of the
equipment assigned to each truck or individual. You can select
whether you want the report limited to just one owner, whether
you want the report limited to just one location ("Assigned To" or
"Last Known To Be On" entry), and whether you want the air bottles
and/or masks included on the report. If you elect to limit to just
one location, the location list contains the names as used in the
"Assigned To" and "Last Known To Be On" fields.
Just before the report starts, it tells you that the report will be
"at least xxx pages" long, and asks if you want to continue. The
number it's using is the number of location names in the list. If
you entered every "Assigned To" and "Last Known To Be On" field as
"District" (for example), it will tell you the report will be at
least one page long (because there's only one location name). In
reality, it could be several hundred pages long. Every time the
location name changes, the report starts on a new page. If no
equipment is found for a particular location name, nothing is
printed.
After you make these selections, the program opens all the files
and generates a report showing all of the equipment for each name.
Example: Suppose the first name in the selected list is "Engine-1".
The report will show all of the back packs, all of the masks, all
of the PASS units, and all of the air bottles located on Engine-1.
The report then moves to the next name, say "Engine-2", and repeats
the process.
28. Added a new function to each inventory module menu, "Change the
'Assigned To' field only" (or "Last Known To Be On" field). Users
asked for a rapid way of updating the equipment locations after a
physical inventory revealed everything wasn't where they thought it
was. This feature allows you to pick a serial or I.D. number field
to search on. A list box of all applicable numbers used in that
module only is built. Selecting the correct number from the list
shows you where the program thinks that item is now located. A new
list box appears showing all location names used in any of the
inventory modules. Selecting the new location updates the record
and a new dialog box appears asking if you want to change any other
records. If you need to use a name not currently used anywhere in
the program, you must first edit at least one record to put the new
name in the list before using this function.
29. Added the ability to erase records limited to one owner. If there
is more than one owner name in use, even if the multi-owner mode is
"off", you will be asked if you want to limit the records to be
erased to one owner. If you answer YES, only those records will be
erased. If you then select "Erase ALL...", all of the records
belonging to that owner will be erased, and the rest left
untouched.
30. Fixed a bug in the mask inventory printout. If you had "group on
Assigned To" answered "N" and had the multi-owner mode answered
"Y", the printed report had the Next Certification Due date printed
in the Assigned To column.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
See the file HISTORY.OLD for the changes made from v2.30 through
v 2.42. Due to the extensive changes since v2.30, I removed their
history from the file. It wasn't practical to read through several
hundred lines of changes if upgrading from a version before 2.30.
================================ END =======================================
