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Text File | 1996-10-10 | 20KB | 407 lines

                     PD*MEMBER Quick Start Instructions

   Introduction

   The PD*MEMBER Church Membership System is designed to allow you to
   quickly and easily add and modify Members, Spouses, Children and Visitors
   to your membership data files.  You can track all talents and
   accomplishments.  You can easily print a variety of Mailing Labels and
   Reports to help manage your church.

   When you are asked for a Password in the Tools Menu, the un-registered
   password is the word PASSWORD.

   When you are asked for the Giving Password, the starting default is the
   word GIVING.  You can change this password in the Modify Giving sub-menu.

   PLEASE NOTE - As you are building the Member/Visitor records, you MUST fill
   in the "Date Joined" to indicate to this system that the person is a member
   of your church.  If you are not sure of the date, I suggest that you use
   01/01/1899 so that the system will realize the person is a member.
   "Joined" may be changed to "Confirmed" or some other term by the "Change
   Field Titles" selection in the Setup Menu.

   If the date is BLANK ("  /  /    ") the system assumes the person is NOT a
   member of your church.  If you wish to blank a date, locate the cursor at
   the beginning of the date field and press Ctrl/Y (while holding down the
   Ctrl key, tap the Y key).

   BE SURE you look at the bottom of the screen if you don't know what to do
   next.  The messages there usually tell you all of the options available at
   any time.

                    When All Else Fails - Press F1 for Help!

   If you have below DOS 3.3, the F1 Help screens are not functional and some
   parts of the program won't function.


   To Install The System:

   1.   If you are installing from the DOS C:\> prompt . . .

        Insert the PD*MEMBER disk in drive A: and type ...

             A:   (Enter)     or  B: if disk is in the B: drive
             INSTALL C:   (Enter)

        This will run the INSTALL program that will create the C:\MEMBER
        sub-directory and copy (and un-compress) all of the necessary files to
        the C:\MEMBER sub-directory (or whatever drive letter you type).







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                     PD*MEMBER Quick Start Instructions

        To run the PD*MEMBER system from the hard disk, type the drive
        letter of the hard disk followed by a colon. For example "C:". You
        should see the hard disk prompt (such as "C>"). Then, type:

        CD\MEMBER   (Enter)
        MEMB        (Enter)


   2.   If you are installing from within Windows 3.x . . .

        Click on Files and click on Run.  Type A:INSTALL C: and click on Ok.
        Follow the screen instructions for the INSTALL program.

        After you Quit the Install program, click on Windows, highlight the
        Windows group in which you want to install the Member system and click
        on Ok.

        Click on Files, and click on New.  Option to create a Program Item and
        click on Ok.  Type the following information:

             Description: PD Member
             Command Line: MEMB.BAT
             Working Directory: C:\MEMBER

        Click on Change Icon.  You will see a message indicating no icons
        available.  Click on Ok.  Click on Browse.  Double click on the folder
        for C:\.  Double click on the folder for MEMBER.  Double click on
        MEMBER.ICO and then click on Ok.  Click on Ok again.

   3.   If you are installing in Windows95 . . .

        Click on Start.  Click on Run.  Type A:INSTALL C: and click on Ok.
        Follow the screen instructions.  When you Quit the Install program,
        you will find the MEMBER icon in Start | Programs.


   System Files

   The CONFIG.SYS File

   THE MEMBER PROGRAM WILL CRASH with a "DOS Error 4" at the middle of the
   screen when you try to Create, Modify or Print Labels or Reports, you will
   need to re-start the computer with a CONFIG.SYS file as described below.
   It will contain information that tells the PC that there will be more than
   3 files open at the same time.

   To create the CONFIG.SYS file, use the MEMBER program "Tools Menu", "Modify
   System Files" Sub-Menu to create or modify your CONFIG.SYS file.  Highlight
   that selection and press Enter.  You will be asked for the Password.  This
   is the Password you specified when you registered the program.  Press C to
   Create/Modify the CONFIG.SYS file.




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                     PD*MEMBER Quick Start Instructions

   If you are creating the CONFIG.SYS file, just type in the following two
   commands and press F10 to save.  If you are modifying the CONFIG.SYS file,
   either modify these two lines (if they exist) or add them to the end of the
   CONFIG.SYS file.  Press F10 to save the changes. YOU MUST RE-START YOUR
   COMPUTER for the changes to take effect.

        FILES=30
        BUFFERS=15

   The FILES command can be higher than 30 if required by other software on
   your computer.  Having a large BUFFERS command usually slows your system
   and higher than 15 is not recommended.

   IF YOU HAVE BELOW MS/IBM-DOS VERSION 3.3, the program can have only 15
   files open at a time.  To stay within this limit, the program will disable
   the HELP screens to keep from opening too many files at a time.  However,
   some parts of the program that opens a lot of files may not function.

   The AUTOEXEC.BAT File

   Your computer looks at both the CONFIG.SYS file and the AUTOEXEC.BAT file
   at start-up time.  The AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains the commands that usually
   take you into a hard disk menu, Windows or some other shell type hard disk
   manager.  If you have DOS 3.3 or higher, you need the command SET
   CLIPPER=F:30 in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

   As above, use the MEMBER program "Tools Menu", "Modify System Files"
   Sub-Menu to create or modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  Highlight that
   selection and press Enter.  You will be asked for the password.  This is
   the Password you specified when you registered the program.  Then, press A
   to Create/Modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

   If you do not already have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, just add the command SET
   CLIPPER=F:30 and press F10 to save. If you are modifying an existing
   AUTOEXEC.BAT file, move to the beginning of the PATH line and press Enter.
   This should open up a blank line just above the PATH line.  Use the Up
   Arrow to move to the beginning of the blank line and type SET CLIPPER=F:30.
   If you will be running PD*MEMBER as a DOS application from Windows, add
   the command SET MEMBAK=Y after the SET CLIPPER command.  Press F10 to save.

   First Time Program Set-Up Options

   The first time you run the MEMBER program, the program will ask you for the
   program Set-Up defaults.  Highlight the "Set-Up" Main Menu.  Highlight each
   Sub-Menu with the cursor arrow keys and press Enter.

   Color/Monochrome Monitor - Highlight the "Monitor (Color/Mono)" Sub-Menu
   and press Enter.  Press C for a color monitor or an M if you have a
   monochrome (non-color) monitor.  Highlight "Save New Set-Ups" and press
   Enter to add this to the MEMBER.MEM file.





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                     PD*MEMBER Quick Start Instructions

   Data File Drive & Path - Highlight the "Data File Drive & Path" Sub-Menu
   and press Enter.  The program will display the Drive and Sub-Directory
   where the PD*MEMBER system is installed.

   Printer Action Table - Highlight the "Printer Action Table" Sub-Menu and
   press Enter.  Using the cursor arrow keys, highlight the name of your
   printer.  If you do not see the name of your printer and have a dot matrix
   printer, start with the EPSONFX file.  All laser and ink jet printers
   (except the Cannon printers), use the HPLASER.PAT file.  The Cannon laser
   and ink jet printers all use the EPSONLQ.PAT file.  Appendix A of the
   manual will describe how you can create your own Printer Action Table file
   if you have a printer not shown.  After you select your printer, you will
   be asked for the default number of lines for report pages.  Use the default
   of 59 unless you are using paper stock longer than 11 inches.  Highlight
   "Save New Set-Ups" and press Enter to add this to the MEMBER.MEM file.

   Label Printing Defaults - There are many types of label stock for both dot
   matrix and laser printers.  You need to select the type of stock for your
   printer and needs.  After you select the paper stock, and if you are in the
   USA, indicate if you have an HP compatible laser or Epson compatible 24 pin
   dot matrix printer so you can print ZIP Code bar codes.  You should avoid 3
   across labels as it is necessary to print in a smaller font to get long
   names and addresses on the narrow labels.  Some Postal Service scanners are
   getting out of adjustment and can't reliably read the small font.  The 2
   across labels work much better.

   Establish Church Name - Highlight this Sub-Menu and press Enter.  Type the
   name of your church.  This will appear at the top of many reports.
   Although the screen field is only 35 characters wide, you can type up to 50
   characters for your church name as the field will scroll.  When you press
   Enter, you can type in the name or two letter abbreviation for your State.
   This is so the Pictorial Directory will only print the State if it is
   different than your own.

   Change Field Titles - Highlight "Change Field Titles" on the Setup Menu and
   press Enter.  If you intend to use Titles, such as Mr., Mrs., etc., place a
   Y in the Use Titles field.  Otherwise use N.  Some churches use "Joined"
   where your church may use the term "Confirmed".  Spec Info Code Width can
   be 1, 2 or 3 depending on how many codes you wish to create and how many
   you wish to assign to each person.  Two is recommended.  See the detailed
   discussion of this under Special Information Codes in the manual.

   Some churches use "Flier List" to indicate those that are to receive the
   monthly newsletter.  You may wish to call it "Mail List".

   Many churches have a building improvement fund. Thus, the "Bld List" title.
   You may want to call it "Mem List" for a Memorial Fund list.  When you get
   to Section 7 on Giving Statements, you will find that giving is tracked
   under 3 categories (General, Bld Giving and Other).  The title on the Post
   Giving screen and on the Statement could be changed from Bld Giving to
   "Mem. Fund".




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                     PD*MEMBER Quick Start Instructions

   The Sunday School list is used by many churches to send letters or
   newsletters to the parents of Sunday School attendees.  You may want to
   call it "Bus List" for those that should be picked up by the Bus each
   Sunday morning (children and/or adults).

   The Service Titles are the titles of up to 3 events for tracking
   attendance.  These titles will appear on the screen while you post the
   attendance.

   The Giving #4, #5 and #6 are the titles of 3 additional categories of
   Giving.  If you leave ALL 3 of these titles blank, your Giving posting
   screen and statements will show only the General, Building and Other
   categories of giving.  If you use at least one of the extra Giving Titles,
   the Giving Posting screen and the Statements will be expanded to show all 6
   categories of giving.  Compressed printing is used if all 6 categories are
   printed to keep the statement to only one report line per giving day.

   Status Code Table - When you are working with the Create Member or Modify
   Member (not Browse Member) screens, you can pop-up a Status Code table,
   pick the code you desire and press Enter to use that code in the member
   record.  Use this selection to manage this pick list table.

   Special Information Code Table - When you are working with the Create
   Member or Modify Member (not Browse Member) screens, you can pop-up a
   Special Information Code table, pick the code you desire and press Enter to
   use that code in the member record.  Use this selection to manage this pick
   list table.

   On the upper right of the "Change Field Titles" Setup screen, you can
   specify if you want 1, 2 or 3 character Special Information Codes.  One
   character codes would really limit you to A-Z and 0-9 for codes.  Two
   character codes give you AA-Z9; LOTS of codes.  Three character codes give
   you even more combinations.

   However, each person has a 21 character field for Special Info Codes.  With
   1 character codes, EACH person could have up to 21 codes.  With 2 character
   codes, you can have 10 codes per person and with 3 character codes, you can
   have only 7 codes per person.  Pro Dev Software recommends the compromise
   of 2 character codes.  This allows over 1200 possible codes for the Special
   Information Code table and allows you to assign up to 10 codes to each
   person.

   Save New Setups - After changing any of your Setups, be sure to highlight
   Save New Setups and press Enter.  This will save the new setups to the file
   MEMBER.MEM.










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                     PD*MEMBER Quick Start Instructions

   Highlight the "Create Member Record" Sub-Menu and press Enter.  Press the
   PgDn key when you wish to create the next record. If you press F10 or PgDn
   on a blank record, you will be returned to the Main Menu.  Fill in each of
   the fields (or windows).  If you do not fill a field, press Enter to move
   to the next field.  You can use the Down Arrow to move to the next field
   and the Up Arrow to move back a field.  After the last Spouse field, you
   will move to the first field on the screen (Last Name).  Press PgDn to move
   to the next new record.

   When you are printing labels, you will be given the choice of printing the
   Street Address (probably in the first Address field) and/or the PO Box
   (probably in the second Address field).  To do this, the program looks for
   either "P.O." as the first 4 characters or "PO " (PO and a space) as the
   first 3 characters in the field.  Therefore, you must be careful to enter
   PO Box addresses using one of these two forms.  The line (Address or PO
   Box) printed just above the City, State and ZIP will be used by the Postal
   Service to deliver the piece.

   The "Zone" is a designation for a geographical area around your church.
   You may have certain persons designated to call on certain zone(s).

   If a person has officially joined your church, you MUST show a "Joined"
   date.  Many reports trigger on if this field has a date or not to tell if a
   person is a member or not.  The same is true of the "Joined" field in the
   Spouse's and Child's section of the screen.  If you wish to blank a date,
   place the cursor at the beginning of the field and press Ctrl/Y (while
   holding down the Ctrl key tap the Y key).  If you wish to call this
   something other than "Joined" be sure to read Page 2-9 of the manual to
   find out how to change the title of this field.

   If you are on the Status Code field, you can press F7 to pop-up a table of
   Status Codes.  Press the first letter of the desired code description and
   use the Down Arrow to select the exact code and press Enter to pick.

   Special Information Codes - DANGER - Be sure to use the F7 pop-up table to
   pick Special Information Codes.  Although you can type them manually, the
   spacing is VERY important.  If you have selected (with the Change Field
   Titles Setup Menu) 2 or 3 character codes, your manual spacing must be
   exactly 2 or 3 characters per code and codes shorter than the selected 2 or
   3 character width must be right justified in the 2 or 3 character spacing.
   When reports are written, the program expects the proper spacing and your
   errors at this point will cause scrambled reports.  Thus, let the F7 pop-up
   table do all the work accurately and easily.  It will insure the correct
   alignment.  With the blinking cursor on the Special Information Code field,
   press F7.  Press the first letter of the desired code description and use
   the Down Arrow to select the exact code and press Enter to pick.









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                     PD*MEMBER Quick Start Instructions

   The M/F field is used to indicate the gender of the person. F=Female and
   M=Male.  If the wife is shown on the upper part of the screen because the
   husband is not a member and he is shown on the Spouse portion of the
   screen, it is VERY IMPORTANT to put an "F" in the upper part of the screen
   for the wife.  On certain label runs and reports, you will be given the
   option to print the husband's name first, even though he is on the lower or
   Spouse part of the screen. Only if an "F" is in the M/F upper field, when
   the wife is on the upper part of the screen, will the names be optionally
   reversed when printed.

   There is a "Spouse Last Name" field in those cases where the spouse's last
   name is different than the upper screen Last Name.  "Husband Name First"
   reports with the different Last Name husband on the lower part of the
   screen will print out of order.

   A "Y" is required in the Directory field to have the record included in
   printed directories.

   The Reference Number (you can change this field title) is used by some
   denominations with this number being assigned when a person "joins" the
   church.

   A "Y" in the Flier List field will cause this member's record to be used
   when printing the Flier Labels.  These are labels for your newsletter.  A
   "Y" in the Bld List field will cause this member record to be included on
   the Bld label run.  Section 2 shows you how to change the screen name for
   this field.  A "Y" in the Sunday School List field will cause this record
   to be included in the Sunday School List label run. See Section 2 to change
   the screen name for this field.

   Child Records - When you wish to create or modify a Child Record, press F6
   WHEN you have the Parents member record on the screen.  All of the
   information about children are kept in records in the CHILD.DBF data base
   file.  The Spouse portion of the screen is replaced with the Child record.
   A new blank CHILD record is displayed.  Use the Last Name field ONLY if the
   child's last name is different from the last name on the upper part of the
   screen.  You can PgDn to add additional records.  PgUp to see existing
   child records.

   If the child (children) has joined and live(s) with non-Member adult(s), be
   sure to put "F" as the Status for the adult part of the record.  This will
   cause just the child name(s) to be listed in the Directory reports.  The
   non-Member adult(s) will not be listed.  To get the Flier labels to list
   one of the child names, rather than the non-Member Adult(s), place the name
   of the oldest child as the first name on the Adult part of the record.



   When you register, you will receive a 112 page bound manual.

   Or use the INSTALL program or MEMBER program Tools Menu to print the full
   on-disk manual.  It will take about 100 sheets of paper.



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