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Text File | 1990-11-19 | 17KB | 330 lines

┌────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ └┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌────┐ │ │ │ │ │ └───┘ <tm> │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Electronic Technologies │ └──────┐ │ │ 3985 S. Rochester Road Ste.H │ ┌──────┘ │ │ Rochester, Michigan 48063 │ │ │ │ │ └────────────┐┌┘ └┐ CompuServe ID: 70337,1654 │ ││ │ 7 day 24 hr BBS SUPPORT: └─────────────────────┘└────────┘ A/R BBS (313) 680-9154 SHAREWARE & FEES: The sole intention of shareware is to provide an inexpensive copy of the program for evaluation purposes only. Shareware is not free software. If you find value in this software and if you intend to use this software on a regular basis then you are morally obligated to pay for it. An order form has been included at the end of this documentation. The shareware version of this software may be distributed free of charge by use of electronic bulletin board services. However, any other distribution of this program must first be approved in writing by the author. If you are a software vendor, member of a user group or other organization then you must read the file "DISTRIB.DOC" for information about the rules and legalities which must be followed in the distribution of this software. LICENSE: Once a donation has been received, the program is officially registered and licensed. Registration permits a user the license to use this program only on a single PC. A registered user may use the program on a different computer, but may not use the program on more than one computer at the same time. No user may modify this software in any way, including but not limited to decompiling, disassembling or otherwise reverse engineering the program. WARRANTY: The author makes no warranty of any kind express or implied, including without limitation, any warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. IN NO EVENT WILL ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES OR THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PROGRAM, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY. THIS PROGRAM IS OPERATED ENTIRELY AT THE USER'S RISK. TECH SUPPORT: Tech support is limited to one year for registered users only, and is available by mail, Compuserve "EasyPlex" or 24 hour Bulletin Board service. Questions should be submitted to the attention of Charles Eglinton. When requesting technical support please report the following: 1) Memory before running the program (use the dos command "CHKDSK:) 2) Computer, modem and printer type (if applicable) 3) The names of any TSR memory resident programs (Sidekick, Prokey..) 4) A listing of both your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRS:Log & IRS:Report v1.00 - Copyright 1990 by Charles Eglinton Full documentation and License for only $30.00 (+$2 for 3.5"-720K disks if needed/requested) Charles Eglinton Compuserve: 70337,1654 3985 S. Rochester Rd, Ste. H A/R BBS: (313)680-9154 Rochester, Michigan 48063 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT IS IRS:Log? IRS:Log is a 1.5K TSR, memory-resident logging program that automatically records start times, elapsed times and the complete command lines of programs. IRS:Log is quick, silent and automatic. The IRS:Report program evaluates and summarizes your log entries by category. Reports can be displayed or printed. You can select the beginning date, ending date and categories. THE REGISTERED VERSION of IRS:Log WILL MAKE SPREADSHEET IMPORT FILES for even more complete analysis!. The IRS:Report program can help answer the following questions: * Which types of computer programs are used most often, and for how long? * At what time each day is your computer switched ON (and switched OFF)? * How many hours is your computer used each day? * How often is your computer switched on but not running programs? * How much time has been spent on business and how much on entertainment? * How much electricity has your computer consumed and what was the cost? MANAGERS: Discover how your workers are REALLY using their computers. PROGRAMMERS: Create accurate records of specific projects quickly, easily. HOME OFFICE PROFESSIONALS: Print an accurate IRS computer usage log. BUSINESS OWNERS: Find the true cost and idle times of your computers: (do you REALLY need another computer?) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRSLog FEATURES: Our goal was to make IRS:Log as simple as possible. We don't enjoy reading fifty-page manuals and don't expect you to, either. We hope you'll find IRS:Log an effortless, and useful, utility. * - EFFICIENT - LESS RAM: The resident portion uses only about 1.5K - SMALLER FILES: As little as 18 bytes per log file record. - The IRS:Report program uses less than 50K and needs no work files. - NON-ENCRYPTED: The log file can be viewed directly. * - EASY TO USE - IRS:Log automatically records dates, starting times, elapsed times & dos level and command lines. Completely transparent operation. - No annoying sounds or hot-keys. - IRS:Report program uses intuitive light-bar menus. * - EFFECTIVE - Detailed reports can be sent to the screen, a file or a printer - Produces comma delimited ASCII file for import to your database or spreadsheet program for more detailed analysis. - Summarizes your PC program usage by category. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING IRS:Log: IRS:Log is probably the easiest log program to use since there are only two options to remember: * To activate: Type IRSLOG followed by a drive letter, path and file name. Example: IRSLOG C:\IRSLOG.DAT <---the log file will be 'C:\IRSLOG.DAT' Remember, IRS:Log automatically writes an 18+ byte record every time you end a program. Make sure that the directory that you choose to contain the log file has enough space to allow the log file to grow. Also, BE SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH A DRIVE LETTER AND A COMPLETE PATH NAME OR LOG FILES WILL BE WRITTEN IN MULTIPLE DIRECTORIES. * To uninstall IRS:Log type 'IRSLOG /U' at a DOS prompt. A message will confirm the de-installation. <<IMPORTANT>>: IRS:Log records the elapsed time when you exit a program and return to DOS. Therefore, if you just switch off the computer without making an exit to DOS (or if the computer crashes) then IRS:Log has no way to record the elapsed time of the last program. IF POSSIBLE, BE SURE THAT A DOS PROMPT (C:>) IS DISPLAYED WHEN SWITCHING OFF THE COMPUTER. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- STARTING IRS:Log AUTOMATICALLY: An excellent way to use IRS:Log is to include it in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. IRS:Log will start automatically since the AUTOEXEC.BAT is the first file executed whenever the computer is started. 1) Copy the IRS:Log files to the same subdirectory as your DOS or utility files. This subdirectory must be listed in your "PATH" command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. (Example: PATH C:\;C:\DOS;C:\UTILS; etc...) 2) Modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that the IRS:Log command is included. The IRS:Log command line must be after any 'DATE' or 'TIME' commands in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 3) When IRS:Log is invoked it will be loaded to RAM, and an IRS:Log copyright message will be displayed. 4) IRS:Log will begin automatically recording your computer activity. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- READING THE LOG FILE DIRECTLY IRS:Log creates a file that can be read directly by most programs that are able to read a standard ASCII text file. An ideal utility for reading the log file is Vern Buerg's 'LIST.COM' which can read, and search, a file of any size. Many word processors such as Wordstar, MS Word, MS Works and IBM Displaywrite can also read the log file. Some word processors cannot read large log files because of program limitations. LOG RECORD FORMAT (character positions): 1-2 :YEAR 7-10 :TIME (24 hour clock) 19+ :THE COMMAND LINE 3-4 :MONTH 11-16 :ELAPSED TIME (HH:MM:SS) Terminated by a LINE 5-6 :DAY 17-18 :DOS LEVEL FEED & CARRIAGE RETURN. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING the IRS:Report PROGRAM IRS:Report creates a detailed report from the log file based on CATEGORIES and KEYWORDS that you establish. 1) You do not have to uninstall IRS:Log while you use IRS:Report. 2) You must run the IRS:Report program from the directory in which it is installed. Use the 'change directory' command to move to the necessary subdirectory. Example: CD \DOS <--where \DOS is the directory which contains IRS:Log 3) Type 'IRSREPT' (then press [ENTER]) to run the IRS:Report program. 4) A light bar menu will be displayed at the top of the screen. To select: * You can press the key that corresponds to the first character of the desired selection. (Example: Press 'S' for Settings) * You can use the arrow keys to move the highlight and then press the [ENTER] key when the correct selection is highlighted. * You can use the [F9] key to move left, [F10] to move right and then press the [ENTER] key when the correct selection is highlighted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRS:Report MENU DESCRIPTIONS: SETTINGS: The report configuration is defined by the SETTINGS screen. After the SETTINGS screen is displayed you can use the up and down arrow keys to move the cursor within the screen. Additional information about the currently highlighted field will be described in a "Help sentence" on the top line of the display. When you have finished, press the [ESC] key to exit from the screen and automatically save the settings. The lower half of the SETTINGS screen contains fields which apply to registered copies of IRS:Log, only. The registered version of IRS:Report will automatically create summarized, delimited files which can be imported into database and spreadsheet programs. REPORT: You should complete the the SETTINGS and CATEGORIES screens before attempting to print or display a REPORT. After selecting "REPORT" you will be allowed to select the destination of the report: DISPLAY, LPT1 or LPT2. The report will always be displayed on the screen before it is printed. You can interrupt the report at any time by pressing the [ESC] key. The report is shown on two screens. After the first screen is displayed you can press any key to display the second screen. If you are using a registered copy of IRS:Log then a catagorized spreadsheet file will be generated at the same time the report is displayed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CATEGORIES: This is probably the most important, and the most complicated, function of the IRS:Report program. The CATEGORIES screen is used establish the KEYWORDS which IRS:Report will use to decide where to post the ELAPSED time of each log file entry. 1) Select CATEGORIES from the main menu. A list of current CATEGORIES will appear. 2) Use the [up] and [down] arrow keys to select the CATEGORY you want to change and then press the [ENTER] key. * The CATEGORIES may be broad. For example, you may simply have only two CATEGORIES: GAMES & BUSINESS with all of your game KEY WORDS in the GAMES CATEGORY, and all BUSINESS KEY WORDS listed in the BUSINESS CATEGORY. * The CATEGORIES may be narrow. For example, to summarize the elapsed time for 4 different database programs your CATEGORIES might be DBASE, FOXBASE, RBASE, & REFLEX. The KEYWORDS for each CATEGORY would be the specific command line for each program. * IRS:Report only finds the FIRST occurence of a KEYWORD, posts the ELAPSED TIME to the corresponing CATEGORY, and then goes on to the next command line. Therefore, the order of the CATEGORIES is important and should be planned in advance. Consider the following example: a) You want to know the elapsed time that BASIC was used. b) You want to know the elapsed time of your accounting programs. c) The command line for your checkbook program is "BASICA CHECKBOOK" d) Assume that CATEGORY 1 is "BASIC" and a KEYWORD is also "BASIC". e) Assume that CATEGORY 10 is "ACCOUNTING" and one of the KEYWORDS is "CHECKBOOK". f) When the command line is analyzed, the elapsed time will errantly be posted to "BASIC" instead of "ACCOUNTING". g) If you reverse the order of the CATEGORIES then the elapsed time from the command line "BASICA CHECKBOOK" will be correctly posted to the accounting category. Any un-categorized basic programs will be correctly posted to the "BASIC" CATEGORY. 3) Use the [up] and [down] arrow keys to select the KEYWORD you want to change. Simply begin typing to make a change. * The KEYWORD is the group of characters that IRS:Report uses to identify the category of a log file entry. The KEYWORD should be unique so that IRS:Report doesn't incorrectly identify a log file record. * Do not use the same KEYWORD more than once and do not use the same KEYWORD in different CATEGORIES. IRS:Report will only find the first occurence of the KEYWORD when it is evaluating a command line. 4) Press the [ESC] key when you have finished making KEYWORD & CATEGORY changes. The information will be saved automatically. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURGE: The PURGE selection can help conserve fixed disk space. The PURGE will remove old, unneeded records from your current log file and move them to a separate file which can be removed from the computer. After selecting PURGE from the main menu: 1) You will be prompted to type a PURGE date. All log records that were created before this PURGE date will be removed from the log file. 2) You will be prompted to type a PURGE FILE name. All records that are removed from the log file will be moved to this PURGE FILE. Note: After you have quit from the IRS:Report program you can copy the purge file to a floppy diskette for permanent storage. If your fixed disk capacity will allow it, you should only run the PURGE function just once per year. Preferably, just after the new year. * Set the PURGE DATE to '01-01-YY', where 'YY' is the new year. * Name the PURGE FILE 'XX-LOG.DAT' (where 'XX' is the previous year). When the PURGE is complete, the log file will contin only records created after the first of the current year. Records from the previous year will be moved to 'XX-LOG.DAT' which can be removed from the system. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRS:Log INCOMPATIBILITIES: Problems which might occur when using IRS:Log with other TSR programs may be resolved by experimenting with the order in which you load the memory resident programs. IRS:Log is not recommended for use with multi-tasking software such as MicroSoft Windows, DESQview and Software Carousel.