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Personal Asset Register
version 1.1
copyright 1988, 1989
by
Micro System Solutions
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
Ombudsman Policy:
Fred C. Hill is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals
(ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you.
If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member
by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP
Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but
does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to
the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve
message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536"
DISCLAIMER
PAR is provided on an 'as is' basis. Any damages arising from the use
of this program are entirely the responsibility of the user. Neither
Micro System Solutions nor the author, Fred C. Hill, can be held
responsible for any damages. INTRODUCTION
If your home were to burn down tomorrow, would you have enough
information documented and available on your belongings to prove their
worth and to satisfy your insurance company? If your home was
burglarized and your television and stereo were stolen, would you have
enough information, such as make/model and serial number, to identify
them to the police or to your insurance company? In most cases, the
police will not return your belongings to you unless you can show
proof of ownership - serial number, etc. It is not enough to claim
ownership with just a make and model. Unfortunately, when faced with
such tragic circumstances, most of us would not have the necessary
information available and would only suffer more due to the difficulty
in recouping our losses.
What kind of shape is your estate documentation in? If you were to
die unexpectedly, would your family or your lawyer know what your
assets and liabilities were? Are your investments documented in a
central and safe place - stocks, bonds, mutual funds, brokers, account
numbers, etc.? Are your life insurance companies identified, policy
numbers, face values, etc? Having this type of information readily
available in a safe place would save your loved ones additional grief.
Even if you are alive and well, having your financial assets
documented only adds to your ability to manage them and assess your
personal worth at any time.
If your wallet or purse were stolen would you know which credit cards
were in it and who to call? Do you have a large collection of books
or VCR tapes that you would like to keep track of for insurance
purposes or some other reason?
Perhaps you have a business and own one or more computer systems and
have numerous software packages. You can inventory these assets and
can use the information for tax or insurance purposes or to determine
the net worth of the business.
All these things add up to valuable assets that should be documented
and updated regularly. The Personal Asset Register (PAR) is intended
to provide you an easy means to keep a written and automated record of
your personal (or business) and financial assets.
PAR CAPABILITIES
Recording Assets
The Personal Asset Register provides a series of screens that allow
you to enter and print reports about important information regarding
your personal assets. The PAR system comes complete with input
screens for each of the following subjects:
o Insurance Policies o Art, Jewelry, & Collectibles
o Household Inventory o Credit Card Inventory
o Safe Deposit Boxes o Safe Deposit Box Inventory
o Book Inventory o Computer Inventory
o Software Inventory o Investment Portfolio
o Video Cassette Recordings
Each subject has a set of applicable characteristics (fields) that you
can use to document your belongings. You may add, delete, or modify
subjects or characteristics to meet your unique needs. PAR allows up
to 18 subjects with an unlimited number of records. (Up to memory
capacity)
Automatic Accumulation of Values
Each subject contains some sort of value such as: Cost or Replacement
Value of Household Items; Face Value and Premiums for Insurance;
Credit Limit for Credit Cards; etc. As you make entries or changes,
PAR can update and present a running total for the items in that
subject. This updated information can appear on the current input
screen and as summary totals on printed reports. PAR will allow you
to customize your subjects/characteristics to sum or tabulate, using a
formula, on fields you identify.
Output Reports
PAR provides options for two types of printed reports - with or
without data. You can print blank forms on which you enter the items
you wish to inventory. These forms would be especially useful as you
move through your home taking inventory. The other report prints out
items that you have entered into PAR. This report is done by subject
and the items will print in alphabetical order based on the ordering
of the characteristics (fields) for the subject (i.e., for Household
Inventory the report would be ordered by item within location). PAR
allows you to rearrange the order of the characteristics on the screen
and thereby affect the sort order.
USES FOR PAR
With PAR you will be able to update your inventory information very
easily. As you add new items PAR automatically maintains the total
values associated with the subjects. You may want to store your
inventory information on your floppy disk in a safe or in a safe
deposit box so that it is protected from fire or destruction.
Needless to say, if your computer goes up in a puff of smoke, so will
your inventory unless you store it elsewhere. You can produce printed
reports of inventory information and give them to your insurance
agent, or you could print information about your financial assets and
give it to your lawyer or your accountant. PAR could assist you in
determining your net worth by providing the asset side of the picture.
Using PAR to assess the replacement value of your belongings will
allow you to determine whether or not you have sufficient insurance
coverage. In addition to all the insurance information, you can
record information about your credit cards, such as account numbers
and telephone numbers to call in case of theft or loss. You can even
record the credit limit which will allow you to determine the total
amount of credit you have at a glance.
If you are so inclined you can inventory your collection of books or
VCR tapes. If you are like us, we have a large collection of
professional and technical books which are tax deductions for our
business, as well as a large financial investment. We need to have an
inventory for tax and insurance purposes. Or, perhaps you have a
valuable collection of old books that should be inventoried for
insurance and estate purposes. If you want to keep track of what
movies you have taped and where they are on the tape, you can do that
with PAR.
PAR gives you the flexibility to document as many of your personal (or
business) assets as necessary. PAR gives you the capability to
document or inventory virtually anything about anything. If you don't
like the subjects or characteristics provided by PAR, you can set up
your own. You are limited, however, to 16 subjects with up to 18
characteristics (fields) each for a maximum of 254 characters per item
(record or single occurrence of a subject). The total number of items
(all subjects included) is limited by the memory size of your machine.
PAR is designed to access all data in memory.
Enough about the virtues of PAR. By now you have lots of ideas on
what to do with it. Let's get on with how to use it.
PAR OPERATION
PAR is fairly straightforward and easy to use. Most of the subjects
and characteristics are self-explanatory, but we will still document
them here. A general note about moving through the system - <ESC>
will cancel an operation if you are in the midst of entering data, or
it will signal the system that you have completed entry or work on a
particular subject and will return you to the Main Menu.
Files Needed to Operate
The files contained on your master distribution diskette include the
documentation for the PAR system. (This file). An order form file to
be used for ordering the latest version of PAR or other M.S.S.
products, and the two programs (.EXE files) needed to actually run the
PAR system. The operation of each is explained below.
PARINST.EXE This program is used to create the hard disk
operational version of the system and is used to initialize both
the hard and floppy drive versions. It creates the data file for
use by PAR and modifies the system defaults. The data file
contains each of the subject records you create in PAR itself,
but it also contains the system configuration, the Choice Menus,
and the printer controls. Without this file PAR will not begin
operation.
PAR.EXE This is the main system program. When the data file
'PARTABLE.FIL' is created by PARINST you execute PAR to begin
adding, modifying and printing your inventories.
You will also find on your diskette PARD.EXE which is the demo version
of PAR. We encourage you to share that version with your friends and
business associates.
Installation Procedures
PAR provides a separate installation program which allows you to copy
the files from the master diskette to your selected hard disk and
directory. The installation program also allows you to modify or set
printer defaults, change the Choice Menus, and to create the initial
data file. You select the options you want with easy-to-use pull-down
menus. To execute PARINST, simply type PARINST and hit <ENTER>.
If you need to install PAR for the first time, select the instructions
you want by hitting <Alt-3> for Hard Drive Installation Procedure or
<Alt-2> for Floppy Drive Instructions. You will get a work window
detailing the selected installation. Fill out the required
information on the window and hit <Esc>, the system will copy the
master distribution diskette to your selected hard drive/directory and
prepare you for system operation. Hard Drive Installation
When installing the PAR system to your hard drive you remain in
PARINST until the installation is complete. After selecting <Alt-3>
from any opening window you enter the following:
1. The floppy drive containing the master diskette. The
allowable range is 'A:' to 'B:'. The default 'A:' is provided for
you. To change it just key over the disk letter. You must
provide the colon ':' following the disk letter.
2. The hard disk to contain the final working copy of the PAR
system. The allowable range is 'C:' to 'F:'. The default 'C:' is
provided for you. To change it just key over the disk letter.
You must provide the colon ':' following the disk letter.
3. The directory where the PAR system will be placed. This may
be any valid DOS directory name. The total number of characters
allowed is 67. As you key the entry will scroll to the left
allowing a full 67 characters to be entered. If the directory
does not exist, one will be created if possible.
4. The system will allow you to change your mind by changing
the default 'Y'es answer to 'N'o. If you change your mind, the
system will not create your working directory upon exit.
Floppy Drive Installation
The basic files you need to run the PAR system are small enough to be
easily run from a single-floppy system. Since the floppy drive
installation is more system-dependent, it is provided in the form of
DOS instructions for you to follow. The instructions are available by
hitting <Alt-2> when in PARINST, or are as follows:
1. Use the DOS command DISKCOPY to copy the master distribution
disk to your working diskette.
2. Insert the working diskette in your default drive.
3. Execute the PARINST program.
4. Select <Alt-F>,<C> to create a new data file.
5. Make any additional modifications you may need.
6. Exit PARINST. (Select <Alt-X> or <Alt-Q>,<Q>
System installation is now complete and you are ready to create your
data file and select any necessary modifications.
Files
The files menu selection is used primarily to allow update capability
to the data file. When you have used the PAR system for a while you
may want to add or change the Choice Menus. To do this you must tell
the PARINST program you want to update the existing data file instead
of creating a new one. To do this select <Alt-F>,<U> - Update an
existing file. The existing data file will be loaded over the default
configuration tables. Any modifications you make to Choice Menus or
printer controls will be made to your data file. If you do not choose
the update option and opt for the create a new file option, PAR will
create a new file with the system defaults (and none of your
previously-entered data) and create a backup of your data file.
Choice Menus
Choice Menus give you a choice of a number of values for a field
instead of requiring you to key the actual value each time. You will
probably want to become familiar with PAR and its subjects before you
consider changing any of the Choice Menus. Return to this section
when you are ready to make any changes. For a preliminary review of
the Choice Menus see page 33.
PAR gives you the option of adding your own Choice Menus, modifying
the ones PAR provides, or deleting either kind. You must exit the PAR
program and execute the PARINST program to do so. When you select
modification of Choice Menus by hitting <Alt C> from the PARINST Main
Menu, PAR offers a menu from which you will select the Choice Menu
operation you wish to do - add, delete, or modify. You are limited to
12 entries per choice menu and cannot exceed a total of 100 entries
for all choice menus combined.
Add A Choice Menu
When you select this option, the system returns this menu:
------- Add Choice Menu -------
| |
| Menu Name: |
| |
| Entry # 1: |
| Entry # 2: |
| Entry # 3: |
| Entry # 4: |
| Entry # 5: |
| Entry # 6: |
| Entry # 7: |
| Entry # 8: |
| Entry # 9: |
| Entry # 10: |
| Entry # 11: |
| Entry # 12: |
---------------------------------
Enter the name of the menu first. Then enter the values you want
in the table. Be aware that whatever value is in Entry # 1 will
show up on your blank subject screen (the one you will enter
items on). If you don't want a specific value to show up on the
screen, enter blanks into Entry # 1.
Example: If you were to add a characteristic to Insurance
Policies called "Premium Frequency", you would select the
Choice Menu "Frequency" for the type. When you are ready to
enter items under Insurance Policies and the first screen
comes up, Premium Frequency would automatically have a value
of "None" in it (see the Frequency Choice Menu below). When
you get to that characteristic, PAR will offer you the
Frequency Choice Menu, and you can then select which ever
frequency is appropriate for the item you are entering.
When you have completed your new Choice Menu, hit <Esc> to
complete the Add Operation. The Choice Menu you have added will
be included in the list available to you in defining or modifying
system definition tables.
Delete a Choice Menu
When you select this option, PAR will return you the list of
available Choice Menus. Select the one to be deleted and hit
<ENTER>. This operation is not reversible. Modify a Choice Menu
When you opt to modify a Choice Menu, PAR will return you the
list of available Choice Menus. The Choice Menus offered by PAR
are shown below:
Funds: -------------------------------
| Entry # 1: |
| Entry # 2:Bond Fund |
| Entry # 3:Cert of Deposit |
| Entry # 4:Mutual Fund |
| Entry # 5:Money Market |
| Entry # 6:Stock |
| Entry # 7: |
| Entry # 8: |
| Entry # 9: |
| Entry # 10: |
| Entry # 11: |
| Entry # 12: |
-------------------------------
Keogh/IRA: -------------------------------
| Entry # 1: |
| Entry # 2:Keogh Fund |
| Entry # 3:IRA Fund |
| Entry # 4: |
| Entry # 5: |
| Entry # 6: |
| Entry # 7: |
| Entry # 8: |
| Entry # 9: |
| Entry # 10: |
| Entry # 11: |
| Entry # 12: |
------------------------------- Frequency: -------------------------------
| Entry # 1:None |
| Entry # 2:Daily |
| Entry # 3:Weekly |
| Entry # 4:Monthly |
| Entry # 5:Quarterly |
| Entry # 6:Semi-annual |
| Entry # 7:Annual |
| Entry # 8:Other |
| Entry # 9: |
| Entry # 10: |
| Entry # 11: |
| Entry # 12: |
-------------------------------
In addition to the PAR-provided menus, any Choice Menus that you
have added will also be available for modification. Select the
Choice Menu you wish to change. You may then modify or replace
any existing entry or add to the bottom of the list. When you
have completed modification of the menu, hit <Esc>.
Printer Defaults
PAR provides printer controls for Epson printers. You can change
those controls by hitting <Alt P> from the PARINST Main Menu and
selecting the Change Printer option from the subsequent menu. If you
do not know what control numerics are appropriate for your printer,
reference the manual that came with your printer. It should give you
the proper character set for the operations listed. Be sure to enter
control numerics as three-digit numbers. A "[" is used to represent
<Esc>.
Quit
Hitting <Alt-Q> will end the PARINST session and return you to DOS.
You may also select QUIT from the top menu to accomplish the same
action.
Start-Up
To begin PAR, simply type in PAR and hit <ENTER>. The PAR system will
look for a data file in the default directory and disk. If the file
(PARTABLE.FIL) is found the data will be loaded into memory. If the
file is not present, one will be created. (CAUTION. If you are
expecting data and PAR creates a new file, exit immediately and verify
that you are on the right disk and in the right directory). When the
PAR logo screen comes up hit <ENTER> again, and the main menu will be
appear. Using the <up arrow> and <down arrow> keys, place the menu
highlight on the subject you want and hit <ENTER>. When you are
finished with the selected subject, hit the <Esc> key to return you to
the main menu.
Function Keys
On the bottom line of your screen, you will notice a series of
function keys listed. The keys are used as follows:
F1 - Help - Can be called from anywhere in the system to
provide information on the current operation. Note that this is only
applicable for those subjects provided by PAR, not customized items.
F2 - Add - This puts you in the mode of entering new items
into the given subject inventory. You will be prompted to enter at
the first characteristic (field). To end an add session, you will hit
<ESC> after completing the last add entry (i.e., after hitting <ENTER>
on the last characteristic). This will return you to the first item
in the subject. If you wish to return to the Main Menu, hit <Esc> or
F10.
F4 - Modify - This will allow you to modify one or more
characteristics of the item currently on your screen. Hitting <ENTER>
will accomplish the same thing. Each characteristic will be
highlighted in succession to allow you to make the changes.
When you are done making modifications to an item, you hit <ENTER>.
To complete the modify session, hit <ESC> or F10 to return to the Main
Menu.
F6 - Delete - This deletes the item that is currently showing
on the screen. Affected accumulated totals will change to reflect the
deletion. After completing deletions you can return to the Main Menu
by hitting <ESC> or F10.
F8 - Print - This will present you with a choice menu with
options for your printed report(s). These options are discussed later
in the Print Options section (see page 25).
F10 - Exit - This will return you to the Main Menu when you
have completed an operation.
Screen Maneuvering
Following are a list of keyboard actions which will help you to move
the cursor on the screen as well as move through the items (records)
for a given subject.
Cursor Movement
Shift TAB - when entering or modifying an item, this will
allow you to move the cursor back to a previous characteristic
(field).
<ENTER> - should be used to move the cursor from one
characteristic to another when entering new data. Do not use up
and down arrows because in some subjects there are choice menus
which offer options for characteristic values. If you use an
arrow, it will not proceed past these menus.
Item Paging
Pg Up or Home - will take you to the first item (record) for
a given subject.
Pg Dn or End - will take you to the last item (record) for a
given subject.
Up or Down Arrow - will take you to the previous or next
record, respectively.
NOTE: When paging through records you will find them in alphabetical
order within characteristic, i.e., the ordering of the characteristics
is also the sort order.
PAR SUBJECTS
Following are discussions of each of the subjects provided by
PAR. For each subject, it gives the name of the characteristic, it's
allowable length in characters, and a short description of the
characteristic. Any of these subjects and/or their characteristics
can be modified by the user. Figure 1 shows the subjects as they
appear in the Main Menu.
___________________________________
| |
| Insurance Policies |
| Art, Jewelry & Collectibles |
| Household Inventory |
| Credit Card Inventory |
| Safe Deposit Box Inventory |
| Safe Deposit Boxes |
| Video Cassette Recordings |
| Book Inventory |
| Computer Inventory |
| Software Inventory |
| Investment Portfolio |
| System Defaults |
| Exit to DOS |
|_________________________________|
Figure 1 - PAR Main Menu PRINT OPTIONS
When you are ready to begin an inventory, you may want to print out
some blank forms to fill in so that you may move away from your
computer. You may not need to fill in all information when you make
your initial cut at the inventory. For instance, you probably don't
need to record the cost or value of something up front. You may wish
to enter all the items and then print a report of the inventory and
research those costs and values at your leisure. You can fill in that
information on the report and enter it into the system later.
To initiate the Print Option (registered version only), select the
subject you want to print from the Main Menu. If you want to print
all subjects, you will still do it by selecting each subject in turn.
When the system returns the first screen for the subject hit function
key F8. You will be offered three (3) options - Print, Blank Form, or
Quit.
If you want to print data that you have already entered into PAR,
select Print and hit <ENTER>. You will receive a message from the
system telling you that the records have been sent to the printer, and
your records will print. To print the next subject's records, return
to the Main Menu and select your next subject.
If you want to print blank forms for a subject, select Blank Forms and
hit <ENTER>. The system will tell you how many forms will fit on a
page and ask you how many forms you wish to print. Type in the number
and hit <ENTER>. To print blank forms for another subject, return to
the Main Menu and select your next subject.
If you do not wish to proceed with printing, select Quit and hit
<ENTER>.
The positioning of characteristics on the output reports is driven by
the System Definition Table for each subject. You can change these
positions or eliminate characteristics by manipulating the definitions
in the System Definition Table. See page 28 for a discussion of the
System Definition Table.
The previous section explained the subjects provided to you by PAR.
Now we will discuss how you can modify those subjects and their
characteristics to meet your own unique needs. You could eliminate
all the existing PAR subjects and develop your own complete set if you
were so inclined. To modify subjects and characteristics, select the
System Default option from the main menu.
SYSTEM DEFAULTS
The System Defaults option allows you to add, change, or delete
subjects and/or characteristics. Figure 2, the system default menu,
is a list of the current subjects plus 3 additional options.
___________________________________
| |
| Insurance Policies |
| Art, Jewelry & Collectibles |
| Household Inventory |
| Credit Card Inventory |
| Safe Deposit Inventory |
| Safe Deposit Boxes |
| Video Cassette Recordings |
| Book Inventory |
| Computer Inventory |
| Software Inventory |
| Investment Portfolio |
* | Delete a Subject |
* | Rename a Subject |
* | Add a new Subject |
|_________________________________|
Figure 2 - System Defaults Menu
We will cover the three additional options (marked *) first. Delete a Subject
This option allows you to select one of the current subjects to be
deleted. A menu will be presented with a list of the current
subjects. Select the one you want to delete using the <up arrow> or
<down arrow> key and hit <ENTER>. The selected subject will be removed
from all menus and the data (if any) will be removed from memory.
This action is not reversible. To add a deleted subject back you must
add it as a new subject.
Rename a Subject
This option allows you to change the name of any of the current
subjects. The maximum length of a subject name is 36 characters. The
system will prompt you to select the name you wish to change and then
prompt you to enter the new name. The new name will replace the old
name in all menus and on all reports.
Add a new Subject
This option allows you to add a new subject to the existing list of
subjects. The new subject will be added to all the menus. The system
will prompt you for the name of the new subject (up to 36 characters)
and then will place you in the standard System Definition Table. You
will then define each of the characteristics (fields) about the new
subject. The System Definition Table is discussed next.
NOTE: If you enter one of these option menus and change your mind
about continuing, hit the <Esc> key and you will back up to the
previous menu. System Definition Table
The System Definition Table, Figure 3, is made up of 4 main parts: the
characteristic (field) definition; the record definition; the screen
definition; and the print definition.
--------Active-----------Your Subject---------------------------------
| | | | record | screen | print |
|Sq| Title | type |len|pos | row|col|h/t|line|pos|
----------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1| | | | | | | | | |
| 2| | | | | | | | | |
| 3| | | | | | | | | |
| 4| | | | | | | | | |
| 5| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 3 - System Definition Table
Characteristic Definition
The first column is the field sequence number and is
maintained by the system. You will refer to this number during
input of certain data types discussed later.
Column 2 is the characteristic (or field) name. This name
can be any of the normal keyboard characters and must end with a
colon (:). The system uses the colon to align the name on the
screen.
Column 3 is the field type. This column is entered through
the use of the system choice menu shown below in Figure 4.
_____________________
| none |
| formula |
| subtotal |
| accumulator |
| text |
| date - mm/dd/yy |
| date - mm/yy |
| number |
| dollar |
| phone |
| choice |
|___________________|
Figure 4 - Field Type Choice Menu
Use the arrow keys to place the highlight over the correct type
of field and hit the <ENTER> key.
The structure of each of the data types follows:
none No data type is assigned.
formula Arithmetic, uses a formula structure similar to
Lotus 1-2-3. Fields are identified as Fx, where x
is the sequence number. An example of a formula
would be: (F2)+F3/(F4*10). A formula is limited
to 24 characters and no field number should exceed
18.
subtotal Arithmetic, accumulates totals for arithmetic or
numeric fields based on value changes.
accumulator Arithmetic, accumulates totals for arithmetic or
numeric fields. (Totals all records).
text Allows entry of all keyboard characters A-Z, a-z,
0-9 and all special characters. Extended
characters are not supported.
date - mm/dd/yy Allows entry of 6 digits. Slashes are
provided. No syntax checking is performed.
date - mm/yy Same as date mm/dd/yy except only allow 4 digits.
number Numeric, Allows entry of all numeric characters
(0-9).
dollar Numeric, same as number, except allows entry of 2
decimal places.
phone Numeric, formatted 10 character telephone number.
choice Offers a menu with PAR-supplied options of : 1)
Funds; 2) Keogh/IRA; or 3) Frequency. These
options can be modified or deleted, or you can add
other options. See the Choice Menu section (page
33). Record Definition
Column 4 is the field length. For some of the data types
such as dates and telephone numbers, the field length is already
known. If the length is not known the system will allow you to
enter the proper length. The total of all length fields cannot
exceed 254 characters.
Column 5 is the system-calculated record position. This is
provided for information only. Use this column to determine when
you are exceeding the record maximum length.
Screen Definition
Column 6 is the row or line of the screen on which to
display the characteristic and title.
Column 7 is the screen column in which to begin displaying
the characteristic. The displayable screen begins on the line
after the subject title and is 15 lines long. The characteristic
name is displayed first, followed by a space, then the actual
data. The data is displayed in the proper format based on data
type.
Report Definition
Column 8 tells the system what format the title should take
on output. An "H" will cause the characteristic name to be used
as a column header. A "T" will display the name as a title (i.e.,
beside the data in the same way as the display screen). An "E"
is used to display accumulator data types at the "End" of the
report. A "B" will cause a subtotal data type to print only at a
value change in the break field. A blank will cause the
characteristic to be skipped in the report.
Column 9 is the print line on which to place the data. Most
subject items will have more data than will comfortably fit on a
single line so this will allow each item within a subject to be
printed on multiple lines.
Column 10 is the print column in which the data will begin.
If column 8 contains a "T" you must allow sufficient space in
front of this column for the field name followed by a space.
The System Definition Table is the focus when adding new subjects or
making modifications to existing subjects and characteristics.
Modifying Subjects and Characteristics
You can modify existing subjects by moving characteristics around on
the physical record, the screen, or the output report. You can add or
insert new characteristics or delete existing ones. You can change
any of the definitions except record position for an existing
characteristic. The following discussions will assist you in doing
these operations.
To begin any of these operations select the System Defaults option
from the Main Menu. Then select the subject you wish to modify. The
system will return the System Definition Table for that subject. To
move to the right in the System Definition Table use the <Tab> key.
Rearranging Characteristics
To rearrange the characteristics (fields) for a subject, place the
cursor on the field you wish to move and hit <Alt-M>. The system will
"grab" the current field and a move window will direct you to place
the move arrow on the destination entry and hit the <ENTER> key. When
you hit <ENTER>, the field will be inserted into the selected sequence
entry, moving any existing field down one entry. NOTE: Moving the
field will affect the sort sequence for items in that subject and will
affect the physical sequence of fields on the record. It will not,
however, affect the position of that characteristic on the screen or
the report. You must change those positions in the System Definition
Table accordingly. If the subject contains data, the data will also
be moved to the selected field position and the records will be
resorted.
Deleting Characteristics
Characteristics may be deleted by placing the cursor on the field
entry to be deleted and hitting <Alt-D>. This action cannot be
reversed. All affected menus will be changed to reflect the deletion,
and the associated data will be deleted from memory.
Inserting Characteristics
Characteristics may be inserted by placing the cursor on a field entry
and hitting <Alt-I>. A new "Blank" field will be inserted prior to
the characteristic you placed the cursor on. You may then edit the
new field as desired. If there are no accumulator or tabulate
characteristics, you may 'add' a characteristic after the last
sequence entry. All characteristics that are to be a part of the
physical record must be added or inserted prior to any tabulate or
accumulate fields. CHOICE MENUS
A Choice Menu is one which gives you a choice of a number of values
for a field instead of requiring you to key the actual value each
time. The Choice Menu appears as a pop-up window during data entry and
allows selection of a value by use of the arrow keys. The data entered
by the choice menu method is stored as a single character in the data
record and can significantly save storage space. PAR includes three
Choice Menus which are shown below.
Funds - Used by the Investment Portfolio subject:
-----------------------
| A: |
| B: Bond Fund |
| C: Cert of Deposit |
| D: Mutual Fund |
| E: Money Market |
| F: Stock |
-----------------------
Keogh/IRA - Used by the Investment Portfolio subject:
-----------------------
| A: |
| B: Keogh Fund |
| C: IRA Fund |
-----------------------
Frequency - Not currently used by PAR
-----------------------
| A: None |
| B: Daily |
| C: Weekly |
| D: Monthly |
| E: Quarterly |
| F: Semi-annual |
| G: Annual |
| H: Other |
-----------------------
PAR allows you to delete or change existing Choice Menus and to add
new ones. This can be done by executing the installation program
PARINST. See page 5 for instructions on how to add, modify, or
delete choice menus. HELP WINDOWS
Hitting the <F1> key from anywhere in the system will cause a help
screen to appear. This help screen will reflect the current operation
you are performing and will attempt to help you navigate through the
system and provide you with limited assistance. It is not designed to
replace this documentation.
