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Z L O G
release 1.4
Almost the best PC log utility
U s e r ' s G u i d e
(C) Copyright 1989-90, Zoran Milenovic & Associates
All Rights Reserved
Zoran Milenovic & Associates
P.O.Box 409311
Chicago, IL 60640
(312) 275-0029
They discovered a cure for apathy. Nobody cared.
Trademark notices
dBASE is a trademark of Ashton-Tate Corp.
DESQview is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems.
IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp.
Lotus-123 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corp.
MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.
PC-MOS/386 is a trademark of The Software Link Inc.
PK(UN)ZIP is a trademark of PKware Inc.
Software Carousel is a trademark of SoftLogic Solutions
ZLOG is a trademark of ZM & Associates
Date printed: September 1, 1990
LIMIT OF LIABILITY
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND
(EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED). THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND
PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE
PROVE DEFECTIVE OR INCORRECT, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL
NECESSARY REPAIR, SERVICING OR ANY OTHER DAMAGE. IN NO EVENT
SHALL ZORAN MILENOVIC & ASSOCIATES (OR ITS DISTRIBUTORS) BE LI-
ABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGE
CAUSED BY THE USE OF THIS PRODUCT.
This page intentionally left blank
Table of Contents
About the product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Quick start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Error messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Running ZLOG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
How to activate ZLOG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Command line switches and parameters. . . . . . . . . 15
Process options screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Program levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Exporting log records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Error messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Sign ON/OFF using ZS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
ZS - ZLOG companion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Setting up the operator ID table. . . . . . . . . . . 35
Command line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Error messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Useful hints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Log file maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Multiple log files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Multiple log history files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Processing multiple job account numbers . . . . . . . 41
Delete 'idle' records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Reducing size of the log file . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Running 'menu' program after sign ON. . . . . . . . . 43
ZLOG in multi-tasking environment . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Incompatibility problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Word about security and IRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Getting help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
User feedback form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
This page intentionally left blank
About the product
About the product
ZLOG is a log utility designed to keep track of everything
you have done on your PC. It even logs the amount of time
your PC was idle. Every step is recorded in ZLOG's log file
and you are given the option of printing, exporting, delet-
ing or moving log records to a log history file. You can
create more than one history file - by an operator ID, by an
account number or project you have done, by a date range
(weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. . . ) etc. Having a
log file gives you a detailed recording of the amount of
time you spent doing computer work.
ZLOG does not record use of DOS internal commands, such as:
CLS, DIR, TYPE etc. It records only external commands (your
applications and other programs). ZLOG, also, ignores com-
mands that result in a 'Bad command or file name' message
from DOS.
Automatic recovery allows ZLOG to gracefully recover if its
own log file is accidentally deleted in the middle of a ses-
sion. It just creates a new one, picking up right where if
left off in the old one.
ZLOG has three security levels (or no security at all - lev-
el 0):
level 1 print reports or export log records
level 2 change of active operator ID, active job ac-
count number, active log file name or maximum
log level
level 3 delete or move log records to history file,
UNinstall
Operator on each level can do his/her own functions, as well
as the functions from the lower levels. Each level has a
password assigned to it at the installation time. Passwords
from higher levels are valid for lower levels also. If you
want fewer persons to have access to log data or ZLOG's ac-
tions select this feature in the installation procedure.
ZLOG is transparent to you. You will not notice any de-
crease in performance of your computer. You can log differ-
ent jobs under different job account numbers, and changing
job account numbers is simple and fast. You just tell ZLOG
which account number to use from now on.
When you are ready to analyze your work, tell ZLOG what
range of records to process. Specify if you want to see glo-
bal figures (only total lines) or a detailed report. Selec-
- Page 1 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
tion criteria can be:
1. By operator ID, or any combination of all 3
characters in operator ID, including 'wild-
cards'
2. By job account number(s), or any combination
of all 16 characters in job account
number(s), including 'wildcards'
3. By program (phase) name, or any combination
of all 8 characters in program name, includ-
ing 'wildcards'
4. By date and time range (FROM date/time, TO
date/time)
5. By all 4 above categories combined
Report can be viewed on the screen, send to a disk ASCII
file or printed on the printer. Log records can be, alter-
natively, exported onto disk file and uploaded into your
spreadsheet or database program.
Context-sensitive help is just a keystroke away. If you get
stuck press F1 to get more information about the field cur-
sor is resting on.
ZLOG has a sign-on/sign-off module. You can define as many
as 128 operators with their passwords (changeable by the op-
erator at any time later), specific job accounts, different
log file names and different maximum log levels.
ZLOG is written in Microsoft Macro Assembler 5.1 and is un-
beatable in speed. In resident mode it requires a little
bit more than 2K of main memory. It runs on IBM PC family
or compatible and requires MS-DOS 3.00 or later. We recom-
mend use of a hard disk. ZLOG needs to access its log file
every time any of your programs is 1) run and 2) ended.
It is compatible with most LANs.
ZLOG is distributed in ZIP compressed format. Compressing
software used is wonderful PKware's product PKZIP/PKUNZIP
(Thanks Phil).
- Page 2 -
Quick start
Quick start
To have ZLOG up and running you have to do these steps:
1. Switch to your temporary subdirectory, copy ZL.EXE from
your distribution diskette and uncompress ZLOG package
(type: ZL).
2. Run installation program. At DOS prompt type:
INSTALL
3. Press F2 to start installation procedure. INSTALL's
default options are suitable for most computer configu-
rations.
4. Press 'n' when asked to test printer features.
5. ZLOG is installed at this point. Activate it. At DOS
prompt type:
ZLOG
From now on everything you do will be logged into
ZLOG's default log file ([current-disk]:\SYSTEM.LOG)
using default options (no operator ID, no account num-
ber, log level 15).
6. Run some of your applications (programs) as usual.
7. To see your PC activity, at DOS prompt type:
ZLOG /P
8. At ZLOG's process screen press F2 (print function).
Disregard message at the bottom of the screen ('War-
ning: Log history file is empty!').
9. ZLOG will now create the report and send it to the
screen. Alternatively, you can send it to a disk file
or directly to a printer.
10. Now, if you want, you can UNinstall ZLOG from the memo-
ry. At DOS prompt type:
ZLOG /U
This is the shortest way to install, run and get results
from ZLOG. We recommend that later you read the manual and
reinstall ZLOG with modifications to suit your needs. ZLOG
is full of features that you should take advantage of. Once
you get familiarized with ZLOG's commands and capabilities
you will see that it is easy to understand and easy to use.
- Page 3 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
This page intentionally left blank
- Page 4 -
Install
Install
ZLOG package, distributed by the author to the registered
users, comes on a single 5 1/4 or 3 1/2 inch diskette la-
beled 'ZLOG release x.xx sn. yy-yyy' where x.xx is release
number and 'yy-yyy' is a serial number.
ZLOG package contains these files:
- README Information
- REGISTER Registration Form
- ZLOG.DOC User's Guide
- INSTALL.EXE Installation Program
- ZLOG.COM Main Phase
- ZLOG00.OVR Overlay Phase I
- ZLOG10.OVR Overlay Phase II
- ZS.EXE Sign on/off module (optional)
- !EMPTY.LOG Empty (skeleton) log file
Before you do anything, please make a copy of the ZLOG dis-
tribution diskette and store it in a safe place. You can
use the DOS COPY command. To install ZLOG onto your comput-
er you have to run installation program. Type:
INSTALL
Installation program is straight forward and simple. Con-
text-sensitive help is just a keystroke away (F1). Detailed
description of installation procedure is in the next section
('Setup').
Setup
The installation procedure uses three different screens.
You can switch back and forth using PgUp and PgDn keys.
Screen #1
*** YOUR NAME. Enter your name or name of your company.
This field will be printed on report in the upper left cor-
ner. Once entered, it cannot be changed anymore. If the
name is already there, then the cursor will be positioned on
the next field (below).
- Page 5 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
*** HISTORY FILE NAME. Type in the full path and file name
for the log history file. The disk drive must be included
in the specification.
Example: C:\ARCHIVE\HISTORY.LOG
You can move into this history file any range of records
from the log file. This will be the default log history
file name for ZLOG process function. It can be overkeyed
when you want to process it. You might want to have differ-
ent log history files for each project you are working on.
You can have, also, separate log history file for each quar-
ter of the year (or for each year). You also may want to
keep these files on separate floppy disks. It is entirely
up to you how you want to organize your log history data.
File !EMPTY.LOG (log skeleton file on distribution diskette)
can be copied and renamed to history file name(s) as many
times as you want.
Do not specify .$$$ as a file extension. ZLOG uses it for
its own work (temporary) files.
*** REPORT FILE NAME. Type in the full path and file name
for the log report disk file ('soft' copy of the report).
The disk drive must be included in the specification.
Example: C:\WORK\REPORT.TXT
You can browse and print this file using any text/word proc-
essor. This is pure ASCII file.
Do not specify .$$$ as a file extension. ZLOG uses it for
its own work (temporary) files.
*** EXPORT FILE NAME. Type in the full path and file name
for exported log records. The disk drive must be included
in the specification.
Example: C:\WORK\EXPORT.DIF
Later on you can import this file into your spreadsheet or
database program.
Do not specify .$$$ as a file extension. ZLOG uses it for
its own work (temporary) files.
*** ZLOG DESTINATION. This is the directory where you want
- Page 6 -
Install
INSTALL to put ZLOG package. It might be any directory.
Specify the full path name including disk drive.
Example: C:\ZLOG
After install is complete, you will see five new files in
that directory: ZLOG.COM, ZLOG00.OVR, ZLOG10.OVR, ZS.EXE
and process history file ZLOGHIST.DAT.
Note: If you later want to move ZLOG package to
another subdirectory, just do a straight COPY
from old subdirectory to the new one. ZLOG
will always look in its 'home' subdirectory
for overlay phases (ZLOG00.OVR and
ZLOG10.OVR) and process history file (ZLOGH-
IST.DAT).
Note: Distribution diskette also contains empty
(skeleton) log file !EMPTY.LOG. You may want
to copy this file to your destination direc-
tory as well. Later on whenever you need to
create new log history file (for example new
file for each quarter) you can just copy this
empty log file and rename it.
Screen #2
*** OUTPUT PORT. Output port for your printer. This de-
pends on whether you have a parallel or a serial printer.
Values for a parallel printer are: PRN, LPT1, LPT2 and
LPT3. Values for a serial printer are: COM1, COM2, COM3
and COM4. Most likely you have a parallel printer connected
to port #1. If this is true, leave the default value (PRN)
in this field. Later you will be able to test all options
that you have specified for your printer. If you find that
some printer related fields are wrong, just go back to the
installation screen #2 and correct it.
*** LINE WIDTH. This is the line width for the report.
There are two versions of report: 80 and 132 column. They
show the same data, but 132 column version is more readable.
It has more spaces between columns and shows time fields as
HH:MM:SS as opposed to the 80 column version which shows
time fields as HH:MM.
If your printer does NOT have 'condensed print' (16.6 CPI)
feature specify:
- Page 7 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
for 8" paper - 80
for 11" paper - 132
If your printer DOES have 'condensed print' (16.6 CPI) fea-
ture specify:
for 8" paper - 132
for 11" paper - 132
*** LINES/PAGE. Number of lines per page. This depends on
the size of the paper you use. Regular spacing is 6 lines
per inch. Therefore 8" x 11" paper (most common) has 66
lines per page. If you have a laser printer and you want
reports to be in 'landscape' mode (11" x 8" paper) then
specify 48 lines per page.
*** SPACES/TAB. If you specify T(ab) then Tab characters
will be inserted into 'soft' copy of the reports, instead of
spaces (see option *** S/D/P/E below). All word processors
and most of the text processors will process this file cor-
rectly either way. If you use the T(ab) option you might
save some disk space when you produce 'soft' report.
Note: To print 'soft' copy of the report you also
can use DOS COPY command. Type: COPY file-
name PRN
*** SET. This command (called 'ESCape sequence') will set
your printer to the correct printing mode. It might be a
'condensed print' mode or a 'landscape' mode (for laser
printers). If your printer does not have these features, do
not specify anything here. This command will be sent to the
printer right after opening of the printer file. Enter this
field using hexadecimal notation e.g. '<ESC>*1' enter as
'1B2A31'. Please consult manual for your printer.
*** RESET. This is reset command for your printer. It will
put it back to 'normal' mode (same mode as it was in
before). This command will be sent to the printer right be-
fore closing of the printer file. Enter this field using
hexadecimal notation e.g. '<ESC>E' enter as '1B45'. Please
consult manual for your printer.
**** DELIM. ZLOG has a possibility of exporting log records
(or just total amounts) into disk ASCII file in format suit-
able for import into your spreadsheet or database program.
- Page 8 -
Install
This character is field delimiter (it delimits different
fields). For Lotus-123 default field delimiter is comma(,).
Example: field1,field2,field3, ...
**** NUM. This character surrounds numeric fields in the
record being exported. For Lotus-123 there is none.
Example: field1,050190,field3, ...
**** CHAR. This character surrounds alphanumeric fields in
the record being exported. For Lotus-123 default delimited
for this field type is quote (").
Example: "opID","ACCT#1111",050190, ...
Note: For Lotus-123 import function is: / F(ile)
I(mport) N(umbers) and a file name (Lotus
default extension for import file is .PRN).
**** IDLE. If this switch is set to Y(es), idle periods
(when computer is doing nothing) will be logged (recorded).
Set it to N(o) to ignore idle periods (ZLOG will not log it
and log file will be approx. 40% smaller). Value of this
switch is default for ZLOG print/export function (include or
do not include idle records in the report). It can be over-
keyed in the process options screen.
*** TOTAL. If you set it to Y(es), reports (or exported
file) will contain only lines with totals. Set it to N(o)
to get detailed report (all steps). This value is default
value for ZLOG print/export function, but can be overkeyed
in the process options screen.
*** S/D/P/E. Default log report destination. Specify
S(creen) for screen output. Specify D(isk) for 'soft' copy
or P(rinter) for 'hard' copy of a report. Soft copy will
send report to the disk ASCII file rather than to a printer.
Then you can browse it (and optionally print) using any
word/text processor. You can, also, print it using DOS COPY
command (type: COPY file-name PRN). Hard copy goes direct-
ly to the printer. Specify E(xport) to export log records.
Export function produces ASCII file suitable for importing
into your spreadsheet or database programs. Specify
E(xport) if you will be exporting log records most of the
time. This value is default value for ZLOG print/export
- Page 9 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
function, but can be overkeyed on the process options
screen.
*** DATES. This will specify default range of dates (FROM
and TO) for selecting the records. Options are W(eekly),
M(onthly) and Q(uarterly).
W(eekly) FROM date = current week, Monday 12:00 am
TO date = current date, current time
M(onthly) FROM date = current month, 1st day 12:00 am
TO date = current date, current time
Q(uarterly) FROM date = current quarter, 1st day 12:00 am
TO date = current date, current time
This value will be default for ZLOG print/export function,
but can be overkeyed on the process options screen.
*** SECUR. Security switch. If it is set to N(o) that
means security is OFF (level 0, no security). If you want
to have security feature ON, set this switch to Y(es). It
allows you to have three different security levels that can
be accessed only by keying in a password. They are:
level 1 print reports or export log records
level 2 change of active operator ID, active job ac-
count number, active log file name or maximum
log level
level 3 delete or move log records to history file,
UNinstall
You can specify (on screen #3) password for any (or all) of
these three security levels. If you omit password for any
of the lower levels then there is no security checking for
those levels. For example, if you specify password for lev-
el 3 only then everybody will be able to do everything ex-
cept level 3 functions.
Note: If this switch is set to Y(es) and all three
passwords (screen #3) are blank then this
switch will be ignored. It will be treated
as it was set to N(o).
*** COLOR. ZLOG process option screen's default colors are
cyan (foreground) on blue (background). If you prefer
black/white, or if you experience troubles with your moni-
tor, set this switch to M(ono).
- Page 10 -
Install
*** BIOS. If this switch is set to Y(es), ZLOG will use
BIOS routines to write to the screen. Set it to N(o) and
ZLOG will use faster memory-mapped routines to write to the
screen.
Note: We RECOMMEND to set this switch to N(o).
*** PROGRAM LEVEL. Maximum program level to be recorded.
Must be 1-15. For more information about program levels see
section 'Program levels', chapter 'Running ZLOG'.
Screen #3
*** LEVEL 1 PASSWORD. If you specify a password here then
whenever you want to print a report (or export log records),
you will be asked to enter it. If you do not want it, leave
this field blank.
*** LEVEL 2 PASSWORD. By specifying a password here, when-
ever you want to change active operator ID, active log ac-
count number or active log file you will be asked to enter
it. If you do not want it, leave this field blank. If it
is blank, default is level 1 password.
Note: If ZLOG is not active it will install itself
in the memory without asking you for a pass-
word. If not specified, operator ID, job ac-
count number or log file used will be default
(blank, blank and [current drive]:\SYS
TEM.LOG). Next time you want to change oper-
ator ID, job account or log file name you
will be asked for a password.
*** LEVEL 3 PASSWORD. If you specify a password here then
whenever you want to delete or move log records, or UNin-
stall ZLOG you will be asked to enter it. If you do not
want it, leave this field blank. If it is blank, default is
level 2 password.
Note: If all three passwords are blank then securi-
ty switch (screen #2) will be ignored - same
as if it was set to N(o).
- Page 11 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
Initiate installation
Now everything is set and you can press F2 to initiate in-
stallation procedure.
You will be asked if you want to test printer specifications
you entered earlier. If you answer Y(es), a full page of
asterisks ('*') will be printed. Look at the printout. If
it does not look right, answer Y(es) to the question: 'Do
you want to go back to the install?'. Otherwise proceed
with installation.
INSTALL will now do the actual installation of ZLOG.COM,
ZLOG00.OVR, ZLOG10.OVR and ZS.EXE into destination directo-
ry. Empty log history and process history files are creat-
ed, and ZLOG informs you if everything is OK.
ZLOG is installed at this point. If you run DIR of your
destination directory (specified in installation screen #1)
you will see five new files:
ZLOG.COM main phase
ZLOG00.OVR overlay phase I
ZLOG10.OVR overlay phase II
ZS.EXE sign on/off module
ZLOGHIST.DAT process history file
If your destination directory is different that your current
directory, you can, at this point, delete all ZLOG's files.
You might want to copy INSTALL.EXE to your destination di-
rectory if you decide to change some of the options later
(INSTALL 'remembers' everything you specified so far). Of
course, any time later you can reinstall ZLOG from original
distribution disk.
Note: You can run INSTALL program as many times as
you want until you set correctly all the
values. On the second and subsequent runs
INSTALL will ask you to sign ON as System Ad-
ministrator (operator SYS). This is just a
little security feature. Nobody, except Sys-
tem Administrator, is suppose to run INSTALL
after first (initial) run.
If you do not have ZLOG's sign ON/OFF module
(ZS.EXE) INSTALL will not expect SYS signon.
The next step will be to include ZLOG in AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
You can do this using your text/word processor. To learn
how, see chapter 'Running ZLOG' section 'How to activate
ZLOG'. If your computer is running in multi-user environ-
- Page 12 -
Install
ment (such as PC-MOS/386 or LAN) or multi-tasking environ-
ment (such as DESQview) or you are using a task-switcher
(such as Software Carousel) read chapter 'ZLOG in multi-
tasking environment'.
Note: If you want later to move ZLOG package to
another subdirectory, just do a straight COPY
from old subdirectory to the new one. ZLOG
will always look in its 'home' subdirectory
for overlay phases (ZLOG00.OVR and
ZLOG10.OVR) and process history file (ZLOGH-
IST.DAT).
Error messages
INSTALL performs few different tasks. In case any kind of
failure function code (FC) and return code (RC) is dis-
played. Most of these errors are possible only in multi-
user environment (such as PC-MOS/386 or LAN). If such a
case, try to install ZLOG from scratch starting with decom-
pression of distribution disk. Make sure that no other
tasks (multi-tasking environment) are interfering with in-
stallation procedure.
If the problem occurs again, write down function code (FC)
and return code (RC) and call us at (312) 275-0029.
- Page 13 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
This page intentionally left blank
- Page 14 -
Running ZLOG
Running ZLOG
How to activate ZLOG
The best way not to forget to activate ZLOG is to put it
into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This file is executed every
time you boot your system. If your computer does not have
clock battery backup put ZLOG command line after you set
correct date and time (usually with DATE and TIME commands).
You can run ZLOG from DOS prompt also. When you run ZLOG
for the first time after booting the system, it leaves a
portion of its own code in memory as a TSR (terminate-and-
stay-resident) program. This program (little bit more than
2K in size) is the actual 'working horse' of the package.
It invisibly works in the background. You can 'uninstall'
it (free up the memory occupied) at any time later.
Simplest way to activate ZLOG is to run it without any pa-
rameters. Just type:
ZLOG
and ZLOG will install itself in the memory using all default
parameters:
- no operator ID
- no job account number
- log file name [current-drive]:\SYSTEM.LOG
- log level specified in installation procedure
Later you can run ZLOG with switch S(tatus) to see active
parameters (type: ZLOG /S).
Note: If your computer is running in multi-user en-
vironment (such as PC-MOS/386 or LAN) or mul-
ti-tasking environment (such as DESQview) or
you are using a task-switcher (such as Soft-
ware Carousel) read chapter 'ZLOG in multi-
tasking environment'.
Command line switches and parameters
ZLOG's actions are controlled by the command line switches.
A slash ('/') or dash ('-') separates these switches. The
- Page 15 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
following switches are available:
/I operator ID specification
/A job account number specification
/F log file name specification
/L maximum program level to be logged
/O display accepted options
/P process log or log history file
/Q quiet operation (no info messages)
/S display status of ZLOG
/U uninstall resident portion
ZLOG is not case sensitive. Spaces are allowed between
switches, e.g. ZLOG /A=xxx /Q is the same as
ZLOG/a=xxx/q. If you use dash ('-') as a switch separator
then you must insert one blank between switches, e.g. ZLOG
-a=xxx -q is valid, but ZLOG-a=xxx-q is invalid.
/I Operator ID specification
This switch specifies operator ID. It can be 0-3 characters
long (0=no operator ID). When you process log file you will
be able to select records by specifying any combination of
the characters in operator ID. Spaces and slashes ('/') are
not allowed. An equal sign ('=') after switch is required.
Example: ZLOG /I=BJ
If ZLOG was active at the time you issued this command, then
the old operator ID will be changed to the new one. All
steps from this point on will be recorded under the new op-
erator ID.
If ZLOG was not active at the time this command was issued,
it will 'install' itself in the memory and start logging un-
der this new operator ID.
ZLOG informs you about actions taken unless /Q switch (quiet
operation) is specified.
/A Job account specification
With this switch you can specify different job account num-
bers for different jobs you are doing. Job account numbers
can be 0-16 characters long (0=no job account). When you
process log file you will be able to select records by
specifying any combination of characters in the job account
- Page 16 -
Running ZLOG
number. Design your job account naming conventions having
that in mind. Spaces and slashes ('/') are not allowed in
the job account number. An equal sign ('=') after switch is
required.
Example: ZLOG /A=XYZ-BILLING
This could mean that you are doing a billing project for XYZ
company. Later you will be able to see how much time you
have spent doing billing for ALL the companies (by specify-
ing '????billing' as a job account selection key). To see
how much time you have spent doing ALL the data processing
services for XYZ company, you can specify 'xyz*' as a job
account selection key.
If ZLOG was active at the time you issued this command, then
the old job account number will be changed to the new one.
All steps from this point on will be recorded under the new
account number.
If ZLOG was not active at the time this command was issued,
then it will 'install' itself in the memory and start log-
ging under this new job account number.
ZLOG will inform you about actions taken unless /Q switch
(quiet operation) is specified.
/F File name specification
This switch allows you to specify the name of the log file.
This means that you can have different log files for each
project, or for each terminal. If your computer is running
under a multi-user operating system (or LAN) we recommend
you to have different log files for each workstation (termi-
nal). This file is sort of 'dynamic' file (you can create
new log files any time). Log history file is 'static' file
(you cannot create a new one on the fly, except with IN-
STALL). Yet, both files have the same structure.
For multi-user environments (such as PC-MOS/386 or LAN) we
recommend to have different log files for each terminal (ac-
tive task). Otherwise concurrent updating of the log file
might occur and you could loose log data. In LAN environ-
ment log file should be on the locally attached disk. For
more information see chapter 'ZLOG in multi-user environ-
ment'.
An equal sign ('=') after switch is required.
- Page 17 -
ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
You can specify full file name or just part of it.
Example: ZLOG /F=C:\DATA\ABC.LOG
This means that current log file ABC.LOG is on drive C: in
subdirectory DATA.
If ZLOG was active at the time you issued this command then
the old log file will be closed and the new one opened. If
it does not exist it will be created. From this point on,
log records will be written onto that (new) file.
If ZLOG was not active at the time this command was issued,
then it will 'install' itself and start writing log records
into this file.
If you do not specify a file ('ZLOG /F='), the default log
file name is:
current-drive:\SYSTEM.LOG
If you specify the drive only ('ZLOG /F=d:'), the file name
will be:
specified-drive:\current-subdir\SYSTEM.LOG.
If you specify the drive and a subdirectory ('ZLOG
/F=d:\data\'), the file name will be:
specified-drive:\specified-subdir\SYSTEM.LOG.
ZLOG checks the file that you specify. If the file does not
exist, it creates a new one. If it does exist it is checked
for a ZLOG's signature. If the file exist and it is not a
log file, ZLOG will inform you about this and reject the re-
quest.
Do not specify .$$$ as a file extension. ZLOG uses it for
its own work (temporary) files.
ZLOG will inform you about actions taken unless /Q switch
(quiet operation) is specified.
Note: Automatic recovery allows ZLOG to gracefully
recover if its own log file is accidentally
deleted in the middle of a session. It just
creates a new one, picking up right where if
left off in the old one. If the whole direc-
tory, with the active log file, is deleted
ZLOG automatically switches to the default
- Page 18 -
Running ZLOG
log file name [current-drive]:\SYSTEM.LOG.
From that point on this is the active log
file.
/L Maximum program level
This switch specifies maximum program level to be logged.
It is two digit number in range from 1 to 15. For detailed
information about the program level see section 'Program
levels' later in this chapter. An equal sign ('=') after
switch is required.
Example: ZLOG /L=15
If ZLOG was active at the time you issued this command, then
the old logging level will be changed to the new one. All
steps from this point on will be recorded using this new
level as a maximum.
Note: Change maximum program level from DOS prompt
(level 0) ONLY! If you run some program,
then 'shell out' to DOS and run ZLOG with
this option, you can get unpredictable re-
sults.
If ZLOG was not active at the time this command was issued,
then it will 'install' itself in the memory and start log-
ging using this level as a maximum.
ZLOG will inform you about actions taken unless /Q switch
(quiet operation) is specified.
/O Display accepted options from the command line
If this switch is specified ZLOG will display all options
accepted from the command line. This way you can check if
ZLOG really 'understood' what you wanted. This might be
handy when you start using ZLOG.
Example: ZLOG /O
ZLOG will reject this request if /Q (quiet operation) was
specified.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
/P Process log or log history file
Specifying this switch you request from ZLOG to do certain
processing on the log or log history file(s). This switch
can be specified with or without parameters. All missing
parameters will be replaced with their default values
(specified in the installation procedure). If parameters
are present, an equal sign ('=') must follow /P switch. Pa-
rameters must be separated by commas and cannot contain
spaces or slashes ('/'). Parameters are:
- log file name
- log history file name
- report file name ('soft copy' of the report)
- export file name
- operator ID
- job account number or job account table file name
- program name
- from date
- from time
- to date
- to time
- process idle records switch
- total switch
- screen/disk/print/export switch
- action (type of processing):
F2 print/export specified range of log re-
cords
F3 move specified range of log records to
log history file
F4 delete specified range of log records
Alt-F2 print/export specified range of log his-
tory records
Alt-F4 delete specified range of log history
records
For more information about these parameters see section
'Process options screen' later in this chapter.
If any of the parameters is wrong or an action is not speci-
fied, ZLOG switch itself into interactive mode. Process op-
tions screen pops up and you can correct the parameters and
choose the action.
Example:
ZLOG /P=abcd.log,,,,bj,xyz*,*,010188,,123188,,y,y,p,f2
This means: print (f2) hard copy (p) of log records from
- Page 20 -
Running ZLOG
ABCD.LOG file. Process all records with operator ID BJ
(bj), created between 01/01/88 (010188) at 12:00 am (de-
fault) and 12/31/88 (123188) at 11:59 pm (default) which job
account number starts with letters XYZ (xyz*). Include all
programs (*), idle time (1st 'y') and print total lines only
(2nd 'y').
Note: In 'idle' log records program name is blank.
Therefore if you specify program name as a
blank, ZLOG will select only 'idle' records.
This might be handy if you want to delete
'idle' records - see chapter 'Useful hints'.
Log and log history files have the same structure. In the
example above, ABCD.LOG might be one of your log history
files. ZLOG does not care which file is which. It will do
action you specified on the file you specified. You can
switch log and log history file names and as long as you
specify the right action, everything will be OK.
ZLOG has a possibility of processing up to 128 job account
numbers in a single pass through log (or log history) file.
Use any text/word processor and (in non-document mode)
create plain ASCII file containing one line per each job ac-
count you want to process. For example: if you want to
process job accounts 'abc*', '?xyz' and 'jbm-billing-??'
this file should look like this:
abc*
?xyz
jbm-billing-??
Give this file any name. On the command line (in a /P
switch) instead of specifying single job account number,
specify: @file-name. ZLOG checks the first character of
job account number and if it is a '@' it considers remaining
of a job account string the filename. Then it reads that
file and load each line in the table. You can specify up to
128 different job account numbers. If you specify more than
128, only first 128 will be accepted and you will get a
warning message that job account table file was to big.
In the example above, assuming that job account table file
name is 'monthly.job', command line looks like this:
ZLOG/P=abcd.log,,,,bj,@monthly.acc,*,010188,,123188,,y,y,p,f2
If you just specify '@' (ZLOG /P=abcd.log,,bj,@,*,010188,,
123188,,y,y,p,f2), first entry in the job account table will
be filled up with all '?'. This will match ANY job account.
If you did not specify action on the command line, ZLOG will
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
switch into interactive mode (it will display process op-
tions screen). From that point on you will see '@ <table>'
in job account field. Whenever cursor is on that field you
may press Enter key to display job account table. Help mes-
sage area (in the lower part of the screen) also changes.
When you press Enter, window pops up showing you job account
numbers from the table. You can page forwards, backwards
and you can update this table. Press ESC to exit.
While you communicate with ZLOG through process options
screen any time you can type a '@' in job account field to
specify new job account table file name. If you typed '@' a
'file name?' prompt pops up. If you do not enter anything
(leave file name blank) you will be able to enter (up to
128) different job account numbers into job account table.
Log records containing any of these accounts will be select-
ed for processing.
If processing was initiated from a command line (or batch
file) and all parameters were correct, log records will be
processed immediately and control will be returned to DOS.
If some (or all) of the parameters were not supplied (or
they are wrong) ZLOG switch itself into interactive mode and
you can correct any parameter on the screen and initiate ac-
tion. After processing is complete, control returns back to
the process options screen. This is handy if you want to
process log records few times changing one (or more) parame-
ter(s) from run to run.
Note: If ZLOG was active when process options
screen pops up, on the line 4 (on the right
hand side) you see date and time when ZLOG
was installed into memory. Alternatively
you can press Alt-S to get full ZLOG status
report.
/Q Quiet operation
When you specify this switch ZLOG will not display any in-
formational messages such as copyright, action taken and
status. Only error messages that cause the termination of
ZLOG will be displayed.
Example: ZLOG /Q
- Page 22 -
Running ZLOG
/S Display ZLOG status
When you specify this switch ZLOG will display its status,
when it was installed into memory, active operator ID, ac-
tive job account number, active log file name and current
maximum log level.
Example: ZLOG /S
Note: All other switches, if specified, will be
ignored except /Q (quiet operation).
Displaying ZLOG's status with time and date of installation
in the memory might be useful to check if somebody rebooted
the system or uninstalled ZLOG. For example, if you install
ZLOG every morning at 9 am and during the day you discover
that ZLOG was installed at 11 am, you know that somebody ei-
ther rebooted the system or uninstalled ZLOG for a while.
/U Uninstall resident portion
This switch allows you to remove the resident portion of
ZLOG from the main memory. It will free about 2K of comput-
er memory. When you want to uninstall ZLOG specify this
switch.
Example: ZLOG /U
ZLOG informs you about actions taken unless /Q switch (quiet
operation) is specified.
Process options screen
Process options screen comes up whenever you want to process
log records and you did not specify on command line all the
parameters (see /P switch in 'Command line switches and pa-
rameters' section) or some of the specified parameters are
wrong. Process options screen is simple and straight for-
ward with extensive context-sensitive help. Invoke context-
sensitive help with F1.
On line 2 it shows today's date. If ZLOG is active (resi-
dent) then on line 4 you see time and date when ZLOG was ac-
tivated. Having ZLOG's installation time and date might be
useful to check if somebody rebooted the system or rein-
stalled ZLOG. For example, if you install ZLOG every morn-
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
ing at 9 am and during the day you discover that ZLOG was in-
stalled at 11 am, you know that somebody either rebooted the
system or uninstalled ZLOG for a while.
As you move cursor through different fields, help area (in
the lower part of the screen) gives you basic information
about these fields. At any time you can get more help in-
formation by pressing F1.
Upper portion of the screen is titled 'File names'. These
are names of log file, log history file, report file and ex-
port file. Default file names are defined in installation
procedure, screen #1. If necessary, overkey any of these
file names.
Next portion of the screen is 'Selection criteria'. Here
you specify different options for selecting log records,
like operator ID, job account number, program name etc.
Last field in this area is destination switch. It can be:
S(creen), D(isk), P(rinter) or E(xport).
While you communicate with ZLOG through process options
screen any time you can type a '@' in job account field to
specify job account table file name. If you typed '@' a
'file name?' prompt pops up. If you enter a file name, job
account table will be loaded from this (ASCII) file. If you
do not enter anything (leave the file name blank), empty job
account table is created and you will be able to enter (up
to 128) different job account numbers into this table. Log
records containing any of these accounts will be selected
for processing.
If you are using job account table, job account field will
be changed to '@ <table>' meaning that table is active. Any
time when cursor rests on this field you can press Enter key
to display and/or update this table.
Last area of processing options screen is 'Action' area.
Here you choose what you want to do with selected log re-
cords. Processing actions are: F2-print, F3-move to histo-
ry, F4-delete, Alt-F2-print history and Alt-F4-delete histo-
ry records.
You can position highlighted bar on any action and select it
by pressing Enter key. Alternatively, you can press corre-
sponding function key from anywhere on the screen (speed
key).
Alt-S opens a little window where you can see current set-
tings of TSR portion of ZLOG. These are: information if
ZLOG is running or not, operator ID, job account name, maxi-
- Page 24 -
Running ZLOG
mum log level, log file name and date and time when ZLOG was
installed into memory. To exit this window just press any
key.
Alt-H brings up latest process options screen, so you can
see what you did last time. From this history screen (which
looks almost the same as process options screen) you can
scroll (using PgDn/PgUp) back and forth through last 32
process options screens. Line 4 shows you process options
screen number (-1 meaning last processing, -2 meaning two
processing ago etc.). Also on the same line is date and
time when this processing was performed. Blinking action in
'Action' area shows what action was performed at that time.
Note that log report with S(creen) destination is not re-
corded in history of processing.
From history screen you can copy all options to the current
processing screen. To do so press Alt-C or position high-
lighted bar on Alt-C action and press Enter key. To exit
press ESC.
To exit from process options screen without processing any
records press ESC. ESC always brings you to the previous
level (or, in this case, to DOS).
If you specified S(creen) as a report destination, after
processing log report screen pops up showing you the same
data as if you have printed the report. Here you can use
up/down arrow keys to scroll one line at the time or
PgDn/PgUp to scroll forwards and backwards one screen (18
lines) at the time. Use left/right arrow keys to scroll
left or right. Press ESC to go back to process options
screen.
Note: Left/right scrolling is available only if you
specified 132 column report in the installa-
tion procedure.
Program levels
Computer programs can run at different levels. COMMAND.COM
(DOS prompt) runs at level 0. Programs that runs from the
command line run at level 1. When it terminates, level re-
turns back to 0. Some programs allow you to 'shell out' to
DOS to do another task(s) after which you type 'exit' to re-
turn to the program. 'Shelling out' of a program involves
loading and running a secondary copy of COMMAND.COM. Since
your program is running at level 1, the new copy of
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
COMMAND.COM is run at level 2. Another program run from the
level 2 command line runs at level 3 etc. When you type
'exit' you return to level 1. Nesting also occurs when one
program load and run another program (not just COMMAND.COM).
DOS will allow nesting for as many levels as memory permits.
However, ZLOG only keeps track of up to 16 levels (0-15).
Programs that run at levels higher than 15 will be logged
under the name of the program at level 15. Under normal
circumstances you will hardly reach a level higher than 3.
With the command line option /L you can set maximum program
level to be logged. For example, you can set maximum level
to 1. All programs (if any) that run at level higher than 1
will be logged under the name of the program on level 1.
For example, if you are in edit session using your text edi-
tor and you 'shell-out' to DOS to format a diskette or you
run your compiler within the editor, then all that time will
be logged under the name of your text editor (level 1 pro-
gram).
Setting maximum level to 1 significantly reduces the size of
your log file. Duration times for all 'nested' programs
will be included in a duration time of program at level 1
and written out as a single log record (see chapter 'Useful
hints', section 'Reducing size of the log file').
Report
There are two versions of the log report: 80 column and 132
column. They contain the same data, only the 132 column
version is more readable. It has more space between columns
and the time fields are shown as HH:MM:SS. In the 80 column
version these fields are shown as HH:MM. Report shows the
following data:
- Operator ID
- Job account number
- Starting date of the job
- Starting time of the job
- Ending time of the job
- Elapsed time
- Program level
- Page 26 -
Running ZLOG
- Program name
- Command line parameters
Everything is self explanatory except program level. De-
tailed information about program level can be found in sec-
tion 'Program levels' earlier in this chapter.
You can request detailed report (all recorded steps printed)
or global report (only total lines printed).
Total lines show you the total processing time, total idle
time, sum of these two totals, number of all the steps and
number of steps run at level 1 (from DOS prompt). If you
included 'idle' records in the processing, two percentages
are calculated: percentage of real usage and percentage of
idle time.
Note: When you print detailed report, sometimes log
records will not come out in their chronolog-
ical sequence. ZLOG process log records in
their PHYSICAL sequence. In log files physi-
cal and chronological sequence are the same.
But in the log history files it is different.
You can, for example, off-load (move from log
to log history) log records for May, and then
off-load log records for April. Now their
physical sequence is: May, April, ... . When
you print records from that history file they
will appear in May-April order. Sorting the
records in chronological sequence is not a
big problem, but is a big overhead on per-
formance of ZLOG. Of course, if you request-
ed only total figures (no detail lines), this
is irrelevant.
Exporting log records
You can export log records in such way that they can be
loaded into your spreadsheet or database program(s) for fur-
ther processing. This is an ASCII file. Most spreadsheets
and database programs provide ASCII 'import' function.
To produce export file specify E(xport) in S/D/P/E switch in
the process options screen. There are two types of exported
log records: detail records and summary (total) records.
They are similar to detail and total lines in ZLOG report.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
When you request total lines only, you will get total re-
cords ONLY. When you request detailed records you will get
detailed records ONLY (without total records). Both type of
records contain numeric and alphanumeric data. Each field
is surrounded with its own delimiter (defined at installa-
tion time) and all fields are delimited by field delimiter
(defined, also, at installation time). Installation program
comes with these fields defaulted to Lotus-123 import con-
ventions: field delimiter-comma (,), no delimiter for nu-
meric fields, alphanumeric delimiter-quote(").
Detail record layout:
opID length 0-3, alphanumeric
job acct no. length 0-16, alphanumeric
program name length 5-12, alphanumeric
start date length 6, numeric
start time length 6, numeric
end time length 6, numeric
elapsed-hours length 2, numeric
elapsed-minutes length 2, numeric
elapsed-seconds length 2, numeric
level length 2, numeric
Summary record layout:
log file name length 1-72, alphanumeric
operator ID length 0-3, alphanumeric
job acct no. length 0-16, alphanumeric
program name length 0-12, alphanumeric
elapsed-hours length 9, numeric
elapsed-minutes length 2, numeric
elapsed-seconds length 2, numeric
idle-hours length 9, numeric
idle-minutes length 2, numeric
idle-seconds length 2, numeric
number of steps length 9, numeric
number of steps-level 1 length 9, numeric
Lotus-123 import function is invoked by typing: / F(ile)
I(mport) N(umbers) and import file name.
dBASE import is a bit more complicated. First you define
dBASE file with these fields:
field name type width
OPID CHAR 3
JOBACCT CHAR 16
PROG CHAR 12
- Page 28 -
Running ZLOG
DATE NUM 6
START NUM 6
END NUM 6
ELAPHH NUM 2
ELAPMM NUM 2
ELAPSS NUM 2
LEVEL NUM 2
Then you run dBASE and USE file above. Then append records
from ZLOG export file. Issue this command:
append from export-file-name delimited
If you set switch T(otals only) option on the process
screen, then procedure is the same except file definition is
slightly different:
field name type width
FILENAME CHAR 72
OPID CHAR 3
JOBACCT CHAR 16
PROG CHAR 12
ELAPHH NUM 9
ELAPMM NUM 2
ELAPSS NUM 2
IDLEHH NUM 9
IDLEMM NUM 2
IDLESS NUM 2
STEPS NUM 9
STEPS1 NUM 9
Loading log records into spreadsheet or database programs
allows you to further analyze log data or prepare more cus-
tomized report.
Error messages
ZLOG does few different tasks. In case of any kind of fail-
ure function code (FC) and return code (RC) will be dis-
played. Look up the codes in the table below. A function
code tells you what action was in progress when the failure
occurred. A return code tells you what happened and what
might be a reason. It also gives you a possible solution to
the problem. If error occurred ERRORLEVEL will be set to
1, so from your batch files you can determine if ZLOG action
was successful.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
Note: Most of these errors are possible only in
multi-user environment (such as PC-MOS/386 or
LAN).
Function codes (FC):
FC=+2000 Internal error. Call ZM & Associates.
FC=+2010 ZLOG not installed. You have to run INSTALL
program before using ZLOG.
FC=+2020 Attempt to open current log file. Possible
RC: 2, 4, 5, 12 and 32.
FC=+2030 Attempt to read control information from the
current log file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2040 Attempt to read control information from the
current log file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2050 Attempt to close current log file. Possible
RC: 6.
FC=+2060 Attempt to open log history file. Possible
RC: 2, 4, 5, 12 and 32.
FC=+2070 Attempt to read log history file. Possible
RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2080 Log history file corrupted. Restore it from
your latest backup.
FC=+2090 Attempt to open printer file. Possible RC:
91, 96 and 97.
FC=+2100 Attempt to close printer file. Possible RC:
97.
FC=+2110 Attempt to close log history file. Possible
RC: 6.
FC=+2120 Attempt to close log file. Possible RC: 6.
FC=+2130 Attempt to position at the end of log history
file. Possible RC: 1 and 6.
FC=+2140 Attempt to delete ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 5.
FC=+2150 Attempt to create ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 3, 4 and 5.
FC=+2160 Attempt to open ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 2, 4, 5, 12 and 32.
FC=+2170 Attempt to write onto ZLOG temporary work
file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 34.
FC=+2180 Attempt to write onto log history file. Pos-
sible RC: 5, 6 and 34.
FC=+2190 Attempt to write onto ZLOG temporary work
file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 34.
FC=+2200 Attempt to close ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 6.
FC=+2210 Attempt to close log history file. Possible
RC: 6.
FC=+2220 Attempt to close log file. Possible RC: 6.
FC=+2230 Attempt to delete old log file. Possible RC:
2 and 5.
- Page 30 -
Running ZLOG
FC=+2240 Attempt to rename ZLOG temporary work file to
log file. Possible RC: 3, 5 and 17.
FC=+2250 Attempt to delete ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 5.
FC=+2260 Attempt to create ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 3, 4 and 5.
FC=+2270 Attempt to open ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 2, 4, 5, 12 and 32.
FC=+2280 Attempt to write onto ZLOG temporary work
file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 34.
FC=+2290 Attempt to write onto ZLOG temporary work
file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 34.
FC=+2300 Attempt to close ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 6.
FC=+2310 Attempt to close log file. Possible RC: 6.
FC=+2320 Attempt to delete old log file. Possible RC:
2 and 5.
FC=+2330 Attempt to rename ZLOG temporary work file to
log file. Possible RC: 3, 5 and 17.
FC=+2340 Attempt to close ZLOG temporary work file.
Possible RC: 6.
FC=+2350 Attempt to close log history file. Possible
RC: 6.
FC=+2360 Attempt to delete old log history file. Pos-
sible RC: 2 and 5.
FC=+2370 Attempt to rename ZLOG temporary work file to
log history file. Possible RC: 3, 5 and 17.
FC=+2380 Attempt to read control information from the
current log file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2390 Attempt to read control information from the
current log file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2400 Attempt to close log file. Possible RC: 6.
FC=+2410 Attempt to read control information from the
log history file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2420 Attempt to read control information from the
log history file. Possible RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2430 Attempt to close log history file. Possible
RC: 6.
FC=+2440 Attempt to read log file. Possible RC: 5, 6
and 10.
FC=+2450 Log file corrupted. Restore it from your
latest backup. If you do not have the backup
then delete this log file. ZLOG will a
create new one.
FC=+2460 Log file corrupted. Restore it from your
latest backup. If you do not have the backup
then delete this log file. ZLOG will create
a new one.
FC=+2470 Attempt to read log history file. Possible
RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+2480 Log history file corrupted. Restore it from
your latest backup. If you do not have the
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
backup run INSTALL and create new log history
file.
FC=+2490 Log history file corrupted. Restore it from
your latest backup. If you do not have the
backup run INSTALL and create new log history
file.
FC=+2500 Attempt to write to the printer file. Possi-
ble RC: 34, 91, 95 and 97.
FC=+2510 Attempt to write to the printer file. Possi-
ble RC: 34, 91, 95 and 97.
FC=+2520 Attempt to write to the printer file. Possi-
ble RC: 34, 91, 95 and 97.
FC=+2600 Process history file (ZLOGHIST.DAT) corrupt-
ed. Reinstall ZLOG.
Return codes (RC):
RC=+0001 ZLOG program itself (or its overlay phase)
might be corrupted. Run installation proce-
dure from scratch.
RC=+0002 File not found. File was deleted or renamed
by another task. Recreate the file and rerun
ZLOG.
RC=+0003 Path not found. Destination directory was
deleted or renamed by another task. Correct
the problem and rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0004 To many opened files (no handle left). ZLOG
package uses not more than 3 file handles at
the time. DOS error. Reboot the system.
RC=+0005 Access denied. Turn off RO, Hidden or Sys
attribute for the default/destination direc-
tory. Set it to read/write (RW) and rerun
ZLOG.
RC=+0006 Invalid handle. DOS error. Reboot the sys-
tem and rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0010 File damaged (unexpected end of file condi-
tion encountered). Restore the file and re-
run ZLOG.
RC=+0012 Invalid access code. DOS system error. Call
ZM & Associates.
RC=+0017 Not same device. DOS error. Reboot the sys-
tem and rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0032 Sharing violation. Problems with DOS SHARE
utility or network program. Consult your DOS
or network manual.
RC=+0034 Disk full. No more room on destination disk.
Check directory and delete all unnecessary
files (including ZLOG.$$$ - if you find it).
Rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0091 Directory is full (no more room for the new
file entry) or file with the same name exists
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Running ZLOG
in directory and has RO (read-only) at-
tribute. Correct the problem and rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0095 Invalid operation. ZLOG.COM, ZLOG00.OVR,
ZLOG10,EXE or ZS.EXE corrupted. Rerun IN-
STALL from scratch.
RC=+0096 Out of memory. DOS error. Reboot the system
and rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0097 DOS critical error. Reboot the system and
rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0094 Overlay phase corrupted. Rerun INSTALL from
scratch.
RC=???? Call ZM & Associates.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
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- Page 34 -
Sign ON/OFF using ZS
Sign ON/OFF using ZS
ZS - ZLOG companion
When you use ZS to sign on, your operator ID, job account
number, log file name and maximum program level will be
changed to the values specified in the table (described be-
low). This has the same effect as running ZLOG with options
/I, /A, /F and /L. ZS is the elegant way to adjust ZLOG ac-
tions. Running ZLOG with options /I, /A, /F and /L can be
sometimes complicated, specially in the multi-user environ-
ment. ZLOG must be activated before you run ZS.
Note: Run ZS from DOS prompt (level 0) ONLY! If
you run another program, then 'shell out' to
DOS and run ZS, you can get unpredictable re-
sults.
You don't have to use ZS. It is not necessary for proper
operation of ZLOG. It is just a tool to save you some time
and effort.
Setting up the operator ID table
Before you start using ZS, you have to set up the table for
all your operators. For the very first time (and any time
later when you want to maintain operator ID table) you have
to sign on as a System Administrator. At DOS prompt type:
ZS
Enter 'SYS' as operator ID and 'SYS' as a password (later
you might want to change this initial password to something
else).
Maximum number of operators is 128. Enter initial password,
default job account, default log file name and program level
for each operator. For more information about program level
see section 'Program levels', chapter 'Running ZLOG'. You
can have more than one operator with the same ID (but dif-
ferent passwords). Job account numbers can be same for dif-
ferent operators, as well as the log file names. If job ac-
count, log file name or program level is blank then at sign
on time it will remain whatever it was before. It is en-
tirely up to you how you want to organize the sign on table.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
To delete operator from operator ID table just space-out
opID field.
One entry in sign on table is already filled with opID SYS
(System Administrator). You CANNOT change that opID, but
you can change other parameters. Initial password is also
SYS. You cannot have another operator with opID SYS. If
you enter such opID in the table, that entry will be delet-
ed.
When you sign on as SYS the password maintenance screen pops
up. On the line 4 (on the right hand side) in an informa-
tion about date and time ZLOG was installed into memory.
Having ZLOG's installation time and date might be useful to
check if somebody rebooted the system or uninstalled ZLOG.
For example, if you install ZLOG every morning at 9 am and
during the day you discover that ZLOG was installed at 11
am, you know that somebody either rebooted the system or un-
installed ZLOG for a while.
Use PgDn/PgUp to scroll through opID table. Pay special at-
tention to the log file names. When you are done, press F2
to update the table.
Command line
Sign ON or sign OFF action is controlled by the ZS command
line parameters. If there are no parameters, sign ON mode
is assumed. You can sign ON either from the sign on screen
or using command line option. Command line option is a
shortcut to sign on, but while you type your password is
visible.
To sign ON type:
ZS anything but sign off command
or
ZS ON opID psw (valid options are also /ON and -ON)
To sign OFF type:
ZS OFF (valid options are also /OFF and -OFF)
Note: Time spent in ZS sign on/off mode is recorded
under special job account number, 'SIGN-
ON/OFF'. However command line is not record-
ed (so you can freely type your password on
- Page 36 -
Sign ON/OFF using ZS
the command line).
Sign ON mode:
If you typed on the command line your operator ID and cor-
rect password, you will be signed ON immediately. If your
ID or password was not correct or if you typed just 'ZS',
then sign on screen pops up asking you for operator ID and
password. Enter it. After 3 unsuccessful tries or 60 sec-
onds, whichever comes first, program will switch in the
'sign off' mode. If you forget your password, SYS operator
(System Administrator) can overkey it at any time (not read
it). In such a case sign on using new assigned password and
change it.
Time spent in sign ON mode is logged under account 'SIGN-
ON/OFF' (no operator ID).
Sign OFF mode:
Sign off screen pops up telling you that you are signed off.
After 60 seconds it will fade away ('screen save' feature).
Touch any key and you will be back in 'sign on' mode (same
as if you typed 'ZS' from DOS prompt).
Note: You can include ZS in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file
(or in start-up procedure for each worksta-
tion in multi-user environment). Command can
be 'ZS OFF' and SHOULD be the very last
statement in the sequence. ZLOG must be al-
ready active.
Time spent in sign OFF mode is logged under account 'SIGN-
ON/OFF' (no operator ID).
Error messages
If any kind of failure occurs, function code (FC) and return
code (RC) will be displayed. Look up the codes in the table
below. A function code tells you what action was in
progress when the failure occurred. A return code tells you
what happened and what might be a reason. It also gives you
a possible solution to the problem.
Note: Most of these errors are possible only in
multi-user environment (such as PC-MOS/386 or
LAN).
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
Function codes (FC):
FC=+3000 Internal error. Call ZM & Associates.
FC=+3010 ZS not installed. You have to run INSTALL
program before using ZS.
FC=+3020 Attempt to read ZS control information. Pos-
sible RC: 5, 6 and 10.
FC=+3030 Attempt to write ZS control information.
Possible RC: 4, 5, 12 and 32.
FC=+3040 Attempt to read control information from the
new log file specified in the maintenance ta-
ble. Possible RC: 4, 5, 12 and 32.
Return codes (RC):
RC=+0001 ZS program itself might be corrupted. Run
installation procedure from scratch.
RC=+0003 Path not found. Destination directory was
deleted or renamed by another task. Correct
the problem and rerun ZS.
RC=+0004 To many opened files (no handle left). ZLOG
package uses not more than 3 file handles at
the time. DOS error. Reboot the system.
RC=+0005 Access denied. Turn off RO, Hidden or Sys
attribute for the default/destination direc-
tory. Set it to read/write (RW) and rerun
ZS.
RC=+0006 Invalid handle. DOS error. Reboot the sys-
tem and rerun ZS.
RC=+0012 Invalid access code. DOS system error. Call
ZM & Associates.
RC=+0017 Not same device. DOS error. Reboot the sys-
tem and rerun ZLOG.
RC=+0032 Sharing violation. Problems with DOS SHARE
utility or network program. Consult your DOS
or network manual.
RC=+0096 Out of memory. DOS error. Reboot the system
and rerun ZS.
RC=+0097 DOS critical error. Reboot the system and
rerun ZS.
RC=???? Call ZM & Associates.
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Useful hints
Useful hints
Log file maintenance
Log file should be periodically off-loaded ('cleaned') to
the history file(s). The reason is this: you can keep log
history file(s) on floppy disk(s), in a safe place and away
from dangerous DOS DELETE command. Log file is on the hard
disk on-line and could be accidentally deleted. If you off-
load your log file every Friday and one day you erase it by
mistake, in the worst case you will loose one week of log
records. If you keep forever-to-date records in your log
file, it is a high risk. You should clean-up log file EVERY
WEEK. This is important.
You may want to use PKware's compressing software
PKZIP/PKUNZIP to compress log history file(s) and keep it on
floppy disk(s).
Multiple log files
You can have different log file for each job or group of
jobs that you do. Switching from one log file to another is
simple and easy. Just specify /F switch e.g.
ZLOG /F=c:\data\billing.log
From this point on everything will be logged into log file
c:\data\billing.log. If job account was not specified, it
will stay the same as before. However, if you specify:
ZLOG /F=c:\data\billing.log /A=1234
then job account number will be changed to 1234, as well as
the log file name.
Note: If your computer is running under multi-user
operating system (such as PC-MOS/386 or LAN)
we recommend you to have a separate log file
for each terminal (active task). This is be-
cause concurrent updating of log file might
occur and log data for one terminal (task)
could be lost. Later you can combine log re-
cords from all log files into one (or more)
log history file(s). In LAN environment log
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
file should be on the locally attached disk
for each workstation.
Note: ZS (ZLOG's sign on/off module) can help you
accomplish sometimes complicated task of
switching to different job accounts or dif-
ferent log files. At the same time multiple
operators (with their opIDs) can access your
computer and everything will be logged under
appropriate opIDs, account numbers and into
right log files.
Multiple log history files
INSTALL is one way to create empty log history file. If you
want to have multiple history files, you can:
- copy !EMPTY.LOG from distribution diskette
and rename it.
- run ZLOG with /F switch to create new log
file. Then immediately switch back to your
old log file (running again ZLOG with /F
switch). This new file you've just created
can be your new (empty) history file.
Do not specify .$$$ as a file extension. ZLOG uses it for
its own work (temporary) files.
It is entirely up to you how you want to organize your log
history data. You can have different log history files for
each operator ID, each job account number, for certain peri-
od of time (quarterly, yearly. . . ) etc. You can freely
manipulate with log history data copying (reorganizing) log
records from one history file to another.
Log and log history file have the same structure. If you
want to extract some records from one log history file
(which had been off-loaded by mistake) and put it into
another log history file then do this:
- bring up ZLOG process function (/P or
/P=. . . )
- specify as a LOG file your 'source' log his-
tory file
- specify as a HISTORY file your 'destination'
log history file.
- Page 40 -
Useful hints
- specify selection criteria
- specify action to 'move' records from log to
history file (in fact it is from one history
file to another - 'source' to 'destination').
Processing multiple job account numbers
There are two ways to process multiple job account numbers.
1. First you can create plain ASCII file with up to 128
job account numbers, one number on each line. In ZLOG
command line (/P switch) instead of specifying account
number (6th parameter) you specify @file-name, where
file-name is the name of your ASCII file. If you
specified all other parameters correctly, ZLOG will run
without going into interactive mode. If you omitted
some parameter(s) ZLOG will display process options
screen (job account field will contain '@ <table>')
and there you will have the chance to review your job
account table and modify it. Every time cursor rests
on job account field (on the process options screen),
you can press Enter key for job account table window to
pop up. Here you have full editing capabilities.
If you choose, you can specify new job account table
file name (in job account field on the main screen) -
just type '@' in the first position and press Tab or
Enter. Small window with 'file name?' prompt pops up.
You can also specify single job account number by sim-
ply overtyping job account field (on the main screen -
reading '@ <table>). In that case previous specifica-
tion of job account table will be disregarded.
2. Bring up ZLOG process screen by typing:
ZLOG/P
Change all the fields as needed. At job account field
enter '@' in the first position and press Tab or Enter.
'file name?' window pops up asking you for a job ac-
count table file name. Ignore it, just press Enter.
Job account table window will pop up with first entry
already filled up with all '?' (this will match any job
account number). Edit the table as needed and press
ESC to exit and get back to the main screen.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
Delete 'idle' records
Between two programs running from the command line (DOS
prompt, level 0) there is an idle period (when computer is
doing nothing). ZLOG logs that time also (if the idle
switch was set to Y(es) at installation time). Number of
these 'idle' records can be quite large. On average 40% of
the log records are 'idle' records. They do not take as
much disk space as 'regular' log records, but they are
there. Program (phase) name for these records is recorded
as a space.
If you want to 'clean up' your log (or log history) file
from these records, specify program name as a space in re-
cords selection criteria and choose 'delete' function.
Reducing size of the log file
ZLOG records every step you have done on your PC. Even idle
periods (when computer was waiting) are recorded. Log re-
cords are compressed but the number of log records can grow
quite large. If your PC activity is high volume, log file
can take good portion of valuable disk space. There are two
ways to reduce size of the log file.
1. Specify N(o) for idle switch in installation
procedure, screen #2. This will suppress
logging of 'idle' periods. On average 40% of
the log records are 'idle' records. Even
when you run your programs one after another
(in the batch), there is a short waiting pe-
riod between the steps that is recorded. If
amount of 'idle' time is not that important
to you, set this switch to N(o).
2. Set maximum program level to be recorded to 1
(installation procedure, screen #2). This
will log into single log record all the steps
that run at higher levels. For more informa-
tion about program levels see section 'Pro-
gram levels', chapter 'Running ZLOG'. If you
have complex program packages where programs
are calling each other, then everything will
be recorded under name of the main phase
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Useful hints
(program at level 1). For example if you set
maximum level to 1 and you run your word
processor you might do a spell-check first,
then import some graphics into document and
maybe create one outline document. These are
different programs (steps) and if you did not
set the maximum level to 1, they would be all
recorded in separate log records. Since you
set the maximum level to 1, all steps will be
recorded under your word processing program
name in a single log record.
Running 'menu' program after sign ON
Perhaps you have your favorite 'menu' program that you want
to become active after you sign ON. ZS (ZLOG's sign ON/OFF
module) does not allow you to run automatically any programs
inside it.
But there is a way around it. What you need is one small
batch file (.BAT) which you'll use to sign on or to sign
off. This file must be somewhere in DOS path, so that DOS
can find it. Create this file using your text editor. You
can call it, for example, SIGN.BAT:
@echo off
zs %1 %2 %3
menu-prog - command to activate your menu program
As you know, ZS accepts 0 - 3 parameters from the command
line (ON/OFF, opID and password). Let's say you're done
with your work and you want to sign off. First, you should
exit your menu program (return to DOS). Then you type:
SIGN OFF - sign.bat is your batch file
ZS will sign you off and wait for the next person to sign
on. After next sign on is complete, ZS will terminate and
DOS will run next command from SIGN.BAT file, which is com-
mand to activate your menu program. Instead of 'sign off'
you can type sign on command immediately. Type:
SIGN ON opID psw
Of course, your AUTOEXEC.BAT file should have these two com-
mands as a very last two lines:
zs off (or on)
menu-program
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
This way, after initial sign on, menu will be activated au-
tomatically.
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ZLOG in multi-tasking environment
ZLOG in multi-tasking environment
ZLOG can properly operate in multi-tasking environment, al-
though you have to perform some extra steps.
LAN environment:
Start ZLOG in each workstation. Log file should be on the
locally attached disk (if it was on server, concurrent up-
date of log file might occur and some of log data might be
lost). Once in a while you can combine all workstations log
files into one log (or log history) file. Suggestion: in-
clude workstation id as a part of all account numbers you
are using.
Multi-user operating system (such as PC-MOS/386):
Start ZLOG in each task. Log file name should be different
for each task. For example: in task #1 it might be
C:\TASK1.LOG, in task #2 it might be C:\TASK2.LOG etc. If
you had same log file for all the tasks, concurrent update
of log file might occur and some of log data might be lost.
Later on (same as in LAN environment) you can combine these
log files into one file. Suggestion: include task id as a
part of all account numbers you are using.
Multi-tasking (such as DESQview):
Do not start ZLOG before your multi-tasking program. Start
it in each task. Give different log file names for each
task. If you had same log file for all the tasks, concur-
rent update of log file might occur and some of log data
might be lost. Later on (same as in LAN environment) you
can combine these log files into one file. For each of the
programs you want to run in multi-tasking environment create
a batch file (below) and run this (batch) file instead of
your program.
Batch file:
echo off
zlog/f= ... specify all the parameters you need
prog-name
Task switching (such as Software Carousel):
Do not start ZLOG before task switcher program. Start ZLOG
in each task (partition) you use. Once started ZLOG records
everything you run in that particular partition.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
You might want to experiment for a day or two before you
make final decision how to run ZLOG in multi-tasking envi-
ronment. Suggestion about having different log files for
each task is vital.
- Page 46 -
Incompatibility problems
Incompatibility problems
Resident portion of ZLOG is 'well' behaved TSR (terminate-
and-stay-resident) program. It does not 'steal' any DOS in-
terrupts. Therefore it is compatible with most PC programs
on the market today. If you should experience any problems
with other TSR programs you may have, change the sequence of
installation in the memory. Try to install resident portion
of ZLOG as a last TSR. If that does not help, try with max-
imum log level set to 1 (type: ZLOG/L=1). In any case,
please let us know about that.
As of now we do not know about any incompatibility problems.
We did not hear (so far) that some software refused to run
while ZLOG was active.
Please report any problems that you may have using ZLOG with
your other programs. Our goal is to make ZLOG 100% compati-
ble with ALL PC software on the market (even with not 'well
behaved' programs). We are constantly working on improve-
ments and new features of ZLOG. Any comments, suggestions,
information and (especially) criticism are very welcome.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
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- Page 48 -
Word about security and IRS
Word about security and IRS
ZLOG is useful for documenting the use of a computer in sup-
port of income tax deductions. ZLOG creates secure, tamper-
resistant binary log files. These files are encrypted using
different algorithms and are, up to the certain level, pro-
tected from change. If somebody tampers with the log file,
most likely the file integrity will be compromised and ZLOG
will detect it.
ZLOG can maintain a log of computer use that satisfies and
complies with the 1985 Internal Revenue Service rules in
connection with reporting business and personal use of a
computer. It is also useful to document computer usage in
the normal course of business for special projects where
certain income tax regulations may apply.
The United States Congress repealed the mandatory log; how-
ever, income tax agencies may require proof of use in sup-
port of tax deductions. Further, the rules and regulations
vary from State to State. If you use ZLOG for this purpose,
you are, hereby, advised to check with your certified public
accountant or tax counsel before using ZLOG to satisfy in-
come tax rules and regulations. Regulations and interpreta-
tion thereof, may change from time to time. The author of
ZLOG accepts no responsibility in this regard and by your
use of ZLOG, you agree to hold the author harmless from any
damages or losses arising out of its use. The author of
ZLOG makes no warranties, either expressed or implied.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
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- Page 50 -
Getting help
Getting help
If you have any problems using ZLOG you can call us any time
at (312) 275-0029. If nobody is near the phone, please
leave a message on the machine and we will get back to you
shortly (usually within next hour or two). The best time to
call is evenings (Central Standard Time) and weekends. Sug-
gestions, ideas and (especially) criticism are very welcome.
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ZLOG release 1.4 User's Guide
User feedback form
>>>>> ZLOG USER FEEDBACK FORM <<<<<
Date :___________________________________________
ZLOG serial # :___________________________________________
Contact person :___________________________________________
Phone :(______)___________________________________
Machine/memory :___________________________________________
Operating Sys :___________________________________________
Disk type :___________________________________________
Severity of a problem: 0 - Suggestion
1 - Minor problem
2 - Avoidable problem
3 - Unavoidable problem
Description:
- Page 52 -
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