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..SK 15
..CE %%Sname Users Guide
..CE %%Sdesc
..CE Written by %%Pname on %%DATE
..CE COPYRIGHT (C) %%Cdate by %%Cname
..HE %%Sname Users Guide
..PG
..CE WELCOME
..JN
Welcome to your new system. This system will allow you to add new
%%RecDescA.s, change existing %%RecDescA.s, produce reports and labels
from your %%FileDescA, output %%RecDescA.s to the mail merge function
of various word processors and more.
..CE STARTING YOUR SYSTEM
To start the system you must first start dBase. The procedure differs
if your computer has a hard disk or two floppies. Follow the procedure
below for the type of computer you have.
..CE FLOPPY SYSTEM
If your computer has 2 floppies and no hard disk, put your dBase III+ system
diskette 1 into drive "A" and type DBASE. The disk drive light will come on
and dBase will start loading. After a few moments, you will be asked to
replace system disk 1 with system disk 2. Take system disk 1 out of the "A"
drive and put it away. Put the dBase system disk 2 into the "A" drive and
press enter. dBase will finish loading.
The dBase assistant will start. Press the Esc key to exit from the
assistant. You will now be at the 'dot prompt'. Place the disk containing
your new %%Sname system in the "B" drive. Type 'SET DEFAULT TO B:'
and press return. Type 'DO %%Sname' and press carriage return to
start the %%Sname system. The main menu of the %%Sname system
now displays.
..CE HARD DISK SYSTEM
If you have a hard disk change to the directory containing dBase and type
DBASE. dBase will start loading.
The dBase assistant will start. Press the Esc key to exit from the
assistant. You will now be at the 'dot prompt'.
If you wish to run your new %%Sname system from floppies, place the
disk containing your new %%Sname system in the "B" drive.
Type 'SET DEFAULT TO B:' and press return. Type 'DO %%Sname' and
press carriage return to start the %%Sname system. The main menu
of the %%Sname system now displays.
If you wish to run your new %%Sname system from the hard disk,
type 'SET PATH TO C:\path' where 'path' is the subdirectory which contains
your %%Sname system and press return. Type 'DO %%Sname' and
press carriage return to start the %%Sname system. The main menu
of the %%Sname system now displays.
..PG
..CE THE MAIN MENU
..JF
............................................................................
. Main Menu
............................................................................
.
. A - Add new %%RecDescA.s
. U - Update, Edit, Scan, Find %%RecDescA.s
. R - Generate Reports from your %%FileDescA
. L - Print Labels from your %%FileDescA
. M - Generate a Mail Merge file from your %%FileDescA
. I - Rebuild the Index to your %%FileDescA
. P - Remove Deleted records from your %%FileDescA
. S - Define Report/Label/Mail Merge sort/select
. Q - Quit to DOS
. D - Exit to dBase
.
. Please choose one of the above options
.
............................................................................
..JN
The main menu allows you to select which function you wish to perform on
your data. Your choices are:
..CE A
This choice allows you to add %%RecDescA.s to your %%filedesca..
..CE U
This selection allows you to update (or edit) existing %%RecDescA.s,
look at %%RecDescA.s on the %%FileDescA, find %%RecDescA.s by key, find
%%RecDescA.s by data contained in any field on the %%FileDescA,
print a given %%RecDescA.s, and delete or recall (undelete)
%%RecDescA.s.
..CE S
This feature allows you to describe the order and selection criteria
for reports, labels, and mail merge functions. You can also describe
default report/label forms for a given sort select sequence and
create/modify report and label forms.
..PG
..CE M
This option allows you to export data from your %%FileDescA to the
mail merge function of various word processors. You can also select
which %%RecDescA.s will be exported to the word processor, and in what
order they will be output.
..CE R
Generate reports from the %%FileDescA. This option in conjunction with
the dBase REPORT verb allows you to extend the reporting capability by
allowing you to specify which way the %%FileDescA should be sorted and
which %%RecDescA should be selected for the report.
..CE L
Generate labels from the %%FileDescA. This option in conjunction with
the dBase LABEL verb allows you to extend the reporting capability by
allowing you to specify which way the %%FileDescA should be sorted and
which %%RecDescA.s should be selected for the labels.
..CE I
This function allows you to rebuild the index of the %%FileDescA if the
index becomes damaged.
..CE Q
Closes the %%FileDescA and exits to DOS.
..CE D
Exits to dBase to allow you to examine the %%FileDescA using dBase.
..CE Adding %%RecDescA.s
The Add screen (see below) allows you to add new %%RecDescA.s to your
%%FileDescA..
..JF
..GF
..JN
Fill in the fields on the screen and press enter. When the last field
on the screen is filled in, the %%RecDescA.s will automatically be
added to the %%FileDescA..
..BK
If you wish to not have to fill in all fields, you may shorten the add
process by pressing Ctrl End after filling in the fields you wish. This
will cause the %%RecDescA to be added with the remaining fields blank
(or initialized to the values shown on the screen).
..BK
To exit the add screen, press Ctrl End without filling in any of the fields
on the screen. This will exit the add screen and return to the main menu.
..PG
The above screen contains the following fields:
..JF
..FS
..JN
..PG
..CE The Update function - Browsing Your %%FileDescA
From the main menu if you press U, you will enter the update section of
the system. One of the functions this section allows is the viewing of
%%RecDescA.s on your %%FileDescA.. You can go to the first %%RecDescA,
the last %%RecDescA, the next %%RecDescA, the previous %%RecDescA,
find by index, or search for some specific data within a field on the
%%FileDescA.
..CE T - First %%RecDescA.
You can go to the first %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA by pressing T (for top).
This causes the first %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA, or if the %%FileDescA
is indexed (kept in order by a key) the lowest index value (key) to be
displayed.
..CE N - Next %%RecDescA.
You can go to the next %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA by pressing N (for next).
This shows the next %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA, or if indexed the next highest
index value, to be displayed. If you are at the end of the %%FileDescA (or the
highest index value), the N function will not cause any movement.
..CE B - Bottom %%RecDescA.
You can go to the last %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA by pressing B (for bottom).
This causes the last %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA, or if indexed the highest
index value, to be displayed.
..CE P - Previous %%RecDescA.
You can go to the previous %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA by pressing P (for
previous). This shows the previous %%RecDescA on the %%FileDescA, or if indexed
the next lowest index value to be displayed. If you are at the beginning
of the %%FileDescA (or the lowest index value), the P function will not cause any
movement.
..CE F - Find by index
This function allows you to find a %%RecDescA on your database using the
index of the %%FileDescA. This function only works if your %%FileDescA
is indexed. To use this function type F. The fields on which the
%%FileDescA is indexed opens to allow you to enter the values you wish
to search on. Please note that for character fields, upper and lower
case matter, if the case is wrong you will not find the %%RecDescA
you are searching for. Fill in the values and press return. If the
%%RecDescA is found it is displayed. If the %%RecDescA is not found
a message is printed on the bottom line of the screen.
..JF
..IS
..PG
..CE S - Set a filter
..JN
This function allows you to limit the display of %%RecDescA.s on
your %%FileDescA by searching any field in the %%FileDescA using
standard dBase conditional testing. To use this function just type S.
A line opens on the bottom to allow you to enter the filter conditions.
Once you have set a filter, all other actions while updating are based
on the filter condition you have set. Thus if you go to the top of the
%%FileDescA you will really go to the first %%RecDescA which
matches the filter condition, not the first %%RecDescA in the
%%FileDescA.
All conditions must be made up of valid field names, dBase functions, and
literals. If the condition is invalid an error will occur. When an error
occurs, just press I to ignore it and re-try the condition again.
Below are some examples of the type of conditions you can enter and the
action they perform.
..JF
ZIP = '19130'
Show only %%RecDescA.s which have the field ZIP equal to '19130'. This
example assumes that ZIP is a character field. Notice the quotes
around 19130. All tests against characters must have the literal
contained within quotes.
ZIP = 19130
Show only %%RecDescA.s which have the field ZIP equal to 19130. This
example assumes that ZIP is a numeric field. Notice the lack of quotes
around the 19130 literal.
ZIP <> 19130
Show only %%RecDescA.s which have the field ZIP not equal to 19130. This
example again assumes that ZIP is a numeric field.
ZIP = 19130 .OR. ZIP = 19131
Only show %%RecDescA.s which have the field ZIP equal to either 19130 or
19131. Again zip is a numeric field. Notice the logical function .OR.
use above. This compounds the condition to require that either of the
simple conditions must be true for the %%RecDescA to be displayed.
ZIP >= '19130' .AND. ZIP <= '19139'
Only show %%RecDescA.s which have the field ZIP in the range '19130' to
'19139'. Zip is a character field. Notice the logical function .AND.
use above. This compounds the condition to require that both of the
simple conditions must be true for the %%RecDescA to be displayed.
"Box"$Add1
Only show %%RecDescA.s which have the field Add1 containing the literal
"Box" contained somewhere within it. This demonstrates the dBase search
function $. To search a character field X for a character literal "?"
you would type "?"$X.
RECNO() > 100
Only show %%RecDescA.s which have record numbers more than 100. This
condition excludes the first 100 records from sight.
..PG
Below is a list of the fields on your %%FileDescA:
..FS
..PG
..JN
..CE The Update Function - Other Uses
In addition to browsing your data, you may delete and recall (undelete),
print, and edit (change) the %%RecDescA displayed on the screen. You
may also return to the main menu.
..CE D - Deleting and undeleting %%RecDescA.
The D function deletes %%RecDescA.. If the %%RecDescA is already
deleted, it will be recalled (undeleted). %%RecDescA.s deleted this
way are not removed from the %%FileDescA.s until you specify the
P (PACK) option from the main menu.
..CE E - Edit
The E function allows you to change the content of the fields within the
%%RecDescA displayed on the screen. When you type E, all the fields
open to allow data to be changed. Change any fields you wish. When you
leave the last field the data is stored on the %%FileDescA. You can speed up
this process by pressing Ctrl End after you change the field(s) you wish to
modify.
..CE L - List the %%RecDescA
The L function will list the data portions of the %%RecDescA on the
screen to the printer. You must have your printer on and ready for this
function to work.
..CE Q - Quit
The Q function quits the update section and returns to the main menu.
..PG
..CE Defining Sort/Select Criteria
From the main menu, pressing S will allow you to modify the sort/select
database. A new menu appears. To add new sort/select criteria type A, to
change existing sort/select criteria type U. To create or modify a
dBase report form, type R. To create or modify a dBase label form, type L.
..CE Creating a new Sort/Select Criteria
Press A. A screen for the sort/select database appears. See below.
..JF
............................................................................
. Sort/Select Definition File .
............................................................................
. Sort Name: ________ Sorted File Name: ________ Form Name: ________ .
. Description: ___________________________________________________________ .
............................................................................
. Selection Criteria .
. ________________________________________________________________________ .
............................................................................
. SORT FIELDS .
............................................................................
. Field Name Order .
. 1) _______ _ .
. 2) _______ _ .
. 3) _______ _ .
. 4) _______ _ .
. 5) _______ _ .
. 6) _______ _ .
. 7) _______ _ .
. 8) _______ _ .
. 9) _______ _ .
. 10) _______ _ .
............................................................................
..JN
This screen allows you to define a set of sort fields and selection criteria
for reports, labels, and mail merge functions. Generally one report or
label form will suffice for many different selections.
..BK
Rather than needing to specify the criteria each time you wish to print
reports or labels, you may save them in this file. For example, if your
database contained customer names and addresses and you wish to send out
mailings for customers who have spent more than $5000.00 sorted by zipcode
(for bulk mailing) you could create a sort selection called GOODCUST which
has a selection criteria of SALES > 5000 and the first sort field name would
be ZIPCODE.
..PG
..JF
The fields on this screen are:
Field Name Description
SORT NAME The name of this sort/select criteria. When you print
a report, label, or mail merge file, this is the name
you would specify.
SORTED FILE NAME The name of the file which will be used to hold the
records from your database which meet your selection
criteria. This file is in sorted order. The default
name is SORTWORK.
FORM NAME For label or report processing, this is the name of the
DBASE REPORT FORM or LABEL FORM that will be used when
you choose this sort/select criteria.
DESCRIPTION An human readable description of what this sort/select
criteria is for.
SELECTION CRITERIA A dBase condition which selects the records for you need
from your database. For an explanation of dBase
conditions, refer to the dBase programmers guide or look
at the section on filters within this manual.
SORT FIELDS A list of the fields to sort on and if they should be
sorted in Ascending or Descending order.
1) FIELD NAME The name of sort field number 1. The primary sort field.
The file will be sorted into this order and than within
this by other specified fields.
ORDER A for ascending or D for descending. The default is A.
2) FIELD NAME The name of sort field number 2. The secondary sort
field order. The file will first be sorted into order
by 1) FIELD NAME and within that sort by this field.
ORDER A for ascending or D for descending. The default is A.
.
.
.
10) FIELD NAME The least important sort order field. The file will be
in order by the prior 9 sort fields and then finally
sorted into minor order by this field
ORDER A for ascending or D for descending. The default is A.
..PG
..CE UPDATING SORT/SELECT CRITERIA
You may update sort/select criteria the same as you would update records on
your database. For more details see the section on updating records earlier
in this document.
..CE Creating Report Forms
From the criteria main menu, pressing option R allows you to create or update
a dBase REPORT FORM. Press R and you are asked for the name of the report
you wish to work on. Type in the name of an existing report you wish to modify
or give a new name for a report you wish to create. The DBASE III report
screen appears. See the Appendix C below or your dBase Manual on REPORT
generation for more information on how to build reports. When you exit the
report generator, you will return to the criteria main menu.
..CE Creating Label Forms
From the criteria main menu, pressing option L allows you to create or
update a dBase LABEL FORM. Press L and you are asked for the name of the
label you wish to work on. Type in the name of an existing label you wish
to modify or give a new name for a label you wish to create. The DBASE III
label screen appears. See the Appendix D below or your dBase Manual on
LABEL generation for more information on how to build labels. When you exit
the label generator, you will return to the criteria main menu.
..CE Returning to your application
From the criteria main menu, pressing option D will return you to your
application main menu.
..PG
..CE Mail Merge
From the main menu, option M will cause the Mail Merge function to start.
When you type M the output definition screen (see below) appears.
..JF
............................................................................
. Output Definition Screen .
............................................................................
. .
. Output to: PRINTER .
. CONSOLE .
. DISK Y Disk File Name: ____________ .
. .
. Sort Name : ________ .
. .
. Word Processor: ________ .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
............................................................................
..JN
You need to specify three things on this screen. The disk file name (no
extension please) for the output mail merge file, the sort/select criteria
name and the type of word processor (version 1.0 only supports WordStar and
Microsoft Word).
The disk file name is the name of the disk file(s) created for input to
your word processor. It can be a combination of a drive specification (A:,
B:, C:) and a file name with no extension. WordStar output creates two files,
a '.DAT' and a '.DOC' file. Microsoft Word creates only a '.DOC' file.
The sort/select criteria name is the name a criteria on the sort/select file
(see previous section) that describes what records and how they are to be
sorted. This criteria must have been defined prior to using the mailmerge
function. If you wish all records in the current file order, specify NOSORT.
The Word processor type is the name of the word processor that you wish the
data to be output for. Version 1.0 only supports WordStar (WORDSTAR) and
Microsoft Word (MSWORD). Version 2.0 and above creates mail merge files for
these and Word Perfect, Display Write, and MultiMate, and several other word
processors.
Once you have specified all of the parameters correctly, the mail merge
function will start. After the disk file(s) are created, you return to the
main menu.
..PG
..CE Reports and Labels
From the main menu, options R and L will cause the Report or Label function
to start. When you type R or S the output definition screen (see below)
appears.
..JF
............................................................................
. Output Definition Screen .
............................................................................
. .
. Output to: PRINTER N .
. CONSOLE Y .
. DISK N Disk File Name: ____________ .
. .
. Sort Name : ________ .
. .
. Word Processor: .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
............................................................................
..JN
You need to specify three things on this screen. The output device
(printer, console, or Disk, the sort/select criteria name, and optionally
the disk file name for the output report or labels.
Put a Y next to the type of output device (Printer, Console, or disk) you
wish to have the report or labels sent to. You can choose only one output
device. In addition, if you specify disk you must give the disk file name
for the output report or labels.
The sort/select criteria name is the name a criteria on the sort/select
file (see previous section) that describes what records and how they are
to be sorted. This criteria must have been defined prior to using the R
or L functions. If you wish all records in the current file order, specify
NOSORT.
Once you have specified all of the parameters correctly, the report or
label function will start printing. After the disk file(s) are created,
you return to the main menu.
..PG
..CE Rebuilding your index
The I option of the main menu allows you rebuild the index of your
%%FileDescA.. Sometimes there are problems with your %%FileDescA where
you cannot find %%RecDescA using the update function that appear on
reports. This indicates a damaged index. If this problem occurs (this
is a DBASE problem, not problem with your system) rebuild your index.
After the index is rebuilt you are returned to the main menu.
..CE Packing your database
When you issue the delete command from the update screen, the %%RecDescA
is marked as deleted but still remains on your %%FileDescA.. To
permanently remove all %%RecDescA on you database which have been
deleted, you must PACK your database. By pressing P from the main menu,
the %%RecDescA.s you have deleted will be removed forever. When done,
the main menu returns.
..CE Quitting to dBase
By pressing D from the main menu, you are returned to DBASE. All files are
closed before exiting. You may than do whatever you wish using native DBASE.
If you type D by accident, type 'DO %%SNAME' to restart your system.
..CE Quitting to DOS
By pressing Q from the main menu, you are returned to DOS.
..PG
..SK 15
..CE %%Sname Users Guide
..CE APPENDIX A
..CE Definitions
..PG
..JF
Byte
A position in the computers memory or on a file which can hold
one character of data.
Dot Prompt
Once dBase has been started, the command line where you enter commands.
Field
An area which is used for a particular category of data. For
example a group of positions (bytes) on a file used to represent
a salary or a group of positions which represents a persons last
name.
File
A collection of related records which are treated as a unit. Thus
in a membership list file a group of fields such as name, address,
city, state, and zipcode are grouped together into a record. A
complete set of these records would form a membership file.
Index
A file which contains the keys of records and their locations on a
main data file. This index file can be thought of like a card
catalog in a library. To find a given book (record in the data file),
you would look up the title of the book (key) in card catalog
(index). Once you have found the book title (key) in the catalog
(index), the card (index record) would contain the location of the
book (data record) on the shelf (main data file).
Key
The key to a database is the field or fields in which the file is
kept in order. For example, if a file is kept in order by last name,
first name, and middle initial the file is keyed by these fields.
Literal
A string of bytes which describe the contents of a field. For example
the name 'HEARN', the zip code '19130', the salary 930.25, or the
logical literal .T. There are three types of literals; character
literals, numeric literals, and logical literals. Character literals
are always enclosed in quotes. Numeric literals are a string of
string of numbers, decimal point and positive or negative signs.
Logical literals are Yes/No switches. There are two logical literals
.T. and .F. which indicate true and false.
Mail Merge
Most word processors allow a function called Mail Merge. This allows
you to customize letters with data contained in a file. Thus, you
may insert things like name and salary in a letter for a job offer
to various applicants.
..PG
..SK 15
..CE %%Sname Users Guide
..CE APPENDIX B
..CE Field Definitions
..PG
..FI
..PG
..SK 15
..CE %%Sname Users Guide
..CE APPENDIX C
..CE Reports
..PG
You may create your reports from either the dBase "dot prompt" or from
within your system. The setup methods change depending on which method you
choose, but once the report screen is displaied, the creation or modification
of the report is the same.
..CE From the "dot prompt"
Type 'USE %%FILEA' and press enter if your %%FileDescA is not indexed.
Type 'USE %%FILEA INDEX %%INDEXA' and press enter if your %%FileDescA is
indexed.
Now type 'MODIFY REPORT name' where name is the name of an existing report
you wish to modify or the name of a new report you wish to create. The
dBase report screen will appear.
..CE From the Sort/Selection menu
When you choose option R from the Sort/Selection menu, you will be asked for
the name of the report you wish to create or modify. Type this name and
press enter. The dBase report screen will appear.
..CE Creating or Modifying Reports
The report generator appears on the screen. Looking at the screen, you will
notice various menus across the top. They are labeled: Options, Groups,
Columns, Locate, and Exit. You may move to the various menus by pressing
the right and left arrow keys. The up and down arrow keys move the highlight
within the pull-down menus. To select the currently highlighted menu item,
press the Return or Enter key. Below is a description of each of the menus.
..CE The Option Menu
This is the first and leftmost menu. The Option menu contains various options
for page layout. The option menu allows you to change the Title of the report,
the right and left margins, and number of lines per page. You can also
specify if the report should be printed double spaced, if there should be a
page eject before or after printing the report, and if the title should be
printed. Normally, you would only set the Title option on this menu.
Title
To change the title, move the highlight to the page title option and press
return. A box appears to allow you to give the page title. After you
have typed the title, press Ctrl-End to close the box and change the title.
Page Width
The page width option allows you to specify the width in positions of the
paper in your printer. The default is 80 and this is what you want for
most printers. If you have a wide carriage printer you can change this
value to 132. If you are using special forms with a non standard width
measure the paper and multiply the page with (in inches) by 10 to
calculate this number. To change this option point the highlight here
and press return. Type the new value and press return again.
..PG
Left margin
This option allows you to specify how many positions from the left you
wish printing to begin at. This allows you to specify a margin for
neatness or to allow hole punching in the report. The default is 8
positions (4/5 inch) but you may change it. To change this option, point
the highlight here and press return. Type the new value and press return
again.
Right margin
This option allows you to specify how many positions from the right you
wish printing to stop at. This allows you to specify a margin for
neatness. The default is 0 positions but you may change it. To change
this option, point the highlight here and press return. Type the new
value and press return again.
Lines per page
This option is the number of lines of the report will be printed before
skipping to the top of another page. The default is 58 lines. This
leaves a top and bottom margin of 4 lines (2/3 of an inch) each. If you
use standard size paper it is 11 inches long. Most printers print at 6
lines per inch (as a default). 6x11 = 66 lines per page. To change this
option, point the highlight here and press return. Type the new value
and press return again.
Double space report
This allows you to specify that a blank line should be printed after each
report line, causing the report to be double spaced. The default is NO
which causes the report to be single spaced. To change this option,
point the highlight here and press return. Press the space bar to
alternate between Yes and No. When the option is selected press return
again.
Page eject before printing.
This option causes an eject to the top of a new page before printing the
report. The default is YES which insures that you will start on a new
page. To change this option, point the highlight here and press return.
By pressing the return key you alternate between Yes and No.
Page eject after printing.
This option causes an eject to the top of a new page after printing the
report. The default is NO. If you are using a laser printer, you should
change this option to YES. To change this option, point the highlight
here and press return. By pressing the return key you alternate between
Yes and No.
Plain Paper
This option suppresses the date and page number at the top of a report.
The default is NO which indicates that the date and page number should
be printed. To change this option, point the highlight here and press
return. By pressing the return key you alternate between Yes and No.
..PG
..CE The Groups Menu
The Group option, the second menu on the screen, allows you to group data on
the report for subtotals and subsubtotals. An important thing to remember
is that in order for the group options to work, the file must be in the same
order as the grouping you specify. If you file is kept in some other order,
you should specify a sort/selection criteria (see earlier in this manual) to
place your file into the correct order before printing the report.
Group on Expression
The first option on this menu is the "Group on expression" option. This
represents the first level of grouping and must be the first listed sort
field in the index or in the sort/select criteria menu.
Group Heading
The second option on this menu is the "Group Heading" option. This
option allows you to give a header to the subtotal that is printed.
Summary Report Only
The third option on this menu is the "Summary report only" option.
This option specifies whether all data or only subtotals are printed.
If you leave this option at no, all data is printed. If you set this
option to yes, only totals are printed.
Page eject after group.
The next option is "Page eject after group". This allows you to cause
page breaks after each group. If you change this option to yes, each
group will start on a new page. You should NOT specify yes if you have
said yes to the summary report only (above) option. Doing so would cause
one line per page to be printed. To change this option, point the
highlight here and press return. By pressing the return key you alternate
between Yes and No.
Sub-group on expression
The "Sub-group on expression" option allows you to cause another level of
totals. If you wished your report to be broken into companies and within
that by departments, the main group would be company and the sub-group
would be department.
Sub-group heading
The "Sub-group heading" allows you to specify the heading for this
grouping.
..CE Putting columns on your report
The Columns menu allows you to place field values into columns on your
report, specify headings for the columns, modify the default width of a
column, specify the number of decimal positions for numeric data and whether
this column should be totaled. To enter data into the options on this menu,
you point at the option, press enter, type the data, and press enter again
to save the data. After you finish filling in the options for one column
you switch to the next column by pressing the PgDn key. To back up to a
column you have already filled in, press PgUp. If you wish to delete a
column use PgUp and PgDn to find the correct column and than press Ctrl-U
to delete the column. If you wish to insert a new column between two other
columns position using PgUp and PgDn to the column you wish to insert a new
column before and press Ctrl-N to insert a new column.
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Contents
To specify the contents of a column, you point the highlight at the
contents option and press enter. You can now type the field name for
this column or press F10 to see a list of field names. If you press F10
for the list of field names, you would select a field by using the up and
down arrow keys to highlight the field you wish to choose and than press
return.
Heading
Next you would select the "Heading" option. Point the highlight at the
"Heading" option and press return. A small box appears for you to fill
in a heading. Type in the heading you wish to use for this column and
press Ctrl-End to save this value. If you wish to have a two line header,
type a semicolon between the two lines. Thus, if you were to type
"Dept No" this would appear on one line. If you were to type "Dept;No"
it would appear on two lines with Dept above No. Once you have typed in
the header and pressed Ctrl-End to save it, the report generator fills in
the "Width" option based on the larger of the field size or the heading
size.
Notice in the "Report Format" box at the bottom of the screen shows the
column heading and a series of characters beneath the column heading to
show you how the columns have been laid out so far. The characters below
the heading vary depending on the type of the field. If the field type
was numeric, a series of #'s show the width of the column. If the field
was character a series of X's show. If the field was a memo field a
series of M's appear. If the field was a date field, MM/DD/YY appears
on the screen. For logical fields, .L. appears.
Width
This is the size of the column in which the data will be placed. It is
automatically set when you specify the contents and heading options. It
is set to the maximum of the size of the data field or the size of the
heading to be printed. You may override this field by pressing return,
typing in a new size, and pressing return again.
Decimal Positions.
For numeric fields you may specify the number of decimal positions to be
shown on the screen. The default is zero and may be changed. You may
change this field by pressing return, typing in a new size, and pressing
return again.
Total this column.
If set to Yes, this option causes the column to be totaled and printed
at the end of the report. You can only set this option for numeric
fields. To change this option, point the highlight here and press return.
By pressing the return key you alternate between Yes and No.
..CE Locate - Moving to a specific column
The Locate menu allows you to quickly move to a specific column on the columns
menu. To use this menu, position the highlight on the field you wish to
locate and press return. The column menu for this field opens to allow you
to edit this column.
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..CE Exit
The Exit menu allows you to save you changes to this report or abandon the
changes you have made. To save the report, move the highlight to the save
menu choice and press enter. To abandon the changes, position the cursor
at the abandon choice and press return. If you abandon the changes, all
work done on this report will be lost. After exiting from the report
generator you will return to either the "dot prompt" or to the
sort/selection criteria menu depending on where you started.
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..SK 15
..CE %%Sname Users Guide
..CE APPENDIX D
..CE Labels
..PG
You may create your labels from either the dBase "dot prompt" or from
within your system. The setup methods change depending on which method you
choose, but once the label screen is displayed, the creation or modification
of the label is the same.
..CE From the "dot prompt"
Type 'USE %%FILEA' and press enter if your %%FileDescA is not indexed.
Type 'USE %%FILEA INDEX %%INDEXA' and press enter if your %%FileDescA is
indexed.
Now type 'MODIFY LABEL name' where name is the name of an existing label
you wish to modify or the name of a new label you wish to create. The
dBase label screen will appear.
..CE From the Sort/Selection menu
When you choose option L from the Sort/Selection menu, you will be asked for
the name of the label you wish to create or modify. Type this name and
press enter. The dBase label screen will appear.
..CE Creating or Modifying Label
The label generator appears on the screen. Looking at the screen, you will
notice three menus across the top. They are labeled: Options, Contents, and
Exit. You may move to the various menus by pressing the right and left arrow
keys. The up and down arrow keys move the highlight within the pull-down
menus. To select the currently highlighted menu item, press the Return or
Enter key. Below is a description of each of the menus.
..CE The Options Menu
This is the first and leftmost menu. The Option menu contains various options
for label layout. The options menu allows you to change the predefined size
of the label, the label width, height, left margin, numbers of lines between
the labels, spaces between labels and labels across the page. Normally you
would only change the predefined size and take the default the remainder of
the values. You would only change the other values if you have an odd sized
label that is not predefined.
Predefined Size
This option allows you to choose from a series of predefined sizes for
your labels. The sizes that come with dBase III+ are:
3 1/2 x 15/16 by 1
3 1/2 x 15/16 by 2
3 1/2 x 15/16 by 3
4 x 1 7/16 by 1
3 2/10 x 11/12 by 3 (Cheshire)
To change the predefined size, move the highlight to the predefined size
option and press return. The size will cycle through the above options.
When you have reached the size and number of labels across you wish, you
may move to the contents menu.
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Label Width
The label width option allows you to specify the width in positions of
the one label. The default varies depending on the predefined size you
have chosen. If you are using labels which are not predefined, measure
the width of a label (in inches) and multiply by 10 to calculate the label
width in positions. To change this option point the highlight here and
press return. Type the new value and press return again.
Label Height
This option allows you to specify how many lines high the label is.
The default varies depending on the predefined size you have chosen.
If you are using labels which are not predefined, measure the height of
a label (in inches) and multiply by 6 to calculate the label height in
positions. To change this option point the highlight here and press
return. Type the new value and press return again.
Left margin
This option allows you to specify how many positions from the left you
wish printing to start at. This allows you to specify a margin to
insure that printing starts on the label and not the backing. The default
is 0 positions but you may change it. To calculate this value, measure the
distance from the left edge of the label backing to the left edge of the
label. Multiply this length (in inches) by 6 to calculate the left margin
in positions. To change this option, point the highlight here and press
return. Type the new value and press return again.
Lines between labels
This option is the number of between each label (vertically). The default
varies depending on the predefined form but is usually 1 line. This
value may be calculated by measuring the distance from the bottom of one
label to the top of the next (in inches). Multiply this number by 6 and
this is the number of lines between labels. To change this option, point
the highlight here and press return. Type the new value and press return
again.
Spaces between labels
If you have more than one label across the paper, this option specifies
the distance between these labels. To calculate this value, measure the
distance from the right edge of one label to the left edge of the next
label. Multiply this number by 10 to get the number of positions for this
value. To change this option, point the highlight here and press return.
Type the new value and press return again.
Labels across page.
This option specifies the number of labels across the page. Most labels
are called 1-up labels. 1-up labels have 1 strip of labels (they are
one label across). 2-up labels have 2 labels across, 3-up have 3 and 4-up
have 4. Before buying labels be sure that they will fit in your printer.
Most standard printers will only handle 1 or 2 up labels.
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..CE Putting data on your label
The Contents menu allows you to place field values and constant data into
the lines on your labels. To enter data into the contents fields on this
menu, you point at the line you wish to use and press enter. You can now
type the field name or constant data for this column or press F10 to see
a list of field names. If you press F10 for the list of field names, you
would select a field by using the up and down arrow keys to highlight the
field you wish to choose and than press return. After you finish filling
in the contents for one line you switch to the next line by pressing the
down arrow key. To back up to a line you have already filled in, press
the up arrow key.
..CE Exit
The Exit menu allows you to save you changes to this label or abandon the
changes you have made. To save the report, move the highlight to the save
menu choice and press enter. To abandon the changes, position the cursor
at the abandon choice and press return. If you abandon the changes, all
work done on this label will be lost. After exiting from the label
generator you will return to either the "dot prompt" or to the
sort/selection criteria menu depending on where you started.