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1989-01-28
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H O M E I S U R A N C E
(HOME INVENTORY AND INSURANCE PLANNING)
Created By:
Steve Hudgik
HomeCraft Computer Products
P.O. Box 974
Tualatin, OR 97062
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Version 3 - Copyright 1988 by
Steven C. Hudgik
This software is provided as SHAREWARE allowing you the opportunity
to try it before buying it. If you like Home Insurance you are asked
to become a registered user by sending $59.95 to: HomeCraft -
P.O. Box 974 - Tualatin, OR 97062. You can also register by phone
using your VISA or MASTER CARD by calling 503-692-3732 between
8AM and 8PM pacific time.
Please add $3 for shipping ($5.00 outside the U.S.).
Registered users will receive the latest (fully operational) version
of the software, a complete printed manual, one year of free support,
and any corrections or revisions issued during the next year.
NOTE: Version 3 of Home Insurance uses a new data file format that is
not compatible with earlier versions of Home Insurance. Registered
users get a free copy of a utility to convert the older data files
for use with version 3.
This software and manual are copyrighted. They may not be modified in
any way, or combined with any other software or documentation. Copies
of the disk containing this software may be given away. However, they
may not be sold without the express written permission of the author.
If given away, the contents of this disk may not be changed. I
encourage you to give copies of this disk to your friends - shareware
is intended to be shared with as many people as possible. Pass it
around and let others make a copy.
I hope you find Home Insurance to be useful and a valuable addition
to your software library.
NOTE: Due to space limitations on the disk, this is a shortened
version of the Home Insurance manual.
NOTE: Indexing is not available in the shareware version of
Home Insurance. Indexing provides a way to do faster
(much faster) searches and it is used to put entries
in alphabetical order.
HOME INSURANCE
Version 3
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for purchasing Home Insurance.
Home Insurance is software that allows you to keep track
of what you own, where items are located and how much it
would cost to replace something that is lost. Unfortunately,
most of us do not find out how much property insurance we
need until after we suffer a major loss. We then may
learn that our insurance coverage, although based on
replacement value, is not sufficient to cover the complete
loss.
Home Insurance provides protection in several ways.
First, it provides a way for you to determine whether or not
you have adequate property insurance. For example, insurance
policies generally limit the coverage for some special items
such as jewelry, collectibles (coins, stamps, plates, dolls,
ect.), guns and furs. By categorizing items by type, Home
Insurance can give you the total replacement value for each
type of item you own. This allows you to compare what you
actually have versus the limits given in your insurance
policy.
If you should suffer a loss, from theft, fire, vandalism
- any type of loss, Home Insurance is your record of what you
had. It will allow you to put together a list of what was
lost, providing you with model numbers, serial numbers and
descriptions.
Using Home Insurance
Depending on the size of your home and how much you've
packed into each closet, you can expect to spend several
hours entering the list of everything you own into your
inventory for the first time. I suggest setting aside one
day to do a complete inventory. Start in one room and list
the complete contents of that room (a clip board with a pad
of paper will be helpful for this). Go from room to room
until everything is listed.
If you haven't had an appraisal done recently, you might
use your Sears, Penney's or other catalog to determine the
current replacement value for some items. For others you may
need to do a little window shopping to get a good idea of
what it would cost to replace them. If you want to be
accurate, don't guess. If you guess high, you will be paying
for more insurance than you need. A low guess will result in
inadequate coverage. Valuable items should be appraised by a
professional appraiser to get a realistic estimate of their
value.
THE MAIN MENU
Type "HI" to start Home Insurance
The Main Menu will always be the first thing you see when
you boot up the software. If you have a monochrome monitor,
and just see dark blocks on your screen, then push F1. F1
toggles the setting for color on and off.
<5> File Name
The filename is the name used for storing your inventory
on the disk. You can have as many separate inventorys as you
wish, using a different filename for each. Up to 9,999,999
entries can be made in each.
MAKING ENTRIES
Entering information into the inventory is very simple.
Select #1 on the Main Menu and an information entry screen
will appear.
The length of the bar next to each item shows the amount
of space available for each item. The cursor will not go
past the ends of the bar.
Let's look at the type of information that can be entered
on each line:
Description - You this line is used to enter and
descriptive phrase that applies to this object.
When making entries you should be consistent when using
upper and lower case letters. During searches the software
will differentiate between upper and lower case letters.
Thus entering the work "Computer" is not the same as
"COMPUTER." I usually enter the description using all upper
case letters.
Model # - Enter the model number, if there is one.
ID Mark - This line is for any identifing marks on the
item. This could be a social security number engraved on the
back of it; a specific pattern of scratches, dents, or other
damage; or anything else that would uniquely identify this
item.
Serial Number - Enter the serial number, if there is one.
Note - This line is provided for miscellaneous information.
Value - Enter the current value of the item. This should be
a realistic replacement value, which may be less than what
you think the item is worth.
(The Detail Level)
Owner(s) - Enter the name(s) of the people who own this
item. The first three letters of the name are used
to do some summaries, so be sure these are different
for each person, or start each line with a three letter
abbreviation for that person's name.
Location - Enter a description of the location of this
item. The description can be a single word such as "Bedroom"
or a complete address. Home Insurance uses the first
three letters on this line to classify items by their
location, so be sure that you don't duplicate the first three
letters for two different locations.
Other - Like the NOTE line you can enter whatever
information you feel is useful.
Type - Use this line to classify items by type. The
classifications you use will depend on your requirements.
Like Owner(s) and Location the first three letters of the
Type designation are used to sort your inventory. You should
avoid entering types that start with the same first three
letters.
NOTE: The searches are not limited to the first three
letters. You can search for any or all words (or individual
characters) on the Owner(s), Location and Type lines.
Purchase Date - The purchase can be important for
establishing the vaule of an item.
Updated - You can not enter anything on this line - the
cursor will skip over it. Each time you save a new entry or
edit an existing entry Home Insurance will get the date and
time from your computer's clock and enter them here.
Notes-1/2/3 - The next three lines provide space for you to
enter additional information about each item.
(The Complete Level)
All of the information at this level is intended to
identify where you purchased (obtained) the item from. This
could be a dealer, wholesaler, radio station contest, gift
from a neighbor, etc. This information allows you to go back
to the original dealer, if you need to replace the item.
SAVING THE ENTRY
Once you've entered all the necessary information push
the F5 key to save this entry. F5 can be pushed while any of
the three screens are displayed.
EDITING EXISTING ENTRIES
Selection two on the Main Menu allows you to change any
part of any existing entry.
You will first be asked for the number of the entry you
want to edit.
As you make entries the software automatically numbers
them sequentially. The first entry you make is number 1; the
100th is number 100. This number is displayed in the upper
right of the screen when you are making entries. It is also
printed on all reports.
If you don't know the number for the entry you need to
change, use the search function to find the entry. When the
entry is found you will automatically be in the edit mode
(more on that shortly).
Once you have entered the number for the entry you want
to change it will be displayed on the screen. You can then
make changes in the same way you originally entered
information.
When you have made all the needed changes, push F5 to
save the edited entry.
Deleting An Entry
The editor is also used to delete an entry from the
inventory. With the entry you wish to delete on the screen,
push the F4 key. This will not erase the entry - all the
information will still be there. The entry will be marked as
deleted, however, and will be skipped in any search of the
inventory. You can "undelete" an entry by pushing F5 to re-
save the entry.
If you wish to completely eliminate an entry from the
inventory, you can use the editor to type in a new entry in
the same spot as the deleted entry. There is also a
inventory utility that will erase all deleted entries from
the inventory (more on that shortly).
SEARCHES AND PRINTED REPORTS
The most useful function in Home Insurance is the
Search / Printed Report function. This is the function you
use to sort and find specific items or types of items. You
can list all the items with a specific description; or all
the items of a specific type, with a specific color, that is
in a specific room, and is worth more than $100.
Select #3 on the Main Menu and you'll see a screen that
looks like the information entry screen. The information you
want to search for is entered on this screen (or the series
of three screens at the Complete level).
Pushing F2 will change how the report is printed.
The default setting is the monitor. You
can also set the output for CONTINUOUS paper, single sheet,
or for a disk file.
Pressing F3 will result in the entries being listed in
the order they were entered. After pressing F3 you will be
asked for the entry number to start the listing at and the
entry number to end it with.
F4 is used to get a listing of all of the entries in your
inventory in alphabetical order. You must be using the
indexing feature of Home Insurance (Index On) for this
function to work. (Indexing not available in shareware).
SEARCHES
There are several ways you can search your inventory.
F6 - Normal Search When you push F6 an indexed search will
be conducted, if you've entered something to search for on
the Description, Model #, or ID Mark lines.
The other type of search is a sequential search. This
means that every entry in the inventory is looked at to see
if it is a match.
In a sequential search any entry that contains the
information you entered will be identified as a match. For
example, if you enter PC Computer, or even just PC on the
title line, Kaypro PC Computer will be identified as a match.
(NOTE: Capital and lower case letters are seen as being
different. This a search for "COMPUTER" will not find
"Computer" as a match).
Editing After A Search
When a search finds a matching entry in your inventory,
that entry will displayed on the screen. You can then edit
that entry just as you would using the "Edit An Entry"
function. Type the changes you need to make, then push F5 to
save those changes.
NOTE: The indexes are the most fragile parts of the Home
Insurance data files. If at any time you feel the indexes
are not working properly, go to the Inventory Utilities menu
and build new indexes. The problems should then clear up.
INVENTORY UTILITIES
There are eleven functions available on the Inventory
Utilities screen. Some of these are also available as a part
of the Main Menu and are provided as a convenience here.
These functions are:
Copy Inventory Files - Used to copy all of the items from
one file to another file. This utility is intended for users
upgrading from floppy disks to a hard disk. It will transfer
items from floppy disks to a hard disk, combining the files
from several floppies into a single file on the hard disk.
Condense Data - When a item is deleted from the inventory
all of the information remains in the file and it can be
recovered. If, however, you would like to completely erase
all of your deleted entries (i.e. to reduce clutter), this
function will permanently remove them from the file.
File Name - Used to change the current filename being used
for inventorying. (This function is also provided on the
Main Menu).
Reserve Space - This function will set aside space on your
disk for future entries in the inventory.
Level - Allows you to change the level (Insurance, Detail
or Complete) in use. (This function is also provided on the
Main Menu).
Security Code - The security functions are not available in the
shareware version of Home Insurance.
Index On/Off - In the upper right corner of the screen is a
prompt for the F3 key. This toggle allows you to not use the
indexing. For example, if you are using floppy disks, you
may wish to save disk space by not using the indexes.
Customize - Pushing F7 allows you to customize one line
title at each level.
ADJUST FOR INFLATION / DEPRECIATION
When you select this function from the Utility Menu, you
will first be asked to select a general category; owner,
type, location or all entries. You can then enter up to ten
abbreviations (the first letters of a name or location) for
which you would like to have the replacement value adjusted.
When you have entered all of the abbreviations for items
that you want to adjust the values, push the ENTER to accept
the last abbreviation and then push F5.
Next you will be asked to enter the percentage by which
you would like to adjust the current replacement value of for
each item that matches any of the abbreviations you entered.
You can enter either a positive or a negative number here. A
positive number would reflect inflation or appreciation. A
negative number represents depreciation.
TOTAL VALUES
Function <9> on the Utility Menu is provided to give you
the total replacement value of a group of items. You can
find the total value of all of the items in a room, or all of
your video equipment or everything in your house that's owned
by your sister.
INSURANCE PLANNING
The final function on the Main Menu (number 8) is a
little different in that it is not related to keeping a home
inventory. The features we've discussed so far will help you
determine the amount of home owner's (or renter's) insurance
you need. Your car and health insurance needs are fairly
straight forward and there's not much a computer can do to
help you in those areas. This leaves one major
insurance need, your life insurance.
LIFE INSURANCE PLANNING
The first selection on the Insurance Planning Menu is
used to calculate the amount of life insurance you need.
Most of the information required is obvious, so I'll just
describe the information to entered for your children's
college education.
Planning For College Education
The ages for up to 12 children may be entered
(just number your children from 1 to 12). The default
setting already has child number one on the screen, so push
the down cursor key once. We'll assume that your first child
is five years old. The Insurance Planning assumes
your child will enter college at age 18. If a
child is over 22, then it is assumed they are old
enough to pay their own way.
Push the #5 key and then push ENTER to set the age of your
first child at fives years old. The cursor will move to the
"College (Y/N)" line. Push the "Y" key. The amount of
insurance needed has change to $415,465.64.
NOTE: The yearly cost of college is based on a 1985-86
average cost of $7486 per year. The average cost of a
private college during that period was $9,659, for a public
college it was $5,314.
When you pushed the letter "Y" the cursor jumped back up
to the Child Number line. You can now enter the information
for your second child.
Use the down cursor key to move the cursor to the monthly
Mortgage/Rent line.
Monthly Expenses
Your life insurance needs are calculated two ways. The
first is based on maintaining your current income. The
second method is based on your monthly expenses for your
mortgage/rent, car payments and any other major monthly
payments you need to make. If your monthly expenses are
greater than what they should be for the income you have,
then your insurance needs will be calculated based on your
monthly expenses.
The "Other Monthly Liabilities" line should be used to
enter the total amounts of any other bills that MUST be paid.
For example, a home improvement loan or the extra costs
resulting from caring for a handicapped child should be
entered here. Do not enter food, clothing or utility costs,
as these living expenses are already allowed for in the
calculation of your life insurance needs.
Lump Sum Liabilities
The lump sum liability line is used to enter the amount
of any loan that you would want to pay off in its
entirety. This could be a home improvement loan, the balance
due on credit cards, or you could even enter the amount of
your mortgage here (don't enter a monthly mortgage payment in
that case).
Social Security
Moving to the lower right of the screen there are three
addition lines of information that can be entered. The
top one is for a monthly payment that your family may be
eligible for from Social Security. We can not predict what
this amount will be as it will vary based on your income and
the number of children in your family under the age or 18 and
16. Contact your local Social Security office for more
information on the benefits you are eligible for.
This completes the shareware documentation for Home Insurance.
on the benefits you are eligible for.
This completes the shareware documentatio