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1991-04-21
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(TM)
SYSTEMS MANAGER
DOCUMENTATION
and
TUTORIAL
Copyright 1990, 1991 by MiCord. All rights are reserved.
CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE ................................................... 1
ASP OMBUDSMAN STATEMENT .............................. 1
INTRODUCTION .............................................. 2
MESSAGE FROM MiCord .................................. 2
REGISTRATION ......................................... 2
WHAT TO EXPECT ....................................... 3
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS .................................. 3
WARRANTY ............................................. 3
NEW FEATURES IN SYSTEMS MANAGER, VERSION 2.5 ......... 4
CONTENTS OF DISTRIBUTION DISK ........................ 4
PRODUCT SUPPORT ...................................... 4
GETTING STARTED: INSTALLATION ............................. 5
AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION ............................... 5
MANUAL INSTALLATION .................................. 6
FIRST TIME START: IDENTITY OF SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR ....... 8
PASSWORD CREATION SCREEN ............................. 9
PASSWORD SCREEN ...................................... 9
PURPOSE SCREEN ....................................... 9
CLIENT TRACKING SCREEN .............................. 10
APPLICATION TYPE TRACKING ........................... 10
TRACKING AND REPORTING .............................. 10
MENU SCREEN: START-UP .................................... 11
MANAGER'S SERVICES: CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD ................. 12
ADD A PASSWORD ...................................... 12
PURGE ALL PASSWORDS ................................. 13
PRINT REGISTRATION FORM ............................. 13
RECORD MANAGEMENT ................................... 13
CONFIGURATION ....................................... 14
MENU MANAGEMENT ..................................... 15
ADDING APPLICATIONS ............................ 15
EASY LOADING .............................. 15
ADVANCED LOADING .......................... 16
CHANGING INFORMATION ........................... 17
REMOVING AN APPLICATION ........................ 18
CHANGE ORDER OF MENU ITEMS ..................... 18
EXAMPLES OF USAGE ........................................ 19
MENU ONLY ........................................... 19
PASSWORDS ........................................... 19
SOFTWARE TYPE ....................................... 19
CLIENT TRACKING ..................................... 20
PURPOSE TRACKING .................................... 20
PREFACE 1
Systems Manager is a powerful integrated menu, tracking and
reporting system that provides easy, fast access to your work
while it collects important usage information. This data can
be used for client billing, productivity decisions to save you
time and money, justification of purchases of hardware and
software, or for tax records. You select the configuration,
including password protection, that is best for your needs.
It has a highly effective uni-screen menu system from which
you can start all your applications or run a series of complex
DOS level instructions with a single, fast point-and-shoot
action.
This documentation explains how the program works and how to
install it on your computer. It gives the understanding
helpful in selecting the combination of features which is best
for your intended use. Please read the section on examples of
usage. It could help you save hundreds or even thousands of
dollars.
MiCord wants your evaluation of this product to be successful
and to be as easy as possible. If any questions or concerns
arise during this evaluation, please contact MiCord without
hesitation. Product support is available to you during this
evaluation. Information on how to contact MiCord is given in
the section on product support.
ASP OMBUDSMAN STATEMENT
The following quoted statement is included as a requirement of
the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP).
* * N O T I C E * *
"This program is produced by a member of the Association of
Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that
the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to
resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by
contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The
ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with
an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for
members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545
Grover Road, Muskegon MI 49442 or send a Compuserve message
via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536."
* * * * * * *
INTRODUCTION 2
MESSAGE FROM MiCord
Welcome to Systems Manager and thank you for evaluating this
MiCord product. Systems Manager is made available to you for
evaluation through the concept of shareware. Shareware is a
low cost method of distribution which allows you to fully
evaluate a product before you pay for the right to use it.
You have the right to fully evaluate the performance of this
product for your intended application for a reasonable period
of time. Product support is available to you from MiCord
during this evaluation period to assist you. If you then
decide you want to use this product, you need to register and
pay a license fee to MiCord.
You may also make complete and unaltered copies of this
software for your own purposes or to share at no cost with
others.
MiCord would appreciate hearing your comments about this
program and your evaluation of it even if you decide to not
become a registered user. All suggestions, comments and
requests are seriously considered and welcomed. This is our
source for improvements.
MiCord also does custom programming to meet certain specific
requests. There is no risk or fee associated with a special
request. Please contact MiCord for information on this
service. Contact information is given in the section on
product support.
REGISTRATION
If you decide you want to use this software, you need to
license that use and register with MiCord. For your
convenience, you may print a registration form from within the
program. Instructions for doing this are given in the section
on MANAGER'S SERVICES: PRINT REGISTRATION FORM. The license
fee is $10.00 US per installed copy of the software and should
be included with the completed registration form. Personal or
company checks are acceptable. (Please contact MiCord for
special site licensing arrangements if you represent a large
corporation with many potentially installed copies.)
Your registration will be acknowledged by return mail. You
will continue to receive product support as needed. You will
also receive a copy of the next update for evaluation with
upgrade privileges when it becomes available.
WHAT TO EXPECT 3
Systems Manager is a fully integrated menu and tracking system
that is very easy to use. You can initiate any DOS command or
application directly from the menu without having to remember
a series of key strokes. Systems Manager offers several time
tracking options. These include users by passwords, purpose
for tax or business purposes, type of software for a variety
of productivity reasons or purchasing decisions, and client
identification for billing purposes and any combination of
these, or none at all. Detailed or summary reports can be
printed or displayed with usage totaled by feature. Many
different configuration options are available to the user.
Several of these options are only available to the systems
administrator in cases of several users.
Systems manager has a unique uni-screen menu system that will
accept up to 60 entries on a single screen which means no
hunting for what you want. Just point-and-shoot to initiate
the application or command that you want. After the command
or application is completed, the menu automatically returns to
your screen. From this menu you can also access the many
Manager Services such as tracking reports or configuration
options as well as direct access to DOS. Full instructions to
guide you are on every screen. You probably won't need the
documentation. Its that simple.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Systems Manager will run on a IBM or fully compatible machine
operating under DOS 2.1 or greater. It requires a hard disk.
It uses under 150K of memory when loaded but terminates during
any DOS command or application program so that maximum memory
is always available for your use in applications. It does not
stay resident and there is no reported interference with any
Pop-up or TSR (Terminate-Stay-Resident) program. It assumes
that a printer is attached for printing of reports. It
supports any type of display operating in character mode.
WARRANTY
MiCord warrants its original copy of Systems Manager software
to perform substantially as described on IBM or fully
compatible computers. MiCord also warrants its original copy
of this software to be free of any virus. MiCord disclaims
all other warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and fitness for
any purpose. MiCord assumes no liability for damages, direct
or consequential, which may result from use of Systems Manager
software.
NEW FEATURES 4
* Smaller size and faster operation
* Added support for extended keyboard cursor keys
* Added option for date/time as US or international
* Added option for client billing tracking
* Added options to let users switch each tracking mode on/off
creating 16 possible tracking configurations
* Added special privileges for Systems Administrator
* New configuration menus to ease customization
* Added sorting option for main menu to facilitate
customization
* Instituted database format for all tracking information
* Added sorting and totaling usage of database information for
detailed and summary reports
* Added user choice of which reports to display or print
* Added training samples for menu loading
* Added instructions for manual installation of Systems
Manager
* Expanded documentation
CONTENTS OF DISTRIBUTION DISK
Your distribution disk should contain the following files:
SYSMGR.EXE The Systems Manager program
SYSMGRIN.EXE The Systems Manager installation program
SYSMGR.DOC This Systems Manager documentation file
SYSMGR25.BAT Initial information
PRODUCT SUPPORT
You do not need to be a registered user to receive product
support. MiCord wants you to be completely satisfied with
the evaluation of the performance of this product. The most
important time for product service is during this evaluation
period. Therefore support is provided during your evaluation
of this product as well as to registered users. MiCord
believes that satisfied users do become registered users.
In addition, MiCord welcomes your requests for specially
prepared software uniquely suited to your intended use.
Please contact MiCord by mail at the following address:
MiCord, P.O. Box 1344, Midland, MI, 48640. Or, you may send
mail to CompuServe address 70233,663. You may also be able to
reach MiCord by phone on week nights between 7pm and 9pm
eastern time zone on (517) 631-4367 (private residence).
GETTING STARTED: INSTALLATION 5
The easiest way to get started is to use the installation
program, SYSMGRIN.EXE, included on the distribution disk.
All necessary instructions are provided on-screen.
There are two cases where you should use the manual process.
1. If you want to install Systems Manager on a hard disk
drive that is not the primary drive, (the primary drive
contains the AUTOEXEC.BAT file), use the manual method.
2. If you want to make the necessary changes to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT yourself, use the manual method.
AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION
Place a copy of the distribution disk in drive A:, then type
A:SYSMGRIN and press Enter. Complete on-screen instructions
will guide you through the installation. These instructions
tell you what the installation is going to do before the
program does it. It gives you a chance to Escape or terminate
the installation before proceeding. This installation program
will install Systems Manager on the hard disk which is the
primary drive, i.e. used in booting.
NOTE: if you are upgrading from a previous release of Systems
Manager, you should print any records you want to save before
installing the new version which uses a new database format.
All of the Systems Manager files must be in a directory named
\MGR or the program will not work properly. The installation
program will create that directory if it doesn't already exist
and copy the necessary files into that directory from the
distribution disk. The installation program will also create
a CONFIG.MGR file and a MENU.BAT file in that directory.
The installation program will check for the AUTOEXEC.BAT file
in the main directory of this hard disk drive. It will save
the original as AUTOEXEC.BAK and construct a new AUTOEXEC.BAT
with two modifications from the original. First, it will
insert the \MGR directory in the PATH statement. Next, it
will append the command MENU at the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT
file. If no AUTOEXEC.BAT file is present, the installation
program will create one with the appropriate commands.
The computer is then re-booted with the new information in the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file telling the computer where to look for the
files and the MENU command will initiate the Systems Manager
program. As System Manager is operated, it will create other
files and place all of them in the same \MGR directory.
AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION (continued) 6
The installation does not attempt to load recognized programs
into its menu for one simple reason. It is not possible to
keep the information required to do this current. Thousands
of programs are available and new versions are being released
in a constant stream. Instead, Systems Manager was designed
to let you easily add a new program or new update as soon as
you receive it.
MANUAL INSTALLATION
1. Select the hard disk drive on which you want to install the
the Systems Manager program. (The drive designation will be
shown as D: in these examples. You should replace D: with
your choice.) Type D: and press Enter.
2. Make a directory called \MGR on this drive. Type MD\MGR
and press Enter.
3. Change to this directory. Type CD\MGR and press Enter.
4. Copy all files from the Systems Manager distribution disk
into this directory. Type COPY A:*.* and press Enter.
5. Create MENU.BAT in this directory which is D:\MGR as
follows:
Type COPY CON:MENU.BAT and press Enter
Type ECHO OFF and press Enter
Type CLS and press Enter
Type D: and press Enter (Use the proper letter for D:)
Type CD\MGR and press Enter
Type SYSMGR and press Enter
Type APPMGR and press Enter
Press the F6 function key and then press Enter
(You will see a message that says a file has been copied.)
6. Return from the D:\MGR directory. Type CD\ and press
Enter.
7. Go to the primary hard disk drive which is usually C: (if
it is not C: then substitute the correct drive letter for C:)
Type C: and press Enter
8. Change to the root directory. Type CD\ and press Enter.
9. Look for existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Type TYPE
AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter. (This will display the contents
of the file if it exists else it will display the message
"File not found".)
MANUAL INSTALLATION (continued) 7
10. If you receive the message "File not found" then do step
11 else skip to step 12.
11. Create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file by doing the following:
Type COPY CON:AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter
Type ECHO OFF and press Enter
Type CLS and press Enter
Type PATH D:\MGR and press Enter (D: is drive from step 1)
Type MENU and press Enter
Press the F6 function key and then press Enter
The installation is complete. In the future, the AUTOEXEC.BAT
file will initiate Systems Manager automatically when the
computer is started. For now, tell your computer about the
new information in the PATH statement and initiate Systems
Manager as follows:
Type AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter
12. Modify existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You may use any 100%
ASCII text editor to make these changes although the following
instructions are specifically for the DOS line editor, EDLIN.
Type EDLIN AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter
Type L and press Enter (to list the contents)
Type the number of the line that is the PATH statement and
press Enter. Type the full PATH statement on the indicated
line inserting D:\MGR; as the first item following PATH, e.g.
PATH D:\MGR;C:\DOS;C:\WP and press Enter.
If there is no PATH statement, then insert one as follows:
Type 2I and press Enter. (This inserts a line before 2.)
Type PATH D:\MGR on the indicated line and press Enter.
Hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the Break key.
Type L and press Enter to list AUTOEXEC.BAT with this change.
(Do not be concerned if an * marks where changes were made.)
Add the MENU command at the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
From the listing, note the number of the last line and add one
to it, e.g. if the last number is 8, then use 9 in the next
step.
Type 9I and press Enter
Type MENU on the indicated line and press Enter.
Hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the Break key.
Type L and press Enter to list the contents and check your
work.
MANUAL INSTALLATION (continued) 8
(A typical sample of an AUTOEXEC.BAT in EDLIN is shown below
for comparison purposes.)
If your work looks okey, then save it as follows:
Type E and press Enter to end and save your work.
You can fix your work by changing any line before saving it.
(Consult your DOS reference manual in the EDLIN section for
complete information on using the EDLIN commands.)
Sample of an AUTOEXEC.BAT file in EDLIN:
*L
1: ECHO OFF
2: CLS
3: PATH D:\MGR;C:\DOS;C:\UTILITY
4: PROMPT $P$G
5: MODE LPT1
6: MODE COM1:24,N,8,1
7: CLS
8: MENU
*
You are now done with the hard part!
Now simply reboot the computer or type AUTOEXEC and press
Enter so that the new information is known to the computer.
At the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the MENU command will
transfer control to the MENU.BAT file prepared earlier which
in turn will initiate the Systems Manager program.
FIRST TIME START: IDENTITY OF SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR
When Systems Manager is started it looks for a file in its
\MGR directory called ACCESS.MGR. If that file is not
present, a password creation sequence is initiated. You will
get this sequence on first time start-up since ACCESS.MGR has
not yet been created.
You are asked to identify yourself by initials or a short
nickname and to then create a password for yourself. This
information is then stored in ACCESS.MGR in a coded form.
This person, the first to enter a password, becomes the
systems administrator with special privileges for setting
configuration choices, tracking features, reports, and for
granting access to other users. You may elect to turn off the
password feature in the configuration choices but the special
privileges of the system administrator remain active.
PASSWORD CREATION SCREEN 9
After an initial password has been entered, this screen will
no longer appear unless you elect to add a password for a new
user. There is no limit to the number of passwords that can
be used. Passwords can be any combination of numbers or
letters not longer than eight characters. There is no
difference between upper and lower case letters. The program
will not allow duplicate initials or passwords so that the
tracking features can not become confused.
If for any reason you forget your password and cannot gain
access to Systems Manager, simply delete the ACCESS.MGR file
in the \MGR directory. This will then cause the password
creation sequence to initiate when Systems Manager is next
started and you will be able to create a password.
PASSWORD SCREEN
The entered password is used to identify and track all usage
by user. This feature is configured on when you receive the
program. The systems administrator can configure this option
off and then the password screen will not appear.
If a wrong password is entered, a beep will sound and a note
will be displayed alerting the attempted user to be more
careful. After four incorrect attempts, the computer will
assume that an unauthorized attempt is being made and will
warn that only one additional chance remains to enter a
correct password. If a wrong password is again entered, the
computer will take a nap for two minutes. Lapsed time will be
shown in the bottom instruction line. At the end of nap, the
program will be re-set and a password may again be entered.
While the computer naps, the keyboard is not active. This
delay process will frustrate a casual intruder but not a
determined intruder who will get past any protection scheme.
PURPOSE SCREEN
This option is configured on when you receive the program.
This option offers a quick way to differentiate the computer
usage into one of three categories. This option is primarily
used by those that want to build a log of computer usage in a
home environment in order to demonstrate business usage
relative to usage for their employer of for personal use. A
space is provided to enter text to describe to actual specific
purpose. This is especially useful to help substantiate
actual usage. This option can be configured off by the
systems administrator and this screen will not appear.
CLIENT TRACKING SCREEN 10
This option is configured on when you receive the program.
This option is ideal for situations where work is done for
clients or customers on an hourly basis. It provides a space
in which you can enter a client identification number. All
the time spent on the computer for this specific client will
be recorded and tracked. There is no limit to the number of
different clients that can be tracked. This option also can
be configured off by the systems administrator and this screen
will then not appear.
APPLICATION TYPE TRACKING
This option is also configured on when the program is received
although no separate screen will appear to request
information. This is because the type of application or
software is noted when the menu is loaded and the information
on type is obtained automatically. This information is
especially useful in business operations in order to determine
how the computer is being used and for what type of work.
This provides sensible justification for the purchases of
additional equipment, additional computers, or new software.
The systems administrator can also configure this option off.
TRACKING AND REPORTING
Tracking is initiated from the point an application is
initiated and continues until that specific application is
finished. Time is recorded in hundredths of an hour. Any
time less than one hundredth of an hour is counted as a full
one-hundredth of an hour. Continuous use of up to 99.99 hours
is provided for any one specific usage at one specific time.
You would not be expected to ever see this limit. Every time
there is a change in user, purpose, software type or client,
this clock is restarted. This provides adequate time to allow
an application to run unattended over a holiday weekend.
Reports are constructed from an internal database. A log or
sequential report is available as well a report sorted and
totaled by the specific tracking feature. Thus, entries for
one specific client interspersed during a month with entries
for dozens of clients are automatically sorted, listed and
totaled. Reports can be displayed on the screen or printed.
The time and date of any printout is also reported for
storage as permanent records.
Records can only be obtained for tracking options that are
configured on as controlled by the systems administrator.
Provision is made for erasing or clearing the database.
MENU SCREEN: START-UP 11
The menu initially will be loaded with three examples that
will be used later. For these examples, all you have to do is
to move the highlight bar to the item you want and then press
the Enter key. The highlight bar can be moved using either
the curser keys or pressing the number for the application.
Go ahead, try moving the highlight bar. Press the down arrow
key a few times. When the bar gets to the bottom of a column,
it continues in a loop returning to the top. The same is true
for lateral movement when more than one column is present.
Keep in mind that it may be faster to continue around a loop
than back all the way up a column.
The third item is a real example. It is named "Dir A:". This
represents the DOS command to display the directory of a disk
in drive A:. Try it but first make sure a disk is in drive
A:. Move the highlight bar to the third sample and press
Enter. The contents of the directory of the disk in drive A:
will be displayed on the screen. The screen will also display
a message to press any key to continue. Go ahead and press a
key. This will return you to the menu and will have logged
the time spent examining the directory. Before the menu
appears, you will be asked if you want to keep the same
tracking information. If you press N for No, you will be
returned to the opening screen. Press Y for Yes or Enter to
return directly to the menu. Also note that the highlight bar
is returned to its initial position ready for your next
command. It is that simple.
The menu can hold up to 60 entries in four columns of 15 items
each, which are automatically centered each time a new column
is initiated. A new column is automatically initiated when 15
items fill an existing column. Shortly, you will learn how to
add items to the menu or to change the information for an
item. For now, please direct your attention to the bottom of
the screen.
At the bottom of the screen, you will note a help bar with
three different options. These options let you return to the
starting screen, F5, or go to the manager's services, F7, or
to got to DOS. These items will be discussed separately.
F5 returns you to the starting screen. If the password option
is configured on, this will be the password screen. This
feature is used any time you will be away from your computer
and you want to prevent unauthorized access to your work. It
would also be used if you were initiating work for a different
client or different purpose and you wanted to change the
tracking information.
MENU SCREEN: START-UP (continued) 12
F9 takes you directly to DOS. Systems Manager terminates
during this operation so that maximum memory is available for
your use. You can do any DOS operation in this state. When
you are finished, type MENU (or menu) and press Enter and you
will be returned to the menu. The time spent in DOS is also
logged. Please do not turn off the computer without first
returning to the menu. If you turn off the computer without
first returning to the menu, the end of the work session will
be counted as the start of the next time you turn your
computer on. This means that all of the time the computer was
off will be logged as if the computer was on and used for DOS.
F7 takes you to the Manager's Services screen. This screen
provides to you all the many ways to change or alter the
configuration of Systems Manager, manage the menu information,
change passwords or allow someone to add a password, and to
manage the records. Press F7 and view this screen. Each of
the options are discussed in the next section. Press Escape
to return to the menu screen (note the instruction bar on the
bottom of the screen) before turning the computer off. If you
turn off the computer before you return to the menu screen,
the end of this work session will be counted as the start of
the next time you turn the computer on. This means that all
of the time that the computer was off will be logged as if the
computer was being used for Manager's activities.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD
The F2 function key takes you to this sequence. A safety
check is built in that requires you to correctly enter your
current password for proper identity before you can enter a
different password. This safety check prevents the office
joker from changing your password if you happen to leave your
machine running while you are away from it. Complete
instructions are given on the screens to guide you through
this operation. Generally, you should change your password
periodically or any time you have reason to believe someone
may have learned what it is. The program will not let you
select a new password that is already in use by someone.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: ADD A PASSWORD
Only the systems manager can access this function which allows
another operator to add a password. This is a security
feature to prevent the office joker from adding a password
while you are gone so that access can be obtained later
without your knowledge. Once this operation is accessed by
the systems administrator, the intended user should enter the
MANAGER'S SERVICES: ADD A PASSWORD (continued) 13
identity name and the password. This sequence is exactly the
same as the original password creation sequence except that
this person will not have the system administrator privileges.
Again, the program will not accept a duplicate password.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: PURGE ALL PASSWORDS
This feature allows you to remove all passwords and make a
fresh start. The F7 feature is available to only the system
administrator so that another user could not easily purge all
passwords and then become the system administrator simply by
being the first person to then enter a password. After the
program purges all of the passwords, it immediately takes you
to the proper screen to create a new password. This feature
is included in the program to make it easy to transfer the
program to a different user or group of users.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: PRINT REGISTRATION FORM
This feature, F8, was added to provide convenience to you in
registering Systems Manager if you decide to use the program.
The program will assume that you have a printer attached and
that it is ready to print. Pressing this key will bring up a
screen asking you to provide your full name, company name,
address, etc. This information is then printed on your
printer along with space to add comments. This form should
then be returned to MiCord along with your registration fee.
This feature is also limited to the systems administrator.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: RECORD MANAGEMENT
This feature is accessed by pressing F7 which brings up
another menu with choices for displaying reports or printing
reports just by pressing the key corresponding to your choice.
It also provides a convenient way to purge the database of
records when you are finished with the data. For example if
you have printed out the information for client billing for
the month, then you should purge the information from the
database so that at the end of the next month only the fresh
information is processed. It can take the computer a few
seconds to sort through the information to prepare some of the
reports. You may notice your hard disk in use during this
time. The computer is writing information to the disk as it
sorts it rather than keeping it in memory. Thus, the only
practical limit to the size of the database or number of
different clients or different entries is the size of
available disk space required for sorting. This is a real
MANAGER'S SERVICES: RECORD MANAGEMENT (continued) 14
benefit to the user. As a rough rule-of-thumb, 3K is required
for a page and then triple that for sorting so that each full
page of data might require 9K of disk space during sorting.
Forty pages of data might require 360K of disk space (the same
as a typical floppy disk) during sorting. This amount of
space is available on virtually every hard disk. Thus, for
all normal purposes there is no limit to the size of the
database that can be processed. The program frees the disk
space and returns it ready for normal usage as soon as it is
finished with the reports. Also the program advises you if
there is not enough disk space to complete the sorting process
so that you can free some additional space. Access to this
feature is limited to only the systems administrator.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: CONFIGURATION
Some of the configuration settings can be accessed only by the
systems administrator such as the tracking options. Other
options such as the display colors can be accessed by any
user. Pressing F4 from the manager's services screen provides
the complete configuration menu. The options are grouped
under one of three headings.
Changes in style include those options related to display
colors and the date/time format. Pressing the number
associated with the option makes the change immediately
visible on the screen. There is a safety feature built into
the program that prevents selecting the same color for the
foreground as is selected for the background which would make
all text disappear. While any changes you make are displayed
on this screen, they must be saved, as noted at the bottom of
the screen, for them to be retained by the program. You may
wait until you have made all the changes before you save them.
Changes for reports or tracking options can either be turned
on or off by pressing the number of the key associated with
the particular item. These changes must then be saved as
indicated at the bottom of the screen for them to become part
of the program. Since these four items can be turned on of
off, a total of 16 tracking options exist.
Changes to the title is an attractive feature that allows you
to customize the program screens with any title of your
choice. You could enter your company name, department name,
or your own name, or any other description of your choice
including leaving it blank. Again, you must save the new name
as indicated at the bottom of the screen for it to become a
part of the program.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: CONFIGURATION (continued) 15
You may make any and all changes that you want before saving
any of them. Any change that you make is displayed on this
screen so that you can see just how it will appear. After you
are satisfied with the appearance you can then press the
letter S to save all of the changes at once. Saving the
changes will automatically return the manager's services
screen. At any time before saving the changes, you can press
Esc for Escape and all changes will be ignored and the
manager's services screen will appear. A later section deals
with reasons for different tracking configurations.
MANAGER'S SERVICES: MENU MANAGEMENT
Selecting this option, F3, brings up a new screen that lets
you make changes to the menu. You can add an item to the
menu, change the information about an item, remove an item or
change the order of the items in the menu. Each of these
features are discussed in the few sections.
MENU MANAGEMENT: ADDING APPLICATIONS
You can easily add any application or DOS command to the menu.
The menu will accept up to 60 entries in four columns of
fifteen items each. The columns are automatically centered
and formatted for you. As you add an item it will be appended
to the end of the existing list. Using the sort feature
described later, you can then arrange the items into any order
you wish. You can even use this feature to write batch files
(BAT files) that can then be executed directly from the menu.
You can elect to use the Easy Loading format or you can use
the Advanced Loading format. To write BAT files, you must
use the Advanced Loading format. Each of these formats
present complete instructions on the screen to guide you
through the process. Each of these formats are discussed
separately in the next two sections.
MENU MANAGEMENT: EASY LOADING
Questions will appear on the screen to guide you through this
process when you elect to add an item to the menu. You will
need to know certain information about the application you
want to add. As an example we will assume that you have the
word processing software called WordProf on your C: drive in
a directory called \WP5 and that the command to start the
program is WP. This is all you need to know. You will be
asked a series of six questions to properly load the
information for the menu. All information for commands or
path statement will follow standard DOS rules and formats.
MENU MANAGEMENT: EASY LOADING (continued) 16
The first question is for a name of this application as you
would want it to appear on the menu. You could use any name
you want that fits. A good choice in this example would be to
type in WordProf and press Enter. Next, select one of the
seven indicated purposes for this application and type the
appropriate number and press Enter. In this case the number
should be 1 for Word Processing. Next, press E for Easy
Loading. Type the drive letter for this application, which
would be C and press Enter. The next question asks you to
enter the complete path for this application (C:\WP5). You
only need to type the WP5 and press Enter since the C:\ is
already filled in for you. The final question asks you for
the command to start the application which is WP. You would
type WP and press Enter. That is all there is to loading an
application. The WordProf item is now loaded and ready to be
used. If the entered information is wrong, a message will
flash on the screen `Bad Command of File Name' when you start
this application from the menu. You can then change to the
correct information as described later.
Now lets assume that you want to add a DOS command to the menu
using the Easy Loading format. Suppose you want to add the
command to display the directory of drive C: on the screen and
your DOS files are in the C:\DOS directory. We will also use
the standard DOS switch for pause, /P, so that the display
will pause if the directory is too long to fit on one screen.
Select the add application key from the manager's services
menu. In response to the question for a name to appear on the
menu, type Dir C: and press Enter. Of the seven choices for
this type of application, select 7 for `all others' and press
Enter. Press E for Easy Loading. Type C and press Enter for
the drive where you DOS files reside. Complete the path to
read C:\DOS and press Enter. For the command, type DIR C:/P
and press Enter. This item has now been loaded. At the menu,
highlight this item and press Enter anytime you want to
display the contents of drive C:.
MENU MANAGEMENT: ADVANCED LOADING
The advanced loading format allows you to enter commands as
if you were to write a DOS batch file. Ten command lines will
be accepted. Standard DOS batch file format is used. The
program automatically inserts ECHO OFF and CLS at the front of
this file and appends the necessary commands at the end of the
file to return to the menu screen. Pressing Enter on a blank
line or after the tenth line automatically closes the file.
Do not use the F6 key, ^Z, to close the file.
MENU MANAGEMENT: ADVANCED LOADING (continued) 17
The same examples will be considered as given in the Easy
Loading section. WordProf is a word processor located on the
C: drive in the C:\WP5 directory and is started with the
command WP. After entering the name WordProf for display on
the menu and selecting number 1, Word Processing, for the type
of software, select A for Advanced Loading. A command line
appears. Type C:\WP5\WP and press Enter. The second blank
line appears. Press Enter. The process is complete. If the
PATH statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file includes C:\WP5 then
you would only have needed to type WP and press Enter on first
command line followed by an Enter on the next blank line.
The second example was to display the directory of the C:
drive with the DOS files located in the C:\DOS directory using
the DOS switch /P for pause. After entering the name Dir C:
for the menu display and selecting number 7, all others, for
the type of application, select A for advanced loading. You
could type C:\DOS\DIR C:/P as the command and press Enter.
Press Enter on the next blank line. Since the directory
command, DIR, is resident in the DOS portion of the operating
system, you only needed to type DIR C:/P and press Enter
followed by Enter on the next blank line.
In the advanced Loading format, you can use any DOS command or
BATCH file format to construct a sequence of commands that are
initiated by the single menu entry. For example you could
load a mouse driver followed by starting your word processor
followed by unloading the mouse driver. If you need help in
working with BATCH files, you should consult your DOS
documentation since it is beyond the scope of this document.
Existing BATCH files that you use for certain purposes can be
added to the menu in the same way as adding an application.
MENU MANAGEMENT: CHANGING INFORMATION
Sample 1 and Sample 2 are included in the menu initially for
practice in changing menu information. The process for
changing information is the same as adding items to the menu.
The same questions appear in the same order. The old
information is displayed for you to view and either accept or
change as long as you do not change the format of the
information between Easy Loading and Advanced Loading. At the
end of the process, you either save the new information or
press Escape to return without any of the changes being saved.
Complete instructions are given on the screens to guide you
through the process. Just press the Backspace key anytime you
want to clear incorrect information.
MENU MANAGEMENT: CHANGING INFORMATION (continued) 18
Sample 1 is actually the command for displaying the directory
of drive C: in the wide form. Select it for change by typing
the number 1 and pressing Enter. The program tells you that
you are going to change Sample 1 and asks you to confirm this
intent. Confirm your intent. The title is then shown as
Sample 1. Clear this title by pressing the backspace key,
type a new title such as Dir C:/W and press Enter. Accept
each of the remaining responses by pressing Enter as well as
keeping the Easy Loading format. Save the new information by
pressing S as indicated on the bottom of the screen.
Sample 2 is actually the same as Sample 1 only this time we
will change from one format to another for loading. Select
this sample by typing the number 2 and pressing Enter. You
are asked to confirm that you want to change the item Sample
2. Clear the old title by pressing the backspace key and
input a new title for this command such as Dir C: (wide).
Accept the type number 7. This time press A for advanced
loading and note the blank command line. Type in the command
Dir C:\/W and press Enter. Type PAUSE and press Enter. Press
Enter on the next line to close the file. Press S to save the
changes. That is all there is to it.
There are now two items on the menu for displaying the
directory of drive C. Either item will work the same as the
other item even though they are in a different format. We
will remove one of them in the next section. Most experienced
users will actually prefer to use the Advanced Loading feature
instead of the Easy Loading feature since it relates directly
to the DOS command format.
MENU MANAGEMENT: REMOVING AN APPLICATION
The full menu is displayed from which you can make your
selection. Select Sample 1 by typing the number 1 and
pressing Enter. You must then confirm your intent. This
completes the removal of the item Sample 1. The menu no
longer includes this item and the total number of items has
been decreased by one.
MENU MANAGEMENT: CHANGE ORDER OF MENU ITEMS
This process works by swapping any two items on the menu.
Select the first item to swap and then select the second item
which you wish to swap. You can make as many changes as you
like to arrange the order of items exactly as you want. Then
save your changes before leaving this screen. Complete
instructions appear on the screen to guide you.
EXAMPLES OF USAGE 19
Guidance from these examples could save hundreds or thousands
of dollars in your operations.
MENU ONLY
There are many situations in office environments where it is
important to get workers up and running with a few different
applications in the least amount of time and effort and to
keep it that way. The workers need not become proficient in
DOS commands or have a deep understanding of how the computers
operate. This is an ideal situation for the office manager or
site computer manager to set up the Systems Manager in the
menu only configuration. Here the applications such as word
processing and charting would be added to the menu along with
a few basic DOS operations such as displaying the contents of
a disk directory and formatting new disks. Individual workers
would select some of the basic style formats such as screen
colors and date formats according to their preferences. The
department name or the individuals name could be displayed as
a special customized feature. This configuration minimizes
the workers time and effort to get their application work done
without a lot of hassle with DOS structures.
PASSWORDS
In order to keep the casual intruder from accessing work or
the computer which could result in the loss of many hours of
valuable data and information, the password option should be
configured on. This also will build a record of who used the
computer at what time and for how long. This feature is very
useful in situations where several workers must share a
computer. The records can clearly substantiate the need for
purchasing additional computers for your office or department
for productivity increases. Or, the records may show that
there are large blocks of time in which the computer is not
being used so that by proper scheduling the expensive decision
to purchase an additional computer can be properly delayed.
SOFTWARE TYPE
Using computers can be fun! One of the rapidly growing
problems today is the misuse of the computer through
fascination. In several situations, productivity increases
have reversed into productivity decreases because of
inappropriate computer usage. We are not talking about the
obvious such as using a computer to play games on company
time. A far more subtle theft of highly skilled and
expensive talent is frequently occurring.
SOFTWARE TYPE (continued) 20
It is becoming increasing common in large corporations as well
as in small companies to find very highly paid professionals
and managers spending their time doing those tasks that should
and can be done better and faster by a typist or secretary.
These tasks can include using a word processor for typing
memos, reports or letters and range to preparing graphics and
charts for presentations. By tracking the type of software
usage, records will be generated that will bring attention to
this problem if it exists in your work environment and allow
corrective action to be taken. This can be an especially
useful feature when coupled with the password option so that
records are developed of who uses the computer for what types
of applications.
This option can also help you make intelligent decisions about
purchasing new upgrades of software or purchasing different
programs of the same type of software. The general rule is
that if a given type of software is being used frequently, it
is important to have the best and latest capability for this
type of software. If a given type of software is infrequently
used and it does the job, it is better to not ride the new
learning curve to be proficient at the latest and best - stay
with what you have until it makes clear sense to change.
CLIENT TRACKING
Many organizations or individuals do work on computers for
clients who are then billed at an hourly rate for the work.
This can range from design engineering within corporations, to
contract work for other organizations, from consulting
operations to home typists. Where ever you need to track the
time spent on a particular task for a particular client or
customer, the client tracking option should be configured on.
It is also useful to couple this with the password option so
that there is a complete record of who did the work for whom.
This can also be coupled with the type of application and
different billing rates used depending on the type of work.
PURPOSE TRACKING
In many small or part time home businesses, it becomes
necessary to build a log of the usage of the computer when it
might be used for personal reasons as well as for business
reasons. This option will automatically build that kind of
record for you. In these kinds of cases, usually more than
one person actually uses the computer so that it is useful to
also include the password option. This then records the user
as well as the time used for the different purposes.
