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1990-02-27
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11KB
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244 lines
Video Cassette Manager v6.6
Copyright (c) 1989, 1990
by
William E. Barnes
Welcome, and thanks for reviewing VCM. For users of previous versions of VCM
(earlier than 6.0), I am sorry to say that you will have to re-enter your
movie library into this new version. The file structures are totaly different.
Access is much faster than in the old version. The time you spend re-entering
will be well worth it!
Features:
o - Network Aware (runs on a network) or stand-alone
o - Automatic detection of Mono or Color Monitors
o - Size of Movie Library is limited only by Disk Space
o - Uses scrolling 'Pick' windows to select the Movie to Edit,
View, Delete
o - Printouts of Movie List can be sorted on 6 different fields
o - Displays Date and Real Time Clock on screen
o - File Maintenance feature to repair (limited) file damage
o - Movie Descriptions entered can be as large as 64k
o - Automatic detection of required files, if missing, will create
after acknowlegement for first time users.
o - Allows (re)reading of new library by pressing F10 (for Floppy
Disk Users, see tips at end of document)
o - Looks downright nice in color!
Business Stuff:
This program is being distributed as Shareware. Most of you know
what that means, if you use, pay for it. Nice concept uh? So if you don't
care to use it or don't like it at all, just erase it or let a friend try it
out. If you do use it for more than 30 days, I ask that you fill out the
registration form at the end of this document and mail your contibution along
with the form to me. Please don't send cash in the mail, it tends to make
honest people dishonest!
This program will not be used in package deals to lure people to buy
computer equipment without written consent from the author. Nor shall it
be used by any business without first obtaining a license agreement.
If you own a video store, lets talk!
Operations:
First of all, be sure to have your CONFIG.SYS file set as follows (as a
minumim):
Files = 19
Buffers = 16
1. Main Menu
Real simple. At the bottom of the screen are 5 windows labeled
Add Movies, Edit Movies, Delete Movies, Options, and eXit. To
perform a feature, just press the first Capital Letter that
appears in the window. For example, to select Add Movies, you
Page 1
would press the letter 'A' (without the quotes of course). To
eXit the program, you would press the letter 'X'. Pretty simple
right?
2. Add Movies
Everything here is pretty self-explanitory. One tip I should give
you though is on entering a Tape ID. If you are going to use
numbers, preface them with zeros. If you don't, number 10 will
be displayed before number 2. (Ex: 0002 or 0010 etc...)
| Category can be entered manually or you can press the ENTER Key
| while the field is blank and a 'Pick' Window will open up. Use
| the Arrow Keys to select the Category you want or press the first
| letter of the Category, then press the ENTER Key and the Category
| you selected will be put into the field for you. If you need to
| leave the Category Field blank, press the Esc Key when the 'Pick'
| window appears.
| To add Categories to the 'Pick' window, just enter the Category
| name manually into the category field. If it is not found, it will
| be added to your 'Pick' window selections so it is there the next time.
| This is the way you will add Categories the first time you run VCM.
When you get to entering the Description, a window will open up
and you will be allowed to enter a description as large as 64k.
When you are finished entering the Description, press the F10
key.
If you don't want to provide a description, press the Esc key.
3. Edit Movies
After selecting how you want the movies diplayed for searching,
a scrollable 'Pick' window will appear to allow you to use the
arrow keys or PgUp/PgDN keys to scroll the Library to find the
movie you want to edit. To move more quickly to the movie you
want to edit, press the first letter of the sort field for the
movie you are looking for and an automatic search is performed.
For Example: If you picked 'Title' on the first Edit Menu, the
next window will appear with the sorted Titles shown on left
side of the screen. To find the movie 'Jazzman', you would
press the letter 'J' (upper or lower case) and the highlighted
bar will move to the first title that begins with the letter 'J'.
From there you can use the arrow keys or PgUp/PgDn to find
'Jazzman'. Neat uh?
4. Delete Movies
| You can select how you want to find movies to delete. A menu
| will appear and ask you if you want to delete by Title, ID Number
| or Category.
Select the movie by using the arrow keys or PgUp/PgDn keys and
press 'ENTER'. An Asterisk (*) will appear at the right side
of the window. This lets you know that the movie is marked for
deletion. If you change your mind about deleting a particular
movie from the library, position the hightlight bar over the
movie to unmark and press the 'ENTER' key again. The asterisk
will vanish.
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When you are finished marking movies to delete, press the Esc Key.
The movies titles you marked for deletion will be deleted and you
will be returned to the main menu.
5. Options
This is the place that does the Printing of the Movie List, Deleting
Categories and File Maintenance. Select how you want your movie list
sorted and go. Be sure your Printer is on if you are using a
non-networked system.
| Delete Categories - This selection will allow you to delete category
| names from the Category 'Pick' window used in adding and editing movie
| titles. Deleting is done the same as in Deleting Movies above.
File Maintenance should be used when experiencing problems like system
crashes, duplicate records being displayed, Missing Records etc. While
this will not cure every problem, if the program ever crashes because
of a corrupted file, this should take care of it.
Network Use:
1. If you are operating on a Network you will experience some additional
features. For example, if you attempt to edit a movie that someone
else is editing, a window will appear and tell you that record
is being used by someone and askes if you want to keep trying for
another 3 seconds. As long as you keep answering 'Y' to the question,
VCM will keep trying to get access to the record. If you say 'N',
then the process will be aborted.
2. File Maintenance must be done when all other terminals are off-line.
The same goes for deleting a movie or 'Pick' window category.
3. Any place in the program where there is a chance of altering data
that someone else is altering, a network window will appear and ask
if you want to keep trying.
Well that's about it. Easy right? I think so. If you do experience any
problems, please let me know.
A Tip for Floppy Drive users:
VCM can only use the drive (or directory) that it was executed on(in).
In other words, If you start it in Drive A:, all your files will be
created on drive A.
To allow you to enter a HUGE library on a floppy system, you need to
start VCM on another blank, formatted floppy. After the file creation is
finished, delete the file; VCM.EXE Now press the F10 key and VCM will
read the new library, and since there are no movies in it yet, the total
movie count should show zero. Now when you want to read different library
disks, just insert library disk 1 or 2 or 3... and press the F10 key and
the new library will be read and you can proceed as normal.
Technical Support:
I would love to support everyone that is having problems, but alas,
I can not. I do support REGISTERED users. You must give your
registration # when requesting technical support. Custom modifications
can also be made for a modest fee.
Page 3
Video Cassette Manager v6.6
Registration Form
Mail to:
William E. Barnes
616 S. Cedar Lk. Rd.
Mineapolis, MN 55405
(915)562-6116 (El Paso, Tx)
Sending in this registration form along with $14.00 (US Currency Only) will
get you the lastest update of VCM on disk with the 'Shareware Evaluation
Copy' message replaced with a phrase of your own, if you so state. The phrase
can not be more that 30 characters in length.
Name: _____________________________________________
Str Addr: _____________________________________________
City, St, Zip: _____________________________________________
Phone Number: (____)_______-__________
Where did you get your copy of VCM v6.6 ?:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Have any recommendations for changes or additions?:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Cost Per Copy: $ 14.00
3.5 inch Disk: 1.00
Number of Copies requesting: X __________
Total: $ _________
Thank you for supporting the Shareware Concept!
Bill Barnes