SmartTracker Books V3.0
Overview
SmartTracker Books contains a number of features designed to help you
quickly organize and catalog your book collection. The
following notes will illustrate SmartTracker Books' flexibility and
variety of features designed to allow maximum customization and ease of
use. Equipped with the Borland Database Engine, SmartTracker Books
is both fast and powerful.
Book Viewer
SmartTracker Books features a scrollable Viewer, similar in appearance
to a spreadsheet layout, which lists the database elements. Configure the
viewer to your personal preference by clicking on NAVIGATE/VIEWER. Select
only those database items that you want to see in the viewer. Specify the
order in which they appear and designate the space to allocate to each
element. Expand or shrink the number of items in the viewer by adjusting
the font size.
New features include the ability to edit data directly from the viewer,
complete with pull down list boxes and check boxes in a 3-D format. Change
colors in the viewer or add grid lines to suit personal tastes. All field
names may be renamed to your liking and will be reflected in the Book
Viewer as well as throughout the entire program. All data is now loaded
into the viewer at once. Speed buttons are available to move you to the
beginning or the end of the database.
Book Input (Edit) Window
Enter a multitude of information about your books in a simple,
straight-forward fashion. Check out the RECORDS/ADD menu item or
the speed button. The input (edit) window is comprised of five tabs. In
the first tab you may record the following information : Title, Author,
Publisher, Editor, Book Type, Volume, Issue, Year Published, Edition,
Pages, Purchase Date, and Where Purchased.
The second tab asks for: Catalog Number, two sub Catalog Numbers, Dewey
Decimal, ISBN, Category, Key Words, Rating and Location. The third tab
allows you to enter the Cost, Value, Low Market and High Market values.
The fourth tab has a check box to mark if the book has been checked out
to someone. If so, there are fields to record the check out date and
the person whe checked out the book. The fifth tab allows entry for
the condition and description along with six user definable fields to
use as one sees fit.
If you have similar items to input, save time by using the copy function
(click on EDIT/COPY from the main window) to copy your original entry and
then edit the few fields that need changing. The Clear Button allows you
to clear the input fields and sets all values to the initial default values.
By clicking EDIT/DELETE from the main window you may delete an entry.
Several fields have drop down list boxes that contain a list of all previous
entries. This makes repetitive entries a snap by just choosing a value. You
can now browse the database while in the input window.
The standard windows clipboard copy and paste functions are now available
for all fields.
Searches
SmartTracker Books contains powerful search facilities. The Search
Window allows you to enter specific search criteria to locate a set of
items. You may select to search on one field or multiple fields.
Alternatively, you may choose to search for different items in the same
field, such as looking for all Paperback and Hardback book types. You can
search for numeric and date values, locating items less than, greater
than, less than "x" but greater than "y", or equal to the number or
date entered. For example, you can readily find books purchased after
June 22, 1994 or find all books with a purchase price of between $10
and $25. All matching search items will be placed into the Book
Viewer. Check out NAVIGATE/ SEARCH from the main menu.
The Search and Replace function allows you to replace all occurrences of
a field value with another value. Simply enter the data to search for
and type in the replacement text. Optionally have the program confirm
the replacement before it occurs. Click on TOOLS/ SEARCH & REPLACE from
the main menu.
SmartTracker Books can assist you in locating records by searching on
one field. Find this from the main menu, NAVIGATE/LOCATE. Choose a field,
specify if the search value is case sensitive and an exact or partial match.
Next, type in the value you are looking for. The first record found
matching the criteria supplied will be highlighted in the Main Window
Viewer. Click on "LOCATE NEXT" to find the next record matching the
criteria given.
Sorting
You can choose the order in which your data is displayed and used throughout
the program. You can choose any field to sort on as the primary sort.
SmartTracker Books now allows you to perform second, third and fourth
level sorts. If an identical field exists in the primary sort, then the
items are sorted by the secondary sort, and so on, through the fourth sort.
Check out the OPTIONS/SORT ORDER menu item.
Data will be displayed in the Main Window Viewer based on the sort order
defined. Reports and Exporting Data also rely on the sort order.
Backing Up Data
SmartTracker Books offers a built in mechanism for backing up files
used by the program. Select FILE/BACK UP DATA from the menu list. You
may choose to back up three different types of data. These are the actual
data files, maintainable lists and user defined reports. Simply select
what you would like to back up, then choose the drive and directory where
the data is to be saved. Click the "Start Backup" button to begin the
operation.
Another alternative for backing up data files is to use the Export and
Import commands. You may export your entire data and then import it.
You may wish to do this if your database is so large that it cannot be
backed up onto a floppy disk. An ASCII Delimited Export File will
normally take considerably less space than the actual database file.
Multiple Databases
SmartTracker Books will support virtually an unlimited number of
databases, basically confined by your hard disk space. When restarting
the program, the last database used is automatically loaded. The
previous five databases open will be displayed at the bottom of the
FILE menu command. The name of the currently opened database is
always shown in the caption bar of the Main Window.
Customization
Practically all aspects of the program can be configured and customized
to the user's own preferences. All font styles (on screen and reports)
can be changed. This allows support for foreign languages, as some
languages require special fonts and characters. Field names may also
be renamed to ones own preference or to provide foreign language
equivalents. The screen colors are all completely changeable to one's
own tastes.
You may choose from three options for screen navigation, the use of
speed buttons, lettered buttons or none at all. Other options include
determining screen size, date and numeric formats, and making changes
to the viewer and reports as described previously. Select OPTIONS from
the Main Window.
Networking
SmartTracker Books will support usage over a network. Multiple users
may have the same database open simultaneously and all may make updates to
the database. If a change is made by one person, that change will show up
for the other users after they have "Refreshed" the database. Refreshing
is accomplished by clicking the REFRESH speed button, by scrolling the
Main Window Viewer or by adding, editing or deleting records.
Export/Import Functions
You may choose to export your data to an ASCII Delimited File or to a
Dbase Compatible File. Select RECORDS/EXPORT from the menu items. You
can rearrange the order in which the fields are exported for each record.
Just highlight the field you want to change the order on and use the "UP"
and "DOWN" buttons to move it anywhere in the list. The "DEFAULT" button
will set the field order back to the program default order. If a search
is currently active, you may optionally export just the data that is
available as a result of the search. You may still export the entire
database even if a search is currently active.
Similarly you may import data from an ASCII Delimited File or a Dbase
Compatible File. Check out RECORDS/IMPORT from the main menu. You can
align the fields that are to be imported with the database fields of the
program. Line up the fields however you like using the "UP" and "DOWN"
buttons in the Field Alignment area. If you wish to ignore one of the
import fields (not have it imported) then set the corresponding "USE"
area to "NO". Setting this to "YES" means the field will be used for
importing.
Reports
SmartTracker Books comes with eight pre-defined reports for immediate
use. These layouts may be copied, modified, used or deleted. Look at
NAVIGATE/REPORTS to see all reporting options.
Design your own report layouts. Practically every aspect of the report
process is user configurable. Select reports with widths of 90, 120 or
150 characters. You may choose different fonts for the report titles,
column headers, report body and footnotes. Select any font that has been
loaded onto your computer. Up to three report headers may be assigned
to appear at the top of each page, to use for name, address, phone number
or for whatever seems appropriate.
You can select only those fields you would like to print on the report.
Choose the width of the fields and the order in which the fields appear.
The reports may be grouped into sections based on the primary sort order
or on the primary and secondary sort order . Column Headers, horizontal
and vertical lines are optional for some report layouts (those in a
spreadsheet style). Set the top, bottom, and side margins to your own
specifications. Also optionally include the current date at the bottom
of each page.
The reports may be viewed on screen before printing. Send the report to
the printer or an ASCII text file to save on disk. Print one page, a range
of pages or the entire report.