THE GROCERY LISTER Version 4.2 by Randy Hoekstra June 1994 Copyright 1992, 1993,1994 Randy Hoekstra All Rights Reserved The Grocery Lister and its accompanying documentation are copyrighted. No part of the program or this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of Randy Hoekstra. Only the unregistered, fully intact, original archive file may be distributed via electronic media. Special Thanks to: Beta Testers - Sam & LuAnn Graf Scott Eakins David Mackenzie Joe Meehan Ken Olson Morgan Shannon And all the users who cared enough to register the shareware version and support my efforts to improve this program. Please send bug reports and/or comments to: Randy Hoekstra 3414 Norwood Circle Richardson, Texas 75082 E-mail: R.Hoekstra1@genie.geis.com Note: Following is an unformatted ASCII version of the user manual. Page numbers refer to the page of the printed user manual which is available for $5.00 from the author at the above address. Table of Contents ----------------- About the program.................................................. 4 The Grocery Lister Features........................................ 4 Getting Started.................................................... 6 The Main Screen.................................................... 7 Key Commands....................................................... 10 The DESK Menu...................................................... 11 The FILE Menu...................................................... 11 The EDIT Menu...................................................... 15 The SORT Menu...................................................... 18 The VIEW Menu...................................................... 19 The OPTIONS Menu................................................... 19 Limitations........................................................ 22 Technical Support.................................................. 22 About the program: ----------------- The Grocery Lister is a household utility program that allows you to compile a list of grocery items complete with current price and total estimated cost. The Grocery Lister can be used to determine approximately how much you will spend at the store if you know the items that you need. It can also be used as a budget tool to allow you to select the items you most need or want if you only have a fixed amount to spend. With a small amount of database maintenance work each time you buy groceries you will be able to maintain a fairly accurate file of the items which you regularly purchase. This file can be very useful to remind you of items which you may need as you compile your grocery list. Finally, for those who have 'errand boys' do the shopping, The Grocery Lister will generate a very neat and easy to read printout of the current grocery list. The Grocery Lister Features: --------------------------- In addition to the basic grocery list function described above, The Grocery Lister has the following advanced features: - Easy-to-use, mouse driven, multiple-windowed GEM interface. - A single grocery database file can have grocery item information including item name, category, location, coupon or sale flag, a taxable flag, and a price for up to 4 stores. This is in addition to a 20 character item name and 20 character category. - As items are added to the list, the current active store is tagged to that item. When the list is printed, items are grouped by store with a subtotal for each store. By loading in additional grocery files, a list for up to 10 different stores can be generated. - An option can be set to automatically tag the item with the store with the lowest price, making price shopping very easy. - User assignable default file names for automatic loading of the grocery file, grocery list, and ASCII file when the program is first started. - Taxable status for each item to indicate if sales tax should be added to the total when the item is added to the grocery list. Plus, an option to automatically make all items taxable. - A coupon reminder field for each item to indicate when you have a coupon for that item. This field can also be set as a sale or special reminder. - Independently sorted grocery list and grocery file by either item name, category, or location. Items sorted by location make it easy to find everything at the store because you don't have to search up and down the list to make sure you didn't miss anything on that aisle. Everything on that aisle is right there in one group on the list. - Commands to merge both grocery lists and files to make database maintenance easier. - Define a category or location list of up to 100 entries to easily add to an item when editing. - A special list of staples (or any items that regularly appear in your shopping list) that can be merged into the current list with a single command. - Flexible printer options allowing for complete control of the fields to be printed, two column printing, print to disk, and user defined printer codes. - ASCII file viewing for looking at notes, recipes, etc. while compiling your grocery list. Getting Started: --------------- Making a Back-Up: You've heard it a million times and yes it really is a good idea to back up your disk/files before you do anything else, except... Before you back-up The Grocery Lister disk/files, you need to register the program in your name. When you first run The Grocery Lister, a special registration dialog will appear on the screen allowing you to enter your name, program serial number, and special key code to register the program (see the next section for registration details). Once registered, you may copy the files to a back-up disk. If your registered version is ever lost or damaged, you will need to re-register the program using the original distribution version and make a new back-up. Registering The Grocery Lister: To obtain a unique program serial number and special key code, send $15.00 registration fee to the author at the address listed prior to the table of contents. Once you have received your registration information, simply run the program and enter the information in the lower left corner window of the registration dialog that first appears after the program is started. If for some reason the registration is not successful and the program continues in demo mode, you can call up the registration dialog again by selecting 'About Grocery...' from the 'Grocery' menu at the far left of the menu bar. If continued attempts are not successful at registering the program, contact the author for assistance. Be sure to enter the information exactly as it is shown on your registration confirmation (including upper and lower case letters). Once you have entered the correct information and selected the 'REGISTER' button, the information will be saved to the program file and the fully functional version of The Grocery Lister will run. Each time the registered program is run, it will begin immediately in the fully functional mode. Note: If you obtained the program on disk directly from the author, the program will be pre-registered and ready for immediate use. Installation: The Grocery Lister can be run from floppy disk or hard drive partition from the root directory or within any folder as desired. Simply copy the files below to the desired floppy disk or hard drive partition/folder and run the program from that location. The Grocery Lister package contains the following files: GROCERY.PRG - The Grocery Lister program itself GROCERY.RSC - The resource file GROCERY.TXT - ASCII version of user manual GL_HIST.TXT - Revision history GROCERY.NIC - Icon for NeoDesk SAMPLE.GDT - Sample grocery database file STAPLES.GLD - Sample/Staples grocery list file MEGASAMP.GDT - Grocery database of nearly 1000 items GCONV4.PRG - Converts version 3.x files to v4.0 format GCONV3_2.PRG - Converts version 2.x files to v3.0 format The program and resource files must remain in the same folder or directory, but the other files may be located as desired. The Main Screen: --------------- The main screen of The Grocery Lister provides a simple GEM interface with a menu bar and two GEM windows. The window on the left is the grocery list window and displays grocery items once they have been added to the list. The window on the right is the grocery file window and displays the grocery database for selecting items to add to the grocery list. This is the initial default configuration, but the windows can be moved or sized as desired. The Grocery File Window (right side of screen): The grocery file window has a title bar at the very top which will contain the name of the current open grocery file or simply say "Grocery File" if a file is not yet open. Beneath the title bar is an information bar which contains the current active store name and the size of the grocery file. The interior of the window contains a list of the items in the grocery database file. The display can be configured as desired with respect to which fields are displayed and how many characters of the field are displayed. Each item is made up of an Item Name, a Category, a Location, a Coupon flag, a Taxable flag, and a Price. The Location, Coupon, Taxable, and Price fields are unique for each of the 4 possible stores, so the contents of those fields displayed will be for the current active store. If all the fields are set to be displayed, they will be shown in the following order with a space in between each field: Item Name Category Location Coupon Taxable Price (20 chrs) (20 chrs) (20 chrs) ( 1 chr ) ( 1 chr ) ( 5 chrs) The default configuration is shown on the preceding page. This configuration is used to allow the most important information to be displayed in a window half the width of the (normal ST) screen. It also allows aisle numbers and an A or B designator, as used in many grocery stores, to precede a short description in the location field. This of course can be changed as desired. A selected item is displayed on top of a black highlight bar. The Grocery List Window (left side of screen): The grocery list window has a title bar at the very top which will contain the name of the current open grocery list or simply say "Current Grocery List" if a list is not yet open. Beneath the title bar is an information bar which contains the number of items in the list and the total estimated cost. The interior of the window contains a list of the items in the grocery list with items in a similar format as that described for the grocery file window. In addition, there is a field to the left of the item name which contains the quantity for the given item. This allows for a quantity of 99 for any item. There is also an additional field after the location for the store name (18 chrs) tagged to that item. Other fields are in the same order as shown above for the grocery file window. Creating a Grocery File: To create a grocery file database, simply add the desired items using the 'ADD ITEM' command under the 'EDIT' menu (see the EDIT menu section for details). Or load in one of the sample files provided and edit the items as desired. Once you have set up your grocery database, you can keep it up to date by checking the items on your list each time you go shopping and adjusting the location or prices as needed. Using this method you should be able to keep your grocery database up to date with just a few minutes of editing each time you go shopping. Also, many stores have a printed store aisle directory that you can use to help set up the item locations. Creating a Grocery List: Once you have a grocery database set up, you can create a shopping list by simply selecting items from the database. Items are automatically selected under the mouse arrow, or if the mouse arrow is outside of the grocery file window, the highlight bar can be moved up or down by pressing the up arrow key or down arrow key respectively. Use the standard GEM window gadgets to scroll the file window to the desired location. You can also jump to the desired position by pressing the key corresponding to the first letter of the desired item. This will take you to the first item beginning with that letter and then you can move the mouse or use the arrow keys to select the actual desired item. A selected item can be added to the grocery list by clicking the left mouse button while the grocery file window is active and the desired item is highlighted. Once an item is added to the grocery list, it's quantity can be increased by clicking again with the left mouse button. The quantity can be decreased by clicking with the right mouse button and by clicking the right mouse button for an item with a quantity of 1, the item will be removed from the grocery list. Item quantity can also be increased or decreased by pressing the left or right arrow keys respectively. When the grocery file window is active, item amount can be increased or decreased by holding down the shift key and clicking on the item with the right or left mouse button, respectively. When the grocery list window is active, item quantity can be increased or decreased by clicking with the left or right mouse button while the mouse arrow is pointing at the desired item in the grocery list. Items in the list can be immediately deleted from the list (even if the quantity is greater than one) by holding the control key and clicking the right mouse button on the item in either window. Once all the items and desired quantities have been added to the grocery list, the list can be printed and taken to the store. Use the 'PAGE SETUP' command under the 'FILE' menu to configure the printout as desired. The list will be printed in the same sorting order as displayed in the list window. In addition, the items will be grouped according to the store tagged to each item. All items for a given store will be printed followed by a sub-total with the estimated cost for that store. Keyboard Commands and Key Equivalents: ------------------------------------- Most menu commands can be activated from the main screen by using an equivalent control-key combination (see menu commands below). Additional key commands available from the main screen are as follows: ( ^key is used to indicate CONTROL+key; +key is used to indicate SHIFT+key) [TAB] - With the grocery file window active, the TAB key will toggle the coupon reminder field of the selected item. +[TAB] - With the grocery file window active, this will toggle the taxable field of the selected item. [HELP] - With the grocery file window active, the HELP key will bring up the EDIT dialog the same as selecting the EDIT ITEM command in the EDIT menu or pressing ^E. A to Z - With the grocery file window active any key A to Z can be pressed to cause items beginning with the selected letter to be displayed when the file is sorted by Item name. When the file is sorted by either category or location, the display will jump to the first entry in that field beginning with the selected letter. The grocery list window can be made active by pressing the INSERT key and the grocery file window can be made active by pressing the CLR/HOME key. Arrow keys can be used for scrolling in any window. All windows can be paged up or paged down by pressing SHIFT plus UP arrow or SHIFT plus DOWN arrow keys respectively. The Grocery List window and the ASCII file window can also be paged up and down by pressing the LEFT or RIGHT arrow keys, respectively. When the grocery file window is active and the AUTO SCROLL option is ON (see OPTIONS menu section), you can also scroll the items displayed by moving the mouse arrow just above or just below the display area of the window. As noted previously, Items in the list can be immediately deleted from the list (even if the quantity is greater than one) by holding the control key and clicking the right mouse button on the item in either window. When the grocery file window is active, item amount can be increased or decreased by holding down the shift key and clicking on the item with the right or left mouse button, respectively. Finally, when the grocery file window is active, you can call up the Edit Dialog for a given item by holding the control key and clicking the right mouse button on the selected item. See the EDIT menu section for details of editing grocery items. THE GROCERY LISTER MENU COMMANDS ================================ The DESK (Grocery) menu: ----------------------- About Grocery... - This command displays the version, copyright and registered owner the program. To exit the dialog, simply select 'OKAY'. Additional accessories are may be available under the DESK menu, depending on your system configuration. Most ACCs work correctly with The Grocery Lister, but some that do not use a GEM window may have display problems with the highlight bar in the grocery file window. To avoid this problem, make sure the grocery file window is NOT active before selecting an ACC from the DESK menu. The FILE menu: ------------- New ^N - This command can be used to clear either or both the current grocery list or grocery file from memory. Open Grocery File ^O - Use this command to load a grocery database into memory. Once loaded the database may be used to select items for a current grocery list or it may be edited as desired (see the EDIT menu). When the grocery database is loaded, the following options will also be loaded and will overwrite their current settings in the menus: sort by selection, show fields selection, tax rate, category list, location list, and store names. Note: If a default filename is entered via the OPTIONS menu, that file will automatically be loaded into memory when the program is first run. Open Grocery List ^O - Use this command to load a grocery list into memory. Once loaded, the list may be added to or deleted from using the methods described under 'The Main Screen'. When the grocery list is loaded, the following options will also be loaded and will overwrite their current settings in the menus: sort list by selection, show fields selection, and auto sort. Note: If a default filename is entered via the OPTIONS menu, that file will automatically be loaded into memory when the program is first run. Merge File - This command allows you to merge grocery items from another grocery file into the currently loaded grocery database. It also allows you to merge items from a comma or tab delimited ASCII file. After selecting this menu command, a small dialog will appear allowing you to select the type of file to merge from. This is followed by a file selector. Be sure to select the correct type of file for merging to prevent corrupting the grocery database in memory. When merging from comma or tab delimited files, the following format is expected. Each grocery item is on a separate line followed by a CR and line feed (normal ASCII line end). In each line, each field is separated by either a comma or tab. Each line is read from the file and the data is loaded into the item fields until no more commas or tabs are found. If all possible fields have not been filled in, the rest will be filled in with blanks. Merge List ^M - This allows for the grocery items of a saved list to be merge into the current grocery list in memory. The grocery list menu options are not altered when the list is merged. The grocery list subtotal and total will be recalculated with the merged lists prices and the current tax rate. Save Grocery File ^S - Once changes have been made to a grocery file in memory, use this command to save a copy of the updated grocery file to disk. The file will automatically be saved to the same filename that was used when the file was loaded. This command will only be available after a file is loaded from disk or after a new grocery database is saved using the 'Save File As' command. When the grocery file is saved, the following options will also be saved: sort by selection, show fields selection, tax rate, category list, location list, and store names. Save File As... - Use this command to save a grocery database to disk for the first time or to save a loaded database to disk with a different name than the one it was loaded from. Save Grocery List ^L - This command will save the current grocery list to a disk file. When the grocery list is saved, the following options will also be saved: sort list by selection, show fields selection, and auto sort. Save List As... - Use this command to save a grocery list to disk for the first time or to save a loaded list to disk with a different name than the one it was loaded from. Save Configuration ^X - This command will save the configuration and option settings to a GROCERY.CFG file. This file will be read the next time the program is run and all the settings will be restored to their saved values. This includes the size and position of the windows, the settings in the page setup dialog, the SORT and VIEW menu settings, and the various OPTION menu settings. View ASCII File ^X - This command will bring up a file selector allowing you to choose an ASCII file to view. After the file is selected, with default option settings, a six line window will open at the bottom of the screen and the grocery list and grocery file windows will be reduced accordingly. This window can be scrolled through using the standard window scroll/slider bar or using the keyboard arrow keys. If 'Auto Size Windows' is not set in the OPTIONS menu, then the ASCII file window will open on top the the other windows. If the ASCII file window is moved or sized, then the next time it is opened it will be re-opened to its last size and position. Once the ASCII window has been opened, the command will change to 'Close ASCII File' and selecting it will close the ASCII window and restore the grocery list and grocery file windows to normal. NOTE: NO checking is done on the file to ensure it contains all ASCII characters. Opening non-ASCII files may have unpredictable and very undesirable affects. Page Setup ^U - This command brings up a dialog allowing you to configure how your grocery list printouts will look. On the right side of the dialog, under the heading 'Columns to Print:', you can set the number of columns to print for each field of the grocery item. You can also set the number of spaces to leave in between fields. To the right of each field name, you can click on a box with a + or - in it to increase or decrease the column count, respectively. The 'space:' in between field names indicates the space in between the fields on the printouts. At the bottom of the column numbers for each field is a box which contains the total number of columns for a given line in the printout. Be sure to keep this total in a range that can be handled by your printer. Also note that the 'space:' at the bottom of the field list is used to set the space in between items when two column printing is set. In the upper right side of the dialog you can set the top and bottom margins as well as the the body size of the printout. These three numbers will be added and displayed in the 'Page Size:' box to indicate the total lines per page. Note that a normal 8.5 x 11 inch page has 66 lines. In the middle right side of the dialog are two text fields allowing you to enter leading and trailing printer control codes. Enter the decimal codes needed by your printer to configure the printout as desired. These codes can be used for setting the print size to compressed so that two columns of items can fit on a standard page. Leading codes are sent to the printer before sending grocery list text and trailing codes are sent after the grocery list is finished printing. The lower right side of the dialog contains five buttons. These buttons are used as follows: Two Column - Select this button to allow a two column printout of the grocery list or grocery file. Items will be printed in sort order in column one first and then in column two. Form Feed - Select this button to have a form feed sent to the printer after the grocery list or grocery file is printed. This form feed is the standard Epson control character decimal 12. The form feed is sent after the trailing codes. Print to File - This allows you to print a grocery database or list to a disk file rather than to the printer. This can be useful for loading into other programs in order to use different fonts or to further customize the printout. Item Sub-Totals - With this button set, item prices on the printout will be calculated with the tax and quantity, rather than just the base item price. Set Defaults - This button lets you return all the values in the Page SetUp dialog to their default values. At the very bottom of the dialog are four more buttons. The 'LOAD' and 'SAVE' buttons allow you to load and save particular page setup configurations. Any filename can used for these configuration files. The 'CANCEL' button allows you to discard any changes to the settings and quit the dialog. The 'DONE' button quits the dialog and saves the current settings. These settings will be saved to the configuration file if a save configuration is executed. Print Grocery File - Use this command to print out the current grocery database in memory. If 'Print to File' is set in the Page SetUp dialog, a fileselector will appear allowing you to specify the filename. If the printer is not on-line and ready to print, an alert will appear giving you the chance to correct the problem or abort the printout. Print Grocery List - Use this command to print out the current grocery list in memory. If 'Print to File' is set in the Page SetUp dialog, a fileselector will appear allowing you to specify the filename. If the printer is not on-line and ready to print, an alert will appear giving you the chance to correct the problem or abort the printout. The printout from this command can be used as a shopping list and to mark changes in prices while buying groceries. Quit ^Q - Exit the program. An alert will appear if changes have have been made to the grocery file or list allowing you to save the changes, quit anyway, or cancel the command. The EDIT menu: ------------- Add Item ^A - This command will bring up the edit dialog allowing you to type in a new grocery item, its category, location, coupon reminder, taxable status, and its price. The scrolling window in the lower middle of the dialog is used to enter location, coupon reminder, taxable status, and price for each of the 4 possible stores. The window can be scrolled using the scroll bar and arrow buttons on the right side of the window. The item name, category, and locations can be up to 20 characters in length. Any character, except an 'S', can be entered in the coupon field and it will be changed into a 'C' in the grocery file display. If an 'S' is entered in the coupon field then it will stay an 'S' and indicates an item on sale or a special sale price. Any character can be entered in the taxable field and it will be changed to a '+' in the grocery file display. Entering a character in this field will indicate the item is taxable and leaving it blank will indicate the item is not taxable. Note that these are the recommend uses of the these fields in the grocery item, but the fields can actually be used for anything as desired by the user. You can also click on the category or location text fields to bring up the appropriate list selector dialog. Clicking on an item in the category or location selector will automatically insert that item in the appropriate field in the edit dialog. You can also add, change, or delete items in the selector dialog as described later in the EDIT menu section. The item is put into the grocery file based on the type of sorting method selected under the 'Sort' menu. The item is not checked to see if it is already in the file so it is possible to have duplicate items. The item will be entered into the file and the input line will be cleared so that another entry can be made. When finished entering new items, select 'CANCEL' to quit out of the edit dialog. Edit Item ^E - This command is used to alter an existing grocery item. Any part of the grocery item may be changed. To edit an item, move the mouse arrow over the desired item so that it is highlighted and then select the 'Edit Grocery Item' command. Be sure that the desired item remains highlighted when the command is selected. The item will be placed in the edit dialog with the cursor positioned at the amount input field. Alter the item as desired and select 'OKAY' or press return. The edit dialog will be closed and the altered item will be updated in the grocery file and in the current grocery list if it is already there. Select 'CANCEL' to abort the edit. Delete Item ^D - Use this command to remove unwanted items from the grocery file. Position the mouse arrow over the item to be deleted and then select this command from the menu line. Be sure that the desired item remains highlighted when the command is selected. The item will be placed in the edit dialog and you will be asked to verify the delete operation. Select 'OKAY' or press return to confirm the delete or select 'CANCEL' to abort the command. Note: If the item is in the current grocery list, the item will still be deleted from the grocery file, but it will not be deleted from the current list. Change Items ^C - This command can be used to make global or semi-global changes on the Item Name, Category, and Location fields. A dialog will appear allowing you to select the fields you want to change, the 'From' and 'To' strings, and the stores the change applies to for location field changes. Select 'SOME' to selectively change some items. When an item is found with a matching 'From' string in a selected field, the edit dialog will appear, allowing you to change that item. From the edit dialog, select 'OKAY' to change the item, select 'CANCEL' to not change the item and continue searching for the next item, or select 'ABORT' to not change the item and cancel the change items command altogether. Select 'ALL' to change all matching items without asking to verify the change. Select 'CANCEL' to abort the change items command. Category List ^V - This command brings up the list selector dialog allowing you to modify the list of pre-defined categories. You can type in a new category and select 'ADD' to add it to the list. Select an existing category, change the text in the text field, and select 'CHANGE' to modify that category. Select an existing category and select 'DELETE' to delete that category from the list. The 'IMPORT' button allows you to load a category list from another grocery file into the current grocery database. All categories in the list before the import will be overwritten. Note that the category and location list is saved with the grocery database file and each grocery database can have its own set of categories and locations. Location List ^B - This command works the same as the 'Category List' command above, but allows you to modify the pre-defined list of locations. Store Names ^J - This command allows you to define or modify the names of the four possible stores associated with the current grocery database. The store names are saved with the grocery database file and are used in the grocery list to group items by store on the grocery list printout. Staples List - This command allows you to edit a special type of grocery list which contains regularly purchased items that are a part of almost every grocery list. You can add or delete items in this list just like the a regular grocery list. Once this command is selected and the staples list is loaded into memory, the command will change to 'Save Staples' and selecting this will save the staples list back to the predefined disk file. If you have a grocery list in memory that has not been saved when you select the 'Staples List' command, an alert will be presented allowing you to save the current list, continue without saving the list, or cancel the command. Include Staples ^I - This command will automatically merge the staples list into the current grocery list in memory. This allows you to easily add a set of regularly purchased items to any grocery list at any time during the creation of that list. Clear Coupons - With this you can clear the coupon flags in the grocery database either selectively or all at once. An alert will be presented allowing you to choose 'SOME', 'ALL', or 'CANCEL' the command. If 'SOME' is selected, the grocery database will be searched and if a coupon flag is found the edit dialog will be presented allowing you to 'OKAY' the change, 'CANCEL' the change and search for the next flag, or 'ABORT' the command altogether. Update List Items - This command will search through the grocery list items and update the coupon, taxable, and amount fields of any items found in the current grocery database. Since the grocery list and grocery file are independent, it is possible to have a saved list on disk with different item data from the grocery database used to create that list. This command will ensure that any changes made to the grocery database (other than item names) are correctly reflected in the current grocery list. The SORT menu: ------------- The sort menu is divided into three sections. The first two sections allow you to specify how the grocery database file and grocery list will be sorted for display and printout purposes. The options are 'Sort by Item' name, 'Sort by Category', or 'Sort by Location'. A check mark will appear to the left of the menu item indicating the current sort selection. When the selection is changed, the list or file will be sorted accordingly and the display will be redrawn with the new sort order. Note that when the grocery list is printed, the items will be grouped by store and sorted within that group based on the selected sort option at the time of printing. The third section contains an option to 'Auto Sort' the grocery list and a command to 'Sort Grocery List' on demand. If Auto Sorting is set, a check mark will appear to the left of the menu item. Auto sorting causes each item added to the grocery list to be placed in the appropriate sorting order and the list will be redisplayed entirely if needed. The disadvantage of this option is that it slows things down by having to sort and display the list for each item added. By leaving this option turned off, you can build the list with less delay and then periodically sort it using the Sort Grocery List command. Note that if the grocery database is sorted by location, it will be the location of the currently active store (indicated in the OPTIONS menu and the information line of the grocery file window). If the current store is changed while the file is sorted by location, the file will be resorted and re-displayed. The VIEW menu: ------------- The view menu is also divided into three sections. The first two sections allow you to specify which fields of the grocery database file and grocery list will be displayed in their appropriate windows. In the grocery file section, you have the following display options: 'Show Item', 'Show Category', 'Show Location', 'Show Coupon', 'Show Taxable', and 'Show Price'. Each field set to display will have a check mark to the left of the menu item. The grocery list section contains the same options as above, plus two special options unique to the grocery list. 'Show Store Name' will display an extra field, after the location, with the name of the store tagged to that item. 'Show Item Sub-Totals' will display the sub-totaled item price calculated from the quantity and taxable status of that item rather than just the base price of the item. Each of these options will also have a check mark to the left of the menu item when they are selected. The third section contains one command to 'Configure Display' that provides for even more control over the grocery list and grocery file display. This command will bring up a dialog which allows you to specify the number of columns to display for the three main character fields (Item Name, Category, and Location). Use the '+' and '-' buttons next to each field name to increase or decrease the number of columns to display. The OPTIONS menu: ---------------- Set File Size - This command will bring up a dialog which allows you to specify the maximum file sizes for the grocery list, grocery database, and ASCII file. Adjusting these values allows you to determine the amount of memory that The Grocery Lister will reserve from the system when it is run. If you do not use large grocery lists then you can set the grocery list size smaller and use less memory. This can be useful for machines will small amounts of ram or for multitasking environments where additional ram is needed for other applications to run in. Increase or decrease the file size settings by selecting the '+' or '-' buttons next to the file type. The values indicate the maximum number of items in a grocery database file or grocery list and the maximum number of lines to load into memory for an ASCII file. The 'Memory Required' box at the bottom indicates the amount of memory that the program will use based on the current settings. When selecting the '+' or '-' buttons you can hold down the shift key to increase or decrease the value in units of 10 or hold down the control key to increase or decrease the value in units of 100. Note that you must 'Save Configuration' under the 'FILE' menu after changing the file size settings and then quit the program and re-run it for the changes to take effect. Default File Names - This command brings up a dialog allowing you to identify the grocery database file and/or grocery list file and/or ASCII file to be automatically loaded into memory when the program is first run. Enter an 8 character filename of a grocery list or grocery file or a full filename plus extension for an ASCII file. Or click on one of the text fields to bring up the standard file selector. The complete pathname will be used, but only the 8 character filename will be displayed. Note that you must 'Save Configuration' under the 'FILE' menu after changing the filenames. The next time the program is run, the files specified will be automatically loaded. Tax Rate - This command will bring up a dialog allowing you to specify the tax rate to be used, on any items marked as taxable, in calculating the grocery list total. You can also select the box next to 'All Items Taxable' to cause tax to be calculated on all items regardless of the taxable field. Note that the tax rate will also be used to calculate item sub-totals if that options is selected (see VIEW menu). Set Monetary Units - This option allows you to set the number of digits and decimal format to be used in the amount field of each item. The default setting is for North American (U.S. and Canadian) dollar values. By turning off decimals and increasing the number of digits, you can use The Grocery Lister with a variety of currencies. This setting will affect both the on-screen display and the printout of the amount field. After the amount format is changed, selecting 'OKAY' will result in the currently loaded grocery list and grocery file being reformatted. If you save the list or file after such a change, the amount format will be saved also. The next time that list or file is loaded, the new format will be used. To save the new format as the program default, select 'Save Configuration' from the 'File' menu. This default will be loaded each time the program is run, but the format will be over-ridden by loading a grocery file with a different format. Auto Capitalization - Setting this options will result in the first letter of item name, category, and location being set to upper case when a grocery item is added or edited. When 'OKAY' is selected from the edit dialog, the first letter of these three fields will automatically be converted to upper case. Full Capitalization - Setting this option will result in all characters of the item name, category, and location fields being set to upper case when a grocery item is added or edited. When 'OKAY' is selected from the edit dialog, all characters in these three fields will automatically be converted to upper case. Auto Scroll - This option allows you to activate or deactivate the automatic grocery database file scrolling that occurs when the mouse pointer is moved just above or just below the grocery file interior window. Location Matching - This option is used in conjunction with adding or editing grocery items. When entering items in the edit dialog, you can enter the category and leave the location(s) blank and when the 'OKAY' button is selected, the existing grocery database will be searched for a matching category. If a matching category is found, then any blank locations will be filled in with the locations found in the existing grocery item with the same category. The locations will be copied into the same store positions as they were found in the existing grocery item (i.e. the location for store #1 will be copied into the store #1 location for the item being edited). This can be useful when items of the same category are all in the same location in the store as you only have to enter the category for new items and the location(s) will be filled in automatically. Auto Size Windows - Setting this option will result in the grocery list and grocery file windows being automatically re-sized when the ASCII file window is opened so that the windows do not overlap. When the ASCII file window is closed, the other windows will automatically be re-sized back to their original sizes. If either the grocery list or grocery file window had been previously moved or sized, they may not be re-sized when the ASCII file window is opened. Note that when this option is set and the ASCII file window is moved or resized and then closed, the next time it is opened it will not open back to it's default size and position rather than its previous size and position. If this option is not set, then the ASCII file window will be opened on top of the other windows. If the ASCII file window is moved or resized and then closed, the next time it is opened it will open up to the previous size and position. Auto Expand - Setting this option will result in all fields being set to display all columns whenever the window full box is used to expand the window to full screen size. This allows you to set the window sizes, fields, and columns displayed such that both windows will not overlap on the screen and the important grocery item information is displayed. Then, if you do need to take a quick look at some of the hidden information, you can select the window full box and see all the information and then select the full box again to return to normal operation. Note that resizing the window after it has been expanded to full screen (and before the full box is selected again) will cause the display settings to become the default for that window and you will not be able select the full box to return to the previous size and display configuration. Retain Item Info - This option is used in conjunction with the 'Add Item...' command in the 'Edit' menu. With this option selected, when you are adding new items, the category and location fields will retain the values of the item just added so they can be reused with out retyping them. This is useful when adding several items in the same category or location. If this options is not set, then the category and location fields will be cleared when an item is added. Store Names ^K - This is actually a menu heading for the next four menu options which allow you to specify which store is the current store to be tagged to items added to the grocery list. The next four menu items will contain the names of the stores as defined using the 'Store Names' command under the 'EDIT' menu. The current store will be indicated with a check mark to the left of that menu item. The current store name will also be displayed in the information bar in the grocery file window. Pressing '^K' will change the current store to the next store name in the list. Auto Select - This option will override the current store name selected and cause the store with the lowest price for a given item to be used when that item is added to the grocery list. With this option selected, you will be able to easily price shop at up to four stores and automatically save the maximum amount possible by buying the right items at the right store. Selecting this option will also result in 'Auto Select' being displayed in the grocery file information bar rather than a store name. * LIMITATIONS * - As noted under The Desk Menu section, there may be some incompatibilities (with respect to display behavior) with accessories that do not use a GEM window. - Although it is possible to keep the grocery file very accurate with a lot of database maintenance, The Grocery Lister is really designed to give you a rough estimate of your grocery bill and only needs to be maintained with a few minutes of editing after returning with your grocery store receipt. - The Grocery Lister has been tested on a variety of Atari ST, TT, and Falcon machines and various TOS releases. Although there are no apparent incompatibilities with any TOS version, the author makes no guarantees as to compatibility with any present or future Atari computers. Technical Support: If you experience problems using The Grocery Lister you can contact me at the following addresses. I also welcome any suggestions for enhancements to the program. Randy Hoekstra 3414 Norwood Circle Richardson, Texas 75082 E-mail: R.Hoekstra1@genie.geis.com