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THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER FOR WINDOWS EASTERN DIGITAL RESOURCES P. O. Box 1451 Clearwater, SC 29822-1451 (803) 593-0870 (c) 1991 all rights reserved. No part of this manual or accompanying program may be copied without express written consent of the copyright holder. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THIS MANUAL GENERAL INFORMATION SECTION 1 SYSTEM SETUP SECTION 2 SYSTEM MENUS AND SCREENS SECTION 3 STANDARD REPORT OPTIONS SECTION 4 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-3 *** WARRANTY AGREEMENT *** The term Vendor as used herein refers to EASTERN DIGITAL RE- SOURCES, Inc. and its agents and licensees. The term Customer refers to the original purchaser of this software package for personal or business use. The COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER FOR WINDOWS, (COMPS MANAGER) program contained herein is distributed on an "AS IS BASIS" without warranty except as stated herein. Good data processing procedure dictates that the user test the program, run and test sample sets of data and run the system in parallel with the system previously in use for a period of time adequate to insure that results of operation of the computer or program are satisfactory. *** SOFTWARE LICENSE *** This is a licensing agreement between EASTERN DIGITAL RE- SOURCES, Inc. referred to herein as Vendor who owns and has the right to grant a license in certain computer software and the Customer who desires to acquire a license to use such software. The software that is the subject of this agreement is known as THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER but shall be referred to in this agreement as the Program. The Vendor shall furnish the Customer a computer-copiable program in object form. This Program shall be THE COMPS MANAGER FOR WINDOWS program as it currently exists for the IBM PC and compatibles. The Program shall have all the features and perform all the functions described in the Operations manual which is incorporated herein by reference. The Vendor grants to the Customer and the Customer hereby accepts subject to the limitations herein specified a personal nonexclusive nontransfer- able right and license to use the software contained herein. The Customer may use the Program within the Customer's business ON ONE MACHINE at no additional cost for royalties. If the program has been licensed for network use, and the customer has paid the appropriate fee, the customer may use the program on an unlimited number of machines ON ONE FILE SERVER at no additional cost for royalties. Any other use constitutes fraud. The limitations of such license are as follows: (a) Any software program furnished by the Vendor in machine readable form may be copied in whole or in part by customer for use within their business provided however that only the number of copies required to serve the Customer's actual need for use shall be made. The Customer agrees that the original copy of all software programs furnished by the Vendor and all copies thereof made by THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-5 the customer are and shall remain the sole property of the Vendor. (c) The Customer agrees not to disclose, publish, release, transfer, or otherwise make available any software program in any form to any person including the Customer's or Vendor's employees without prior written consent from the Vendor except during the period such a person is on the Customer's premises for purposes specifically related to the Customer's use of the software program. The Customer also agrees that such software programs are the property of and proprietary to the Ven- dor and further agrees to protect such programs or any part thereof from unauthorized disclosure by its agents, employees or customers. (d) The Vendor grants to the Customer a paid up license to use the program contained herein for their personal business. The Vendor may assign this agreement without the Cus- tomer's consent. The Customer may not assign this software under any conditions. The Customer shall be responsible for determining the appropriate use of the program products in its operations. The Customer shall assume financial and legal responsibility for the quality, reliability, and accuracy of the Program and shall pay all expenses associated with any recalls or updates. The Customer has the right to modify the Program in any way con- sistent with improving its usability at the Customer's expense. Any modification of the program by the Customer will void all warranties herein. The Vendor reserves the right to refuse to support any package so modified. The Customer expressly agrees to include the Vendor's copyright notice and proprietary notice on all such programs including copies in whole or part in any form including machine language made by Customer in accordance with this license. The Vendor warrants that the Vendor has the legal right to grant the Customer the license as set out in this agreement and that such license does not infringe any third parties' property or personal rights. The Vendor retains exclusive rights for remarketing the Program to other customers. This program is copyrighted. All copies of the Program or Manual shall contain an appropriate copyright notice in the name of the Vendor. The Vendor shall enforce its copyrights against infringers. Should the Customer in any way convey this package to a third party the Vendor shall have the option to recover the retail cost plus collection fees from the Customer first and then from the party to which this package was conveyed. Any person making unauthorized copies will be subject to prosecution under Federal Law. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-6 GETTING STARTED See Chapter 2 for instructions on installing COMPS MANAGER for standard configurations. See Appendix C for instructions on making a copy and installing the program for special system configurations and for networks. COMPS MANAGER reguires the following minimum system. IBM-AT compatible computer 80286, 80386, or 80486 processor, 2 megabytes internal memory, 40 megabyte hard drive, dot matrix or laser printer, mouse, Windows 3.1 OVERVIEW First off, let's refer to the COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER SYTEM as 'COMPS MANAGER'. This program incorporates state of the art programming technique with the IBM-AT computer to bring you the finest program of its kind available today. At Eastern Digital Resources we understand that your data base system must suit the current size of your busi- ness, meet on-going needs, and allow for potential growth in the future. The COMPS MANAGER is designed to operate on the IBM-AT or higher compatible computer with 2 megabytes of internal memory and a printer. The system must be running Microsoft Windows in the standard or enhanced mode. The system capacity is limited by the amount of disk storage you have with your machine. Most appraisers can operate comfortably with an 80 megabyte hard disk. The chart below should aid in calculating your total requirements: program and system overhead 5,000,000 bytes each comp entered 512 bytes each letter maintained on the system 5,000 bytes The COMPS MANAGER incorporates these features: - Full screen editing of entries. - User defined selection of items to include in each report. The COMPS MANAGER generates 6 different reports. When you combine these with the select / sort capabilities of the program, it will allow you to get any kind of information you can imagine. Now, just what is COMPS MANAGER? COMPS MANAGER is a computer software system developed to assist the "typical" real estate appraisal office to store and retrieve information about properties that have sold. In addition, COMPS MANAGER can automatically match your client needs with available THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-7 properties and provide a selection of reports that you will find helpful. The program is designed to provide merge capabilities to Microsoft Word or Word Perfect for Windows. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-8 BUT I'M NOT A TYPICAL REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL OFFICE ! That's right, no one seems to be and that's the problem with most computer software systems. For example, if you are using a Multiple Listing Service, you might find it a bother to enter all the details of a property listing in COMPS MANAGER. Does that mean COMPS MANAGER isn't for you ? Quite the con- trary. COMPS MANAGER has been developed so that you can choose NOT to use all of its functions...only those that make sense for you. Other problems often encountered with software systems developed for the "typical" appraisal office are that they may not store information in a manner that you like or provide reports that you need. In order to overcome such problems, Eastern Digital Resources not only provides the tools needed by programmers to modify COMPS MANAGER but also offers a low-cost service to customize COMPS MANAGER to your exact needs. AM I TOO BIG (OR SMALL) TO USE COMPS MANAGER ? Neither. The amount of information you plan to enter into COMPS MANAGER will effect how much storage capacity you'll need. If you have a question about your specific needs, please contact us. WHAT TYPE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO RUN COMPS MANAGER ? We recommend an IBM AT or compatible with a hard disk and at least 4 megabytes of RAM, plus an 80 column dot matrix or laser printer. COMPS MANAGER is a menu-based system. That means when you start COMPS MANAGER a MASTER MENU will be displayed on your monitor. The menu lists all the functions available to you. Some of the options have other menus below them which also contain menus and other options. By clicking on an item with the mouse, COMPS MANAGER will display another menu or carry out that function. In turn, many of these subsequent screens will ask you to choose WHAT you want to do. The choices will always appear at the top of your screen. They may also be activated by typing the letter which is underlined along with the ALT key. This manual is designed around the procedures you should follow for running a session to find comps that meet your crite- ria. The first section describes the menus and the necessary setup procedures of installing the program and entering your THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-9 comps records. The next section describes the steps to follow in running a session and the final section describes how to generate reports and merge records. This manual assumes familiarity with running Microsoft Windows. You should also have a basic understanding of the DOS before attempting to implement this program. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-10 OVERVIEW OF COMPS MANAGER The Program you are using is one of several programs deve- loped in Microsoft Visual Basic ver. 2.0 with some portions coded in assembler to speed operations. It offers many features previ- ously unavailable on microcomputers while providing the novice user a "hands-holding" approach to performing a task. It's de- signed specifically for ease of use. With COMPS MANAGER you can easily create and maintain files on your computer and print re- ports from all of your stored data. You'll be using COMPS MANAGER in its basic form very quick- ly. The advanced features will be there for you to discover later, as your confidence in this very powerful tool grows. If you re-read this manual every few months, you'll be rewarded each time with some newly discovered capabilities. COMPS MANAGER has been written so that it will run on almost any MS-DOS computer which is capable of running Windows in either standard or enhanced mode. For the IBM line, this includes the original "AT", all PSII machines above the model 40 and all "compatible" and "nearly compatible" computers, and on many which don't even claim to be IBM compatible. It's designed to work with most of the popular laser and dot matrix printers on the market. This manual has been completely revised to make it easier for you to understand more about using COMPS MANAGER. You will notice more details, examples and figures throughout the text. Wherever a COMPS MANAGER command is listed within text it will be bold faced and separated from words on either side by two spaces. The step by step sections of this manual are much like a tutorial to show you exactly what to do; what you will see; and what will happen next. It takes all the guess work out of learn- ing how to use COMPS MANAGER. All of these changes in the format of this manual will help you understand more about using COMPS MANAGER, and also show you how to use it in day to day applications. Any suggestions which you have for improving this program or manual will be thoughtfully considered. PREFACE First of all, thank you for considering our products. We are committed to providing our customers with prompt answers to their questions and advice about the use of our products. We encourage you to call us. It has been our experience that people learn how to use new software products in many different ways. Factors such as prior computer experience, time constraints, availability of help, ease of product, etc. will probably effect how you will learn to use the Real Estate System. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-11 Keeping in mind these differences, we have developed this manual, as well as the entire system, so that you may choose from several different learning approaches. For example, if you have the time, you might choose to read the entire manual and then try the hands-on demonstration. Or you might feel that the hands-on demonstration is not worthwhile and immediately begin to use the system. Another approach would be to scan Chapters 1 through 4, and then either read through or try the hands-on demonstration. Since the functions described in Chapter 2 work virtually the same, you need only be familiar with one to understand the remainder. This approach is the fastest. Whatever approach you follow, we would recommend the following: - Don't skip Chapter 2 (HOW TO GET STARTED) - While reading Chapter 3 (HOW EACH REAL ESTATE SYSTEM FUNCTION WORKS), use Appendices D (SAMPLE REPORTS) to help you visualize what is going on. - Call us for answers to your questions. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-12 TABLE OF CONTENTS S E C T I O N 1 G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N GENERAL OVERVIEW 1-3 WARRANTY AGREEMENT 1-5 SOFTWARE LICENSE 1-5 GETTING STARTED 1-7 OVERVIEW 1-7 PREFACE 1-9 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1-11 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF COMPS MANAGER 1-13 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION 1-15 SOME DO-NOTS 1-15 S E C T I O N 2 S E T U P P R O C E D U R E S SETTING UP THE COMPS MANAGER 2-1 SYSTEM SETUP 2-1 QUICKSTART INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 2-1 WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT 2-2 HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION 2-6 S E C T I O N 3 W H A T ' S I T A L L A B O U T FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND 3-1 OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS TO REMEMBER 3-1 SCREEN MENU OPTIONS 3-3 NEXT 3-3 PREVIOUS 3-3 VIEW 3-3 GET 3-3 SEARCH 3-3 FORM VIEW 3-3 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-13 CONTINUE 3-4 ADD 3-4 EDIT 3-5 DELETE 3-5 CURSOR CONTROL MOVEMENTS 3-7 SUMMARY OF CURSOR CONTROL MOVEMENTS 3-8 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-14 S E C T I O N 4 R E P O R T O P T I O N S SELECTING RECORDS FOR PRINTING 4-1 SELECT ALL RECORDS 4-1 SELECT BLOCK OF RECORDS 4-1 HAVE SYSTEM SELECT RECORDS 4-1 EXAMPLE OF HAVE SYSTEM SELECT RECORDS 4-1 USE DEFINED SELECTION FORMAT 4-1 USE LAST SELECTION FORMAT 4-1 SORT RECORDS OPTIONS 4-1 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-15 S E C T I O N 6 O U T L I N E O F D A I L Y P R O C E D U R E S Basic Program Operating Procedures 6-1 Notes To The System Operations 6-3 System Initialization 6-4 Making Backups 6-6 S E C T I O N 7 M A S T E R F I L E S Categories Of Files 7-1 Report Writer Master File - REPORTS0 Define Selection Format - SELECT00 S E C T I O N 8 S Y S T E M U T I L I T I E S SYSTEM UTILITIES 9-2 DEFINE COMPANY SCREEN 9-3 BACKUP MENU 9-7 SORT FILES 9-7 CHANGE SYSTEM DATE 9-7 INDEX FILES 9-9 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-13 DEFINE SELECTION FORMAT 9-9 BUILD SELECTION SEQUENCE FILE 9-9 PRINT FILE LAYOUT WORKSHEET 9-9 REMOVE BLANK RECORDS FROM FILE 9-9 A P P E N D I C E S FILE LAYOUTS APPENDIX A Some Frequently Asked Questions APPENDIX B SYSTEM SETUP APPENDIX C SAMPLE REPORTS APPENDIX D TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS APPENDIX E INDEX APPENDIX F THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 1-14 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-16 *** GENERAL OVERVIEW OF COMPS MANAGER *** The COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER contains powerful features, including many not normally found in other filing programs. Here is a brief overview of what you'll be learning about and using. You can use COMPS MANAGER for all kinds of tasks: - Build and maintain files to be exported for use by other programs, such as Quattro, Multiplan, 1-2-3, Word Perfect, and MailMerge - Import files from other programs into the COMPS MANAGER format. - Maintain "secure" information by use of passwords. No one can view the data who doesn't know the security code. - COMPS MANAGER will allow you to sort your data into almost any sequence. It allows rapid access to any record in the file, or to any record in any other COMPS MANAGER file. - Sophisticated search techniques allow: comparison searches soundex searches wildcard searches, or "scan across" searches on any field in the record. - You can print out reports from your file, listing all or some of the fields, from all or some of the records, in many different sequences, with subtotals and totals on the numeric fields. - Report fields can be calculated based on information from other fields in the file. - Reports can be sent directly to your video screen, to your printer, or to disk for later use with your word processor or other programs. - You can create new files from existing files. The new file can be in a different format, and can be a subset of the file from which it was "cloned". - New fields can be added, old fields can be deleted, field positions can be rearranged, and field sizes can be lengthened or shortened. - You can merge together two files which have similar defini- tions. Databases can thus be created and maintained on separate PC's, then combined when desired into a "master" file. - Above all else, COMPS MANAGER is EASY! Many people can use it with no training or instructions. Read this manual carefully, however, to pick up so many of the extra "fine points" of the program. - Calculations can be done on fields in the file, and the answers can be used to update other fields in the file, or in reports. - A super fast "indexed search" can be done on multiple fields. - DOS subdirectory support. - Three special (proprietary) disk writing techniques are used to ensure against accidental loss of data. - "Smart keys" (sometimes called "macros") are supported through the use of the Windows recorder. - A browse feature to view 20 records at a time, with the ability to "scroll" left or right to see all fields in each record. - Security encrypted files. - Generic search on any fields. - Imbedded search on any fields. - All of these search types can be done in any combination. - Searches can be done in 6 fields simultaneously. - Global update or delete on any field. - User defined data types. You can define the valid input characters for any field. - The date and time THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-13 or other data of your choice can be automatically entered for you into fields in your file. - Sort on any fields, mixed ascending/descending. - Select (for printing) on any fields with "and/or" comparisons. - Print mailing labels and roladex cards. - Print a "snapshot" while viewing a record. This feature lets you print mailing labels and special reports. - Import and export data in many different formats. - Automatically uses all available RAM memory for super fast performance. - A new automatic field type allows specification of a value to be "pre-entered" for the operator. When adding records, this value will appear in the input area for the field and can be either accepted as is or changed. - Two new "automatic" field types are provided: MM/DD/YY* and DD/MM/YY*. - The automatic field identifiers can be placed in the edit mask area of the field name for a more meaningful name. - Added a general error trapping routine. All errors will have a message displayed and as "graceful" a recovery as possible. - The Merge program has been sped up significantly. The Sort has been sped up by about 50%. Some of the other programs also have significant speed improvements under certain conditions. - Numerous minor fixes and cosmetic improvements. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-14 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION 1. Install the program for your particular system configuration (OPERATIONS MANUAL - APPENDIX C). 2. Enter your company information and drive assignments for pro- gram and data. 3. PHASE 1 - Build your data files of comps (2-1). 4. PHASE 2 - Perform daily procedure of entering comps, printing reports, and making backups of your data. (6-1). SOME DO-NOTS - DO NOT use THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER until you've read or browsed through this entire manual. - DO NOT forget to make regular backup copies of your file. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 1-15 SETTING UP THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER See Appendix C for instructions on installing the program in Windows for unique system configurations. This chapter will address itself to the procedures you should follow in setting up the system for your use. It discusses each of the applications you will use, how they interact with each other, and the steps you should take in creating your master and data files. These setup procedures are covered: SYSTEM SETUP SETTING UP COMPS MANAGER The procedures you should follow on a daily and periodic basis once your system is set up are covered in Chapter 6. Should you need any help in knowing what information a field should contain, refer to the discussion of the fields in Chapter 7, (MASTER FILES) Before you begin to enter information into the system and begin processing you will need to enter certain information that customizes the system to your particular installation. This includes entering your company name and address, making drive assignments and identifying your printer type to the system. This information should only have to be entered once but it is very important to the successful implementation of the system. The System Setup information may have already been set up if Windows is already installed on your system as they are generally handled for you when the program installs itself. Mention is made of it here just in case you need to modify any of the information yourself. QUICKSTART INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 1. Create a directory on your hard disk called COMPS. 2. Copy the file COMPS.EXE from the diskette to the COMPS directory. 3. Install COMPS.EXE in the Windows "Windows Applications" folder. The program title should be "COMPS" and the program name should be "\COMPS\COMPS.EXE". SETTING UP THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER There are three steps involved in setting up THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER: THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-1 1. Obtain all addresses and sales information that you want to put into the system. 2. Enter the sales and addresses into the system. 3. Run sample reports to check for errors. Each of these steps will be detailed in the following pages. ENTERING COMPS INFORMATION INTO THE SYSTEM INTO THE SYSTEM After you have gathered the information that you want to enter (names, addresses, etc.) you are ready to enter those names into the system: SYSTEM DISPLAYS YOU CHOOSE Master Menu ADD record The program will add the records to a file called COMPS.DAT. If you want to add items to a different file, choose {File New} and enter the new name. For example, if your list includes rural properties, you may want to type the file name "RURAL". Simply type the desired name of the file, then press Enter. Note that when you want to edit a previous file, simply find that file from the given list and double click on it with the mouse. The system will then show the Comps File Maintenance screen. See Chapter 7 for a discussion of the fields in this screen. See Chapter 5 for a detailed explanation of the various keys and their uses. WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT Working with the system can be basically broken down into two functions. One is related to entering information, inquiring on particular entries, and the editing of those entries. We re- fer to this option under the heading of file maintenance. You will manipulate your files through various screens. This option is highly interactive. The other function is the generation of reports from the information entered. These reports are gener- ally not interactive. The system is designed so you will be presented with several options by means of a MENU. The menu bar is displayed across the top of the data entry screen. You may choose any MENU option by clicking on it with the mouse or by pressing ALT and the first letter of the word. Many times there are sub-menus behind the first menu and at times even a third or fourth level menu. In cases where there needs to be a third level menu, the second level menu will contain options for entering information to the THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-2 system and subsequent menus will contain reports generated from the information you have entered. Working with the system in entering and editing information is presented by means of various screens. These screens and the options you have in working with them are discussed in this chapter. The generation of reports is discussed in CHAPTER 4 - REPORT OPTIONS. This chapter will give you an overview of the entire system, showing each menu and entry screen. Sample reports are included in Appendix D. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-3 ADDRESS FILE MAINTENANCE File Edit Options Add Next Prev Search Zip Finder Sticky Notes About Click Here to View BLINCS Set BLINC FILE #.....: Name.......: Find BLINC Address 1..: Address 2..: Carr. Rte. City.......: St : Zip : Phone 1....: Select Codes Phone 2....: Contact __ Customer Salutation.: __ Prospect __ Group Optional Fields __ Individual __________ ___________ ___________ __________ ___________ ___________ THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-4 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-5 The Comps Master File should contain each of your names and addresses. The default file name is ADDRESS.DAT. If you want to store your names in a different file, choose FILE - NEW and enter a new file name. See chapter 7 for a discussion of the fields on this screen. From this screen you will access all functions for maintaining your address file(s). Chapter 5 explains the various options you have for manipulating your files. FILE - NEW - OPEN F5 - PRINT - EXIT FILE - NEW Choose this option if you want to store your names in a file other than ADDRESS.DAT. The system will ask you for a file name, then clear the screen and allow you to enter new names. FILE - OPEN (F5) : Choose this option to open a data file which already exists in the system. FILE - PRINT - REPORTS - ADDRESS LISTING - PRINTER SETUP - SNAPSHOT FILE - PRINT - REPORTS - ADDRESS FILE LISTING : This option will give you a columnar listing of the names in your address file. A sample of this report is located in Appendix D. All of the stan- dard sort/select options are available for your use while running this report. See Chapter 4 - REPORT OPTIONS. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-3 FILE - EXIT : This option will allow you to exit from the program and return to Windows. You should always choose this option when you are finished with your processing. EDIT - UNDO - COPY EDIT - UNDO : This option will restore any changes made to the current record if you decide not to keep the changes. Edit - Copy : This option will copy the name and address information into the clipboard so you can retrieve it within another application. You can use this option to merge names into letters created with your word processor. OPTIONS - DELETE - CLEAR MARKERS OPTIONS - DELETE : Will delete the current record from the file. OPTIONS - CLEAR MARKERS : If this option is checked, the system will clear each successive MARKER once you have jumped to the new record. VIEW : This option will give you a columnar listing of the records in the data file and allow you to page forward and backwards through the file. ADD : Will clear the screen and position the cursor in the Name field to allow you to add a new record. The File Number is automatically assigned. If you are entering individuals names, they should go in as Last Name; First Name with a semi-colon between. NEXT : Will display the next record in the file. Prev. : Will display the previous record in the file. SEARCH - GO TO F2 - QUICK SEARCH F6 - DEFINE Shift F3 - FIND > SCREEN F3 - FIND NEXT F4 - RANGE THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-4 Search - Go To : Will allow you to jump to a particular record in the file. Ths system will ask you for the record number. If you have allowed the system to assign the numbers and not overridden them, this is the same as the File Number. Search - Quick Search : This option will allow you to search quickly for a name. The first 7 characters are significant. You must match on at least 7 characters. You may type more if you'd like to make the search more specific. If a name is shorter than 7 characters, such as Jones, you should enter Jones; with a trailing space. That makes the seven characters. The first name would then be optional. If the name sought is not displayed, press F4 to see the next match. Search - Define : This option will display a blank entry screen. Enter the piece(s) of information you want to search for, then choose Search - Find > Screen or Search - Find > BLINC depending on where you want the results of the search to go. Search - Find > Screen : This option will direct the output of any search which you have defined to the screen. The first record which matches your search criteria will be displayed. Choose Search - Find Next to continue searching for the next match. Search - Find Next : Will continue the searching of the data file for the currently defined criteria with the record immediately after the one currently displayed. You can choose this option multiple times to search through the entire file. Search - RANGE : Will direct the output of a search to the BLINC queue. You may then scroll through the resulting entries and click on each to view the record. If you want to view multiple records, you should choose Options - Clear BLINCS and remove the check mark so the system will not clear once a record is selected. ABOUT : My shameless commercial for the program and my company. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-5 HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION The purpose of this section is to give you a brief, hands- on demonstration of how to use COMPS MANAGER. We'll experience each of its functions and how they work. You'll also get a chance to see all COMPS MANAGER menus and most screens in action. HOW TO BEGIN Double click on the COMPS icon with the mouse. You should now be looking at the COMPS MANAGER data entry screen. There is a sample data file called SAMPLE.DAT in the system. To load this file, choose {FILE OPEN} and double click on the file SAMPLE.DAT which is displayed in the list box. THE DEMONSTRATION Let's pretend that you've used COMPS MANAGER for months now. On this particular day you need to do the following: 1. Add details about a new property listing. 2. Match a client's needs to a property listing. 3. Record the details of a sale. 4. Add a new property sale. 5. Create a report about gas station sales. The following steps will show you how to accomplish the above. We encourage you to follow these steps as presented to avoid confusion. After you are comfortable with how COMPS MANAGER works, don't hesitate to experiment. ADD DETAILS ABOUT A NEW PROPERTY LISTING Observing the MASTER MENU you'll note the choices available to you. Since you need to add details about a new property listing, your choice is Property Listings. Please enter your choice by clicking on ADD. You are now looking at the PROPERTY LISTINGS SCREEN. Notice the choices available to you at the top of the screen. You can ADD, SEARCH, seek HELP or EXIT back to Windows. Since you want to add a property listing, enter your choice by clicking on ADD. COMPS MANAGER will respond by placing the screen cursor at SELLER. You may now enter the details of a new property listing. A reminder, COMPS MANAGER stores your property listings by the street address. For this reason, you'll be required to enter a name so that COMPS MANAGER THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-6 can create a property listing. Go ahead and enter a property listing using make-believe information. Use 'TEST' as the seller's name and 150000 as the list price. Skip the fields (by pressing the TAB key) that you're unfamiliar with. For a complete discussion of all screen fields, please refer to Appendix C. That's all there is to adding new property listings. For a complete discussion about the other options available see chapter 6. To discontinue, click File - Exit to exit COMPS MANAGER. MATCH A CLIENT'S NEEDS TO A PROPERTY LISTING After adding a new property listing, COMPS MANAGER will return you to the MASTER MENU. Pretend that a client has just called to see what listings are available at a certain price. To accomplish this task, you'll want to choose the fourth option on the screen, Search. Enter your choice by clicking on Search. Rante - Price, enter the amount of 125000 and 175000 and click OK. COMPS MANAGER will now search the data base and display the record numbers of each matching record. To see each record, just click on it's icon. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 2-7 FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND Whenever we attempt to use something new, it's a good practice to know how that something works. When you purchased your computer you hopefully received instructions as to how it worked. With each new piece of equipment and software product you've purchased, you also received operating instructions. Likewise, COMPS MANAGER has a specific set of operating instructions that you should become familiar with. No, there's not a lot to remember. In fact, as you use COMPS MANAGER you'll find most of the following instructions are obvious and comfortable for you. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS TO REMEMBER When you are adding or changing field information, you must press the TAB key to 'skip' from one field to the next. Certain fields will only accept numbers as data input. For example, all COMPS MANAGER dates are expressed as YY/MM/DD. Therefore, a valid date would be 84/01/31 for January 31, 1984. If you attempt to enter any other character, COMPS MANAGER will refuse to accept your entry. Certain fields are designed to accept money values. Several rules apply: - Do not enter dollar signs ($) or commas...COMPS MANAGER won't accept them. - If you need to enter an amount with cents, you must enter the decimal point...COMPS MANAGER will accept decimal points. If COMPS MANAGER ever displays asterisks in a money field (or a message at the bottom of the screen that reads NUMERIC FIELD OVERFLOW), that means you've entered an amount that is larger than COMPS MANAGER can accept. This will happen if you ignore the decimal point and continue to enter a money value. For example, the SALES PRICE field on the PROPERTY LISTINGS SCREEN is capable of accepting a number as large as 9999999.99. If you were to enter a number like 9999999999 (without a decimal point) you will either receive an error message or asterisks in the field. Help screens are available at critical points within COMPS MANAGER. They appear as choices on the MASTER MENU and several other screens. All screens will display messages in window boxes that prompt you to take an action. When COMPS MANAGER detects a THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 3-1 problem, a brief explanation will appear in a window box. Occasionally, the explanation will call for an answer. Most of the time, you'll be told to click OK to continue the process. If you're ever confused by the explanations, please refer to Appendix B for additional details. The only true exit from COMPS MANAGER can be found as the last choice on the FILE MENU. The exit choices you'll see in other parts of COMPS MANAGER, if chosen, will return you to the FILE MAINETNANCE SCREEN. In effect, the FILE MAINTE- NANCE SCREEN is a home base from which you venture to perform functions and always return when finished. FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND Working with the system can be basically broken down into two functions. One is related to entering information, inquiring on particular entries, and the editing of those entries. We refer to this option under the broad heading of file maintenance. You will manipulate your files through various screens. This option is highly interactive. The other function is the genera- tion of reports from the information entered. These reports are generally not interactive. You will periodically be presented with several options by means of a MENU. When you are at a MENU you may go to any option listed by clicking on the option with the mouse. Many times there are sub-menus behind the first menu and at times even a third or fourth level menu. We have tried to organize these options into logically related functions with the first menu, (the Master Menu), accessing a second menu which contains the primary options relating to the particular function. Working with the system in entering and editing information is presented by means of various screens. These screens and the options you have in working with them are discussed in this chap- ter. The generation of reports is discussed in CHAPTER 4 - RE- PORT OPTIONS. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 3-2 SCREEN MENU OPTIONS The purpose of this section is to discuss the various options you have within a screen. The system's screen in divided into two parts: The MENU AREA at the top, menu choices and status messages The Workspace below the menu. In addition, messages are sometimes displayed in a window that appears as an overlay of the screen. The small vertical bar is referred to as a cursor and it indicates where the next character typed will be placed on the screen. The entry, table, or field in which the cursor is located is called the current field. The area at the top of the screen in a different color is referred to as the MENU AREA. We will discuss these options fol- lowed by an explanation of the cursor movements within the screen fields themselves. STATUS MESSAGES at the top of the screen help you keep track of what you're doing. For example, if you are viewing a file, the message will tell you where you are: Record # 4 of 22 At any given moment, you are working either in the menu or on the work-space. When you complete a set of menu choices, the cursor will appear on the workspace. Pressing ALT at any time will display the current menu. At that point, the keys you press apply to the menu, not the workspace. You can complete the menu choices, or choose File - Exit to return to Windows. File-Edit-Options-Add-View-Next-Previous-About-Help Each of these options is designed to facilitate the entry and modification of information in your system. Wherever you are within the system these options should operate in the same man- ner. SEE NEXT RECORD THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 3-3 Think of the items in the system as pages which have been stored in a file. You will notice that when you click on NEXT that the screen will change each time. You can step through the file viewing each of the records in this manner. SEE PREVIOUS RECORD The PREVIOUS key will allow you to step backwards through the file seeing the item that is stored immediately before the one currently on the screen. VIEW VIEW is used to show tables on the screen. It lets you get a feel for your information by examining it up close. Once a table is in view, you can move rapidly to any part of it. You can also rearrange, resize, or reformat the fields to fit your needs at the moment. To toggle to the table VIEW, click on VIEW. SEARCH When it comes to finding a record or looking for specific information, the SEARCH command will probably become the command you use most. This is a versatile command that allows you to find not only what you are looking for, but then also lets you modify or delete records. The SEARCH command has great flexibil- ity to allow you to find just what you were looking for - no mat- ter where it might be in your file. To define your search criteria, choose SEARCH - DEFINE. Enter the piece(s) of information you want the system to find, then choose SEARCH-FIND>SCREEN. ADD If you click on ADD the cursor jumps to a position to the right of the screen prompt. This is the place where you will type in your information. The system should show you exactly the amount of space you have in which to enter the particular item. If you type in the name Smith you notice that the cursor moves right as each character is typed. If you make a mistake you can back up using the right arrow or back space key located on the right hand side of the keyboard just above the ENTER key. Once you have typed in Smith you can TAB to the next field. When you are typing in numeric information you may use either the type- THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 3-4 writer positioned keys across the top of the keyboard or the nu- meric keypad at the right. Once a field has been entered you can return to that field and modify it by pressing the SHIFT-TAB. Within the field the right arrow will carry you forward one character. The left arrow will carry you back one character. Clicking on ADD will allow you to add items to your file. It doesn't matter which record is currently displayed on the screen. The item you add will be entered at the end of the file plus 1. (If you have 50 records and press 'A' this item will be placed at position 51.) Choosing any Menu Option will cause the system to store the record you have entered. DELETE The DELETE option will delete the current record displayed on the screen from your file. When you click on OPTIONS-DELETE, the current record will be deleted. FILE EXIT Choosing FILE - EXIT will return you to the Windows Program Manager from the screen on which you are currently working. CURSOR CONTROL MOVEMENTS Once you are within a screen you have a number of commands that allow you to move the cursor around and manipulate the in- formation. These cursor movements take advantage of the 'spe- cial' keys on the keyboard that are not normally used in typing (arrows, ESC key, and function keys). When you're prompted to enter data, these keys have special significance. - The left-facing arrow on the numeric keypad will move the cur- sor to the left one position. - The right-facing arrow on the keypad will move the cursor to the right one position. - The "Del" key will delete the character under the cursor. - The "Ins" key will toggle between overwriting the following characters and inserting, pushing the characters to the right. - The "Home" key will move the cursor to the first character of the current field. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 3-5 - The "End" key will move the cursor to the last character of the current field. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 3-6 SUMMARY OF CURSOR CONTROL MOVEMENTS up arrow moves cursor up one field down arrow moves cursor down one field right arrow moves cursor right one space left arrow moves cursor left one space (backspace) Ctrl left arrow moves cursor left 1 word Ctrl right arrow moves cursor right 1 word INS toggles between overwriting and inserting characters DEL deletes the character at the current cursor position HOME moves the cursor to the first position of the field END moves the cursor to the last position of the field THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 3-7 CHAPTER 4 STANDARD REPORT OPTIONS SELECTING RECORDS FOR PRINTING Any time you choose a menu option that calls for printing a REPORT you will have several options of how you wish to have the records presented on the report. These options generally fall into the following 2 categories. 1. SELECT the records out of the file that you want to appear on the report. 2. SORT the records into the sequence in which you want the report to print. The first of these, the SELECT RECORDS OPTION is designed to permit you to select from the file ONLY those records that you want to appear on the report; you do not have to list everything in the file if you want only those records that meet certain criteria. SELECT RECORDS OPTIONS When you go to print any report you have several options of how you wish to select the records for printing. SELECT ALL RECORDS This option will print all records in the file. SELECT BLOCK OF RECORDS This option is used to select a block of records by record number. The record number is the number located at the top of the screen on the prompt line when you enter or edit the record. (ex. Record 6 of 235 - the number 6 is the current record and 235 is the total number of records in the file.) The system will ask for a beginning and ending record to include on the report. FIND > BLINC Records which have been selected by the system and placed into the BLINC queue, can be printed without any further select / sort options being performed. SORT RECORDS OPTIONS THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-1 If you wish to have your output reports printed in a specific sequence, you should sort the file index. For example, to print your address file in alphabetical order, by last name, you would specify the NAME field. If you don't care about the sequence of your output report, you won't need to do a sort before printing your report. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-2 BASIC PROGRAM OPERATING PROCEDURES There are a number of procedures that are part of the operation of the program. Before you can do these steps you must have installed the program for your hardware configuration (APPENDIX C), and built your master files. (CHAPTER 2). This chapter will address itself to the steps to operating the program. There are several types of transactions that are part of your normal daily procedure. They are all specified in this chapter which tells you exactly how to enter each type of trans- action. The checklist on the next page gives you an overview of what should be done each day. Other procedures, such as the generation of reports are performed as needed, while others are performed monthly, quarterly, or annually. You may find that certain recommendations do not "fit" for your particular opera- tion. If you change the procedures however, be careful to think through the ramifications. Throughout these procedures we have assumed that you are using the complete BLINC program. If you are using only selected options your procedures may differ. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-3 OPERATION TO BE PERFORMED SEE PAGE / NOTES ========================================================================= DAILY OPERATIONS 1. System Initialization 6-4 PERIODIC OPERATIONS (TO BE PERFORMED AS NEEDED) Mailing List Management 1. Create a New Data File 1. Address File Listing 2. Salutation File Listing 3. Print Mailing Labels 6-7 4. Print Roladex Cards 6-8 5. Print Envelopes 5. Create Mail Merge Document 6-9 6. How to Make Backups 6-6 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-4 NOTES TO THE SYSTEM OPERATIONS 1. The abbreviation CD stands for current date. You should enter the current date in the format MM/DD/YY. If the month or day is less than 10 you should enter a leading 0 as in 01/01/91 for February 6, 1992. 2. The abbreviation BR stands for beginning record number. Enter the record number of the first item in this batch of entries. This is the number that appeared on the prompt line AFTER you added the first transaction in this batch; ie. RECORD XX OF NN You should enter the value for XX then press ENTER. 3. The abbreviation ER stands for ending record number. Enter the record number of the last item in this batch of entries. This is the number that appeared on the prompt line AFTER you added the last transaction in this batch; ie. RECORD XX OF NN You should enter the value for XX then press ENTER. If the last record to print corresponds to the last item in your file you may merely press ENTER and the system will assume the last record. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-5 System Initialization Stand Alone System You should always turn on your peripheral items (printer, modem, etc. first, then your computer. The system will go through a startup process which will identify any problems that it may have. The particular sequence will depend on your computer system. If prompted, you should enter the system date in the format MM/DD/YY. If the month or day is less than 10 you should enter a leading zero. Ex. February 8, 1992 should be entered as: 02/08/92 Press ENTER You should always make a habit of using the slashes '/' rather than entering dashes '-' for dates. The system treats the two differently when sorting and you will have problems later if you use dashes. If the system stops at the DOS prompt, i.e. C> you should type: CD\WINDOWS press ENTER WIN press ENTER Once Windows has loaded, double click on the BLINC icon to start the program. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-6 Create a New Data File This is the procedure for creating a new data file to hold your names. The default file name is ADDRESS.DAT. When you first start the program, names will be put in this file. For a new file, choose: FILE - NEW - FILENAME* - OK *A FILENAME may be up to 8 characters long, characters or numbers. Special characters and spaces are not allowed. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-7 How to Make Backups After you have completed your posting of each day's transactions, you should make a habit of backing up all entries made. Refer to your DOS reference manual if you have questions regarding the procedure. From the DOS prompt: BACKUP C:\COMPS\*.* A: press ENTER. The computer will tell you when to put in a diskette and when additional diskettes are needed. Be sure the diskettes you put in have been formatted; if not you must FORMAT DISKETTES before starting the backup procedure. Be sure all diskettes are inserted into the computer with the label side up and the cut out end going in first. These daily backup diskettes should be stored off site to assure that you have a backup of your data files. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-8 CATEGORIES OF FILES There are two general categories of files used in the computer to do all of your work; they are: 1. Master Files 2. Data Files The information contained in master files usually does not change very often, but when it does change, it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT that the master file affected be updated accurately and immediately. Never run any type of report until you know that your master file updates have been properly completed. Your reports will be worthless if your master files are wrong. Master file information is changed instantly; just as soon as you exit a record after editing the file is changed. No posting cycle is required to update the master file - no audit trail is left for you except your original input document. BE VERY CAREFUL THAT YOUR DATA HAS BEEN ENTERED CORRECTLY BEFORE EXITING THE EDIT OPTION WHEN UPDATING THE MASTER FILES - THERE IS NO VALIDATION, AND NO AUDIT TRAIL LEFT. There are 3 master files which are a part of the system and are required for proper operation. These files are: SALUTE00.DAT ZIPCODES.DAT TITLES00.DAT EXPLANATION OF FIELDS In this section we'll review all the fields you will encounter in the Property Listings, Record of Sale and Agent File functions. Again a 'field' can be thought of as a single piece of information. The definitions of most of these fields are self- evident. Several have particular definitions that are important to the proper use of COMPS MANAGER. The fields will be presented by function, giving its name, size (how long it can be), type (numeric only or any combination of alphabetic and numeric) and definition. Whenever you see the word 'optional' it means that you can choose whether to use the field. MAP NUMBER STREET NUMBER STREET ADDRESS SALES PRICE SALES DATE BUILDING SQUARE FOOT LAND SIZE UNIT TOTAL DOLLARS BUILDING LAND DOLLARS PER UNIT BUILDING DOLLARS PER SQUARE FOOT BUILDING TYPE YEAR BUILT GRANTOR / GRANTEE THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-9 If you are dealing with an individual you should give consideration as to how to enter the name. If a name is entered as James E. Smith and you ask for an alphabetical listing of the customers the names will be out of order. If on the other hand Smith; James E. is entered the names will be sorted properly on your printout. For printing purposes the name will be reversed on the mailing label so that Smith; James E. will become James E. Smith. NOTE THE SEMICOLON IS USED AS A SEPARATOR. If the name is James E. Smith, Jr. it should be entered as Smith Jr.; James E. Should you find a printout sorting incorrectly you can call up that record and edit the name field. DEED BOOK DEED PAGE USE COUNTY ZONING FINANCING NEIGHBORHOOD ZIP CODE IMPROVEMENTS - The improvements field is for your own use and a maximum of 200 characters are allowed. Any information about the comp you wish to maintain may be typed in this space and later searched like any other field. SELECT CODES The select codes are the selection criteria that you choose to sort the records by. They are labeled Mark Record, Vacant, Improved, Check 4 and Check 5. You may use them to key the records as you like. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-10 DATA FILE LAYOUT FOR COMPS.DAT ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ln. Description Length Type ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 MapNo 15 0 2 StreetNumber 6 0 3 StreetAddress 40 0 4 SalesPrice 10 0 5 SalesDate 8 0 6 BldgSqFoot 10 0 7 LandSize 10 0 8 Unit 12 0 9 TotDollBldg 10 0 10 LanDollUnit 10 0 11 BldDollSqFt 10 0 12 BldgType 8 0 13 YearBuilt 4 0 14 Grantor 30 0 15 Grantee 30 0 16 DeedBook 8 0 17 Use 8 0 18 County 12 0 19 Zoning 10 0 20 Financing 30 0 21 Neighborhood 10 0 22 ZipCode 10 0 23 Improvements 200 0 24 MarkRecord 1 0 25 Vacant 1 0 26 Improved 1 0 27 SelectCode4 1 0 28 Selectcode5 1 0 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-11 APPENDIX B SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS "Do you have any other programs that you're distributing?" ANSWER: Yes, We take great pride in our ability to provide high quality, high function, easy to use programs for a popular price. "Will it help if I buy more RAM memory for my PC?" ANSWER: Yes, up to a maximum of 4 megabytes. COMPS MANAGER makes use of all available memory for performance purposes. You should see a sizeable speed improvement particularly on large files. Your sorts should also run faster. "In what language was COMPS MANAGER written?" ANSWER: It was written in "Microsoft VISUAL BASIC", then compiled with the VISUAL BASIC Compiler. There are also some assembler language subroutines, which were created using the IBM Assembler. There are over 2,000 lines of source code in this product. We use WORD PERFECT to maintain our source code and documentation files. Final documentation is produced onto diskette directly from WORD PERFECT to assure that the manual you receive reflects the most recent revisions. "What computers run COMPS MANAGER?" ANSWER: We've worked very hard to make COMPS MANAGER run on as many different "MS-DOS" computers as possible. It runs on almost every IBM "compatible" computer, and on many MS-DOS computers which don't even claim to be IBM compatible. "Can I obtain the source code for the program?" ANSWER: The source code is available from Eastern Digital Re- sources for your own non-commercial use. Contact your local dealer for pricing. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-12 ERROR MESSAGES Malfunctions - Errors due to operation mistakes (operators) or to environmental conditions (hardware or system software) do occur on occasion in spite of the best error trapping techniques a program can include. COMPS MANAGER helps you to quickly determine if an error is due to a defect/failure or the result of misoperation. Disk Drive Not Ready or File Not Found xxxx This error is from the program which encountered an error due to a disk drive failure or mis-operation. Note what the program is trying to do, read a Data File, Save a Data File, etc. and also which disk drive is involved. Check that the drive itself is operational and then make sure the diskette has the requested program. Press ENTER to retry. Using the 'ESC' for exit will usually escape the error condition but will not correct the error. Continuing with the program following such an error, without correcting the problem will usually be unsuccessful. As an assist in locating the difficul- ty the error number, xxxx, will help by pointing to the problem area. Each of the above errors will occur during the initializing, or the startup, phase. The most common problem is the file(s) are not on the currently designated default drive where the program expect to find them. (the default drive is the one designated from DOS by the prompt; A>,B>,etc). This error could result if the Data Disk was redesignated previously but was not SAVEd when leaving the company setup screen. Printer Not Ready. On some printers, during multiple copy printing, this error will occasionally be displayed and then clear itself. This is the result of the program attempting to print the next label and the printer is still busy. Although an annoyance this does no harm. A printer buffer, always a good accessory, will prevent this. Device Fault is a DOS error which usually relates to the printer. Although the program interro- gates the printer ready status prior to each print command to avoid such a fault, it is possible that misoperation could void such checks. Such a diagnostic message will require a RE-BOOT. REQUIRED FIELD: A value must be provided in this field The field has been designated as "required " by establishing a validity check. You must post a value to this field during an editing or a data entry session. See Chapter 1 for information on validity checks. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-13 Access denied... You will see messages beginning with "Access denied" if you are working on a network and are trying to access an object or directory that you do not have sufficient rights to use. Typically, the problem is not at the program level, but at the network level. For example, you'll get this type of message if you try to make a read-only directory your working directory. See your network administrator if you cannot determine the cause of this problem. Drive not ready. COMPS MANAGER is attempting to read or write from a disk you have specified, but cannot do so because the drive door is open, a disk is not inserted in the drive, or the drive does not exist. Insufficient disk space for export. COMPS MANAGER has determined that it cannot export the data in a table because there is not enough room on the disk or directory you have designated to hold the exported version of the data. Change your working directory or floppy disk, or delete some files before continuing. Insufficient disk space to insert new records. COMPS MANAGER has determined that there is not enough room on the desig- nated disk to complete an Insert query. Change your working directory or floppy disk, or delete some files before continuing. Insufficient memory for... COMPS MANAGER has determined that it does not have enough memory available to carry out the operation you have specified. Before continuing, end the current operation and try to increase available memory by clearing the workspace. You can also increase memory by removing any RAM-resident programs you may have installed on your computer. THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-14 APPENDIX C INSTALLATION PROCEDURES Before doing anything else with the program, you should make a copy of your program diskettes. The new copy will serve as your operating diskette, and you can store the original distribution diskette for safe-keeping. Please note that copies may only be made for backup purposes or onto your hard disk. If you're not sure how to do this, refer to your DOS manual under the command COPY or DISKCOPY. INSTALLATION FOR A HARD DISK SYSTEM STEP 1. Create a subdirectory called COMPS on your hard disk. STEP 2. Place the COMPS MANAGER diskette in your 'A' drive and close the diskette drive door. This diskette contains all the programs and master files that make COMPS MANAGER work. STEP 3. Copy the contents of the diskette to your subdirectory with the following command: COPY A:*.* C:\COMPS STEP 4. Install COMPS MANAGER in Windows or you may run it from the Program Manager. Go to the subdirectory, type 'COMPS MANAGER' and press the ENTER key. You will be presented with the COMPS MANAGER logo screen. Press any key and the MASTER MENU SCREEN will be displayed. That's it ! You're now ready to put COMPS MANAGER to the test. Store your program distribution diskette in a safe place. INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR NOVELL NETWORKS Each user should be given read/write access to the following directories: DOS COMPS DATA USERNAME - where USERNAME is the name of the user. The system should have the drives mapped as: C: - USERNAME D: - COMPS E: - DATA Additionally the PATH should include: PATH =SYS:\DOS If the user has a local hard disk drive installed, you can use THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-15 that drive as drive C: rather than mapping a drive to the net- work. In any case, however, the CURRENT directory of drive C: must always contain the file COMPANY0.CFG. Drive C: must always have at least 100,000 bytes free for the system to use as a scratchpad work area. The best system performance can be ob- tained by mapping drive C: to a RAM DISK. Each user must have a unique drive designated as drive C: to alleviate collisions and corruption of data files. For the INSTALL procedure only, you should map drive C: as the network SYS:\COMPS or specify the drive designation and path after the INSTALL as in: INSTALL D:\COMPS INDEX *** A *** address 1 7-5 address 3 7-5 *** B *** backup 4-2 8-9 backup all data files 8-13 Backup Menu 3-5 backup modified data files 8-14 backup program files 8-13 *** C *** caps lock 5-8 change system date 3-5 8-8 city 8-5 comments 7-6 company name 8-3 constant 4-6, 4-8 CTRL left arrow 5-8 CTRL right arrow 5-8 Cursor Control Movements 5-8 up arrow 5-8 down arrow 5-8 right arrow 5-8 left arrow 5-8 CTRL left arrow 5-8 CTRL right arrow 5-8 Enter 5-8 Ins 5-8 5-9 del 5-7 Home 5-7 End 5-7 CONTINUE 5-4 *** D *** define selection format 4-7 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-72 DELete 5-9 DELETE 5-5 dos prompt 4-1 down arrow 5-7 drive distribution 8-5 *** E *** EDIT 5-5 end 5-7 Enter 5-8 ENTRY SCREENS Have system select records 5-17 Sorting records 5-20 8-22 Define company 8-4 Define selection format 8-24 *** F *** field # 4-4, 4-7 format diskette 8-11 *** G *** GET 5-2 *** H *** HARDCOPY 5-9 have system select records 5-13 5-16, 4-4 home 5-7 *** I *** index files 8-9 INSert 5-8 5-9 installation C-1 Introduction 1-9 *** K *** THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-73 *** L *** last posting session 8-6 left arrow 5-8 *** M *** Management Functions Menu 3-4 master account maintenance 7-7 master files 7-1 Master Menu 3-3 MENUS Master Menu 3-3 Select Records Menu 5-14 System Utilities Menu 8-2 *** N *** name 7-4 NEXT 5-2 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-16 next line 4-8, num lock 5-9 *** O *** overview 1-7 *** P *** Pg Dn 5-7 Pg Up 5-7 PREVIOUS 5-2 print 6-32 printer output 8-5 printer type 8-4 Printing a Report 4-1 select all records 4-3 select block of records 4-3 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-74 have system select records 4-4 use defined selection format 4-7 *** Q *** *** R *** related to 4-7 RELATIONSHIPS EQ 4-4, 4-7 GT 4-4, 4-7 LT 4-4, 4-7 GE 4-4, 4-7 LE 4-4, 4-7 NE 4-4, 4-7 CO 4-4, 4-7 CI 4-4, 4-7 RL 4-4, 4-7 remove blank records from file 8-13 REPORTS restore files 8-11 RETURN 5-5 right arrow 5-7 roladex cards 3-5 *** S *** salutation 3-24 salutation file 3-27 Screen Menu Options See NEXT record 5-2 See PREVIOUS record 5-2 GET record to screen 5-2 SEARCH file for record 5-3 CONTINUE search for next match 5-4 ADD record to file 5-4 DELETE record from file 5-5 EDIT record on screen 5-5 TOTAL records in file 5-5 RETURN to Master Menu 5-5 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 1 November 21, 1991 F-75 Print HARDCOPY of screen 5-9 using the ESCape key 5-9 Update 5-6 scroll lock 5-9 SEARCH 5-3 select all records 4-3 select block of records 4-3 select codes 3-26 Select Records Menu 4-2 setting system date 8-12 setup Chapter 2 software license 1-3 sort file 8-12 sorting records 4-9 startup C-1 Status of the Special Keys 5-8 summary of Cursor Control Movements 5-8 System Setup Appendix C & Chapter 2 System Utilities Menu 3-28, 8-2 *** T *** TOTAL 5-5 *** U *** up arrow 5-8 use defined selection format 4-7 use last selection format 4-8 *** V *** *** W *** Warranty Agreement 1-3 *** Y *** *** Z *** zip code 8-4 THE COMPS DATA BASE MANAGER Rev. 2 (c)1992, 1993 Eastern Digital Resources - All rights Reserved 4-17