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P F O R M F I T ! Version 3.0 R E F E R E N C E M A N U A L Sidebar Software 103 Inglewood Circle Tullahoma, TN 37388 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software All Rights Reserved Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software WARRANTY Sidebar Software makes no warranty of any kind, expressly or implied, regarding Formfit! and/or its accompanying documentation. Sidebar Software will not be responsible for any damages, whether direct or indirect, incurred by users as a result of running this program, or due to failure of this product to meet any and/or all the stated specifications. This program is distributed strictly on an "as is" basis, without exception. In no way will Sidebar Software be liable to you for lost profits, lost assets, lost savings, or loss of potential gain due to the use or inability to use this program, in part or in full. Specifications, features, and capabilities outlined in this manual and incorporated into the program Formfit! are subject to change without notice. Formfit! is a trademark of Sidebar Software. Formfit! software copyright 1986, 1987, 1988 by Sidebar Software. All rights reserved. This reference manual copyright 1988 by Sidebar Software. All rights reserved. This manual contains references to both software and hardware names which are trademarks of various manufacturers. This program was written using Microsoft QuickBASIC 3.0. Special thanks to Dave Evers for the BASWIND routines. Printed in the United States of America. ii Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software LICENSE Formfit! (and its accompanying documentation) is copyright (C) 1987, 1988 by Sidebar Software of Tullahoma, Tennessee. All versions of this program, including 3.0, are not public domain software, nor are they free software. After a suitable trial period, to continue to use Formfit!, you are expected to register your copy. This period will naturally vary from user to user, but we at Sidebar Software feel that if you have run this program ten (10) or so times, for the purpose of productively using it (as opposed to introducing yourself and/or others to its functions,) you are an active user, and are expected to register your copy. Non-registered users are granted a limited license to use Formfit! on a trial basis, for the purpose of familiarizing themselves with its operation and determining personal usefulness. To continue using Formfit! without registration is forbidden. Registration allows the use of Formfit! for a single user. You may transport Formfit! to any machine for the purpose of personal use, but operators and/or owners of multi-user systems must obtain a site license, or register a copy for each user who has access to Formfit! Commercial users MUST obtain registration via a site license. Write to us for more information about site licensing. Registered users are permitted to make backup copies of Formfit! for personal archival purposes, and all individual users are permitted (and encouraged) to copy the entire Formfit! package for other users to try and evaluate, pursuant to this licensing agreement. Distributors of public domain or user supported software may distribute copies of Formfit! according to the above conditions only after receiving written permission to do so from Sidebar Software. This is a routine and simple procedure, so please write for more details. Formfit! may not be distributed as a part of any other product or sales campaign. It is intended to be distributed from personal user to personal user. Electronic bulletin board systems (BBS) may be used to store and distribute this program to individual users, according to the individual system operator's (SYSOP) local board rules and directives. Always abide by the SYSOP's rules and regulations, as modern, personal telecommunications owes a great debt to these dedicated men and women. If you are the author of user supported software, and have license granting power over the same, contact us about mutual reciprocal licensing of our product to you in exchange for the license to use your software here at Sidebar. iii Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software REGISTRATION INFORMATION Your one-time registration entitles you to all future updates of Formfit! While no copies of any updates will automatically be sent to you directly, your name will be added to our customer database, and notice of any updates or program enhancements will be sent to you, if you so desire (indicate on the registration form.) Also, by indicating that you desire to be placed on our mailing list, you will receive notices for any new products introduced by Sidebar Software. (Under no circumstances will any customer names, addresses, etc. be given or sold to any third parties.) For only the price of the disk and mailing (or free, if you provide your own disk and a postage paid, self addressed mailer,) you can receive the current, updated version of Formfit! Keep an eye on your local BBS's, too, for the latest version of Formfit! By registering your copy of Formfit! you are signifying your expected continued use of our product. We are glad that you have found Formfit! useful, and will continue to be thankful for users like yourself. Appendix B. contains the necessary form for registering your copy of Formfit! ABOUT SIDEBAR SOFTWARE Sidebar Software has been in existence since March, 1986. Our products are developed in response to real world needs. We use computers here at Sidebar daily, and run into our share of brick walls to circumvent. We try to keep our approach simple, and our human interface as clean as possible. We are very open to suggestions and criticisms. In fact, at one time we toyed with the idea that for every 5 first-time reported bugs in a program, or typos in a manual, we would grant registration and license privileges to the sender. However, this would result in most folks being told "sorry, someone else found it first," and so we tabled that idea. But the point is, we constantly look for new and fresh user-producer avenues of communication, so please write to us concerning any aspect of our products and/or policies. We, as a group, believe in God, and try to follow Him in all we do. We also believe that a person's eternal soul is far too valuable to risk for a few unregistered or pirated computer programs. If you are going to use Formfit! (or anyone else's software, for that matter), then give the author his/her due, if so requested. If you're not going to use it, pass it on. Maybe someone else will find it helpful. Thanks, from all of us at Sidebar Software. iv Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software ABOUT FORMFIT! VERSION 3.0 Formfit! allows you to quickly fill out preprinted forms using your computer's printer. You electronically "define" forms according to where information is to be printed, and you label these locations for ease of reference. Rich with editing options, you can later edit just the information which has become outdated, supply new information, and reprint to a new form. The form itself can be redefined entry by entry at any time. The definitions can be entered in any sequence desired. This allows grouping together entries which change often, even though they may be physically far apart from each other on the form. You can quickly move or delete blocks of these definitions to suit changing needs, even when the layout of the form changes significantly. (Formfit! is also great for envelopes, labels, etc.) This program was written by Greg Nordstrom, the founder of Sidebar Software, while he was an engineering undergraduate at Arizona State University. The bureaucratic way of life at the university called for many changes to be filed as expected course work and/or requirements changed. And it was up to the students to reaccomplish the required forms, in triplicate. By defining the common forms just once, Greg had to then only change a line or two of information, roll in a new blank form, and in 5 minutes or less, the job was done. Those of you who work with forms on a regular basis will enjoy and benefit from this program from the very first day you begin to use it. Formfit! has undergone several changes, both major and minor. Minor changes are made periodically, and do not require the re- printing of a manual. Users of previous versions can just read the UPDATE.DOC file for reference. Minor changes are noted by version number changes to the right of the decimal. For example, a minor change to version 2.0 would be numbered 2.1. Major revisions require all users to print out a new manual. A major change is given a new version number to the left of the decimal. Version 3.0 is a major change from 2.1. Versions 1.x were considerably less flexible than the 2.x series. Version 2.0 had a rather nasty bug in the editor that only surfaced when defining forms larger than 99 columns wide. This led to a recoding of the editor section of Formfit! in version 2.1. Also included in version 2.1 were several human interface improvements, such as more logical menu selection, and quicker response to input. Version 3.0 adds several new features to Formfit! Due to the large number of improvements, added features, and enhancements, the basic file structure is no longer the same, and users of 1.0 or 1.1 will have to manually redefine any forms they wish to use. Version 2.x users can convert their default and definition files to the 3.0 format by using the program CONVERT.COM included in the Formfit! version 3.0 package. A few of the major highlights of version 3.0 are listed on the following page. v Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software Version 3.0 Highlights o Deleting definitions may now be done by blocks as well as individually. The user has the option to delete the whole definition or just the contents column data. o A MOVE command has been added, allowing the reordering of blocks of definitions to make the modification of selected data easier. o The printed output may be directed to any of three printer ports (LPT1:, LPT2:, or LPT3:), and the selection can be saved as a system default. o The user can set the delay time Formfit! uses when generating programmed pauses. This allows users to tailor Formfit! to their CPU's clock rate. o The number of definitions-per-form has been made dynamically variable, up to a maximum of 999. o Variable template and form sizes are now allowed, up to 137 columns by 132 rows. (Automatic selection of compressed print mode when more than 80 columns across are requested.) o Menu response methods have been improved, and scrolling bar menus are supplemented by unique letter choices. o Several parameters can now be customized and saved as defaults. Also, definition files now include all system parameters when saved and retrieved. o Extensive error trapping and non-destructive escape sequences are now available, as well as improved error handling and menu logic. o Date and Time information is available on screen. o A DOS shell allows the user to access DOS, and then return to using Formfit! vi Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software CONTENTS WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii. LICENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii. REGISTRATION INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv. ABOUT SIDEBAR SOFTWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv. ABOUT FORMFIT! VERSION 3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v. 1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Running Formfit! for the First Time . . . . . . . . 1.2 Tips on Using Formfit! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 2. THE MAIN MENU SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Define/Edit a Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Print to the Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Make a Template Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Check/Change Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Use the DOS Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 3. CHECKING AND CHANGING SYSTEM DEFAULTS . . . . . . . . . 3.1 A. Page Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 B. Page Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 C. Maximum Number of Definitions . . . . . . . . . 3.2 D. File Definition Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 E. Toggle Date Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 F. Toggle Time Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 G. Toggle Speaker Beep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 H. Toggle Paper Out Detector . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 I. Toggle Unidirectional Printing . . . . . . . . . 3.3 J. Toggle Font Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 K. Toggle Printer Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 L. System Message Delay Time . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 M. Printer Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 4. MAKING TEMPLATE OVERLAYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 5. THE DEFINE/EDIT MODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 vii Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 6. PRINTING TO THE FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 7. USING THE DOS SHELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 APPENDICES A. INITIAL DEFAULTS AND DEFAULT FILE STRUCTURE . . . . . . A.1 B. USER REGISTRATION FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.1 C. FORMFIT! ERROR MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.1 D. USING CONVERT.COM ON VERSION 2.x FILES . . . . . . . . . D.1 viii Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 1. INTRODUCTION The purpose of Formfit! is to allow the user to define positions and areas on pre-printed forms, place data at any given position on the form, and save the definitions and data for later use. By defining commonly used forms once, the user need only update the data that has changed since the last session. This allows updates and changes to be made quickly and easily, even when the form's basic structure has changed. The program uses coordinates obtained from an overlay template which the user creates on his/her own printer (for row and column alignment.) Many options are allowed at print time, such as unidirectional printing to insure columnar alignment, selection of several fonts and printer ports, and software override of out-of-paper detection (if supported by your printer.) System Requirements Formfit! dynamically allocates memory according to the parameter controlling maximum number of allowed definitions. Initially, this is set to 255, but may be changed to any value from 1 to 999. As a guide to operation, the following table gives APPROXIMATE memory requirements for various configurations. Values shown below do not include memory required to use the DOS shell (that depends on what you do while you are working in the DOS environment.) See chapter 7 for more details. Maximum Number of Definitions Required RAM ----------------------------- ------------------ 50 180 Kbytes 100 184 Kbytes 255 190 Kbytes 500 200 Kbytes 999 224 Kbytes WARNING: Attempting to run Formfit! in less memory than needed will usually result in the DOS message "Not Enough Memory," but in certain cases Formfit! will begin to run, albeit incorrectly. Each of the above entries is slightly inflated, so following them should keep you out of trouble. In addition to the above RAM requirements, Formfit! needs at least one disk drive, a color or monochrome monitor, and a printer. Several printer control code sequences are used by the program, according to the capabilities of your printer. The program is shipped ready to drive a Panasonic KX-P1091i (in the Epson RX-80 mode.) You may define any of those codes which apply to your printer, and have Formfit! ignore the rest. See the section on changing defaults, along with your printer and DOS manuals for more details. 1.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software Running Formfit! for the First Time As you know, it's good computing practice to back up any program before running it, and Formfit! is no exception. Please make an archive copy of all files included with the Formfit! package before running the program. Hard disk users may wish to set up a separate directory for Formfit! The program may be invoked by typing FORMFIT at the DOS prompt. Whenever Formfit! is run, it looks at the current directory for a file containing the user's default parameters. Since initially this file will be absent (and in case it ever gets "misplaced") Formfit! will inform you that it cannot find the default file, and will prompt you for your OK before the file is actually created on the disk. Pressing ESC will abort and return you to DOS. Once the default file has been created, you will be presented with Formfit!'s registration advertisement. The first 15 or so times you run Formfit!, the ad will appear (the time that Formfit! pauses for you to read it decreases each time you run the program.) When prompted, press any key to continue to the Main Menu. As mentioned previously, and as explained in detail in the section on checking and changing defaults, Formfit! allows considerable flexibility when defining system parameters. Formfit! comes configured to write all form definition files to C:\, the hard drive root directory. If you're using a floppy based system, or wish to use your A: or B: drive for saving defined forms, change the File Definition Path variable using the Check/Change Defaults option from the Main Menu before attempting to save data with Formfit! Tips on Using Formfit! Formfit! is quite forgiving, and yet it retains an overall structured approach to using the various menus and options. You can USUALLY get yourself out of trouble with the ESCape key. ESC is used to back up to a previous menu when you're finished at a certain level, and if you're in the middle of an operation, ESC will abort current processes or changes, and retain previous values. When presented with a highlighted menu bar, use the keypad to move and highlight an option, then select it by pressing ENTER. Optionally, you may just press the first letter of the option you want, and it will be invoked immediately (the commands at each level begin with unique letters, which are highlighted.) In most cases the keypad arrows allow movement to the next item, PgUp and PgDn move the bar to the last visible item on screen, and Home and End will move to the beginning and end, respectively, of a given range, even if out of view (range larger than current screen.) Be sure to configure Formfit! for your printer's capabilities before printing templates or forms. Incorrect codes can make for some surprising results, to say the least. 1.2 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 2. THE MAIN MENU SCREEN Once the advertisement is finished (or, later, directly upon starting Formfit! from DOS) the Main Menu appears. You will be presented with the following choices: Define/Edit a Form Print to the Form Make a Template Overlay Check/Change Defaults Use the DOS Shell ------------------------- Press ESC to exit You'll select one of the options from this menu. The following is an overview of each of the Main Menu's options. For details on using each one, see the section pertaining to that area. They are presented in this overview section in the order you see them on the Main Menu, and later, in a more detailed discussion, in the order that they'll be used by the first time user. Define/Edit a Form This is where you make the actual additions and changes to a given form, or begin to define a new form. You can add new data, change old data, remove previous definitions and/or data, reorder a form's definitions and load and save form definitions to and from the disk. You will work in a window, choosing lines of data from the screen to modify or edit. Also, Formfit! tries to anticipate your next selection with defaults extracted from the last line you filled out. This is helpful, as many forms are repetitive in nature (i.e. all stock numbers begin at column 3.) A unique feature of Formfit! is that entries need not be made in any order, so you can define all the items in column 18, for example, before defining the items in column 5. This helps you arrange the form logically, grouping the most often changed entries together. Print to the Form This option is used when its time to actually print the data to the defined areas of your preprinted form. You'll be prompted before printing begins to align the printhead with the top of the form. When the printing job is complete, you are returned to the Main Menu. 2.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software Make a Template Overlay This is the option you select when you wish to print out a template guide overlay. The guide will be sized according to your default width and length parameters. Usually, you will only need to print a template once. Here at Sidebar, we printed out several templates using different size options, then had clear plastic copies made of them. This allows us to lay the templates over the forms to be defined, and easily read off the coordinates. Of course, you can use paper templates, and align them using a light, but the plastic is MUCH easier! Remember, whatever method you use, MARK AN EASILY FOUND REFERENCE POINT ON THE PAPER BEFORE BEGINNING TO PRINT THE TEMPLATE. This is the only way you can insure proper alignment of your preprinted form later. You will be prompted before printing begins to align the printhead and the form. When the printing job is complete, you are returned to the Main Menu. Check/Change Defaults Two screens are associated with this option. On the first screen, you have many choices concerning the program's "feel" and physical limits. For example, you can change the size of the page you prefer to work with, allocate more memory (by choosing a larger number of definitions,) and toggle on and off things like unidirectional printing, or the beeping that accompanies errors and undefined key presses. The delay time associated with error messages is adjustable from this screen, too. The second screen is used for configuring Formfit! to work with your printer. You provide the control codes needed by the printer for things such as compressed printing, font selection, and ignoring a paper out condition. Any function not supported by your printer may be left blank, and Formfit! will not attempt to use that function. Use the DOS Shell This allows the user to drop down into DOS, execute commands and/or run programs, then return to Formfit! when finished. This can be handy for checking the current directory, renaming files, and copying files to other disks or directories. You can even run other programs while in the shell, provided you have enough free memory. Refer to chapter 7 for full details on using the DOS shell. 2.2 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 3. CHECKING AND CHANGING SYSTEM DEFAULTS This section begins the detailed descriptions of Formfit's menus and options. These sections are organized according to the order in which a first time user will use Formfit! For this reason, the first order of business is to change the system defaults to match your system and suit your tastes. The system defaults are found on two screens. The first screen controls page layout, printer toggles, etc., and will be used quite often. It is shown when you select the Check/Change Defaults option from the Main Menu. The second screen, however, will usually be used only when you change printers, and is reached through the first screen by selecting the Printer Control Codes option (currently selection M.) To change any item on either screen, press the letter of its choice. You may ESCape at any time. All the information (from both screens) will be used only during the current session, unless saved to disk, where it becomes the new default data for subsequent program runs. Saving is done FROM THE FIRST SCREEN by pressing S instead of a lettered menu option. See Appendix A. for a discussion of the original Formfit! defaults. Each option is explained below. A. Page Length This allows you to define the length of the form you will be using. This length is specified by giving the number of lines per page. You may set the page length to any number of lines (rows) from 1 to 132. If you work with forms larger than 132 lines, you may have to define it in parts (or write to us about a "custom" version of Formfit!) B. Page Width The page width can be set to any number of columns from 5 to 137. If your printer does not support condensed printing, limit your page width to 80 columns, as Formfit! will attempt to turn on condensed printing when the page width is greater than 80. Of course, if you use a 132 column printer, set the condensed print mode control code sequence to N/A, and wide forms will be filled out using normal sized fonts. Note: On some printers, different fonts may automatically invoke proportional spacing. Since Formfit! has no way of knowing how "smart" your printer is, when using fonts other than draft, experiment on blank paper first before inserting your only copy of that important form! 3.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software C. Maximum Number of Definitions This option allows you to dynamically allocate how much memory Formfit! will use at run time. You can select any amount in the range of 1 to 999. The more definitions you allow for (whether or not you use them,) the more RAM you'll need. When you select this option, ANY DEFINITIONS YOU CURRENTLY HAVE IN MEMORY WILL BE LOST, so save them first. You'll be prompted before any data is actually lost, so you can ESCape unharmed if you need to. D. File Definition Path Use this option to change the path which DOS uses to save and load defined forms. When changing this item, you should end your path with the backslash (\) character (if you don't, though, Formfit! will supply it for you.) You are limited to 32 characters for the complete path information. The original default is C:\, the hard drive root directory. E. Toggle Date Display F. Toggle Time Display G. Toggle Speaker Beep Options E., F., and G. are used to toggle on and off the current date, time, and error beep respectively. When toggled on, the date is displayed in the upper left corner of all menus, and the time is displayed in the upper right. These are the date and time currently maintained by DOS, so if you don't normally set these at boot time (or your clock has no battery,) you may just want to toggle these off, and save the new defaults to disk. The beep toggle is used to turn on/off the error beep that occurs whenever Formfit! encounters a bad keypress or displays an error message. H. Toggle Paper Out Detector This will enable or disable the printer's paper out sensor. (Your printer must allow software control of this mode for Formfit! to toggle the paper out sensor on and off.) Many forms need to be filled out to very near the bottom edge of the page, and if the printer isn't told to ignore the end-of-paper signal, it will usually halt printing about 13 lines from the bottom of the form. By disabling the paper out sensor, you can usually print completely to the last line on a form (depending, again, on your printer's mechanical paper bail and feed arrangement.) 3.2 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software I. Toggle Unidirectional Printing As the name says, this option toggles unidirectional printing on and off. Many printers have some alignment trouble when using bidirectional printing with condensed mode fonts. By forcing unidirectional printing, columns will be aligned quite nicely. Test your printer by printing a short template guide with more than 80 columns, first using bidirectional, and then unidirectional printing. Save the defaults when you have made your selection. J. Toggle Font Selection Use this option to select between three available fonts: Draft, Courier NLQ (Near Letter Quality), and Bold PS NLQ. These may not be available on your printer, so be sure to change to the correct control code sequence, using the second System Defaults screen (see Printer Control Codes, Option M. below.) In any case, pressing J. will toggle between the three options. K. Toggle Printer Port Formfit! can direct the output to be printed to any of three printer ports. These ports are referred to as LPT1:, LPT2:, and LPT3:. The default is LPT1:, but you can toggle to any of the three and then save your defaults. L. System Message Delay Time Here is where you control how long Formfit! pauses to let you read messages. Some warnings require you to press a key to continue operation of the program, while others just beep (if the beep toggle is enabled) and pause an appropriate amount of time before returning you to the main program. You are allowed to choose a delay of 1 to 20 (10 is the default.) This delay number is somewhat arbitrary, depending on your particular system. One "unit" of delay causes an approximate pause of 1/2 second on a unit running with a CPU clock speed of 8 Mhz. Don't worry if you don't know how fast the computer's clock speed is - just set the delay so that you have time to read the error messages! (Note: This delay doesn't effect the initial advertisement time. That changes as a function of the number of times Formfit! has been run, and finally quits altogether.) 3.3 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software M. Printer Control Codes Choosing option M. will show the second Check/Change Defaults screen. This is where you define the needed printer control code sequences for Formfit! Each sequence may consist of several codes, which can be found in the user's manual for your printer. Have the printer manual handy before attempting to change any codes. You select an option by pressing its corresponding letter (or you can ESCape.) Formfit! will prompt you for a string of DECIMAL printer codes, which you must separate by a single space. If a particular option is not supported by your printer, select that option to modify (by pressing its corresponding menu letter,) and immediately press ENTER (i.e. supply NO codes.) This will cancel any previous control code sequence, and display N/A next to the option. This will signal Formfit! not to attempt to use that option. When you are done with this screen, use ESC to return to the first screen, where you may save the defaults to disk (by pressing the letter "S",) or use ESC again to return to the Main Menu, keeping the newly changed defaults only for the current Formfit! session. Note: Option A. (Current Printer) of this second screen is used to specify which printer your system currently uses. This is for your information only. No check is made as to what type of printer you specify here. The name (or whatever else you care to type in) is just to remind you which type of printer the codes are set for. 3.4 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 4. MAKING TEMPLATE OVERLAYS The heart of the Formfit! system is the template overlay. The template is how you let Formfit! know where to place data at print time. The template is made up of several rows and columns. Remember, sentences on a page are in ROW order, and COLUMNS go up and down. Each row begins at the left, with column position 1. So the leftmost upper corner print position is at row 1, column 1. The 16th row of a typical template might look like this: 16.._....1...._....2...._....3...._....4...._....5...._. Notice how the line is constructed. The row number is given fully as the first number in the line. Each column is marked with a dot, and if the column is a multiple of 5, it's marked with an underscore symbol (_). Columns that are multiples of 10 are marked with the tens digit of that column. For example, the 40th column position is indicated by the "4" in the line above. Note also that the user has requested the maximum number of columns to be 56. You must make at least one template overlay before using Formfit! Your forms will be defined by means of a row and column matrix, and those references must be easily found. This is where the template comes in. Initially, you align the template with your form and begin to define your form using the coordinates read from the overlay to reference different areas of the form. When you select the Make a Template Overlay option, you're prompted to align your printhead and paper before proceeding (you may ESCape of course.) It's also important that you MARK THE BLANK PAPER WITH AN INDEX MARK of some kind, so the physical position of the paper in the printer can be found again later. On the Panasonic we use at Sidebar, the paper bail is marked with index marks, so we just position the corner of the page at the zero mark (you may have to use some other landmark, or make a pencil mark, etc., to mark a position on the paper.) In any case, a template without some sort of printer alignment reference point is practically useless. Next, you press any key to print out the template, and are returned to the Main Menu when finished. (You may abort the template printing operation at any time by pressing ESC.) Make a few templates of various widths and lengths. We also recommend getting them copied onto plastic. This can be done at most copy services. 4.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 5. THE DEFINE/EDIT MODE This is by far the most used screen in Formfit! The information is presented in a 13 line window, and consists of the definition number, a label (for your convenience only,) the definition's row, its starting and ending (inclusive) column numbers, and the data which is to be placed at that position on the preprinted form at print time (called "Contents".) You can scroll up and down one page of definitions at a time, using the PgUp and PgDn keys, or go directly to the first or last definition, using the Home and End keys. There is an overlap of one definition when you change pages. In other words, the first page will show definitions 1 through 13, and the second page (if there are more than 13 definitions) will begin with number 13. At the bottom of the Define/Edit screen, you can see a menu bar, as shown below: Edit Delete Move Load Save Initially, the Edit option will be highlighted. The horizontal arrow keys are used to move the highlight to other options, and ENTER will select an option. You may also select an option by pressing the first letter of the option's name. ESC returns you to the Main Menu. Details on using each of the menu bar options follows. Edit Selecting Edit allows you to define a new entry, or modify an existing one. An editing window will be opened, and you will be allowed to fill in the needed information. To the left of each line of information is the default data (in brackets) for that entry. This is usually what was given for the previous definition. Pressing ENTER alone will select the default value. Typical edit window data is shown below, and is followed by a line by line explanation of its use. [ 3 ] Definition Number to Edit: 3 [Name] Label: Address [ 1 ] Row: 3 [ 4 ] Column Start: 4 [ 20 ] Column End: 36 [Stevens, William J.] Contents: 107 N. Mill Lane Rd. The default value for Definition Number to Edit is the next unused entry, regardless of which item was last edited. For example, if you had already defined 55 entries, and then edited number 32, the next default for Number to Edit would be 56. Error checking prevents you from selecting a value of less than one, or greater than the next available definition. The default reads [FULL] when you have used all definitions. 5.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software The Label entry is for your own reference only. By using the name of the entry given on the form, such as NAME or ADDRESS, you can easily locate items which must be changed when you re-edit a form at some later date. The default for this entry is the last definition's Label value. Enter a blank space if no label name is to be associated with an entry. Labels are limited to 20 characters maximum. Row, Column Start, and Column End are self explanatory, with the defaults being the last defined entry's Row and Column values. Error checking is performed on boundaries, according to form length and width. The Contents entry is where you provide the data to be printed on the form itself. You are limited in length by the column start and column end values previously entered. In any case, a maximum of 31 characters are allowed. To use more than this you must define a definition in parts. The default is the last definition's Contents value. One suggestion: Group together items on the form which will be changed each time the form is filled out. Then use the characters <NEEDED> for the contents of these definitions. Later, when filling out the contents, others can load in the form and use the Delete option (see below) to delete just these contents values. This lets others know just which columns you want them to fill out. Delete Use this option to delete form data. You may delete one or more whole definitions, or just the contents of those definitions. When you choose this option, a window will appear, and you will be given two choices: Contents Column Only or Whole Definition. Choosing Contents Column Only will cause the data in the contents column of each specified definition to be erased. Choosing Whole Definition will erase the entire definition (moving down all higher numbered definitions to "fill in the gap".) Depending on which you've decided to delete (Contents Column Only or Whole Definition), you'll be asked to give a range of definition numbers for Formfit! to operate on. Give the FROM value first, press ENTER, and then give a value for TO (you can ESC any time.) Error checking will be performed to insure you've chosen a valid range, and the appropriate action will be taken. To delete a single definition (or its contents) choose the same number for the FROM and TO values (i.e. ... from: 5 to: 5 will delete just definition number 5.) 5.2 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software Move The Move option allows you to move your definitions around in relationship to each other. This doesn't affect the definition's values or coordinates, but merely lets you shuffle the order in which the definitions appear to the user. You can move up to 100 definitions at a time. When you choose to Move definitions, you get the prompt: Insert Just Before Number: You supply the number of the definition you want the block to be inserted in front of. For example, if you want the block of definitions from 24 to 30 to be inserted between definitions 3 and 4, you would respond with the number 4 here. After giving the definition number where the block is to be inserted (and hitting ENTER,) you'll see the rest of the prompt: Insert Just Before Number: 4 the Range from: to: In our example, you would supply the numbers 24 (from) and 30 (to) at this time. Press ENTER after each entry, or ESC to abort. Error checking will be performed to insure a valid range and insertion point, and the operation will be carried out. Note: A few words of warning are in order here. When moving blocks of definitions, move blocks to LOWER positions, i.e. toward definition number one. Moving blocks to higher positions can be confusing, to both you and Formfit! An example will help clarify this. Consider the structure below. The numbers represent definition numbers, and the letters represent the rest of a given definition. 1 A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 E 6 F 7 G 8 H 9 I 10 J If you desired to move definitions 4, 5, and 6 to a point between definitions 7 and 8, what you would expect and what you would actually get are both shown on the following page. 5.3 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software The command would be: Insert Just Before Number: 8 the Range from: 4 to: 6 and the Before, Desired, and Actual results are: 1 A 1 A 1 A 2 B 2 B 2 B 3 C 3 C 3 C 4 D 4 G 4 G 5 E 5 D 5 H 6 F 6 E 6 I 7 G 7 F 7 J 8 H 8 H 8 D 9 I 9 I 9 E 10 J 10 J 10 F Before Desired Actual You wanted to move the letters D, E, and F to the point in between G and H, but Formfit! didn't come across for you! What's the problem? Well, the problem is in the algorithm used to move blocks of definitions around. Formfit! first saves the block you want to move in temporary storage. Then the rest of the definitions are "moved back" toward definition number one, covering up the original block. Next a hole is created just before the number you wanted to insert the block behind (behind being toward definition number one), and the temporarily stored definitions are inserted in this hole. This approach works fine for moving blocks backward, toward definition number one, but not forward (at least not in all cases.) The fix is to understand that every forward movement has a complimentary backward movement, and to use this complimentary movement. For example, had you taken definition 7 in the example above and inserted it just before definition 4, the result would have been what you wanted. Until you get used to moving blocks with Formfit!, save your definitions just before you try a move. But don't be afraid to experiment either. Make up a few test files and practice using the Move command. It's too powerful not to master. 5.4 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software Load When you select Load, the screen clears, and a list of all the definition files on the current directory is given, or you are informed that no definition files exist. (Definition files end in .DEF, and this is how they are found.) You are then prompted for a filename. Formfit! will supply the extension of .DEF to the filename, so you are limited to eight characters for the filename. If you do append an extension, Formfit! will merely truncate it and add the .DEF extension. Remember, the default path information will be used to find the file, so DO NOT USE ANY PATH INFORMATION when specifying a file to load in. You may select the default filename by pressing ENTER without supplying any name. The default is either the last filename loaded or saved, or, if no files have been accessed yet, TEMPFILE.DEF is used as the default. Since the Save option saves the current defaults with a file, the defaults may be different when loading is finished. When loading is completed, you are returned to the Define/Edit screen. Save Save is very much like Load. You are given a list of files on the current directory, and then prompted for the name of the file to be saved. (Again, if no definition files exist on the current directory, you are told so.) The .DEF extension will be automatically appended, and the default filename is used if only ENTER is pressed. See Load above for an explanation of filename defaults. Remember, all system defaults currently in effect will be saved along with the file. 5.5 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 6. PRINTING TO THE FORM Use this option when it is time to print out the information on the form itself. First, you will be asked to align the form and the printhead. Do this by marking the form (if necessary) using the template guide's alignment mark. In other words, align the template with the form, mark a spot on the form corresponding to the alignment mark on the template, roll the form into the printer, and align the mark that is now on the form with the index on the printer itself (i.e. the one you used when you printed the template guide.) Then press ENTER to begin the printing process (or ESCape to abort.) When printing is finished, you will be returned to the Main Menu. You may press ESC at any time during the printing process to abort. Formfit! will finish printing the current line before aborting the printing process. Formfit! doesn't attempt to flush your printer's RAM buffer, if one exists. Formfit! can sense several printer errors, such as a paper out condition or the printer being off line. It will warn you that an error has occurred, and prompt you to either press ESC to abort, or press any other key to retry the operation (after you've corrected the source of the error, of course.) 6.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software 7. USING THE DOS SHELL As discussed earlier, the DOS shell allows you to drop down into the DOS environment, use DOS as you normally would, and return to Formfit! at the point where you left off. While this is a powerful feature of Formfit!, you must use caution while in DOS, and return to Formfit! properly, as discussed below. To access DOS from Formfit!, you select the Use DOS Shell option from the Main Menu. You will be presented with an information box, and prompted to press any key to continue. If you do not wish to continue on into DOS, pressing ESCape will return you to the Main Menu immediately. In order to use DOS, Formfit! must load a second copy of the DOS COMMAND.COM file into memory (the first copy was loaded automatically when you booted up your computer.) COMMAND.COM is the DOS file that allows you and DOS to communicate with each other. (Don't worry if this doesn't make perfect sense, as Formfit! handles all the details of loading COMMAND.COM and getting you into the DOS environment.) Remember, though, that your computer must have sufficient memory to allow the second COMMAND.COM file to be loaded (approximately 24 Kbytes, depending on your version of DOS,) and there must be enough space for any extra programs you wish to run while using the shell. Once the familiar DOS prompt appears, you may do just about anything you would normally do from DOS, including running other programs. Do not, however, run a program that is to remain resident in the computer (i.e. any of those handy "pop-up" programs.) If loaded from within the shell, resident programs will not work properly when you return to Formfit! (They will work fine with Formfit!, but must be loaded BEFORE running Formfit!) Also, if the current DOS directory is changed while using the shell, you should change it back to the directory which Formfit! was using before the shell was invoked. While the definition files are pathed to a certain directory, the same cannot be said for the default file (FORMFIT.DFL) which Formfit! uses to store your desired default parameter values. This means that if you change directories while in the shell, then return to Formfit! and change and save the defaults, they will be on a different directory than Formfit! used when it was initially run. The next time you run Formfit! the new defaults will not be found! To return to Formfit! after using the DOS shell, simply type the command EXIT at the DOS prompt. You will be immediately returned to the Main Menu of Formfit!, where you may continue working where you left off. 7.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software APPENDIX A. INITIAL DEFAULTS AND DEFAULT FILE STRUCTURE Formfit! uses default parameters for several of its features. These parameters are stored in a file named FORMFIT.DFL, which is always located ON THE CURRENT DIRECTORY. If the file FORMFIT.DFL does not exist on the current directory, Formfit! will create it. Formfit! will use certain values when it creates this file, and they are listed below. Note that numbers shown as <27><53> are actually ASCII characters represented by the decimal numbers in the brackets. The file on disk will contain the actual ASCII character itself. When editing this file with a word processor or text editor, remember that numeric data stored in the file will have a leading minus sign, if negative, or a leading blank space if positive. Actual Contents (ASCII) Remarks (Not part of file) ------------------------- ---------------------------- 3 Major Version Number 0 Minor Revision Number 0 (Reserved for future use) 0 (Reserved for future use) 0 (Reserved for future use) 0 (Reserved for future use) 0 (Reserved for future use) 0 (Reserved for future use) 10 Delay Number 1 Printer Port (1,2 or 3) 63 Page Length 80 Page Width 255 Max Number of Definitions C:\ File Definition Path -1 Date Toggle (on) -1 Time Toggle (on) -1 Speaker Beep Toggle (on) 0 Paper Out Detector (off) 0 Unidirectional Print (off) Panasonic KX-P1091i Printer Name <27><64> Reset Control Codes <27><85><49> Unidirectional ON Codes <27><85><48> Unidirectional OFF Codes <15> Compressed ON Code <18> Compressed OFF Code <27><57> Paper-Out Sense ON Code <27><56> Paper-Out Sense OFF Code <27><120><48> Draft Font Codes <27><120><49> Courier NLQ Font Codes <27><120><50> Bold PS NLQ Font Codes 1 Font Selection: 1=Draft, <End of File> 2=Courier, 3=Bold A.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software In addition to getting parameter information from the default parameters file, each time a definition file is saved, the currently active parameters are saved along with the file. The structure of a simple definition file is shown below. 3 . 0 . 0 . 0 . 0 . 0 . 0 . 0 . 10 . 1 50 Defaults are saved first, 80 and are in the same order 100 as the defaults found in C:\formfit\files\ the FORMFIT.DFL file. See -1 above for details on this -1 portion of the file. -1 . 0 . 0 . Panasonic KX-P1091i . <27><64> . <27><85><49> . <27><85><48> . <15> . <18> . <27><57> . <27><56> . <27><120><48> . <27><120><49> . <27><120><50> . 1 Last default (Font select) Name Label #1 James Clerk Maxwell Data for definition #1 1 Row for #1's data 1 Column start for #1 30 Column end for #1 Occupation Label #2 Scientist Data for definition #2 1 Row for #2's data 66 Column start for #2 79 Column end for #2 . . . . . <Continued as needed> . . . . A.2 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software There may be a need to modify the defaults stored with a definition file. For example, if you are defining a form, and you discover that not enough definitions were allowed for, you can't increase that number without losing all the data in memory. And if you save the data first and then increase the maximum number of definitions, when you reload the file the old value for maximum number of definitions is also loaded and used. In a case like this, you MUST use a text editor to modify the maximum number of definitions parameter in the saved definitions file before reloading. Use caution, however, so that no limitations are exceeded, which could introduce errors when the file is reloaded. Also, you should make a backup of the file BEFORE you attempt to modify it. A.3 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software APPENDIX B. USER REGISTRATION FORM Use the following form to request the most recent version of Formfit! and to register your copy. Thank you again from all of us at Sidebar Software. If you correspond without using the form, please include the information requested below in your letter. Send to: Formfit! Sidebar Software 103 Inglewood Circle Tullahoma, TN 37388 =================================================================== FORMFIT! V3.0 Registration Form =================================================================== Quantity Total _______ Formfit! Disk (latest version 3.0) $ 6.00 ea. $ ______ Note: If you haven't registered, this does NOT include registration. _______ Registration ONLY. $ 20.00 ea. $ ______ _______ Registration plus latest version. $ 25.00 ea. $ ______ Please note: We accept only checks or money orders as payment. No C.O.D. orders will be processed. Name: ______________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ _____________________________________ Zip: ___________ Phone: _________________ Add you to our mailing list? Y N B.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software APPENDIX C. FORMFIT! ERROR MESSAGES Formfit! can detect many of the standard DOS errors pertaining to peripheral devices. The following is a list of the specific errors Formfit! looks for when requesting disk and/or printer service from DOS. All other errors not listed below will usually result in Formfit! returning to the Main Menu, although it is possible (if you work at it) to get Formfit! to just forget everything and either return to DOS unexpectedly, or maybe even lock up your machine. Error Number Message Displayed ---------------- -------------------------- 24 DEVICE TIMEOUT 25 PRINTER NOT RESPONDING 27 OUT OF PAPER 52 BAD FILE NUMBER 53 FILE NOT FOUND 54 BAD FILE MODE 57 DEVICE I/O ERROR 64 BAD FILE NAME 68 DEVICE UNAVAILABLE These errors listed above are trapped in such a way as to let you correct the error and proceed, or abort the operation, retaining all data. For other errors, you will only be given an error number, and then you are prompted to return to the Main Menu, as mentioned above. (Data will still be kept intact.) Since this program was written and compiled with Microsoft QuickBASIC, a complete list of error conditions and their corresponding numbers can be found in the Microsoft literature, if available. The errors listed above, when encountered, print out the given error message as well as the number, in the error box. C.1 Formfit! 3.0 (C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Sidebar Software USING CONVERT.COM ON VERSION 2.x FILES As mentioned earlier, version 3.0 uses a different file structure than previous versions for both the system default file (FORMFIT.DFL) and for any files you've saved (filename.DEF). The change was needed due to the addition of several new features in Formfit! V3.0. Version 2.x users may continue to use their old definition files, and even their old default file, by running the CONVERT.COM program to convert them to the new format. This must be done before running Formfit! for the first time. To convert files, simply run the program CONVERT.COM from the DOS prompt by typing CONVERT and hitting the ENTER key. The program will prompt you for the name of a file to convert. You supply the full name, including any extention name, and CONVERT.COM does the rest. Along with the name of the file you wish to convert you may include path information. Just supply it (in the standard DOS format) when prompted for a filename by CONVERT.COM. You'll have a chance to abort before the program runs if you need to. Once CONVERT.COM has converted the file for you, it informs you that it was successful, and gives you a chance to convert another file if you wish. When CONVERT.COM is told that no more conversions are desired, it returns you to the DOS prompt. Each file that is converted retains the same name it had before conversion. Additionally, a copy of the original file (before conversion) is also saved, with the same filename, but with the extention .OLD attached. For example, converting MYFILE.DEF results in a converted MYFILE.DEF and a file called MYFILE.OLD both on the specified directory. Make sure there's enough room on the desired directory for the additional file. CONVERT.COM checks the file to see if it's already a version 3.0 file, and if so, it informs you and will not convert it. You still have the option to continue with conversions. D.1