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1990-11-11
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SMART HOME SHOPPER
SHS VERSION 1.1
User Documentation
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
Torbert Data Systems, Inc.
P. O. Box 9218
Chesapeake, VA 23321
Telephone (804) 488-5506
BBS (804) 488-4146
COPYRIGHT (c) 1990 Torbert Data Systems, Inc. T a b l e O f C o n t e n t s
Page
I. WHAT IS SMART HOME SHOPPER .......................... 1
II. GETTING STARTED ..................................... 1
Initial Setup Instructions .......................... 1
Up and Running ...................................... 2
Consistent Look and Feel ............................ 3
Hardware Requirements ............................... 4
Miscellaneous Comments .............................. 4
III. SHS.EXE - PROGRAM SPECIFICS ......................... 5
Maintain Files
Items and Prices ............................... 5
Categories ..................................... 6
Stores ......................................... 6
Shopping List Maintenance
Prepare List by Description .................... 7
Prepare List by Category ....................... 7
Reset Shopping List ............................ 8
Reports ............................................. 9
Shopping List by Category ...................... 10
Alphabetical Shopping List ..................... 10
Priced Shopping List ........................... 10
Complete File List by Category ................. 11
Best Buy at Each Store Shopping List ........... 11
IV. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS .............................. 11
Files ............................................... 11
Support ............................................ 12
V. In Case Of Difficulties ............................. 13
VI. Registration ........................................ 15
ii
This program is produced by a member of the Association of
Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that
the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to
resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by
contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The
ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with
an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for
members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at P.O.
Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve message via
Easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
Torbert Data Systems, Inc. believes that this software is
reasonably free from bugs and defects and further believes
that it will perform substantially in accordance with this
documentation. However, Torbert Data Systems, Inc. hereby
disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether
express or implied, including without limitation any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose. In no event will Torbert Data Systems, Inc. or its
suppliers be liable for any special, incidental,
consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data
or any other reason, even if Torbert Data Systems has been
advised of the possibility of such damages. Under no
circumstances shall Torbert Data System's liability for any
damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use this
software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person
using this software bears all risks as to the quality and
performance of the software.
The program is supplied with sample data files. These files
are supplied to allow the use to quickly evaluate the look and
feel of the software. Any resemblance between products or
stores contained in these data files and real products or
stores is coincidental.
iii
I. WHAT IS SMART HOME SHOPPER
Smart Home Shopper (SHS) is an exceptionally easy to use
software program which can allow the user to quickly and
conveniently prepare a grocery store shopping list. This
program can actually be used at two levels.
If you desire, you may use it to indicate items and the quantities
to be purchased at the store. When you are ready to go to the store,
quickly print out your shopping list. It will even print your list by
category so that items on the same aisle will be grouped together.
You may record up to five different store prices for each item. This is
optional, but if you provide the price, Smart Home Shopper will calculate
the cost of your shopping list for up to five different stores. It will
even print five different lists, placing the "best buys" from each store
on the proper list.
This is a shareware program. That means that if you elect to use this
program beyond a reasonable evaluation period, you are expected to
register it. Please see the document REGISTER.DOC for information on
registration.
You may freely distribute this product to others provided that
you distribute the entire product. Please distribute the
self-extracting file SHS11.EXE and the README.1ST file.
II. GETTING STARTED
The following information is presented to allow you to get
the software up and running quickly. Sample data files have
been distributed with this software and should be used during
this process.
INITIAL SETUP INSTRUCTIONS
1. Your CONFIG.SYS file must contain values that are equal
to or greater than the following:
FILES = 30
BUFFERS = 20
If you are not familiar with this file, refer to your DOS
manual for additional information. The file may be
maintained by using EDLIN or any ASCII text editor.
1
2.Create a directory under the root directory called SHS
(or any other appropriate name).
Example: Input "MD \SHS"
Press <ENTER>
3. Change your path to the directory you created.
Example: Input "CD \SHS"
Press <ENTER>
4. Insure that the following files are copied into the
directory where this software will be run.
Executable Program: SHS.EXE
On line Help File: SHS.HLP
RRUN.HLP
Data Files: SHSCNTRL.DAT
ITEMS.DAT
CATEGORY.DAT
Report Generation: RRUN.EXE
RPT01.DEF
RPT02.DEF
RPT03.DEF
RPT04.DEF
RPT05.DEF
SHSDB.DEF
NOTE: Refer to the README.1ST instructions for additional
information on installing this software.
UP AND RUNNING
To run the software, you should have created a directory,
changed into that directory, and placed all software in that
directory.
To run the program, perform the following steps.
1. To execute the program, type <SHS> and press <ENTER>.
When you run the software for the first time, the
keyfiles will automatically be created. These files will
have extensions such as *.K01 where * will be the same as
the data file name.
2
2. Shortly, the initial screen will appear. There will be
a brief delay while the required files are opened and if
necessary, the keyfiles are built.
3. The menu will now appear. You may now use the arrow keys
to make a selection and then press <ENTER>.
CONSISTENT LOOK AND FEEL
Feel free to "explore" the software. You will find it
incredibly easy to use. The software has a consistent look
and feel. Several general conventions are followed throughout
the system. They will be discussed here to assist you.
1. The screen will go blank after a period of inactivity.
Press any key to display the screen. The key press will
not be active.
2. You may press <F1> from any screen in the system to get
a pop up help screen. In many instances, the help screen
will be context sensitive to the field on which the
cursor is positioned.
3. The <ESC> key will generally take you to the prior screen
or activity. The only exception is when you are in a
data entry field, in which case the <ESC> key aborts any
data you entered into that field and takes you to the
prior field.
4. In many instances, you will choose between adding a new
record or changing an existing record. When this is the
case do the following. To add a new record, press the
<INSERT> key and the data entry form will appear. To
make changes to an existing record, position the selector
bar over the desired record as described above and press
<ENTER>. The data entry form will appear with the
current values for each field in place. To delete a
record, position the highlight bar on the record and
press <DELETE>. The full record will appear. Press
<ENTER> to confirm the erasure.
5. When entering data, you may use the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow
keys to move from field to field. The <ENTER> key will
also take you to the next field.
6. The <ESC> key will take you to the prior field and abort
any values you placed in the current field.
3
7. To terminate the data entry to the screen without having
to go through all the fields, press <CTL> <ENTER> (hold
down the control key and press enter). The record will
be written.
8. To terminate the data entry to the record and abort any
changes you made, press <CTL> <ESC>. The original values
will be restored.
9. While editing a field, press the <INS> key to toggle
typeover on or off. The backspace and <DEL> keys will
function as you would expect them to.
10. When editing a numeric field, press the spacebar to clear
out the entire field. All data entered in a numeric
field will be entered right justified with the cursor
remaining stationary and the numbers moving from right
to left.
11. When building a file initially or if there are no records
in the file, you will not be presented with a scrolling
table until after you have added at least one record.
This is normal.
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
This software requires a minimum of 512 K to run. 640 K is
recommended. It should run on any IBM PC or true compatible
using a DOS level of 2.1 or higher. It should run on MGA,
CGA, EGA, and VGA.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
The keyfiles associated with the various data files are not
furnished. The first time the program is run on your system,
they will automatically be created.
If you experience any difficulties, refer to the section on
"IN CASE OF DIFFICULTIES" later in this manual.
The software comes with sample data files. You may elect to
maintain the existing files or you may delete the files ITEMS.*
and CATEGORY.* and build new files. SFSCNTRL.DAT is mandatory and
can not be deleted. If you elect to create remove these files, the
program will automatically create new files upon its next execution.
You must build the category file before adding any items.
4
III. SHS - PROGRAM SPECIFICS
Step by Step Instructions
1. To access the menu, change to the SHS directory and type
"SHS".
2. The initial screen will appear. Press any key to continue.
3. The menu will appear.
4. To run an option on the menu, position the selector bar over that
option with the arrow keys and press <ENTER> or touch the first
letter of that selection and press <ENTER>.
MENU SELECTION: Items and prices
Functional Description
This option will allow you to maintain all the items you
normally purchase at the grocery store. When this option is
chosen, you will be presented with a table of categories.
Select the category representing the item you wish to add or
maintain. You may do this by positioning the highlight bar
over the item and pressing <ENTER>. You can locate the
category quickly by entering the first few letters of the
category.
Once a category is selected, you will be presented with a
table of items for that category. (If there are no items in
the chosen category, you will be taken directly to the item
file maintenance form.
From the item table you may elect to use any of the following:
Active Function Keys
<F1> Help Screen - Always Active
Other Active Keys
<INS> To add a new record
<DEL> To delete a record
<ESC> To return to the menu
<ENTER> Maintain record under selector bar
Note: The arrow keys, and page up and page down keys are
also active to position the selector bar.
5
MENU SELECTION: Categories
Functional Description
This option will allow you to maintain the categories in which you
wish to place the items in. By careful use of this field, you
can produce a shopping list with items grouped by store aisle.
When you select this option, you will be presented with a
table of all existing categories. Notice that a number of
categories were included with the sample files. You
can add additional categories or maintain the description of
existing ones. Prior to deleting any categories, you should
delete any items belonging to that category!
From the description table you may elect to use any of the
following:
Active Function Keys
<F1> Help Screen - Always Active
Other Active Keys
<INS> To add a new record
<DEL> To delete a record
<ESC> To return to the menu
<ENTER> Maintain record under selector bar
Note: The arrow keys, and page up and page down keys are
also active to position the selector bar.
MENU SELECTION: Stores
Functional Description
This option will allow you to maintain the names of up to five
grocery stores. The look and feel of this option is slightly
different.
When selecting stores from the main menu, you will be
presented with the five store names as they are currently set
up. Press <ENTER> to maintain them or <ESC> to return to the
menu.
Active Function Keys
<F1> Help Screen - Always Active
6
Other Active Keys
<ESC> To return to the menu
<ENTER> To maintain a store name.
MENU SELECTION: Prepare List by Description
Functional Description
This option will allow you to quickly add items to your
shopping list. When selecting this option, you will first be
presented with a table of items.
To include an item on the shopping list, position the
highlight bar over the item and press <ENTER>. You will then
be prompted for the quantity you wish to purchase.
Input the purchase quantity and press <ENTER>. You can view
the unit cost for any of the stores where pricing information
has been entered. Press <ENTER> to continue.
Active Function Keys
<F1> Help Screen - Always Active
Other Active Keys
<ESC> To return to the menu
<ENTER> Maintain record under selector bar
Note: The arrow keys, and page up and page down keys are
also active to position the selector bar.
MENU SELECTION: Prepare List by Category
Functional Description
This option will allow you to quickly add items to your
shopping list by category. When selecting this option, you
will first be presented with a table of categories. Position
the highlight bar over the category you want and press
<ENTER>. You will now be presented with a list of items in
that category.
To include an item on the shopping list, position the
highlight bar over the item and press <ENTER>. You will then
be prompted for the quantity you wish to purchase.
7
Input the purchase quantity and press <ENTER>. You can view
the unit cost for any of the stores where pricing information
has been entered. Press <ENTER> to continue.
Active Function Keys
<F1> Help Screen - Always Active
Other Active Keys
<ESC> To return to the menu
<ENTER> Maintain record under selector bar
Note: The arrow keys, and page up and page down keys are
also active to position the selector bar.
MENU SELECTION: Reset Shopping List
Functional Description
This option will allow you to clear all items from your
shopping list (reset the quantity to zero for each item). Use
it with caution. If you accidently choose this option, you
can still back out of it by pressing <ESC> when presented with
the confirmation screen.
Please note this option only resets the quantity field to
zero, it does not delete any records. Of course, you can
manually reset the quantity field if the list you are
preparing is similar to a previous list.
Active Function Keys
<F1> Help Screen - Always Active
Other Active Keys
<ESC> Cancel this function
8
REPORTS
Menu selections G through K are all reports. The
following information is common to all of them.
When selecting a report option you will be presented with a
confirmation screen. From this screen you may elect to do any
of the following:
Active Function Keys
<F1> Help Screen - Always Active
<F2> Toggle between printer and screen for report output.
Other Active Keys
<ESC> Cancel this function
Any other key will begin report printing.
Note: Reports that are directed to the screen may still
be redirected to the printer by pressing <CTL> <L>
once the report has completed.
When running a report from the menu, a memory image
of the program is written to disk. This requires
nearly 600K of disk space. Although this temporary
file is invisible, if your report fails to run and
you are returned to the menu, you might not have
adequate disk space.
All reports can be run from the DOS command line as
well. To run a report from the command line enter
the following:
RRUN R=<report> D=<database> O=<device>
<report> represents report name
<database> represents database name
<device> is S for Screen or P for Printer
Example:
RRUN R=RPT01.DEF D=SHSDB.DEF O=P
This command will send the "Shopping List by
Category" to the printer.
Example:
RRUN R=RPT02 D=SHSDB
In the above example, the extensions ".DEF" are
omitted as is the device direction. The default is
O=S.
9
MENU SELECTION: Shopping List By Category
Report RPT01.DEF
Database SHSDB.DEF
Functional Description
This option will print a complete list of all items you have
selected to appear on your shopping list, ordered by category.
MENU SELECTION: Alphabetical Shopping List
Report RPT02.DEF
Database SHSDB.DEF
Functional Description
This option will print a complete list of all items you have
selected to appear on your shopping list in alphabetical
order.
MENU SELECTION: Priced Shopping List
Report RPT03.DEF
Database SHSDB.DEF
Functional Description
This option will print a complete shopping list for one store.
At run time you will be asked to enter the store number (1 -
5) for which you wish to prepare the list. The total purchase price
will be calculated using the prices set up for this list. This
report is only useful if you have supplied accurate price
information.
10
MENU SELECTION: Complete File List By Category
Report RPT04.DEF
Database SHSDB.DEF
Functional Description
This option will print a complete list of all items in the
item file regardless of whether they are on the active
shopping list. They will be grouped by category.
MENU SELECTION: Best Buy at Each Store
Report RPT05.DEF
Database SHSDB.DEF
Functional Description
This option will calculate the store where each item may be purchased
at the greatest savings. It will prepare a separate
shopping list for the items that are "Best Buys" at each
store. A separate list of nonpriced items you wish to
purchase will also appear on the report.
IV. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
FILES
This section is intended to document all files used in
the system and describe the functional purpose for each.
An understanding of these files will help you better
determine and plan your backup procedures.
Menu Selection File(s) Updated
Items and prices ITEMS.DAT
Categories CATEGORY.DAT
Stores SHSCNTRL.DAT
The system will automatically create a number of index
files as well. These files will have an extension of
.Knn such as ITEMS.K01. The key files do not need to be
backed up.
11
SUPPORT
This product is extremely easy to use, however there may
be instances where technical support is required, Torbert
Data Systems offers the following support policy.
Registered users of this product may receive support in
one of several ways.
COMPUSERVE: All E-Mail addressed to User ID
73747,2336 will be answered promptly,
usually within 24 hours.
TDSBBS: The Torbert Data Systems support BBS is
up 24 hours a day. TDSBBS is a
completely free bulletin board, however
should there ever be a charge for using
TDSBBS, Registered users will be granted
at least 1 year of free access. The
number for the BBS is (804) 488-4146
US MAIL: Support questions may be mailed to:
Torbert Data Systems, Inc.
P. O. Box 9218
Chesapeake, VA 23321
PHONE: Due to the low registration fee I am
asking for this product, I can not return
long distance phone calls. The best time
to reach me if you wish to discuss this
product is between 6:00 and 8:00 AM and
9:00 and 11:00 PM EASTERN TIME. You may
leave a message with the answering
service at any time. Again, it is
impossible for me to return long distance
calls as the cost can quickly exceed the
low registration fee.
Voice Number (804) 488-5506
12
V. IN CASE OF DIFFICULTIES
The following are some of the most frequently asked questions.
1. Problem:
The message "TOO MANY OPEN FILES" appears when an attempt
is made to execute one the program.
Solution:
This problem is a result of the CONFIG.SYS file not being
set up properly. The possible hardware configurations
vary considerably, but if your boot drive is C, you may
view the CONFIG.SYS file as follows.
Example: "TYPE C:\CONFIG.SYS"
Press <ENTER>
Using either EDLIN or any ASCII text editor, insure that
the following values are setup in the CONFIG.SYS file.
FILES = 30
BUFFERS = 20
2. Problem:
The message "shscntrl: FILE NOT FOUND" appears when an
attempt is made to execute the program.
Solution:
This problem is a result of one of the required data
files not being present in the currently active
directory. Copy the data files from your original
release and rerun. Be sure they all reside in the active
directory. If this file is missing, you do not have the
complete software release. Please report this problem to
Torbert Data Systems, including information on where you
obtained the software.
3. Problem:
When selecting a report option from the main menu, the
screen goes blank then returns to the menu.
13
Solution:
There is not enough free disk space to write the
temporary memory image required prior to running the
report. See the instructions in the manual pertaining to
running the reports from the DOS command line.
4. Problem:
The message "INVALID RECORD DECLARATION" appears when an
attempt is made to execute the program.
Solution:
This problem is a result of mixing an older version of
this software with the current SHS.EXE file.
Occasionally, file layouts are changed as new features
are added to this package. Registered users are always
sent conversion information if there is any changes
between the version they registered and the current
version sent to them.
If you have obtained this software and were using an
older version, please register your original version.
You will be sent the latest version and necessary
conversion information.
14
VI. REGISTRATION
Thank you for evaluating SHS. In return for your
registration, you will receive a copy of the latest release of
SHS. The product is constantly being enhanced and new
features and options are added from time to time.
Your registration will entitle you to 90 days free support
through any of the following:
Compuserve Mail
U. S. Mail
TDS BBS (August 1990)
Torbert Data Systems, Inc.
P. O. Box 9218
Chesapeake, VA 23321
Phone: (804) 488-5506
BBS: (804) 488-4146 (24 Hour operation effective August 1990)
15
REGISTRATION FORM
SMART HOME SHOPPER VERSION 1.1
SERIAL NUMBER OF SOFTWARE _____________________________________
(NO in top left corner of menu screen)
WHERE ACQUIRED _______________________________________________
YOUR NAME _____________________________________________________
ADDRESS _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
CITY ______________________________ STATE _____ ZIP ______
PHONE _______________________________
===============================================================
SHS Version 1.1 $20.00
4 1/2 Sales Tax - (Virginia Residents Only) .90
TOTAL ENCLOSED: _______
MEDIA TYPE - PLEASE CHECK ONE
5 1/4 1.2 Meg ( ) 5 1/4 360 K ( )
3 1/2 1.4 Meg ( ) 3 1/2 720 K ( )
Make check payable to "Torbert Data Systems, Inc."
Mail Registration Form and Payment To:
Torbert Data Systems, Inc.
P. O. Box 9218
Chesapeake, VA 23321