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STARTING PC-ACCOUNT SETTING UP NEW PC-ACCOUNT ACCOUNTING FILES This is a step by step guide on how to set up the files for a new PC-ACCOUNT accounting system. It assumes that you have performed the tutorial and that you have unarced PCACT20.ARC to a floppy. That floppy will be referred to as the distribution disk. Locate the reference part of this manual, and look there for additional information on each command. First you will set up a new disk or directory for the programs and data files. Then NEWCXSYS.BAT will copy the necessary files and programs from the PC-ACCOUNT distribution disk in drive A: and prompt you to start the initialization program. After that, you will run PC-ACCOUNT and name some accounts, enter some amounts, and setup check payees and standard transactions. SETTING UP A WORKING SYSTEM ON A FLOPPY DISK Format a new disk on which you will use PC-ACCOUNT. See the FORMAT command in your DOS manual. If you intend to use PC-ACCOUNT in drive A, copy COMMAND.COM from your DOS disk to the newly formatted PC-ACCOUNT working disk. Place a write protect tab on the PC-ACCOUNT distribution disk and insert it into drive A. Place the formatted working disk into drive B. Make drive B the default drive. You should have the B> prompt. Enter the command: A:NEWCXSYS NEWCXSYS will copy programs from the PC-ACCOUNT distribution disk in drive A to your PC-ACCOUNT working disk in drive B. It will then prompt you to run the initilization program to create new data files. SETTING UP A WORKING SYSTEM ON A HARD DISK Place a write protect tab on the PC-ACCOUNT distribution disk and insert it into drive A. Create a new directory on your hard disk for PC-ACCOUNT with the DOS command: MKDIR name Make this directory the default directory with the CD command. See the DOS manual for the description of these commands. Enter the command: -29- STARTING PC-ACCOUNT A:NEWCXSYS NEWCXSYS will copy programs from the PC-ACCOUNT distribution disk in drive A to your hard disk. It will then prompt you to run the INIT program to create new data files. INITIALIZE PC-ACCOUNT FILES PC-ACCOUNT uses many data files in addition to monthly transaction and account files. The files that PC-ACCOUNT will use for your data are not on the PC-ACCOUNT distribution disk. They are created along with the first months data files by the program called ACT_INIT.EXE. After creating the working disk with NEWCXSYS, run the initialization program ACT_INIT.EXE. With the working disk or hard disk directory the default, enter the command: ACT_INIT The initialization program will display two screens of information about the files it will create. You may return to these screens while in ACT_INIT by pressing function key 1 or 2. ACT_INIT will ask you for the month and year. Enter the information for the month you want to start. You may want to start a few months before the current month so that you can enter previous data. ACT_INIT then asks you to enter a new path. This is to be the path to the account and transaction files. You may answer this now if you have a directory or disk prepared. If you enter a path, ACT_INIT will put two files there. You can take the default of no path now and enter it later. When you select a new path later, you must copy the account and transaction files to that location. If you are using a color monitor, ACT_INIT will select the foreground and background colors for you now and save these parameters in the control file. ACT_INIT will also provide names for a few accounts. You can change these names later when you run PCACT.EXE. ACT_INIT will then proceed to create and display the names of the files it needs. ACT_INIT will not create any file that already exists on the default drive without your approval to delete it first. This is to prevent the accidental deletion of valuable data. All of the files created by ACT_INIT must be on the same disk or in the same directory when PC-ACCOUNT is run. The exception to this is when you have specified another location for the account and transaction files. ACT_INIT will then display its menu. The next time you run ACT_INIT, it will start with this menu. -30- STARTING PC-ACCOUNT 1 - RECREATE SELECTED FILES 2 - CHANGE PROGRAM PARAMETERS 3 - RUN PC-ACCOUNT 4 - QUIT SELECT [2]? When you select item 2, CHANGE PROGRAM PARAMETERS, you will see this display: There are several parameters that control the execution of PC-ACCOUNT. If you are just starting to use PC-ACCOUNT, I recommend that you skip this section. You may always return to this section by running ACT_INIT again. ACT_INIT will not delete any files without your permission. 1 - DRIVE or PATH TO MONTHLY ACCOUNT & TRANSACTION FILES DEFAULT DRIVE 2 - TOGGLE GOOD DAY MESSAGE ON/OFF ON 3 - TOGGLE BEEP AT COMMAND ERROR ON/OFF OFF 4 - TOGGLE AUTO RETURN ON/OFF ON 5 - SELECT CHARACTER FOR TRANSACTION DELIMITER | 6 - TOGGLE IBM/HERCULES CARD IBM 7 - TOGGLE 'WANT TO PRINT A CHECK' DEFAULT Y or N YES 8 - SELECT THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS 320 9 - SELECT THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PAYEES 300 10 - SELECT THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SEARCH CODES 300 11 - CHANGE SCREEN COLORS SELECT FEATURE TO CHANGE OR TOGGLE [QUIT]? As stated above, it is best not to change any parameters now, except for the simple ones like the data file drive or the screen colors. When you quit this screen, an additional customizing menu will be displayed that should also be skipped now. RUN PC-ACCOUNT ACT_INIT will start the program PCACT.EXE the first time. To start PCACT.EXE after this, enter GO. After you carefully read the by-line of the program, press the space bar when requested. Please note the instruction: PRESS FUNCTION KEY 4 FOR LIST OF FUNCTIONS -31- STARTING PC-ACCOUNT followed by the main menu: 1 - ACCOUNTING 2 - EDIT CHECK PAYEES 3 - EDIT STANDARD TRANSACTIONS 4 - SEARCH THROUGH MANY MONTHS 5 - CHECKBOOK ANALYSIS 6 - SETUP CHECK FORMAT 7 - DELETE DIRECTED FILES 8 - EDIT SEARCH CODES 9 - PRINT REGISTRATION FORM I - INITIALIZATION PARMAETERS ENTER SELECTION [QUIT]? Each of the above eight choices will be referred to as sections of PC-ACCOUNT. In this chapter we will just discuss getting started in ACCOUNTING. So enter 1 for your selection. The next prompt is: DO YOU WANT THE FILES FOR July 1986 [Y]? The month and year in the prompt will be what you selected in ACT_INIT. You may either enter an upper or lower case Y or just hit RETURN. (Note, for this prompt and this prompt only, you may enter the number 1 for yes instead of the letter Y. This makes it easy to select the current accounting period from the main menu by entering 11.) Since the month PC-ACCOUNT displays is the only one for which there are now account and transaction files, it must be selected. This action brings you to the transaction screen where the prompt is: ENTER COMMAND? ENTER DATA PC-ACCOUNT was designed for ease of use. Since this is an accounting system, you will want to use the numeric keypad on the right side of the IBM keyboard. PC-ACCOUNT sets the numlock on when it starts, so the numeric keypad is always ready for you to enter numbers. When you exit PC-ACCOUNT, the numlock is turned off. PC-ACCOUNT does not use any of the cursor positioning keys. So get in the habit of making all menu selections and entering all numbers with your right hand on the numeric keypad. There is no data in any of the accounts. You can take a look at them by pressing function key 1 to see the first screen. Press the space bar to return. Press function key 2 to see the other accounts. Again, press the space bar to return. To see the calendar, press -32- STARTING PC-ACCOUNT function key 3. Press function key 4 to see the list of the functions. FUNCTION KEY ASSIGNMENTS 1 - DISPLAY ACCOUNTS 1 TO 40 2 - DISPLAY ACCOUNTS 41 TO 75 3 - DISPLAY CALENDAR 4 - DISPLAY FUNCTION KEY LIST 5 - SPECIAL EXIT MODES 6 - CHANGE SCREEN COLORS 7 - TOGGLE OUTPUT - SCREEN, PRINTER, FILE, 123.PRN 8 - TOGGLE STATUS LINE ON/OFF 9 - SCROLL WINDOWS DOWN 10 - SCROLL WINDOWS UP The SPECIAL EXIT MODES on function key 5 has three options. One is an emergency stop for when you make a mistake and do not want to save the data. Another is a chance to reconsider and return to the program if you pressed it in error. The third is to jump to DOS and leave PC-ACCOUNT resident. To do this, it must have access to a copy of the DOS file, COMMAND.COM. This means that if you booted from a floppy, then the disk in drive A must have COMMAND.COM on it. If you booted from a hard disk, you don't have to be concerned about this. To return to PC-ACCOUNT from DOS, just enter the DOS command EXIT at the DOS prompt. While in DOS, you may use any DOS command or run any program, provided you have enough memory remaining, because PC-ACCOUNT is occupying about 256K and the second copy of COMMAND.COM uses some memory. When in DOS, execute the DOS program CHKDSK to find out how much memory remains. Do NOT start any memory resident programs such as Sidekick at this time. Unlike other programs that allow you to jump to DOS, PC-ACCOUNT remembers what default drive and directory it was in and automatically resets them when it regains control of the computer. This avoids the problem of later saving data in another place and not rewriting data files at the normal PC-ACCOUNT default location. On some computers PC-ACCOUNT encounters conditions that prevent it from resetting the disk and drive. It will display a message requesting you to return to the PC-ACCOUNT disk or drive before you EXIT DOS. Are you ready to set up your accounts? First, you may wish to give some accounts a name or change the default names. The name is limited to 11 characters and can be changed at any time without affecting the balance. -33- STARTING PC-ACCOUNT To name an account, enter N. You will be prompted for the account number and then for the name. At any time you can press function key 1 or 2 to see the account. These screens are automatically updated whenever you make a change. Continue to name the accounts. Remember that all bank accounts and loans are to use accounts numbered 61 to 75. The first data to enter into the accounts is the balances of your checkbook and savings accounts. Refer to the tutorial or reference section of the manual on how to use the I (Insert) command. For this type of transaction you will be entering an amount INTO both the asset and bank accounts. Repeat this for each bank account. Use function keys 1 and 2 to verify the results of the transactions. Use function key 7 to toggle the output to the printer. Turn the printer on and print a list of the transactions with the T command. Toggle the directed output off. Enter the command Q when you are finished entering transactions. This will save the account and transaction data, and return to the main menu. The data saved will not be lost if you use the function key 5 exit after this. SETUP CHECK PAYEES Select item 2 from the main menu to activate the Edit Check Payee Routine. There are 5 options, Display, Add, Change, Sort and Delete. The maximum number of payees that you may enter can be set or reset in the initialization program, ACT_INIT.EXE. It can be started by selecting item I on the PC-ACCOUNT main menu. It is initially set for 300 payees. Select 2 to add payees. Start off with the names of payees that you use often, such as the mortgage company, utilities and credit cards. When prompted for the reference, enter your account number with that company, not the number of the account you are using in PC-ACCOUNT. The reference will be printed on your check, if you so desire. Sort the Payees if you wish. You may also use function key 7 to direct the output of the Display option to the printer. Double check the spelling and the reference numbers. If there is an error, use the Change feature (selection 3) to correct it. It is important to get this correct now. You will always be able to add and delete payees, but it is more convenient if the payee is already in the file when you print their first check. There is another way to enter payees. When you print a check, you may enter a payee's name. You will then be asked if you want -34- STARTING PC-ACCOUNT PC-ACCOUNT to put that payee into the payee file. Quit this section and return to the main menu. SETUP SEARCH CODES Select item 8 from the main menu to activate the Edit Search Codes Routine. There are 5 options, Display, Add, Change, Sort and Delete. The maximum number of search codes that you may enter can be set or reset in the initialization program, ACT_INIT.EXE. It can be started by selecting item I on the PC-ACCOUNT main menu. It is initially set for 300 search codes. This section works exactly like the Setup Check Payees described above. CREATE STANDARD TRANSACTIONS Select item 3 from the main menu to enter the Edit Standard Transactions Routine. In this section you may enter transactions that recur frequently and are for the same amount, such as mortgage and loan payments. The transactions in these files will be entered automatically using the BUDGET command in the accounting section. The three files of these transactions, Checks, Budget and Other Transactions are explained in the tutorial. These transactions can be added, changed or deleted at any time. Quit this routine and return to the main menu. USE PC-ACCOUNT There is one more initial action to be completed before printing checks. That is to setup the check format. There is a separate section of this manual that explains that procedure. Refer to the SETUP CHECK FORMAT section of this manual. You are now ready to use PC-ACCOUNT. Become familiar with all of the features so that you may reap the benefits of managing your money. -35- SETUP CHECK FORMAT PROCEDURE OVERVIEW In order to print neatly on your personal check, PC-ACCOUNT needs to know where to put the date, payee name, amount, etc. This location information is called the check format. PC-ACCOUNT reads this format from a file when it is ready to print a check. PC-ACCOUNT allows you to define a different check format for each bank account. By format is meant the location on the check of each data field to be printed. Each field on the check is located by the number of lines from the top of the check and the number of spaces from the left side of the check (tab position). Before you start, we will review the procedure for the check setup routine. First you will print a form, figure 2, on which to record the data needed for this procedure. Then you will print a set of lines, figure 3, that you will overlay on your personal check to measure where on the check to print the data. Next you will enter the printer setup data. This includes the sequence codes to set and reset the printer vertical line spacing, the number of lines in the check height, check alignment instructions, and the display format for printing the check numeric field. Then you will define the check layout. Here you select the features that you want printed on your check. Then enter the line number and tab position of each feature, the maximum length of certain features and the data for any text to be printed on each check. This text can be your name, address, phone number or whatever you like. Finally you will print a test check. If the check is not set up correctly, you can go back, make the changes and print another check. When you exit, these parameters will be stored in a file with a name corresponding to the account number. These files are named CHECK61 through CHECK75. These file names correspond to the PC-ACCOUNT bank account numbers (61 through 75) and are only created when a format is defined. This may sound like a lot of work, but it is easy and only has to be done once. The benefit of doing it is that your computer will now be able to print neatly on your personal checks. The first time you use this program, you may want to use the CHECK61 file. The tutorial uses it as a guide to help you to understand the process. NEWCXSYS copied the file CHECK61 from the PC-ACCOUNT master disk to the disk you are using. Modify the check file for account 61 to fit your check. -36- SETUP CHECK FORMAT ACT_EDIT The Setup Check Format routine is contained in a separate program, ACT_EDIT.EXE. It can be started by selecting item 6 on the PC-ACCOUNT main menu. Or, if you are not in PC-ACCOUNT, it can be started from the DOS prompt by entering ACT_EDIT Press function key 4 to see the five function keys that are active when you are in ACT_EDIT. The functions for keys 4, 5, 9 and 10 are the same as in PC-ACCOUNT. FUNCTION KEY ASSIGNMENTS 4 - DISPLAY FUNCTION KEY LIST 5 - QUIT WITHOUT SAVING DATA 6 - CHANGE ACCOUNT NUMBER - RETAIN CURRENT DATA 9 - SCROLL PAYEES DOWN 10 - SCROLL PAYEES UP Function key 6 changes the account number you are working with, but does not change any data. When you quit ACT_EDIT, the data will be saved under the new account number. This has the effect of copying the data from one check format to another. The first thing ACT_EDIT asks for is the checking account number. This is an PC-ACCOUNT bank account number between 61 and 75. Enter the number (61-75) of the account that you want to format a check for. If you are doing this for the first time, choose account number 61 to start with the data in the file CHECK61 that came with PC-ACCOUNT. Upon entering the account number, the Master Menu will be displayed. M A S T E R M E N U - - - - - - - - - - 1 - PRINT LAYOUT DATA SHEET 2 - PRINT CHECK OVERLAY LINES 3 - PRINTER SETUP DATA 4 - DEFINE CHECK LAYOUT 5 - PRINT TEST CHECK 6 - CANCEL A CHECKING ACCOUNT 7 - EDIT ANOTHER CHECK PRESS FUNCTION KEY 4 FOR LIST OF FUNCTIONS SELECT [QUIT]? -37- SETUP CHECK FORMAT LAYOUT DATA SHEET The layout data sheet is a form (Figure 2) to organize what information you want to give PC-ACCOUNT to format your check. Print a copy now. Turn your printer on. Select 1 from this menu. Read the notice on the screen. Enter 1 to print one copy and hit RETURN. Wait until after you have read these instructions and understand what they mean before you fill out the form. When done, hit RETURN for the Master Menu. CHECK OVERLAY LINES In order to determine where the printer will print on your check, you will print a series of numbered lines on a blank sheet of paper. You will then place this sheet of paper over or under your check to determine which line number each feature should be printed on. Enter 2 from the Master Menu to select the Print Check Overlay Lines. Refer to Figure 3 to see what we intend to print. Skip the process of entering setup codes for line spacing on your printer and use the standard of 6 lines per inch. If you later find that the spacing will not accommodate printing the features that you selected close enough to the lines on your check, refer to the section on Printer Setup Codes later in this chapter. Enter 3 to select and enter the number of lines in the check height. At 6 lines per inch, a personal check has about 17 lines. Enter 17 RETURN. Print these overlay lines on plain paper. Use the most transparent paper you can. Turn the printer on and enter 4 to print the lines (Figure 3). Remove the paper from the printer. Get a blank check. Place this paper over or under the check, depending on which is the more transparent. Align the paper so that the lines fall close to or above the data lines on your check. Hold this up to a light to see both sets of lines. Cut the paper to fit the check and hold it in place with staples or paper clips. Note where the first line of the overlay is on the check. This is where the printer print head will have to be when you insert the check in preparation for printing. On the layout data sheet write a one line description of where the print head should be positioned on the check for initial alignment. Later in the Printer Setup Data routine, you will enter this description into PC-ACCOUNT, and it will be displayed as a reminder to you every time you print a check. This description is referred to as the check alignment instructions. -38- SETUP CHECK FORMAT If you cannot get a good match between the lines on the overlay and the data lines on the check, refer to the section on Printer Setup Codes later in this chapter. That will explain how to print overlay lines as close together as you want. PRINTER SETUP DATA For the next step, enter 3 from the Master Menu. Selection 1, Setup Codes, is where you enter the sequence of setup codes to change the vertical line spacing of your printer. If you decide to do that, see the discussion on Printer Setup Codes later in this chapter. If you do use setup codes, then you can reset the printer to the normal line spacing after printing the check by entering the required sequence of codes in selection 2, Reset Codes. The line spacing ratio is for your reference only and can be omitted. If you did not enter any setup codes, you can enter 1/6 or 6 lines per inch. The number of lines in the check height is used for ejecting the check when done. The maximum value is 110. For a personal check using 6 lines per inch, this would be about 17. If you were using 18 lines per inch, this would be about 51. As mentioned before, you may provide the text of the check alignment instructions (selection 5) that PC-ACCOUNT will display for your information before each check is printed. For example, you may say "Align Printer On Left Border And 1 Line Down From Top Border." There are a variety of ways to print the numeric amount on the check. PC-ACCOUNT gives you the choice of 8 different numeric formats. They are: 1 - 1234.56 PLAIN 2 - $1234.56 PLAIN WITH A DOLLAR SIGN 3 - ***1234.56 PLAIN WITH LEADING ASTERISKS 4 - **$1234.56 PLAIN, ASTERISKS AND DOLLAR SIGN 5 - 1,234.56 PUNCTUATED WITH A COMMA 6 - $1,234.56 PUNCTUATED AND A DOLLAR SIGN 7 - ***1,234.56 PUNCTUATED AND LEADING ASTERISKS 8 - **$1,234.56 PUNCTUATED, ASTERISKS AND DOLLAR SIGN -39- SETUP CHECK FORMAT You are prompted: SELECT BY NUMBER THE ONE THAT YOU DESIRE [5]? HOW MANY TOTAL CHARACTER POSITIONS DO YOU WANT THE AMOUNT TO OCCUPY. THIS NUMBER MUST INCLUDE ALL CHARACTERS, SUCH AS ASTERISKS, DOLLAR SIGN, COMMA AND DECIMAL. HOW MANY DO YOU WANT [10]? Note, that you are first requested to select a format for the numeric printed amount and then asked for the total number of character positions the amount is to occupy. The value displayed as the format for check numeric field is the maximum value that can be displayed. Note, sometimes it will not display the total number of characters that you have selected because the next character is a comma. For example, if you select format 5 and 11 characters, ten is the maximum it will display. If you want 1 more numeric digit, select 12 display characters. That will allow for another comma and digit. This completes the Printer Setup Data routine. Quit and return to the Master Menu. The next section is the Define Check Layout. DEFINE CHECK LAYOUT The Define Check Layout routine will prompt you for the information it needs. You select whatever features you want and in any order. Once selected, you will be asked to provide the line number and the tab spacing. You may also re-select a feature to change or delete it. If you do not select a feature, or if you delete it, that feature will not be printed on the check. The 'line number' is the number of the check overlay line that indicates where a feature is to be printed on the check. The term 'tab spacing' means the number of the character positions the print head will have to move from its leftmost position. It is convenient to use either the left edge of the check, or the fancy border line that is often printed around the edge of the check. The normal character spacing for printers is 10 characters per inch. This works well with checks. You may make the tab measurements with a ruler or a special data processing forms design guide that is graduated for 10 characters per inch. If you use a ruler, multiply the inch measurement by 10. For example, if the numeric amount field on your check is to start 5.5 inches from your left margin, the tab position is then 55 (10 x 5.5). -40- SETUP CHECK FORMAT The payee and written amount fields require a field length. The field length is the number of characters that can be printed on the line on your check for these fields. The payee name is truncated if it exceeds the field length to prevent it from using the space for the numeric amount. The written amount field is filled to the end with dashes. The following are the available features: 1 Date when the 19 is printed on the check 2 Date when the 19 is NOT printed on the check 3 Check number 4 Payee 5 Numeric amount 6 Written amount 7 Reference or Memo 8 to 13 Each of 1 to 6 text statements Refer to figure 2 or the layout data sheet that you printed using section 1 of the Master Menu. If you select feature 1, you must specify where the 19 for the year is preprinted on the check. PC-ACCOUNT then computes a new tab value for where to start printing the month, based on the length of the name of the month. It then prints the name of the month and the number of the day, skips over the 19 and prints the last two digits of the year. If you select feature 2, you must specify where the date should begin. This feature lets you select from five date formats: December 29, 1986 12/29/86 86/12/29 29-DEC-86 29-DEC-1986 The check number will be printed only if you select it. The payee name and the reference or memo data will come from the payee file or can be entered separately when printing a check. The 1 to 6 text statements are available to place your name and address or any other information anywhere on the check. You can use these if you are using unprinted form fed checks for computers to print your name, address, etc. When finished with this routine, return to the Master Menu and select 5, Print Test Check. -41- SETUP CHECK FORMAT PRINT TEST CHECK The Print Test Check routine is similar to the check printing routine of PC-ACCOUNT. It prompts for an amount, so try different amounts to see how the large and small amounts fit on your check. It uses your Payees file and allows you to scroll through to make a selection, or you may enter another payee. After selecting a payee, it displays your check alignment instructions. If you are printing the check number on your check, it does not prompt for a number but uses 1234 as a test number. If, when trying it, you wish to change the instructions, return to section 3 of the Master Menu and change them. Also, make any other adjustments in the position of any of the fields to get the check to be printed the way you like it. That is why ACT_EDIT was written with all these features. SAVING THE DATA When you select 7 to EDIT ANOTHER CHECK or QUIT from the master menu, the check format file for the account you were working with will be written, if any additions or changes were made. If the check number for the account is zero, it will be set to 1 and the CONTROL file also written. When you select 6 to CANCEL A CHECKING ACCOUNT, ACT_EDIT asks if you want to delete the check format file. It does not have to be deleted because ACT_EDIT sets the check number in the CONTROL file to zero to signify that you do not want to print a check for this account. If the check number in the CONTROL file is zero, PC-ACCOUNT will not ask if you want to print a check. To reactivate an account to print checks after you have used selection 6 to cancel it, just select it when you start ACT_EDIT and are asked ENTER CHECKING ACCOUNT NUMBER (61, 75) [QUIT]? Then quit from the master menu and the CONTROL file will be updated. If the check format file is removed from the working disk without cancelling the checking account, PC-ACCOUNT will accept the transaction but not print a check. -42- SETUP CHECK FORMAT PRINTER SETUP CODES If you are using checks that are made to be form fed and printed by a computer, setting up the check format will be easier, since you will not have to use non-standard vertical spacing. However, PC-ACCOUNT can print neatly on your personal checks using nonstandard vertical spacing. Most personal checks have lines for data that do not have the normal typewriter vertical spacing of six lines per inch. But most printers have the capability of varying their vertical spacing. This is done by sending a code to the printer to program the printer for the spacing you desire. This code is commonly called an escape sequence because it begins with the ASCII character named escape. The decimal value for escape is 27. If you want to print close to all of the lines on your personal checks, you should read in your printer manual about how to vary the spacing between lines. You can then provide the decimal equivalent of the codes necessary to put your printer in a small line spacing mode when printing a check, and to return the printer to the normal spacing mode after printing the check. The Epson MX printer has several different escape sequences to change the vertical spacing. One varies the vertical spacing by 1/72 inch. The sequence is 27 65 n where n is the number of 1/72 inch increments between lines. To set the printer for a line spacing of 4/72 inch (18 lines per inch), you would use the sequence 27 65 4. The normal line spacing is 12/72 or 1/6 inch (6 lines per inch) and the value of n is 12. Therefore, to return an Epson MX printer to the normal mode after printing a check, you would tell PC-ACCOUNT to send the sequence 27 65 12. For Diablo printers, the escape sequence to vary the vertical line spacing is 27 30 n. The value for n is one more than the number of 1/48 inch increments desired. The sequence 27 30 9 will set the vertical spacing at 9 minus 1 or 8/48 inch. This is equal to 1/6 inch line spacing which is the standard 6 lines per inch. The sequence 27 30 3 will set it up for 2/48 inch spacing, or 24 lines per inch. These sequences are to be entered into the Print Check Overlay Lines and the Printer Setup Data routines of ACT_EDIT. These routines are accessible from the Master Menu. In each of these routines, you will be prompted for the sequence of codes, one at a time. There are two ways to enter the codes. You can enter the ASCII decimal value of the code. Or, you can press the ESC key to enter the numeric value for ESC, or press an alphabetic letter to enter the numeric value for that letter. Be sure to enter the letter in the proper case. With either entry method, the numeric -43- SETUP CHECK FORMAT value is displayed. Enter one code at a time, followed by RETURN. Here is an example of how to enter the sequence 27 65 4. ENTER PRINTER SETUP CODE NUMBER 1 [QUIT]? 27 ENTER PRINTER SETUP CODE NUMBER 2 [QUIT]? 65 ENTER PRINTER SETUP CODE NUMBER 3 [QUIT]? 4 ENTER PRINTER SETUP CODE NUMBER 4 [QUIT]? The maximum number of codes that can be entered for either setup or reset is ten. The maximum total number of codes for both setup and reset is thirteen. -44- SETUP CHECK FORMAT PRINTER PARAMETERS ------------------ ACCOUNT NUMBER ___ BANK NAME __________________ SETUP CODES ___ ___ ___ ___ RESET CODES ___ ___ ___ ___ LINE SPACING RATIO ___/___ NUMBER OF THESE LINES IN THE CHECK HEIGHT _______ ENTER YOUR CHECK ALIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS ON THE NEXT LINE ________________________________________________________ ENTER THE MAXIMUM DOLLAR AMOUNT IN THE FORMAT YOU DESIRE SUCH AS $999,999.99 or *9999.99 __________________ HOW MANY CHARACTER POSITIONS DOES IT TAKE? ____________ CHECK LAYOUT PARAMETERS ----------------------- FEATURE FEATURE TO BE PRINTED LINE NUMBER ON THE CHECK NUMBER TAB+ 1 DATE, ENTER TAB+ VALUE TO THE PREPRINTED '19' ___ ___ 2 DATE, ENTER TAB VALUE TO WHERE THE DATE IS TO START WHEN THE MONTH, DAY & YEAR ARE TO BE PRINTED ___ ___ 3 CHECK NUMBER, IF IT IS TO BE PRINTED ___ ___ 4 CHECK PAYEE ___ ___ MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CHARACTERS FOR PAYEE FIELD _____ 5 NUMERIC AMOUNT ___ ___ 6 WRITTEN AMOUNT ___ ___ MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CHARACTERS FOR WRITTEN AMOUNT _____ 7 MEMO LINE ___ ___ 8 LOCATION OF COMMON TEXT FIELD #1 ___ ___ TEXT FIELD #1 ________________________________________ 9 LOCATION OF COMMON TEXT FIELD #2 ___ ___ TEXT FIELD #2 ________________________________________ . . . 13 LOCATION OF COMMON TEXT FIELD #6 ___ ___ TEXT FIELD #6 ________________________________________ + The value for TAB is the number of character spaces from your starting position on the left side of the check to and including the first character to be printed, or in the case of feature #1, to the preprinted 19. Figure 2. Check Layout Data Sheet -45- SETUP CHECK FORMAT 20 ________________________________ 1 __________________________________ 2 ____________________________________ 3 ______________________________________ 4 ________________________________________ 5 __________________________________________ 6 ____________________________________________ 7 ______________________________________________ 8 ________________________________________________ 9 __________________________________________________ 10 ____________________________________________________ 11 ______________________________________________________ 12 ________________________________________________________ 13 __________________________________________________________ 14 ____________________________________________________________ 15 ______________________________________________________________ 16 ________________________________________________________________ 17 __________________________________________________________________ 18 ____________________________________________________________________ 19 ______________________________________________________________________ 20 Figure 3. Sample of Check Overlay Lines -46-