Share Gallery 1/share_gal_1.zip/share_gal_1/PA/PA008A.ZIP/MANUAL/MISUSER

Text File | 1980-01-01 | 49KB | 1,120 lines

                     WHAT A DATA BASE IS

Computer software (or applications) generally falls under one
of several broad categories such as spreadsheets, accounting,
or word processing. The MIS Manager is a data base, that is,
an information management system.  It's easy to understand
how a data base works by comparing it to a conventional
"paper" filing system.

This application has different files, each containing similar
records.  For example, in the "Hardware Inventory" files, a
record is like a fact sheet on one particular hardware item.
Each record contains several fields, such as "Product Name",
"Purchase Price", "Location" and so on, in which information
is entered just as you would "fill in the blanks" on a paper
form.

So far, so good. You can do that much already with a "paper"
filing system.  The real power of the application is in its
ability to give you the information you need - when you need
it, and in whatever form you want to see it, and to process
that information any way you need it. It's like having a team
of highly-trained clerks who know exactly what you need to
keep track of, exactly where to find it, and exactly how to
tally it up and type it out.  But it never complains, never
forgets, never makes a mistake - and it works extremely fast.


                BEFORE YOU START ENTERING DATA

This manual will provide you with the expertise necessary for
day-to-day use of the system. It assumes that you at least
understand such fundamentals as how your monitor and printer
work. You don't have to read the entire manual to get
started, as long as you start at the first and take it a step
at a time.  In fact, we encourage you use the hands-on
approach to learning, i.e., entering and working with "make-
believe" data. Before you start entering real data, however,
you should at least browse through this manual from cover-to-
cover, particularly the file descriptions at the end.

You should also meet with those in your organization who will
be involved with the system and discuss certain important
considerations, such as:

     - Timetable: which files need to be brought up-to-date
       first? How soon?  How, and how quickly, do you want to
       phase out old procedures?

     - Policy: who will have access to the system? What kind
       of auditing and reporting will you need? How will your
       office procedures and "paper flow" be affected by the
       system?

     - Data Consistency: Do you want your data to be in upper
       case only? What standard terminology and abbreviations
       will you use? Remember that a computer is not smart
       enough to know that "NY" and "New York City" may be
       the same.

These considerations need not be so grave and time-consuming
to prevent you from getting started reasonably fast. You
simply can't foresee every detail when it comes to computers.
With good communication and a common-sense approach, however,
you will work out an optimal routine as time goes on.


                   CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY

When we talk about storing data, bear in mind that what is
really happening is that electronic impulses are being
recorded magnetically on a surface similar to magnetic tape.

A database "writes" and "reads" these impulses in a very
organized way. To recap, this organization or hierarchy is as
follows: Files contain records, records contain fields.
Fields are like blank lines. Any information entered into a
field is in the form of characters. A character may be a
letter, number, symbol, even a space.

Computers normally use two types of storage media - diskettes
and hard disks.  When you buy computer software like The MIS
Manager, the program itself comes on a diskette, but the
software will be transferred to a hard disk to operate.


                    A "MENU-DRIVEN" SYSTEM

Although some of the concepts in this manual may seem
complicated at first, remember that it's a lot easier to
assemble a bicycle than to read the instructions. Most of the
procedures and techniques will become second-nature to you in
just a short time.

This manual makes no attempt to explain every conceivable way
you can use the system, or every conceivable situation you
might encounter. To do so would require volumes of text and
weeks of tedious study on your part when you could be
learning a lot faster by hands-on experience. So try out what
you learn, experiment, and when you make a mistake, try to
determine what you did wrong.

The application is menu-driven, meaning that finding your way
around is largely a matter of choosing from a list of options
and typing in the number of the option you want to use. Your
progress in learning the system will be a lot quicker if you
remember two rules:

     (1) Pay attention to what's on the screen!
     (2) If something doesn't work, try it slowly and
         carefully a second time before you scream for help.


                    WHAT HARDWARE YOU NEED

Like all software you buy, The MIS Manager requires that you
have certain hardware components in order to run properly.
These are:

     -- An IBM-PC, XT, AT or 100% Compatible Computer
     -- A minimum of 512KB RAM, and we recommend 640KB RAM
     -- A hard disk unit
     -- A dot-matrix or 132-column daisy-wheel printer
     -- Either a color or monochrome monitor
     -- A CONFIG.SYS file with BUFFERS=30 & FILES=30


                    INSTALLING THE SYSTEM

In order to use The MIS Manager, you must first transfer it
to your hard disk. To do this, when you have started up your
system and have a "C>" prompt, insert the diskette marked
"The MIS Manager" -- "Disk Number One", and then type in:

                 A:INSTALL (and press ENTER)

Follow the instructions as they appear on the screen.

So you know, what the installation program does is create a
directory called "MISMGR" on your hard disk and store the
program and data files to that directory.


                    STARTING UP THE SYSTEM

Before you can use any program, its operating system and
start-up instructions must be loaded into the computer's
memory. Unlike diskette or hard disk storage, memory is a
temporary workspace and is only functional when the
computer's power is on.

To start using the system, turn on the computer and let it
warm up until the "C>" prompt appears. At this point, if a
"main menu" has been set up on your computer, enter the
option that selects The MIS Manager. Otherwise, type in the
phrase "MISMGR" (without the quotes) and press Return. Within
a few moments the system's logo screen will appear.

You will now find yourself at the system's main menu, with
the following choices:



                      0) EXIT FROM THE SYSTEM
                      1) INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
                      2) MAINTENANCE LOGS
                      3) PRODUCT/APPLICATION REQUESTS
                      4) CONTACT LISTS
                      5) PRODUCT REVIEWS
                      6) SUMMARY REPORTS
                      7) SYSTEM UTILITIES

To make your choice, just press the number next to your
selection.

Once again, you will find yourself at a menu asking which
area you wish to work in. Again, make your selection by
pressing the number next to your selection. For example, if
you were in the "Inventory Management" area and wanted to
enter in some "Computer Hardware", you would press the "1"
key.

You will then find yourself at another menu with some or all
of the following function choices:

              0) Exit From the System
              1) Review Current Information
              2) Add New Records of Information
              3) Edit Current Information
              4) File Maintenance
              5) Print A Report

By the way, there may be other options on the screen
depending on what file you're working with, and what
functions are available within that area. The options allow
you to access the following functions within that file:

       1) Adding Information - Where you add new records
          by keying in the information.

       2) Reviewing Information - Where you can search for
          information using any number of criteria, and view
          the information either record-by-record or through
          a screen listing.

       3) Editing Information - Where you can change, or
          "edit", any field within an existing record.

       4) File Maintenance - Where you physically remove
          an entire record from your file.

       5) Printing A Report - This allows you to list
          information on paper in various formats with
          subtotals and totals, report title, and column
          headings.

Decide which option you want, and then press that number. For
example, if you want to "review" information, press the "1"
key.


                  REVIEW CURRENT INFORMATION

In order to look at a record (or group of records), change
the information in it, add new information to it, or delete
it altogether, you must first conduct a search of the file to
find that record by telling the program your search criteria.

Think of "search criteria" as your definition of the records
you want to find. You may simply be looking for one item
with a certain product name. Or you may be looking for a
group of items which fall under a very narrowly-defined
criteria such as all those with costs that are greater than
$500.

The concept of how to search for records is probably the most
difficult to master in the program, not because it's hard to
do, but because there are so many ways in using it. The more
you study and use these methods, the quicker your searches
will be, so take your time and experiment as much as you need
to.

To illustrate how to use this "search" routine, we are going
to use the example above where we are searching for hardware
with costs that are greater than $500. To display these
records of information, or "view" the information, press "1"
on your keyboard while at the Computer Hardware main menu.
You will see on the screen the first record in the file, in
this case the first hardware item.

Before we talk further about viewing your information, we
first need to discuss the three different types of "fields"
in your files, in other words the three "types" of
information" you keep on the system. They are:

                    (1) "Character" Fields
                    (2) "Numeric" Fields
                    (3) "Date" Fields

"Character" fields refers to an information area, such as
"Address", in which you may enter characters or numbers or
symbols (ie. $ or %). Now, if you or I heard that something
was a "character" field, we would think that it meant only
the letters "A" through "Z", the alphabet, could be keyed in
that field.  But computers work a little differently. A
"Character" (or "Alphanumeric" as its known to programmers)
field means you can type anything you want. As a result, a
address can be entered not just as "ABCD" but also as "AB234"
or even "AB#345%" if you wanted. Other examples where you may
combine numbers, characters and symbols in a "character"
field include a name or phone number.  And you may even have
a "character" field of "Zip Code" that contains just numbers.

"Numeric" fields are a little more straight-forward. They
contain only numbers, and cannot contain any characters or
symbols, other than a "." used as a decimal place. In
addition, these fields contain numbers that are used in
calculations. That's why "Amount" is a "numeric" field, and
"Zip Code" is not. Because "Amount" is totaled and/or
manipulated in many ways in several different reports.  On
the other hand, "Zip Code" is just displayed or printed for
informational purposes. You won't find many reports anywhere
that literally add up two zip codes and print the total.

"Date" fields are even more basic. They contain calendar
dates, which are entered with numbers in Month-Day-Year
(MM/DD/YY) fashion when you key them in. So, if the field
"Start Date" is a "Date" field, and the person started
on February 1st of 1986, then "02/01/86" would be the start
date.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the types of
information fields you will be dealing with, let's get back
to searching for and "viewing" the information about your
organization.

If you have not yet entered any records of information, you
cannot do any "searches" for information, and a message will
be displayed alerting you of this fact. At this point you can
press any key to Enter to the file's menu screen and try
this function again later. If there are records of
information in this file, then you will notice that the first
record of information that is on your disk has also been
displayed. At the bottom of the screen are the viewing
options ("commands") that are available to you:

          (D)isplay - To create a report with column listings
                      of information (in formats that you set
                      up), based on what information you tell
                      the system to search for.

          (F)ind - To find records of information by the "key
                   field" (such as the Product Name in the
                   Computer Hardware file) ---this is the
                   quickest way to find a specific record.

          (S)earch - To find and show records of information
                     searching on fields other than the key
                     field.

          (N)ext - Move on to the next record of information
                   in the file which matches your selection
                   criteria.

          (L)ast - Move on to the last record of information
                   in the file which matches your selection
                   criteria.

          (R)eturn - Returns you to the file's menu screen.

As it says above, at any time you can return to the file's
menu screen by pressing the "R" key. Let's examine how to use
each of the remaining options.

(F)ind Records:

Press the "F" key. You will see that a message is at the
bottom of the screen asking you to key in the information you
are seeking. For example in the "Hardware" file, you will be
asked to enter in either the system number or product name,
while in the "Application" you will need to enter in the
application title. By the way, you do not have to enter all
the information. For example, entering in a product name of
"Br" will simply bring up the first product whose name starts
with "Br". Enter in the information, and press Enter when you
are finished. In a moment the first entry with the
information you entered will be displayed.

If there is another record of information with the same "key
field" that you wish to see, like another product with a name
that starts with "Br", then press the "N" key to see the
next record with that name. Or, press the "L" key to view the
last record you say with that name. Otherwise you can search
for another record of information by pressing "F" again, use
any of the other "Review" commands, or return to the file's
menu by pressing the "R" key.

(S)earch For Records:

Press the "S" key. The screen will first display the fields
of information which are contained in each record, with a
number by each one.

The computer is asking you what field number you want to
search on. Since our example involves us looking for hardware
with a certain COST, we would type the number next to the
cost field and then press enter.

Next the computer will ask us to enter the "operand". What is
an operand? Remember that a computer is basically a very
sophisticated mathematical machine. In the basic math classes
that you had in school when you saw 2+2 = ?, you were seeing
an operand....the "equal" sign! An operand tells the computer
if what you are looking for should be an exact match (equal)
or perhaps, as in our case greater than (the > sign). There
are several different operand symbols to choose from,
including:

The "=" symbol, meaning that a field's information is
identical to a set of characters or numbers. For example, a
search with this criteria might be a name that was EXACTLY
"XYZ Company" or an amount that was exactly 1000.

The "<>" symbol, meaning that a field's information is not
equal to a set of characters or numbers. For example, a
search with this criteria might be an amount <> 100.

The ">" symbol, meaning that a field's information is greater
than a set of characters or numbers. For example, a search
with this criteria might be an amount > 500.

The "<" symbol, meaning that a field's information is less
than a set of characters or numbers. For example, a search
with this criteria might be an amount < 500.

The ">=" symbol, meaning that a field's information is
greater than or equal to a set of characters or numbers. For
example, a search with this criteria might be an amount >=
500.

The "<=" symbol, meaning that a field's information is less
than or equal to a set of characters or numbers. For example,
a search with this criteria might be an amount <= 500.

In this case, we would type in the ">" symbol, for "greater
than" 100, and then press the Enter key.

Third, the computer will ask you what you are searching for.
Well, in our example we have already told the program that we
are looking for a certain COST characteristic, and that it
should be GREATER THAN something. The computer's question
here is: Greater than what? The answer is 500, since we want
checks with amounts greater than 500. So, in this case you
would type in the number 500 and press enter.

After you have done this, you will find yourself back where
we started, displaying the fields of information which are
contained in each record, with a number by each one. The
reason for this is that the system will allow you to specify
more than one characteristic to look for. Suppose I wanted to
see any cost that was greater than $500 and involved
the "Accounting" department. That is two separate and
distinct characteristics, or two "search criteria". So we
would have to go through the process twice. In fact, you can
enter in up to three characteristics for each search that you
do. But, if we are finished, as in this case, we just need to
type in a "0" and press the Enter key.

In a few seconds (or perhaps a little more if there are a
good number of entries, the system will find and display the
first record of information that meets your search criteria.
If the system did not find any records that meet your
criteria, then the message "No Records Match Your Search
Criteria" will be displayed.

Once the first record has been displayed, you can press the
"N" key (Next) to view the next record which meets your
search criteria. At any time, you can also press the "L" key
(Last) to view the last record you saw which met your search
criteria. When there are no more, the message "No More
Records In The File" will be displayed, from which you can
press any key to return to the "view" options.

(D)isplay Records:

Suppose there were about 20 items that had costs which
were greater than 500? Well, you might want to avoid looking
at each entry and instead see a list of those items. That is
what the "Display" function does.

You can look at whole groups of records at one time. You may
not want to see every field in every record -- only the ones
that are important to you at the time. For example, you might
just wish to see the Product, Purchase Date, Department and
Cost for your items that have costs of greater than 500.

When these fields are displayed on your screen, they are in
the form of a record-by-record list, similar to a formatted
report. There is only one line per record, so you can easily
see which fields are in which record.

Your choice of the fields you want to see in your "list" is
called a "display format". You create your own display
formats as you are working with the system. It's important to
understand here that if you create a display format which is
the same as one you created earlier, you are only using the
format again - you won't necessarily see the same records as
you did before.

Why is this? Because whenever you do a display, you must also
do a "search". You might use different search criteria every
time, so even though the "list" might look the same, the
information in it will be different.

When you select this option by pressing the "D" key, the
system will first ask you what to search for, just as you did
in the previous section.

Then, when you are finished, it will want to know what fields
you want displayed (or printed) in the report. To select the
fields, just type the number next to the field you want and
press enter. Remember that the order in which you select the
numbers is the order in which the fields will appear (going
from left to right) on the report. When you have picked out
the report fields that you want, type in a "0" and then press
enter. By the way, you can select up to 9 fields in the
report, provided that you don't exceed the width of the
screen or paper. If you do, the system will tell you so when
it tries to print the report with a message that say "DISPLAY
STRING IS TOO LONG".

The system will next ask if you wish to view this listing on
your monitor or have it printed out. If you want to see it on
the screen, press the "S" key. And then the system will
prompt you to enter in a report "title" to appear at the
top of the page or screen.

You will then be asked to enter in the "Sort" expression, to
tell the computer how you want your information sorted when
it is displayed. The format for this is exactly the same as
when you entered in your "Display" expression. In other
words, just pick the number (or numbers) next to the fields
you want your report sorted on. For example, if you wanted
the items sorted by name, and then by amount within each
company, you would select "Product Name" as the first sort
field and then "Purchase Cost" as the second. You can have up
to three sort fields.

At this point the first page of the listing will appear on
your monitor, or the printer will start printing. If there is
more information to see then you will see a message at the
bottom of the screen asking you to "Press Any Key To
Continue".

If the system did not find any records that meet your
criteria, then the message "No Records Match Your Search
Criteria" will be displayed. Otherwise the first page of your
listing will be displayed. When you press any key, the next
page of your listing will be shown. Otherwise the message
"Press Any Key To Continue" will appear, and you will be back
at the "Review" screen.


                     ADD NEW INFORMATION

When working with a file, it will be helpful to think of a
record as a "form" that you fill out as needed, and can go
back and make corrections on at any time. Whenever you fill
out a new form you must "save" your work, that is, put the
new form in the file.

This option, as its name clearly implies, is for entering a
completely new record into a file, such as a new printer that
you have just installed. When you first start using the
system all of your records will be "new", so you will be
using this option most of the time.

After you've saved a record, the program will display a new
"blank form". If you have more records to add, simply keep
typing them in, saving them, and so on.

As we mentioned earlier, it's important that you be
consistent in the way that you enter information. Otherwise,
you may have difficulty finding it later on and getting
accurate reports. For example, some of the fields in your
files are categorical or descriptive, so you should
standardize your terminology as much as possible.

Likewise, information may be entered in either upper or lower
case, so decide on your own rules for capitalizing. Use the
shift key where necessary, but you may wish to use the "Caps
Lock" key if you want all capital letters.

When adding records, you don't have to fill out every field
in the record. In fact, some files by nature require that
information be entered at different times - certain fields,
for example, refer to events which may not have occurred yet.
(Remember that you can always go back later and update the
record as needed.)

If you want to add new records of information to your file,
then press "2" on your keyboard while at the file's main
menu. The screen will display the fields of information which
are contained in each record. Refer to the "File
Descriptions" section of this manual if you're not sure what
these fields refer to.

Notice that the cursor is at the first line of information.
This is also the "key field" of the file, and must be entered
for each new record. Type in the information for this field.
If you make a mistake, or wish to change something, the "---
>" and "<---" keys will let you go back and forth on the
line. When you're finished with that field, press the Return
key.

If you have already moved on to another field, and need to go
back to change something, the "up" arrow key will move you
back one field, and the "down" arrow key will move you
forward one field at any time.

When you have finished entering the information for this new
record, the system will ask you if you want to (S)ave,
(A)bandon or (C)hange your information. If you are satisfied
with your entry as it is, then press the "S" key. If you need
to make some changes or add information to the entry, then
press the "C" key. You will find yourself back at the first
field of information and can go through each field once
again, making changes or additions as needed. Note: In some
files when you add your second record you will see some
fields, such as "System Number" already filled in with the
previous record's information. This is done to save time and
effort since many fields will remain the same for 5-10 items
within a system. If the information is not right, you can
override it by just typing over the displayed information
with the correct data.

If you decide you do not want to save this entry at all, then
press the "A" key, which will then let you add other entries
or return to the file's main menu.


                   EDIT CURRENT INFORMATION

In case you're unclear on what it means to "edit a record",
here it is:

- to change or erase information within an existing record
  (one that you "added" previously). Perhaps you misspelled a
  name or put in an incorrect date.

- to add new information to an existing record - information
  that you didn't have or forgot to type in when you first
  "added" the record.

To change the information you already have on file, or "edit"
the information, press "3" on your keyboard while at the
file's main menu.

The screen will display the fields of information which are
contained in each record. Refer to the "File Descriptions"
section of this manual if you're not sure what these fields
refer to.

Notice that the first record of information that is on your
disk has also been displayed. At the bottom of the screen are
the viewing options ("commands") that are available to you:

          (E)dit - Will let you change any information within
                   the record except for the first field.

          (M)ark - Marks the record for deletion from the
                   file.

          (U)nmark - Removes the deletion marking.

          (N)ext - Move on to the next record of information
                   which matches your selection criteria.

          (L)ast - Move back to the last record of
                   information which matches your selection
                   criteria.

          (P)osition - Starts the process to find a record
                       you want to edit.

          (R)eturn - Returns you to the module's menu screen.

As it says above, at any time you can return to the module's
menu screen by pressing the "R" key. Let's examine how to use
each of the remaining options.

Before you edit a record, you must first search for and find
that particular record that you wish to change using the same
routines as you did in the "Review Information" section.

To do this, first press the "P" key and the command options
for finding records will appear on the screen ( (F)ind,
(S)earch, (N)ext, and (L)ast).

When you find the record you want to edit, press the "R"
(Return) key, which will put you back at the edit menu with
the found record displayed. Press the "E" key.

Move through the fields on your screen and make any desired
changes. When you are finished, if you are at the last field
of information, just hit the Return key. Otherwise hold down
the "CTRL" key and press the "W" key.

If you have another edit to do within the same search (ie.
all records where CATEGORY = "Word Processing"), then press
the "N" key (for next record) and when the next record you
want appears, press the "E" key (for edit) and repeat the
process.

If you are finished with this search, but wish to search for
other records to edit, press the "P" key and start the search
process once again. When you are done editing records, press
the "R" key to return to the file's main menu.


                       FILE MAINTENANCE

File Maintenance should be done on a regular basis, and
particularly after a number of records have been "marked for
deletion". This routine will not only let you delete the
records of information that have been "marked" after first
making a "backup" copy, but will also "reindex" (reorder)
your records, or restore the backup copy of the data. To do
this, press "4" on your keyboard.  A menu screen will appear
that gives you the three file maintenance options or allows
you to return to the file's main menu by pressing "0". As
before, press the number next to the option you want.

Regardless of which option you selected, the screen will
display a message explaining what is about to happen and ask
the question: "Do You Wish To Continue?". You should type in
"Yes" and press Return if you want to continue this process.
Typing in anything else will automatically return you to the
file's main menu.

As we said above, while the record deletion routine is being
run, the program will also create a backup file with the
suffix .BAK which is a replica of the file as it was prior to
running the routine. This is done as a safety precaution.
However, this does not take the place of backing up your data
on the hard disk onto diskettes, as discussed in a later
section.

When the system has finished this process, you will be
returned to the file's main menu.


                        PRINT A REPORT

The whole idea behind having reports is that information in
your files can be processed and printed in ways which are
unavailable using the "Search" or "Display" options. When you
are working with the system, you can get a printed copy of
anything on your display using the "Shift" and "PrtSc" keys.

Formatted reports provide several features such as titles,
headings, subtotals, and totals. Additionally, information
may be "sorted" in any way prior to printing the report.

For our purposes, the term "report" refers to not only the
familiar listing with column headings, totals, etc., but such
things as mailing labels.

As such, there are many different reports available to you in
The MIS Manager system. These reports have been designed to
cover the needs of each information area.

To print a report, press the appropriate number on your
keyboard while at the file's main menu. A menu will appear
offering you the available report choices.

Each of these choices reflects a different way of "sorting",
or ordering your information and printing it out. You will
find a synopsis of each of these reports in the "Report
Descriptions" section of this manual. We recommend you refer
to that section when deciding what report to print, and to
review it once if you are just starting to use the system.

Decide which option you want, then press the number next to
it. In some cases you have the option to only retrieve
selected records from the file to print on the report. For
example, if you are printing a "HARDWARE LISTING BY
MANUFACTURER" report, the system will ask if you want a
particular manufacturer, or if it should print all
manufacturers. Another time the system may ask for a range of
dates on which you want the information retrieved. Enter the
information that the system wants.

Next, the system will prompt you to make sure that your
printer is turned on and that the paper is aligned. Then
press the "Y" key to print the report.  When the report is
finished, the system will return you to this report menu.


                 MONTHLY DEPRECIATION PROCESS

In order to keep up-to-date depreciation summaries on each
item in your inventories, and make the appropriate journal
entries (for audit trail purposes), in the Hardware and
Software areas once every month at a designated time you
should instruct the system to do this process. To do so,
select the "Run Monthly Depreciation Process" option in the
inventory file you're working with.

First, the program will ask whether you want to run both the
ACRS and Straight-Line methods, or just one. You must press
the "Y" key for the process to start. Then, the system will
remind you of the last date on which the process was
completed. The purpose of this date is to alert you if
someone else has recently run the program, or in case you are
not sure when it was last run. You must press the "Y" key for
the process to start.

The system will then ask you to enter in what date you wish
to have for the individual journal entries, what accounting
year they will be charged to, and what accounting period they
will be charged to. In both the case of the year and the
month the program is expecting a two-digit number, such as
"86" or "87" for the year, and "02" or "11" for the period.
Enter the information, pressing return after each entry.

When you have finished, a message will be displayed alerting
you that the process is currently in progress. What will
happen is that a journal entry will be created for all ltems
that have not been fully depreciated, and the depreciation
totals in the inventory file will be updated to reflect these
new journal entries. When it is finished, you will be
returned to the inventory file's main menu.

One final note: The journal entries for both hardware and
software are kept in a single journal file. Thus, the entries
from both the Hardware Inventory and Software Inventory files
will be located in the Computer Depreciation Journal file.


                    MTBF ANALYSIS REPORTS

The system provides the means to print a MTBF (Mean Time
Between Failure) report in either the Hardware or Software
areas. To access these reports, go to the Maintenance Log for
the equipment area you want and select the "Print A Report"
option. Then select the "MTBF Report" option.

An MTBF report provides you with a summary of the average
time (in days) which will occur between maintenance
occurances for a particular component.  You have four choices
as to how you wish the report to be sorted, with component
summaries within that category and then a subtotal for each
of the categories. The categories available to you are: (1)
System Number, (2) Department Code, (3) Product Name, or (4)
Manufacturer. Tell the system which MTBF report you want by
pressing the number next to your selection.


                   FILLING PRODUCT REQUESTS

When a product request for either the Hardware or Software
areas which was previously entered into the appropriate
Product Request file is filled, then you can automatically
transfer the information into the appropriate hardware or
software inventory file. To do so, select the "Fill Product
Orders" option in the request file you're working with.

The system will then ask you to enter in the request number
you want and find its data. If this is the request you want
filled, then say so. Otherwise, the system will let you enter
another request number. When you have indicated that you want
a request filled, the system will ask you what item under
this number you want filled by steping you through each item
under that number until you indicate which item you want.
Then, whether you are doing one item or all items, the system
will ask you for some information that it needs before adding
the record to the inventory file, such as the System Number
and the Purchase Date.

It will also ask you if there is a maintenance or lease
agreement in effect.  If you say there is, you will be
prompted to enter in the appropriate data.  When you have
completed this, the system will create a new record in the
appropriate inventory file for this new component.


                   FILLING DESIGN REQUESTS

When a product request for an application design which was
previously entered into the Design Request file is filled,
then you can automatically transfer the information into the
appropriate application file. To do so, select the "Fill
Design Requests" option in the request file you're working
with.

The system will then ask you to enter in the request number
you want and find its data. If this is the request you want
filled, then say so. Otherwise, the system will let you enter
another request number. When you have indicated that you want
a request filled, the system will ask you for some
information that it needs before adding the record to the
inventory file, such as the System Number and the File Date.

When you have completed this, the system will create a new
record in the application file for this new system.


                    DEPARTMENTAL SUMMARIES

There is a means to print a departmental summary report
showing all the hardware, software or applications within a
given department code. To access these reports, go to the
"Summary Reports" area you want and select the Departmental
report option you desire.

A Departmental Summary Report provides you with a summary of
the hardware, software, and applications within the
department code you specify broken down and subtotaled by
system number.


                   SYSTEM NUMBER SUMMARIES

There is also a means to print a system number summary report
showing all the hardware, software or applications within a
given system number. To access these reports, go to the
"Summary Reports" area you want and select the Departmental
report option you desire.

A System Number Summary Report provides you with a summary of
all the hardware, software, and applications within the
system number you specify with totals.


              DEPARTMENTAL DEPRECIATION SUMMARY

Finally, you have the means to print a depreciation summary
report showing all the deprecioation totals within a given
department code. To access these reports, go to the "Summary
Reports" area you want and select the "Departmental
Depreciation Summary" option.

This report provides you with a summary of depreciation
totals within the department code you specify broken down and
subtotaled by accounting month.


                    PRINT INVENTORY LABELS

One other function that The MIS Manager has is the ability to
print "inventory labels", which can be attatched to the
hardware and software items for easy identification. Each of
these labels contains the system number, department code,
product name, fixed asset number, and serial number of the
item.

To print labels, go to the "Summary Reports" area and then
select the "Print Inventory Labels" option. Pick the type of
labels you want and the system will let you either print a
label for each component in the file, or specify a range of
purchase dates for which you want labels printed.


              CHANGE YOUR PRINTER CONFIGURATION

If you are using a different printer on your system than you
were previous to this time, or if you are just starting to
use the system, you will need to tell the system of this
change so that your reports will print out properly.  To
change the printer configuration on your system, press the
"1" key from the "System Utilities" menu. The system will now
display the current printer configuration, and ask you to key
in the new one.

The system will ask for the "PICA" (Normal) and "COMPRESSED"
ASCII codes for your printer, which are found in the
printer's user manual. For example, with a Epson-type printer
the code for "Normal" is "18" (without the quotes) and for
"Compressed" is "15".

Key in each item, pressing return after each one. At the end,
the system will ask "All Correct?". If it is, enter a "Y" and
press return. If not, the system will let you go back and
reenter the information.


            ADDING OR CHANGING COMPANY INFORMATION

The company information from this section is printed at the
top of reports.  This information can be changed as often as
you like, whenever you like.

To enter the information, go the "System Utilities" section,
and then select option number "2". You will be presented with
a line to key in the information, pressing return when you
are finished. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: The system prints out
exactly what you have entered in exactly the position you
place it, so you need to center your heading on the line much
as you would center a heading at the top of a typewritten
page. After you've pressed return, the system will ask "All
Correct?". If it is, enter a "Y" and press return. If not,
the system will let you go back and reenter the information.


               TRANSFERRING DATA TO A TEXT FILE

Sometimes you may find it advantageous to transfer data from
one of the files into an "ASCII" or "Text" file which can
then be used with some word processing and spreadsheet
programs, or used in conjunction some other program that can
read a text file.

To create a text file, press "3" while at the "System
Utilities" menu. You will next be given a choice of what kind
of data you would like transferred.  Enter the number next to
your selection and press return. For example, if you wanted
to transfer microcomputer hardware entries, you would key in
"01" and press enter.

Next, you will be asked if you want to transfer the text file
data directly to a diskette in the "A" drive. If you want to,
type in "Y" and press enter.

The system will next ask you what you want to call the text
file you are creating. The format for the name is anything
you want, although what you're sending the information to
will have a say in the format. Pick a name of your choosing
the directory, if you want, then the name, and then put up to
three characters as a suffix. We recommend using .TXT as your
suffix. An example of a file name would be "\LOTUS\MAINT.TXT"
or "MICROHW.TXT".

Next, the system will create a text file based on your
selection and store it on your disk.  When this is finished,
you will be returned to the main menu screen.


          TRANSFERRING DATA TO AN MIS MANAGER FORMAT

Other times you may find it advantageous to transfer data
from one of the files into an dBASE III file which can then
be transferred to another copy of The MIS Manager, or used in
conjunction some other dBASE III program that can read the
data file.

To create a file, press "4" while at the "System Utilities"
menu. You will next be given a choice of what kind of data
you would like transferred.  Enter the number next to your
selection and press return. For example, if you wanted to
transfer microcomputer hardware entries, you would key in
"01" and press enter.

Next, you will be asked if you want to transfer the text file
data directly to a diskette in the "A" drive. If you want to,
type in "Y" and press enter.

The system will next ask you what you want to call the text
file you are creating. The format for the name is anything
you want, although what you're sending the information to
will have a say in the format. Pick a name of your choosing
the directory, if you want, then the name, but there is no
need to put a three character suffix. An example of a file
name would be "\LOTUS\MAINT" or "MICROHW".

After this, the system will ask you what records you want
transferred, in other words what you selection criteria is.
This criteria is entered exactly as you entered "Searches"
back in the "Display Records" section of this manual. Next,
the system will create a data file based on your selection
and store it on your disk. When this is finished, you will be
returned to the main menu screen.


             RECEIVING EXTERNAL MIS MANAGER DATA

Sometimes you may find it advantageous to transfer data from
another MIS Manager system which can added to the existing
data on your MIS Manager program.

To receive such a file, press "5" while at the "System
Utilities" menu. You will next be given a choice of what kind
of data you would like to receive.  Enter the number next to
your selection and press return. For example, if you wanted
to transfer microcomputer hardware entries, you would key in
"01" and press enter.

Next, you will be asked if you want to data is currently on a
diskette in the "A" drive. If you want to, type in "Y" and
press enter.

The system will next ask for the name of the file which you
are receiving, and if it is an MIS Manager format (ie. dBASE
III), or if it is an ASCII Text file format. Respond to each
question. Next, the system will add the data into the
existing file on your disk. When this is finished, you will
be returned to the main menu screen.


           INDICATING A COLOR OR MONOCHROME MONITOR

One of the features of The MIS Manager is that it will
display colors if it knows you have a color monitor, and that
you want the system in color.  To do so, select option "6"
from the "System Utilities" menu. Then answer the question of
color with a "Y" or an "N" and press return. As with other
features, you can change this as often as you like.


                  BACKING UP YOUR DATA FILES

Making backup, or "safety" copies of your data files is an
important habit that should not be neglected. It may turn out
that your backup copies may never be needed, but the same can
be said for insurance.

How often you backup your files will depend on how often you
make changes or additions to them. If you only make about "an
hour's worth" of changes to a file each week, you may decide
that backing up the file once a week is enough, since, if the
file is damaged or destroyed, it would only take an hour to
rekey the changes you made since you last backed up the file.

Of course, when you are first using a file, you probably will
be making many additions to it each day, so you should back
it up frequently - perhaps every few hours, or at least at
the end of the day.

If you want to be absolutely safe, you should always have two
backups of every file, because theoretically a bolt of
lightning hitting your power line could destroy your primary
and backup files while they are both in the computer during
the backup process.

To make a backup copy, our primary suggestion is to follow
the established backup procedures for your organization or
for your computer. If you do not have any, then follow these
steps. You will need anywhere from 1 to 20 formatted
diskettes, depending on how much data there is at that time.
First, go to the "System Utilities" section, and ask for
Option Number "7", which is "Backup Data Files". Then just
follow the instructions on the screen.

You do not literally need new diskettes each time you back up
your files, and can reuse the old backup diskettes or any
other diskette that has been reformatted or cleared of any
other programs or data. For a more detailed discussion of
this process, check in the DOS operating system manual that
came with your computer under "Backing Up Your Disks" or
"Making Backup Copies".


                   EXITING FROM THE SYSTEM

When you are finished working with any menu selection,
pressing "0" will return you to the previous menu. When you
are at the initial (or "Main") menu, pressing "0" will allow
you to exit completely from the system. At this point the
"C>" prompt will appear on the screen, at which time you can
shut off the computer or run another software system.