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CMED3
Contacts, Mailing list, and Event Database System
Version 3.0
Users Guide
Table of Contents
Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page Number
1. Introduction and Legal Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Getting Started Fast - a Working Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Functional Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. Operational Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1 Exit functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 Search functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.3 Position functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.4 Change functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.5 Query functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.6 Reports functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.7 Maintenance functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.8 Help functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. Data Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.1 Names Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.2 Tags table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.3 Tags Lookup table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.4 Event Data table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.5 Event Lookup table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.6 Access table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.7 Contacts table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6. Reports/Forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7. System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8. Registration Form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1. Introduction and Legal Stuff
Welcome to the Contacts, Mailing list, and Events Database (CMED) System.
This product is a series of tables and a script library based written for use
with Paradox. It is being distributed as a Shareware product, so it is not
free. You are encouraged to try it, use it, play with it, and even pass it on
to others. All that is asked is that if you continue to use it after 30 days,
that you pay the registration fee.
NOTE: The first version (v1.0) of this product was written specifically for
Paradox 3.5. The second version (v2.0) was converted for use with Paradox
4.0. This third version (v3.0) has included some enhancements to take
advantage of Paradox 4.0 capabilities as well as some enhanced contact
management functions. As a result, the program has been fairly well tested,
but is also the product of an evolutionary demand. Version 3.0 is the first
version that has been made commercially available. All prior versions were
used exclusively by organizations supported by the author.
There are no 'guilt' notices built into the program, so if you're setting up a
database for use by others they'll only see a gentle reminder to register the
product. After 30 days, the notice will change from a reminder to a warning
that the product might not continue to function. And, unfortunately, after 60
days it will cease to operate. Your data will remain intact and you may
easily manipulate it from within Paradox (if you own the program), but the
program library will cease to function unless it is registered.
Additionally, the program is registered as being a single or multi-user
installation. Since the Shareware Registration version is single user only,
the system will operate fine on a network, but only one user at a time.
Registration is required for all multi-user operations.
But on the good side, if you register the program your conscience will be
clear and you will receive the next program update for free!
Now for the legal stuff - This program is being distributed without any
warranty of any kind, either express or implied. It is being made available
as-is and without any guarantee of function or operation.
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
IMPORTANT - CMED version 3.0 is distributed without a copy of Paradox 4.0 or
Paradox Runtime 4.0. If you do not own a copy of Paradox or Paradox Runtime,
the Runtime product is available from the author for the exclusive use with
this program. See the registration form for details.
Paradox and Paradox Runtime are products of Borland International. Paradox
Runtime can be provided with the CMED Product through the provisions of the
Paradox Runtime license agreement. Any copying or distribution of the Paradox
Runtime software independent of the CMED System is not permitted. All support
for the CMED System will be provided by its author and not by Borland
International.
Paradox Runtime is Copyright (c) 1992 by Borland International. All Rights
Reserved.
Contacts, Mailing list, and Events Database is Copyright (c) 1990-1993 by
Jon F. Gray. All Rights Reserved.
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
2. Getting Started Fast - a Working Model
For those of you who don't like to read manuals and just want to get started,
go no further. With a short example and working model, you should be able to
immediately start working with CMED.
The Model
Imagine that you must maintain a list of contacts (names, addresses, phone
numbers, etc.) and that you have printed all of the information on individual
index cards. The face of the card lists all of the basic information with the
same format on each card. On the right side of each card you annotate the
cards with the various mailing lists or contact information for each person.
For example, maybe you have 500 names total, with 200 names on your monthly
newsletter mailing list and another 200 names targeted as prospective clients.
In addition, you send your annual report to 350 people, including some people
on one or both of the first lists. So some cards have no annotation, some
have "newsletter" and "annual report", some have just "newsletter", some have
just "annual report", some have just "prospect", and so forth. You can have
an unlimited number of lists and can mix and match who is on what list (with
no limit to the number of lists that people are on).
In addition, say you sponsor a series of events (courses, conferences,
seminars, or whatever). So you annotate the back of every index card with the
events for which each person has registered, along with the fee that you are
charging them, the amounts they've paid, and any special notes (like who is a
vegetarian for your luncheon meeting).
So now that you have all of this information, what do you do with it? Every
time you want to send out a mailing, you go through your stack of index cards
and take out the ones annotated for the list you want. Or maybe you want to
send a new direct mail campaign to everyone that has registered for an event,
but you want to take out the people that are already your regular sponsors.
The list of activities is endless, but you get the idea.
But you say, this sorting and re-sorting and re-typing of information from my
index cards is tedious, prone to errors, and not very fun. So you regularly
hire temporary workers for each task. It only takes a few minutes to teach
them how to sort/collate/combine the list the way you want it, but the whole
working process takes days and costs a lot of money. WELCOME TO CMED. This
database system will perform this task for you, provide several standardized
reports, and structure your information for complete access through the power
of Paradox.
Of particular note, unlike other mailing list managers, CMED is designed to
support organizations that sponsor events that require registration and
tracking.
More details follow.
3. Functional Description
The CMED database system is designed to be a fully integrated utility to
support an organization with a mailing list and/or directory/contact
information with specific functions available for registration and maintenance
of conferences, courses, or seminars sponsored by the organization.
It is intended to be simple and easy to use, with the entire functional menu
available through standard pull-down and pop-up menu systems. Fully mouse
compatible, the basic functions are all within a few keystrokes or a few
clicks of the mouse. This permits the users to have rapid viewing/lookup
access to the list of names, addresses, phones, and other information with one
or two keystroke access to advanced functions. Once 'literate' in the system
operation, the users generally do not need to refer to the User Manual. For
that reason (and because this program is distributed as shareware and
developing manuals can be very expensive) this document is intended as a
concise reference manual and learning tool but is not extensive.
The program also fully supports operation by multiple users simultaneously on
a network and the internal structures are simple enough that the users can
directly manipulate the data through Paradox if desired functions are not
available in this program. A full description of the tables, forms, and
reports is included in Section 5.
A CMED database itself can best be described as an organized list of mailing
and contact information. Basic address and phone information is maintained
for all individual and corporate contacts as well as 'tag' information to
permit individual entries to be grouped together according to common interests
or mailing groups and 'event' information relating to an individual or
corporate participation in an event. The exact information and field
definition for each of the types of information are listed in Section 5.
Several important elements of the function of the database system are critical
for the user to understand.
* * * * * * IMPORTANT ISSUES * * * * * *
The FIRST important element is that all of the data is stored in a set of
interrelated tables. Simplistically, the user should consider the database as
a set of THREE tables. The first contains all of the PRIMARY information,
such as names, addresses, and phone numbers. The second contains all of the
tag information and is linked to the Primary table through the record ID
number. The third contains all of the event registration information and
notes and is also linked through the record ID number. Both the second and
third tables are dependent upon the first, so they may have more than one
entry per entry in the Primary table. However, the information is maintained
separately. This creates the following relationships:
1) Individuals may have more than one tag (actually, an unlimited
number).
2) Individuals can be registered for an unlimited number of events,
though they can be registered for each event only once.
Throughout the rest of this manual, these tables are referred to by
their Table names. NAMES is the table with the basic person/company
data, the second working version (discussed below) is called QUERY.
TAGS is the table with the tag information (the lookup table of valid
entries is TAG_LU). EVENTS contains the event information (the lookup
table of valid entries is EVENT_LU).
The SECOND important element is that references will be made to the NAMES
table and the QUERY table. These are actually copies of the SAME data. For
ease of use and power in constructing queries to the database, a facility has
been added to create a 'working copy' that will permit the user to define and
use any subset of the database. This 'working copy' is temporary and will be
discarded at the end of each session. In essence, selecting items to be
'placed in the QUERY table' from the NAMES table does not actually create a
separate database (though it does create a separate temporary table), but is a
way of looking at only selected records. Accordingly, users should realize
that the QUERY table records are copies of the NAMES data and cannot be
changed. ALSO, if a user is simultaneously updating the database and changes
one of the records that has already been copied into another user's QUERY
table, the other user will NOT see the change. Each user has his/her own
private QUERY table that is only changed by user commands.
The THIRD important element is that the system operates primarily in a VIEW or
READ-ONLY mode. The user must ask to make changes to the data and confirm
when the changes are complete. This not only prevents accidental changes, but
allows a system administrator to prevent some users from having such access to
the data.
The FOURTH important element is that the system maintains the entries in what
appears to be random order. It is actually the order of their ID numbers, so
it reflects the order in which the entries were first made to the database.
However, search and sorting functions are provided to find any entry quickly
and to format reports in the desired format and order.
4. Operational Description
Upon starting the system, the user will be presented with a full screen
display containing information from the oldest entry in the database (the
first one entered). Therefore, it is recommended that this entry contain the
user's registration information and possibly the telephone numbers of the
appropriate support personnel. As long as this entry (or any entry for that
matter) does not have TAGS or EVENT information associated with it, it should
not interfere with any normal database usage.
The top menu bar shows the primary grouping of available functions. In
addition to the menu functions, the PageUp and PageDown keys permit scrolling
through the database, the HOME and END keys move to their respective ends of
the database, and the INSERT and DELETE keys will perform their respective
functions. The menu choices can be selected by either pressing the
highlighted character or clicking with a mouse. Where pull-down menus are
provided, similar selections can be made on the sub-menus.
In addition to the menu functions, certain hot-keys are available. Several
function keys are available as defined below:
1) F2 = Exit
2) F3 = Search Target (new search)
3) F4 = Search Next (search again)
4) F5 = Add Current Record to Query Table
5) F6 = reserved
6) F7 = reserved
7) F8 = Display/Change Contact Information
8) F9 = Display/Change Events Information
9) F10 = Display/Change Tags List
4.1 Exit functions
This function will provide the user with two options to exit the program.
EXIT will terminate the program normally. QUIT will terminate the program but
will not discard any QUERY database that was constructed. This may be useful
for future reference or use in another database context. However, remember
that the QUERY database contents is not maintained updated with the primary
data.
4.2 Search functions
This function will permit the database to be searched for any given contents
in any field. The TARGET function permits the user to select one of the
fields and the contents of the field to look for. Note that this selection is
built in real time, so that if the user adds additional fields in the main
tables (and supports them external to CMED), they will be available in the
search list. Upon specifying a TARGET, the search will start from the
beginning of the database.
NOTE: if the target is numeric, the entire field must be entered (wildcards
are permitted). But if the field is alphanumeric, the function performs a
'fuzzy' search and attempts to find qualifying entries while the keys are
entered. If a 'hit' is found, it will become the current record. If no 'hit'
is found, the position will not change.
The NEXT function will repeat the previous search from the current position.
NOTE: if no search has yet been performed, this function operations
identically to the TARGET function.
The REPLACE function will perform a NEXT function and will give the user the
opportunity to replace the target search field with the contents of the same
field of the record that was current when the REPLACE function was performed.
4.3 Position functions
These functions provide the basic positioning functions. They are the same as
their keyboard counterparts and are provided for full mouse driven
compatibility.
4.4 Change functions
These functions provide access to adding, changing, and removing data from the
database. They include the access to the primary data, as well as the
linkages to the TAGS, EVENTS, and CONTACTS data. NOTE: if the user's access
level is not sufficient to have privilege to change this data, these menu
choices will be shown, but in an inactive 'gray shade' format.
4.5 Query functions
These functions provide the ability to build, manipulate, and view a working
QUERY database. As the QUERY database is typically empty upon starting the
program, all of the functions except for ADD are inactive until entries are
added to the QUERY table. Entries can be ADDed or REMOVEd based upon their
Tags, field data, or Event information.
Additionally, upon request, the system will remove declared duplicate entries.
The program will automatically eliminate records with the same ID number from
the QUERY table. This function will remove entries that are purposefully
entered twice (ie: more than one address, multiple employers, consulting
relationships, etc.). Since the main table permits multiple entries to 'point
at each other' and declare that they are actually the same individual, this
function will remove these duplicate entries and maintain only the entry
declared as the 'master'.
4.6 Reports functions
These functions will generate one of several pre-defined reports from either
the NAMES or QUERY database and in order by Name, Company, or Zip Code. NOTE:
that the reports will be generated from the database that is displayed on the
screen at the time the command is entered.
4.7 Maintenance functions
The system provides several maintenance functions that are typically needed
only by a system administrator. Therefore, they are disabled for all but
those users who are given 'admin' access to the database. NOTE: one of the
'admin' functions is the ability to change the access table! As a matter of
convenience, the Access Table is initialized with one entry for each access
level. The name of the user at each access level is the same as the access
level name (ie: user="ADMIN" has access level "ADMIN", user="FULL" has access
level "FULL", etc.).
4.8 Help functions
The Help functions include information about the program, several of its
operations, and its revision level.
5. Data Description
The data descriptions below are the actual internal storage structures for the
various tables. Note that in the data descriptions, the alpha character
indicates the type of data (A=ASCII text, N=numeric, D=date, etc.) and the
number indicates the length of the field in characters (ie: A10 is a text
field 10 characters maximum length).
5.1 Names Table - primary data
Field Name Field Type Description
------------------- ---------- -------------------
ID N* unique identifier
Company ID N company number
Duplicate ID N ID of master duplicate, if exists
User A10 name of user who updated entry last
Update D date of last update
Salutation A10 ie: "Mr.", "Dr.", etc.
First Name A25 first name and middle initial
Last Name A25 last name
Suffix A10 ie: "Jr.", "Ph.D.", etc.
Title A35 personal title
Company1 A35 line one of company name
Company2 A35 line two of company name
Address1 A35 line one of address
Address2 A35 line two of address
Address3 A35 line three of address
City A25 city name
State A2 state name code
Zip Code A10 zip code
Work Phone A12 main work phone number
Extension A4 extension number if applicable
Alt. Phone A12 another phone number
Alt. Phone Desc. A5 description of alternate phone type
FAX Number A12 FAX phone number
Carrier Route A7 U.S. Post Office carrier route ID
Certified D the date of the last U.S. Post
Office certification of data
for this record
5.2 Tags table - current tags in use
Field Name Field Type Description
--------------- ---------- ------------------------
ID N* link to individual
Tag Name A10* name of tag applied
5.3 Tags Lookup table - list of defined tags
Field Name Field Type Description
---------------- ---------- ------------------------
Tag ID A10* name of tag defined
Tag Description A45 description of tag
5.4 Event Data table - Event registration information
Field Name Field Type Description
---------------- ---------- ------------------------
ID N* individual ID number
Event A10* event ID
Fee $ registration fee for this attendee
Paid1 $ amount of the first payment
DatePaid1 D date of the first payment
Paid2 $ amount of the second payment
DatePaid2 D date of the second payment
DateConfSent D date that confirmation was mailed
Memo M240 text memo field for notes
5.5 Event Lookup table - Event registration definition
Field Name Field Type Description
---------------- ---------- ------------------------
EventID A10* event ID string
Name A25 event name
Date D date of event
5.6 Access table - Defines access levels for defined users
Field Name Field Type Description
---------------- ---------- ------------------------
UserID A10* User name
Access A10 defined access level
NOTE: the FIRST entry in the table is the default level for all users
who are not otherwise listed in the Access table.
5.7 Contacts table - Contact reference and comment information
Field Name Field Type Description
---------------- ---------- ------------------------
ID N* individual ID number
Date D* date of contact
Staff A10* name of person making contact
Type A10* type of contact (ie: letter, phone, etc.)
Followup D* date for future contact, if necessary
AssignedTo A10* name of person responsible for followup
Comment M240 description of contact as needed
6. Reports/Forms
The following reports and forms have been defined within the Paradox
environment:
NAMES.R1 - Individuals Roster
NAMES.R2 - Company Roster
NAMES.R3 - Labels
NAMES.R4 - WP Merge format
NAMES.R5 - Telephone List
CONTACTS.R1 - error report - Contacts without owners
EVENTS.R1 - Registration Summary by Zip Code
EVENTS.R2 - Registration Summary by Name
EVENTS.R3 - Registration Summary by Company
EVENTS.R4 - Attendees by Name
EVENTS.R5 - Attendees by Company
EVENT_LU.R1 - List of defined events
TAGS.R1 - error report for tags without owners
TAGS.R2 - error report for undefined tags
TAGS.R3 - List of tags by owner
TAGS.R4 - List of tags by tag
TAG_LU.R1 - error report for tags that are unused
TAG_LU.R2 - List of defined tags
ACCESS.R1 - List of user access levels defined
NAMES.F1 - Main display with summaries
NAMES.F2 - Main display with Event detail embedded
NAMES.F3 - Main display with Contact detail embedded
NAMES.F4 - Main display with Tags detail embedded
EVENTS.F1 - Summary form to be embedded in NAMES.F1
EVENTS.F2 - Detail form embedded in NAMES.F2
EVENT_LU.F1 - Maintenance form for the lookup table
EVENT_LU.F2 - Lookup Table form
CONTACTS.F1 - Summary form to be embedded in NAMES.F1
CONTACTS.F3 - Detail form embedded in NAMES.F3
TAGS.F1 - Summary form to be embedded in NAMES.F1
TAGS.F4 - Detail form embedded in NAMES.F4
TAG_LU.F1 - Maintenance form for the lookup table
TAG_LU.F2 - Lookup Table form
ACCESS.F1 - Maintenance form for the Access levels table
7. System Configuration
The program is assumed to be running with the default DOS directory as the
directory in which all of the datafiles, script, and library files are stored.
The QUERY table will be stored in the directory specified as the user's
private workspace. If installed on a network, the system is assumed to be
multi-user and therefore, the private workspace cannot be the same as the
system files.
All of the operations of the system are contained within the CMED.LIB library.
The system is invoked through the CMED.SC script as follows:
AutoLib="CMED"
Main.P()
Exit
Additionally lines may be added to add comments or setup certain parameters.
Several examples are given in the distribution copy of the CMED script.
8. Registration Form
Please fill out and mail to:
Jon F. Gray
P.O. Box 292
Chesterland, Ohio 44026
Compuserve ID: 74017,3606
Registration Form for: Contacts, Mailing list, and Events Database
Name: ______________________________________________
Company: ________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________
________________________________________
City,State: ________________________________________
Telephone: ________________________________________
Version Number: ____________
Registration Type: Single User __________ - enclose $45.00
Network (multi-user) __________ - enclose $95.00
Do you need Paradox 4.0 Runtime? 5.25" disk __________ - enclose $ 5.00
(See note below)
3.5" disk __________ - enclose $ 6.00
Total Payment : __________
Where did you get your copy of the CMED program ? ______________________
________________________________________________________________________
Comments: ______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Paradox 4.0 Runtime is being offered for the cost of distribution and
handling, but is licensed only for use with this application. Paradox 4.0
Runtime is a product of Borland International and may not be used with any
other application without an appropriate license from Borland.