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1993-02-13
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PAFEMPTY
Version 1.0
Copyright (C) 1993 by Ann Turner
-- STARTUP INSTRUCTIONS
PAFEMPTY is an MS-DOS program which prepares a PAF database for
the accurate use of the Focus feature for "EMPTY" date fields.
To run the program, simply type PAFEMPTY. You will be asked for
the location of the PAF data file INDIV2.DAT. Type the drive
and path, for example B: for a floppy disk, or C:\PAF\DATA\ for
a hard disk with subdirectories. (Your subdirectories may have
different names.)
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ PAFEMPTY MODIFIES YOUR DATABASE. ║
║ ║
║ BE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD BACKUP COPY BEFORE PROCEEDING! ║
║ ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
-- BACKGROUND
The 5 Aug 1991 update of PAF 2.2 includes the ability to Focus
on fields without any data in them. You simply type the word
EMPTY in the field on the Focus search screen. This is handy if
you want to create a list of records lacking birthdate
information, for example.
However, there is a quirk in PAF's ability to focus on empty
DATE fields. If the cursor has passed through the field during
the data entry process, the field is not empty in the computer's
eye. Nothing shows up on the data entry screen or on reports,
but PAF has modified one of the bytes in the record, replacing
an ASCII 00 with an ASCII 02.
This invisible byte has no apparent use. Its position in the
date field is normally occupied by "date modifier" codes for
"abt", "bef" or "aft"; the 02 code means there is no modifier.
But since there is no date, there is no need to even insert a
code. Perhaps it is what I call a "dinosaur bone", a relic of
something with more significance in the distant past. It does
not interfere with most functions, but it does fool PAF's
ability to find records with empty date fields, because there
is "something" there (02) instead of "nothing" (00).
PAFEMPTY simply takes a quick trip through your database and
replaces the ASCII 02 with an ASCII 00 in the four date fields,
if the field is otherwise empty. A status report shows the
number of records examnined and the number of changes made.
You should run PAFEMPTY just prior to all PAF sessions where
you plan to focus on empty date fields. This is in case you
have recently edited some records and the cursor has passed
through some empty date fields. It's hard to avoid that!
-- APPLICATION NOTE
You can use the Focus feature of PAF to make a birthday list
for the living people in your database.
There are several ways you can gather the list. Howver, I have
found that the "Bef" and "Aft" date qualifiers don't always
behave quite as I expect. The following steps should work well
in most databases.
1) Add ALL records to the focus list.
2) Change from ADD to REMOVE.
3) Remove all those born "Bef 1900" (or date of your choice).
Do not enter the quotes.
4) The list still includes those with unknown birth dates, so
next remove all those with EMPTY birth dates.
5) Remove all those who died "Aft 1900".
6) Look at the list and manually remove the ones you don't
want to keep. There may be some people who have died, but
you have not entered a date yet. Or they may not deserve
a birthday greeting from you because they haven't sent you
that Family Group Sheet you requested nine months ago!
On the other hand, maybe a greeting from you would perk
them up.
7) Print the report. Use the default report format or design
your own with just the name and birthdate.
It would be nice to get the report sorted by month of birth so
you could page through a calendar and write in the birthdays.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way to do this.
If you are facile with word processors and database programs,
you can print the report to disk and change the month names to
their numeric equivalents with your word processor. Be sure to
use a leading 0 (for example 01, not just 1, for January);
otherwise the sort order will be 1,10,11,12,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9!
That reminds me a bit of the story about the uncle quizzing
his young nephew. "Do you know the names of all the months?"
"Yep." "Good! Tell them to me in alphabetical order!"
Then you can sort the file. First remove all the headers and
footers and lines without any data. You will need a program
which can sort on two keys, the column containing the month and
the column containing the day. Some word processors, such as
WordPerfect, can do this, or you can use special sort programs
such as QSORT, a shareware program. Alternatively, you can
import the file into a database program which can read "tables"
and sort on the month and day fields.
-- A FINAL WORD (OR TWO)
PAFEMPTY is a copyrighted program. The author grants permission
to copy and share the program with others provided that no
changes and no charges (beyond actual expenses) are made.
If you find the program useful, a small contribution (even a
few stamps!) to the author will encourage development of future
PAF and GEDCOM utilities. Send suggestions, bug reports, and
contributions to
Ann Turner
418 Gilbert
Menlo Park, CA 94025
PAFEMPTY may also be ordered directly from the author for $4.00
to cover shipping and handling.
Thanks to Don Umberger, who posted a BBS message about this problem
on the FidoNet GENSOFT echo.