BUG 1/BUGCD1996_0708.ISO/pc/comm/terminat/tlan_001.exe/rar/COSTMANA.HLP

Text File | 1995-08-14 | 13KB | 302 lines

 Terminate offers the best cost calculation ever presented in a
 communication package. It has been developed for use in many countries
 around the world and has the abillity to give you very accurate costs
 no matter how strange your phone charges are. No program can give you
 other than estimates, however we would like to think that with
 Terminate you get a better than avarage idea about how your bill will
 look at the next mourning day.

 ^m╒═════════════════════╤═╡^t Cost management ^m╞╕
 │ ^bC^nalculate costs     ^m│ ^hOn                 ^m│
 │ ^nCost file ^b1^n         ^m│ ^hTERMINAT.CST       ^m│
 │ ^nCost file ^b2^n         ^m│ ^hALTERNA1.CST       ^m│
 │ ^nCost file ^b3^n         ^m│ ^hALTERNA2.CST       ^m│
 │ ^nC^bu^nrrency string     ^m│ ^hkr                 ^m│
 │ ^bD^necimalpoint        ^m│ ^h2                  ^m│
 │^r Cost editor         ^m│                    │
 │ ^nExternal ed^bi^ntor     ^m│                    │
 │ ^bS^nhow at connect     ^m│ ^hOn                 ^m│
 │ ^nS^bh^now costs after    ^m│ ^hOn                 ^m│
 │ ^nS^bh^now in pointsystem ^m│ ^hOn                 ^m│
 │ ^nS^bh^now when faxing    ^m│ ^hOn                 ^m│
 │ ^nMa^bx^n costs per day   ^m│ ^h    0,00           ^m│
 │ ^n2. cu^br^nrency string  ^m│ ^hUSD                ^m│
 │ ^n2. currenc^by^n calc.   ^m│ ^h148                ^m│
 │ ^n2. ca^bl^nculator       ^m│                    ^m│
 │ ^nDefault ^bk^neywords    ^m│                    ^m│
 ╘═════════════════════╧════════════════════╛^n

 ^hCalculate costs^n

  Allow cost calculation. If you do not need any cost calculation at all,
  simply toggle this off. Cost management will be used when calling from the
  phonebook, manually, or with the pointsystem.
  When calling an entry from the phonebook, the costs for that entry will be
  saved in the entry. When you use manual dialing or the pointsystem for
  dialling, the costs will be saved inside entry 0 (manual record) in the
  phonebook. Press ^hShift+Esc^n to get current information on which cost
  amount was selected from the costfile.

 ^hCost file 1^n  ^hCost file 2^n  ^hCost file 3^n

  Name of the cost file: first the utility directory will be searched, then
  the Terminate directory. You can define 3 different costfiles that can
  be connected to a device. So in the phonebook you can select a different
  device which uses another costfile. This is useful in some cases where
  you use ISDN and normal phonelines on the same machine, for example.

 ^hCurrency string^n

  The currency string will normally be grabbed from your COUNTRY.SYS, if you
  had it installed the first time you ran Terminate (or a $).
  It will be shown in all menus where costs are mentioned.

 ^hDecimalpoint^n

  The decimal point is important if you want the correct number printed
  on the screen.

   0  1000
   1   100.0
   2    10.00
   3     1.000
   4     1.0000

  Most currencies will use 2 here, but some countries do not use a decimal
  point. The default information is taken from your COUNTRY.SYS.

 ^hCost editor^n

  ^m╒══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╡^t Cost editor ^m╞╕
  │ ^nPhone #   Days:MTWTFSS  Hours        Costs in units/minute              ^m│
  ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │^n%              Days/DT  Time-period                   Units/             ^m│
  │^n%Number/keywrd MTWTFSS  Start-Stop                    seconds            ^m│
  │^n%------------| |-----|  |---------|                   |------|           ^m│
  │                                                                         │
  │^b @CHARGESECOND 0                                                         ^m│
  │^b @START        0,0125                                                    ^m│
  │                                                                         │
  │^b @INFO         Local calls from DAN BBS                                  ^m│
  │^h 31            DT:3112  00:00-24:00                   0,120              ^m│
  │^h 31            DT:1201  00:00-24:00                   0,120              ^m│
  │^h 31            ■■■■■■■  08:00-19:30                   0,470              ^m│
  │^h 33                  ■  00:00-24:00                   0,240              ^m│
  │^h 33            ■■■■■■   08:00-19:30                   0,470              ^m│
  │^h 33            ■■■■■■   19:30-08:00                   0,240              ^m│
  │^h 42                  ■  00:00-24:00                   0,240              ^m│
  │^h 42            ■■■■■■   08:00-19:30                   0,470              ^m│
  │^h 42            ■■■■■■   19:30-08:00                   0,240              ^m│
  │^h 4362                ■  00:00-24:00                   0,190              ^m│
  │^h 4362          ■■■■■■   08:00-19:30                   0,370              ^m│
  │^h 4362          ■■■■■■   19:30-08:00                   0,190              ^m│
  ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╡^t   24/297  ^n╞═╛^n
   ^bEnter^n=Edit Days:^b1234567 D^n=DT ^bA^n=Add ^bK^n=Keyword ^bC^n=Comment ^bL^n=Reload ^bS^n=Save

  ^hINSert entry^n

   Add new line at menubar.

  ^hA Add entry^n

   Add new line at end of costfile.

  ^hC Comment^n

   Insert comment line at menubar position.

  ^hK Keyword^n

   Insert the costfile keywords decribed in this document.

  ^hENTER Edit a costline^n

   ^hPhone #^n

    The cost file is a sequential file that is read from the start and one
    line forward at a time. When it finds a match it stops looking for
    more. This means that you must place longer numbers first like this:

     1 : 4362
     2 : 43

    If the number is 4362 it will return entry 1, a 439999 will give entry 2.

     1 : 43
     2 : 4362

    The above setting is wrong, because it will allways return entry 1.

   ^hDays:MTWTFSS^n

    Each cost entry can be defined only to be available on some days in
    the week. Here in Denmark the complete Sunday is half price.
    Press 1-7 to toggle monday-sunday.

   ^hD Edit days/date field^n

    Insert DT:DDMM. DT:3112 would only be in effect one day per year
    on the 31st of December

   ^hHours^n

    You can also define special hours each day the cost entry will be
    available. In Denmark we only pay half price after 19:30 and until
    8:00 in the morning.

   ^hCosts in units/minute / Add Y units every X second^n

    Enter cost for entry or how many seconds the period lasts.

 ^hExternal editor^n

  Since the internal editor only allows you to edit 800 entries, you can use
  your external editor instead. If you need to copy several lines or other
  things it could also be faster to use the external editor.

 ^hShow at connect^n

  Show information on costs on screen at connect time.

 ^hShow costs after^n

  When the carrier drops, show information on what the phone company made
  from your call. If you like to call systems and hate knowing how much
  poorer you are afterwards, you should surely turn this off...

 ^hShow in pointsystem^n

  Show screen with cost information when using the pointsystem.

 ^hShow when faxing^n

  Show screen with cost information when sending faxes.

 ^hMax costs per day^n

  If you define an amount here, Terminate will inform you if your daily
  budget has been was exceeded. This should keep you from spending any more
  money. Entering a 0 will disable the feature.

 ^h2. currency string^n

  Used for displaying the secondary currency.

 ^h2. currency calc.^n

  Use a zero to disable this feature.

  For calculating the secondary currency you need to know how many percent
  you need to multiply with for getting the value.

  For calculating you need the latest rate of exchange on the currency you
  want. Lets say you want to use DKK (Danish Crowns) and USD (US-Dollars)
  as secondary currency.

  You need to find out how much you would have to pay for 1000 USD.
  When this document was written the rate of exchange was:
  1000 USD = 6730 DKK.

  To calculate the value:  1000 USD * 1000 / 6730 DKK = 148 (14,8%)
  The number you must enter is 148.

  An other example would be if you want the secondary currency in DKK
  and the normal currency in USD.

  You need to find out how much you would have to pay for 1000 DKK.
  At the present time 1000 DKK = 148 USD.

  To calculate the value:  1000 DKK * 1000 / 148 USD = 6756 (675,6%)
  The number you must enter is 6756.

 ^h2. calculator^n

  Helps you to calculate the above. You just need to know how much you
  would pay for a 1000 of the secondary currency.

 ^hKeyword defaults^n

  ^m╒════════════════════════════════════╤═══════════╡^t Keyword defaults ^m╞╕
  │^r Start costs       @START           ^m│ ^h   0,125                      ^m│
  │ ^bC^nonnect costs     @CONNECT         ^m│ ^h   0,000                      ^m│
  │ ^bM^ninimum charge    @MINIMUM         ^m│ ^h   0,000                      ^m│
  │ ^nM^ba^nximum           @MAXIMUM         ^m│ ^h   0,000                      ^m│
  │ ^nC^bo^nnnect seconds   @CONNECTSEC      ^m│ ^h12                            ^m│
  │ ^nC^bh^narge second     @CHARGESECOND    ^m│ ^h0                             ^m│
  │ ^nS^bt^nart at once     @STARTATONCE     ^m│ ^hOff                           ^m│
  │ ^bP^nay by period     @PAYBYPERIOD     ^m│ ^h0                             ^m│
  │ ^bD^niscount rate     @DISCOUNT        ^m│ ^h20                            ^m│
  ╘════════════════════════════════════╧═══════════════════════════════╛^n

  ^hStart costs       @START^n

   Some phone companies have some kind of penalty for using the phone
   and want you to pay a punishment start fee, but you could also use
   this entry for adjusting the seconds when connecting.

  ^hConnect costs     @CONNECT^n

   When you get the connect using the dialer, voice, fax or mail-calls,
   you can add this value to the start value only when getting the
   connect. Mostly used for adding the initial charge for those
   countries using a UNIT COST method of charging which is a advance
   charging method. Also useful if some services that have an
   additional penalty for calling.

  ^hMinimum charge    @MINIMUM^n

   Some phone companies will have a minimum charge no matter how short
   you are online. It can be used if your company for example charges you
   1 dollar for the first 3 minutes. Which means you will be charged the
   full minimum amount even though you are only online 1 minute.

  ^hMaximum           @MAXIMUM^n

   After a maximum cost has been exceeded, a window will pop up on screen and
   ask you if you want to hangup. Enter a 0 if you do not want this option
   (for example if your company is paying.)

  ^hConnect seconds   @CONNECTSEC^n

   You are normally not charged until the other end picks up the phone.
   This setting describes the time that elapses between the other end
   picking up the phone and your modem connecting. It is used to give
   a more accurate estimate of your telephone charges.

  ^hCharge second     @CHARGESECOND^n

   Some phone companies will charge you in periods in advance. In those cases
   you will always be charged in advance. If your phone company charges you
   for 1 minute in advance, enter 60 here and Terminate will round up for
   you. If you have been online for 4 minutes 33 seconds you will be charged
   for 5 minutes. If you have been online for 5 minutes and 1 second you will
   be charged for 6 minutes when using this method.

  ^hStart at once     @STARTATONCE^n

   There should be some kind of international agreement between phone
   companies so that you do not pay anything before the other end has picked
   up the phone (no charge for busy calls), but since you never know when the
   phone companies change their policy you should always aim for worst case
   and just start calculating at once, then when you get the bill you might
   not hang yourself anyway.

  ^hPay by period     @PAYBYPERIOD^n

   Some phone companies use a rate per minute and some want payment for
   several minutes in advance.
   A zero here will make Terminate choose the units/minute mode.
   This means that every minute the rate will be added to cost used.
   Any other number will make Terminate act in the period mode.
   The number here defines how many units to add for each period.
   How long the period is, is then defined for each cost entry.

  ^hDiscount rate     @DISCOUNT^n

   If you get discount on certain calls, you can here specify the percent
   discount. What in general will happen is that the costs will have this
   discount deducted for entries following this keyword. For example
   using @DISCOUNT 10, if a call is 2.000 you would be charged 1.800.