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Text File | 1996-04-20 | 84.3 KB | 1,946 lines |
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- What Vehicle History?
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- Service History Tracking, Reporting, and Billing
- of vehicles & other mechanical devices
- for MS-DOS computers
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- Shareware Edition User's Guide
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- Written by Angel Babudro
- P.O. Box 132
- Paonia, CO 81428
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- Copyright Angel Babudro 1991-1996
- All rights reserved.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- CONTENTS
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- I. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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- II. COPYRIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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- III. LICENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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- IV. TECHNICAL SUPPORT (HOW TO REACH ME) . . . . . . . . . . 2
- Official Distribution Bulletin Boards . . . . . . . . . 3
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- V. ORDERING METHODS AND REGISTRATION FEES . . . . . . . . 4
- A. Benefits of Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
- B. How To Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
- C. Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
- INVOICE & REGISTRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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- VI. WHAT DOES THIS SOFTWARE DO? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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- VII. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS & LIMITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- A. Computer Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- B. Storage Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
- C. Using on a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
- D. Using with MS Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- E. Using with 4DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- F. Operating Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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- VIII. RUNNING What Vehicle History? FOR THE FIRST TIME . . 10
- A. Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- B. Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
- C. Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
- D. Using Information Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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- IX. MANAGING FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
- A. Copying Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
- 1. Using DOS Commands (13) __________________
- 2. Using the Back-up option (13) ________________________
- 3. Restoring files from a back-up copy (14) ___________________________________
- B. Formatting Floppy Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
- C. Re-Indexing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
- D. Packing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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- X. DATA ENTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
- A. Service Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- B. Customers/Departments, Mechanics, Service Types,
- and
- Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
- C. Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
- D. Inventory Receipts & Depletions . . . . . . . . . 19
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- XI. REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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- XII. PREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
- A. Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
- B. Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
- 1. Country setting (21) _______________
- 2. License State/Province (21) ______________________
- 3. Alert Tone (22) __________
- 4. Other ID Titles (22) _______________
- C. Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
- 1. Laser printer soft fonts (22) ________________________
- 2. Scalable fonts (23) ______________
- 3. Lines per page (23) ______________
- 4. Left margin (23) ___________
- D. Sales Tax Rate and Labour Rate Entry . . . . . . . 24
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- XIII. HELP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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- XIV. ERROR MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
- A. EMS Memory Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- B. Text overlaps on reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- C. Information is Missing - Correcting Disk Problems 27
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- XV. FILES WHICH MAKE UP THE PACKAGE . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- I. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
-
- WVH IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OR
- CONDITIONS, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
- THOSE CONCERNING MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
- PURPOSE. NEITHER ANGEL BABUDRO NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN
- INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS
- SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR
- INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE
- THIS SOFTWARE EVEN IF ANGEL BABUDRO HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
- POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
- AUTHOR'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR
- THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF CLAIM.
- THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY
- AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE.
- Some States do not allow the exclusion of the limit of
- liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above
- limitation may not apply to you.
- This agreement shall be governed by the State of Colorado
- and shall inure to the benefit of Angel Babudro and any
- successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or
- proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out
- of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a State
- or Federal Court of competent jurisdiction located in Delta
- County, Colorado. The parties hereby consent to in personam
- jurisdiction of said courts.
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- II. COPYRIGHT
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- WVH is owned and copyright (c) 1991-1995 by Angel Babudro,
- all rights reserved. You may only use and/or distribute WVH
- under the License terms below.
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- III. LICENSE
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- The following terms and conditions apply to the use and/or
- distribution of What Vehicle History?: _____________________
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- 1. WVH is being distributed as Shareware; it is not free.
- You are granted a limited license to use WVH for an evaluation
- period of up to 60 days, to determine if it suits your needs.
- Any other use of WVH or use past this period requires
- registration.
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- 2. You may keep as many back-up copies of WVH as you wish.
- The Registered Edition is limited to simultaneous use on the
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- number of computers indicated on the Use License. The
- Unregistered Edition may be used on any number of computers for
- the purpose of evaluation as specified in paragraph (1).
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- 3. All files originally distributed as part of the package
- (including this notice) must be included without modification.
- The complete list of files can be found in the PACKING.LST file
- which is part of this package. The Registered Edition CONFIG.WVH
- file is NOT to be distributed.
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- 4. Individual users may freely copy this disk and share it
- with friends, family, and acquaintances. Non-profit groups
- (including user groups and BBSs) may distribute copies of this
- disk. A fee of no more than $5 may be charged to cover disk
- copying costs. If the files on this disk have dates more than a
- year old please contact the author for a free update to the
- current version.
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- 5. Disk distributors and dealers must have written
- permission before selling copies of this software unless the
- author has uploaded the software directly to your BBS or Internet
- site. When you contact me you will receive a free copy of the
- latest version and you will be placed on my mailing list to
- receive updates as they are released. Disk distributors may
- charge no more than $10 per disk (floppy disk or CD-ROM) which
- contains this software. If, as a distributor, you supply copies
- to other resellers, the end price to the user may not exceed $10.
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- 6. You must obtain written permission prior to distribution
- in conjunction with any other product or service (e.g., placing
- on new computer systems, providing in conjunction with a seminar,
- etc.).
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- 7. If the software is packaged for retail sale the
- packaging must explain that the software is Shareware, that the
- purchaser is receiving a trial version, and that use beyond the
- trial period requires registration with the author.
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- 8. You must immediately stop selling/distributing copies of
- this software upon notice from the author.
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- IV. TECHNICAL SUPPORT (HOW TO REACH ME)
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- If you have questions or need help, just send a note to me
- through the mail or a BBS listed below. Registered users, those
- intending to register within 30 days, vendors, and sysops may
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- contact me via telephone as well. Sysops and shareware vendors
- please see VENDOR.DOC for distribution information.
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- Mail Angel Babudro, "Organic Computer Wizardry",
- PO Box 132, Paonia, CO 81428 USA
- Phone (970) 527-6756 Tue-Fri 10am-6pm Mountain Time
- ("970" is a new area code for Colorado; if it
- doesn't work try "303" instead)
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- I am normally available by phone during the hours stated
- above. If you get the answering machine please leave a message.
- Unregistered users: please try again later - I am happy to answer
- your questions but I cannot afford to pay for the call.
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- Official Distribution Bulletin Boards
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- My software packages are "free" downloads on the BBSs
- listed below - you need not subscribe to download my shareware
- (although other files or functions may require subscription). I
- use the first name "Angelo" on BBSs since it avoids gender
- confusion (I'm used to both names anyway). Scan for the file
- name WVH*.* to locate the latest version.
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- West Coast Expanding Horizons (CO) 14.4k V.32 (970) 241-2847
- This is my local BBS so it is the one I most often
- update and check for messages. The first time on
- you will have to fill out the registration form.
- From the main menu:
- * Enter "OCW" to join the Organic Computer Wizardry
- conference where all the latest files are stored.
- * Enter "F" to view the list of available files
- * Enter "E Angelo Babudro" to post messages for me
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- Midwest Rusty 'n Edie's (OH) USR HST 16.8 (216) 726-1804
- USR V.Everything 28.8 (216) 726-3628
- Hayes 28.8 (216) 726-3619
- ZyXel 19.2k v.32/v.32bis (216) 726-3620
- 2400/v.32/v.32bis (216) 726-2620
- CompuCom SpeedModem (216) 726-3584
- You will have to subscribe in order to download
- updates from Rusy 'n Edie's, although I believe they
- give a trial subscription the first time you log on.
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- East Coast Excalibur (Central NY) USR Dual (315) 736-3792
- FREQ (File REQuest) from this board via RBBS
- address A:954/401, FIDO address 1:26501, or I.C. Net
- address 91:315/101.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- WhiTech BBS (NC) ZyXEL 14.4 V32b/V42b (910) 944-1165
- File Request (FREQ) via Fido address 1:3636/2.
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- Software Creations (Mass.)
- 2400/9600/14.4 USR HST Dual Standard (508) 368-7036
- 2400/9600/14.4/28.8 USR V.Everything (508) 365-6604
- This BBS offers about 130 phone lines and tons of
- Shareware. They call it "Home of the Authors."
- It's also home of Night Owl CD-ROM. I believe you
- will need to subscribe in order to download my
- Shareware from this BBS.
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- V. ORDERING METHODS AND REGISTRATION FEES
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- WVH has been under constant development since 1991 in
- the hopes that many people will be willing to pay for a small
- part of the development. If you use this software past the 60-
- day trial period I ask that you pay the registration fee. There
- are many benefits to registering WVH, as explained in the
- following section.
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- A. Benefits of Registration
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- The Shareware (unregistered) version of WVH is fully
- functional so that you may try all of its features and know
- exactly for what you are paying. Past the 60-day evaluation
- period WVH will display reminders to register your copy or
- discontinue use of the software, but it will always continue to
- be fully functional.
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- When you register you have the following benefits:
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- - You get the latest version with the latest features and
- enhancements direct from the author.
- - You get thorough manual, including an introductory
- course in using computers with sections on hardware,
- software, and DOS, in addition to WVH.
- - Telephone support - you can talk to the software author
- who can help you right away and is committed to making
- the software work well for you.
- - Updates are free or very low cost - get them from a
- local BBS or Shareware vendor, or direct from the author
- for just $4 plus shipping. As new features are added,
- WVH's price is sometimes adjusted to reflect the
- dramatic increase in its value to users. By registering
- now, you pay the current (low) price and are entitled to
- the higher-priced features.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- - You can subscribe to receive updates & upgrades as soon
- as they are released so you will always have the latest
- features & enhancements.
- - The Shareware License display and Unregistered Edition
- delay go away.
- - It rewards the author for thousands of hours of software
- development done without pay and from which you are
- deriving benefit. It's the right thing to do and will
- surely come back to you in blessings & good karma.
-
- B. How To Order
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- Send cash, check, or money order in U.S. funds (Canadians
- may send Canadian funds). Payment must accompany Purchase
- Orders. Since you are (and have been) using the Unregistered
- Edition, please consider it the case that you are paying for
- already-delivered merchandise.
-
- If you prefer to use a credit card, you can order WVH from
- Public (software) Library with your MC, Visa, AmEx, or Discover
- card by calling 800-242-4PsL (from overseas: 713-524-6394) or by
- FAX to 713-524-6398 or by CompuServe to 71355,470. THESE NUMBERS
- ARE FOR ORDERING ONLY. I CANNOT be reached at those numbers. To
- contact me for information about dealer pricing, volume
- discounts, site licensing, the status of shipment of the product,
- the latest version number, or for technical information, call
- 970-527-6756 or write me at PO Box 132, Paonia, CO USA 81428.
- The idea behind Shareware is that you try it before buying and,
- therefore, product returns are not allowed.
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- When ordering from PsL ask for product #11518.
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- C. Pricing
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- Use License with Disk, Manual, and Computer Course -- $99.
- License to use WVH on one computer along with the latest
- Registered Edition on disk with automated installation, the
- latest version of this documentation on disk, notification
- of major updates, a printed 3-ring-bound manual, and life-
- time technical support. The manual contains an
- introductory course in computers plus a complete guide to
- using WVH. The course contains introductory-level material
- covering computer components (hardware), DOS & software
- basics, using BBSs, etc. Manuals are printed on recycled
- or tree-free (hemp & cereal straw) paper.
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- Wholesale & OEM -- If you want to resell WVH or bundle it with
- your product or service please write me with your idea.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- Site License -- If your firm has multiple computers or network
- stations on which WVH will be used you may purchase a Use
- License for the first copy (explained above) plus a Site
- License. With a site license you get a discount based on
- the number of computers you are licensing, for which you
- received a disk for each computer and up to 10 printed
- manuals (additional printed manuals may be purchased as
- well). Discounts range from 30% to 80%. Use WVH's Site
- License option on the Help menu to print the Site License
- order form.
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- Free Updates -- When you register I will send you a "key" which
- will allow future releases to work as Registered Editions.
- You can download from a BBS or otherwise obtain an updated
- copy and it will recognize your registration key.1
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- Updates Through The Mail -- An update disk with the latest
- versions of all my shareware costs $4 plus shipping charge.
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- Update Subscription -- I will send important updates as they are
- released. In return you will be expected to send $4 plus
- shipping to me within 30 days or return the disk to cancel
- this service. There is no time commitment and this
- subscription can be cancelled by either party at any time
- with written notice.
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- Prices and specifications are subject to change without
- notice. Vendors and sysops see VENDOR.DOC and SYSOP.DOC.
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- Register the Shareware you use.
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- ____________________
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- 1 When you share copies with BBSs and others be sure to
- delete your CONFIG.* file from those copies. Not only does it
- contain all the settings on your system and certain pieces of
- your data, but it also contains your registration key and your
- name.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- INVOICE & REGISTRATION
- Credit card orders see "How To Order" above
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- REMIT TO: FROM:
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- Angel Babudro Name___________________________
- "Organic Computer Wizardry"
- PO Box 132 Company________________________
- Paonia, CO 81428
- USA Address________________________
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- _______________________________
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- Phone__________________________
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- Use License Registration, disk, & manual $99
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- Shipping & Continental U.S. - add $5
- Handling Canada, AK, HI, VI, PR - add $7
- Outside U.S.A. & Canada - add $22 _______
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- *** T O T A L = $_______
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- Update Send WVH updates 4 to 8 times per YES [__]
- Subscription year. In return I will pay $4 plus
- shipping within 30 days or return the NO [__]
- disk to cancel the subscription.
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- Disk size [__] 5¼" [__] 3½"
- Drive density [__] Low (DD) required [__] High (HD) okay
- FDFORMAT/FDREAD [__] FDFORMAT extended densities okay
- Do you have a CDROM? [__] Yes [__] No
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- Printer make(s) & model(s)______________________________________
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- Which version are you using now?________________________________
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- I got it from __BBS __Vendor __Other Name_____________________
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- I saw a review in_______________________________________________
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- Upon receipt of this paid invoice the latest Registered Edition
- disk and any options ordered above will be sent. Mail with your
- cash, check, or money order in U.S. funds (Canadians may send
- U.S. equivalent in Cdn$). Put comments on back. Allow 1-4 weeks
- for delivery. Thank you for registering!
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- VI. WHAT DOES THIS SOFTWARE DO?
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- What Vehicle History? (WVH) was originally designed in _____________________
- October 1991 to track maintenance records for construction
- equipment. Over the years it has been expanded to track the
- maintenance history of just about any ground-based mechanical
- devices - cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, big rigs, power
- generators, or anything else that is tracked by miles or hours.
- (An aviation version is being researched - please write if you
- are interested in this.) Each "vehicle" has an owner, division,
- or department identified with it, which makes WVH perfect for
- companies who own many vehicles or shops who maintain other
- people's vehicles.
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- WVH will track parts, labour, and comments pertaining to
- each service incident for a vehicle. In addition, you may enter
- your parts inventory and WVH will track stock levels and sales
- history (including profit margin) on parts.
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- VII. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS & LIMITS
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- A. Computer Hardware Requirements
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- In order to use WVH here is what you will need:
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- * An 8088/80x86 computer2
- * At least one disk drive with at least 720k of free
- storage3
- * MS/PC-DOS 3.1 or higher, DR-DOS 6 or higher, OS/2 2.14
- * At least 400k free RAM5
- * A printer if you wish to print reports
- ____________________
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- 2 An 80286 or newer computer will operate much more quickly
- than an 8088 or 8086.
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- 3 Although WVH can be run on floppy disk, for adequate speed
- a hard disk will most likely be needed.
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- 4 Recommended DOS versions are: PC-DOS 3.3, 5.0, or 6.1 or
- higher; MS-DOS 3.3, 5.0, or 6.2 or higher; DR-DOS/Novell DOS 7;
- OS/2 version 2.1 or higher.
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- 5 This is the amount of free conventional (or "lower")
- memory required. Your computer may also have High/UMB, EMS,
- and/or XMS (or "upper") memory. If you have about 500kb of free
- upper memory, WVH will use it to operate more quickly.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- Here is what you don't need (i.e., these things don't make
- any difference in how quickly WVH operates):
- * A numeric co-processor
- * More than 500kb of EMS memory
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- B. Storage Requirements
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- Although the system is capable of handling 5.5 millions
- entries per file, you would need a super-computer or a lot of
- time to manage it. Here are some practical guidelines for your
- computer system:
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- PC/XT (8088 or 8086) - perhaps 10 vehicles
- 80286 - 10 to 20 vehicles
- 80386 - 20 to 100 vehicles
- 80486 - Over 100 vehicles
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- These are just recommendations, though. You can track a
- thousand vehicles on a PC/XT if you want to, but it will operate
- slowly due to the slow speed of the hard disk and processor.
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- C. Using on a Network
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- WVH does not yet use record locking so it is not suitable
- for use on a network. If only one person will use WVH at any one
- time then it will work fine on a network.
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- WVH allows shared access to the programme files, which
- means that you can have more than one user running WVH as long as
- each user is using a different set of data files. You create new
- data files by creating a new directory, changing to that
- directory, and then starting WVH. For example, if you have two
- departments which repair and track the records for their own
- vehicles you can install the WVH programme in the network drive
- F:\WVH. Next you could create two directories called
- F:\WVH\DEPT-1 and F:\WVH\DEPT-2. To begin using WVH with
- Department-1's data files you would "CD \WVH\DEPT-1" and then
- "..\WVH" (or "\WVH\WVH") to run the programme.
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- Record locking can be set up by request. If you want to
- run WVH on a network, having multiple stations access the same
- data base of vehicles, please write. The registration fee for a
- network version is contained in the Site License Form which can
- be printed from WVH's Help menu.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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- D. Using with MS Windows
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- WVH can be run as a DOS application under Windows 3.1
- although it is not a Windows application (in other words, it runs
- the same in DOS or Windows). If you don't use Windows or use it
- only occasionally (as I do), then use WVH from DOS since it will
- work faster without Windows' overhead. If you normally have
- Windows loaded, however, then go ahead and set up an icon for
- WVH. To do this, highlight or create a group, then use File/New
- to create a program item and define it as C:\WVH\WVH.EXE (or
- whatever directory you are using) and set the data directory to
- C:\WVH or some other, as you desire.
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- E. Using with 4DOS
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- WVH has been tested on 4DOS versions 4.0 through 5.5. No
- special considerations or procedures are necessary.
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- F. Operating Limits
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- WVH has certain operational limits of which you may want to
- be aware.
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- * Except as otherwise noted, the maximum number of records
- in any file is 5.5 million
- * The maintenance (service) incidences may not exceed 300
- for nay one vehicle.
- * Each maintenance incident may contain up to 99 parts.
-
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- VIII. RUNNING What Vehicle History? FOR THE FIRST TIME
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- A. Quick Start
-
- To get started in a hurry just type "WVH" from the DOS
- prompt and set each of the Preferences screens. Use a mouse or
- keyboard commands to move around. To get help while on any data
- entry screen: position the cursor (using keyboard arrows or move
- mouse cursor then click the left button) on the item you want
- more information about, then press the F1 key.
-
- ____ Enter your customers first, then mechanics (or service
- providers), vehicles, and service categories.
- ____ If you don't care about tracking maintenance by
- service category (e.g., Brakes, Transmission, etc.)
- then just enter one category called, "General" or
- something like that.
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
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-
-
- ____ Likewise, if you don't want to track mechanics or
- service providers then enter a single service
- provider (e.g., code "1", name "General") and leave
- the hourly rate set to zero (you can enter the
- hourly rate as you enter each maintenance record.
- ____ Set "Allow labor amount to be entered on maintenance
- screen" to "Yes" on the Sales Tax Preferences screen
- or you won't be able to change the dollar amount.
-
- B. Installation
-
- Before you can use WVH you will have to install it on your
- hard disk or create a working floppy disk. Since almost no
- business uses dual floppy disk systems anymore I won't bother to
- explain the procedure here. If you have a lap-top computer with
- dual floppy disks simply place the necessary files (as listed
- above) on one disk and use the other one for data files. The
- full Printed Manual contains details on this. Contact me if you
- need help with this in order to evaluate WVH before registering.
-
- If you received your copy of WVH on floppy disk it came
- with an INSTALL programme. If INSTALL.EXE or any other of the
- files which make up the software are not on your disk please
- contact me so I can make the distributor aware of the problem.
-
- To use the automated installation programme, go to the DOS
- prompt (usually "C:\>" or something similar), and type
- "d:INSTALL" where "d:" is the letter of the floppy disk drive
- with the WVH disk (e.g., "A:INSTALL" to install from floppy A:).
- You will be asked to supply the destination drive and directory.
- If you have an existing version of the software on disk you will
- be informed that it will be updated with the new disk.
-
- After INSTALL is finished you will see some helpful
- information for setting up your computer well, and directions on
- how to run WVH. A batch file called WVH.BAT is created in your
- root directory if you so permit, and your CONFIG.SYS and
- AUTOEXEC.BAT files are not touched at all, not one little bit -- I
- wouldn't invade your system that way.
-
- While in the root directory you just type "WVH" to start
- the programme. WVH is a batch file which merely changes to the
- proper drive & directory then runs WVH. You can delete this file
- if you are using a menu or would rather type the commands
- yourself.
-
-
-
-
- -11-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- C. Using the Menus
-
- WVH uses the familiar pull-down menus which are common to
- QuickBASIC, Windows, and Macintosh applications. Basically,
- there is a horizontal menu of choices -- File, Data Entry, etc.
- Under each of the horizontal choices is a menu of functions
- pertaining to that item -- it is a two-dimensional menu, in other
- words.
-
- There are two ways to select an item from the main menu:
-
- 1. Press the letter which is highlighted in the option
- description
- 2. Use the Up/Down/Right/Left arrows to highlight the
- option you want then press ENTER (a.k.a. RETURN or CR).
-
- Some menus have no highlighted options. On these you must
- use the arrow keys to highlight your choice then press ENTER.
-
- If you want to cancel an operation you selected, just press
- the Esc ("Escape") key.
-
- D. Using Information Windows
-
- Whenever you press the F1 (help) key, use WVH's Help Index,
- and at many times in the programme's execution, you will see a
- window of information "pop up" on the screen. These information
- windows follow these guidelines of operation:
-
- * To close the window or to cancel whatever operation was
- being attempted, press the Esc (escape) key or click
- with the mouse on the symbol in the upper left corner of
- the window.
-
- * If there are only affirmative and negative buttons
- (e.g., Yes/No, Continue/Stop, etc.) then the ENTER (or
- RETURN) key chooses the affirmative response (Yes,
- Continue, etc.) and the Esc key chooses the negative
- response (No, Stop, etc.).
-
- * To use one of the functions indicated by the buttons at
- the bottom of the window you may press the highlighted
- letter of the button (for example, the "Index" button
- shows the letter "I" in bright white) or you may press
- the Tab or BackTab keys to highlight the button you want
- followed by pressing the ENTER key.
-
-
-
- -12-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- IX. MANAGING FILES
-
- The choices under the File menu have to do with your system
- set-up, file management, and ending the programme.
-
- A. Copying Files
-
- To copy a particular file between computers (say, a lap-top
- and desk-top) you will need to copy more than just the data file
- for proper operation. A complete set of data consists of:
-
- 1. The data file (ending in WVH)
- 2. The index files (ending in IX*)
-
- You can re-create the index files if you do not copy them,
- but it is usually faster to copy them. If the GROUPS files are
- missing you will not be able to select records by group nor will
- you be able to change or view the group settings.
-
- The easiest way to be sure you have it all is to copy all
- of your data files using the Copy Files option under the File
- menu. Alternately, you can use the DOS copy command to copy the
- files outlined above.
-
- 1. Using DOS Commands __________________
-
- The Copy Files function is described in the next
- section. Here is an example using DOS: Let's say you have
- several mailing list files and you only want to put one of
- them on a 3.5" floppy to use on your lap-top. Let's call
- the list MYLIST and assume that your 3.5" disk drive is B:
-
- 1. Go to your WML directory on the hard disk (e.g.,
- CD \WML)
- 2. COPY MYLIST.* B: to copy the data & index files
- 3. COPY GROUPS.* B: to copy the group definitions
-
- 2. Using the Back-up option ________________________
-
- Your computer is a machine and one day it will probably
- break down. File/Back-up protects your information by
- making a copy of it on another disk. To determine when it
- is time to make a back-up copy of your information consider
- a hard disk failure. Feeling suicidal? It's time to make
- a back-up copy.
-
- When using floppy disks remember that a disk must be
- formatted before use. You can use the same back-up disk or
-
- -13-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- directory over and over again - each new copy will
- over-write the old one - but it is a good idea to alternate
- at least three back-up copies just in case there is a
- problem (such as a power outage) while you are creating a
- copy. In this case if the computer "crashed" and the back-
- up was incomplete you would still have two other back-up
- copies on which to rely.
-
- Once you select the Back-up option you will see a menu
- of up to four choices of methods to use when backing-up and
- restoring: DOS COPY, ARJ, LHARC, or PKZIP. The options
- for ARJ, LHARC, and PKZIP will only appear if WVH is able
- to locate them using your search path and if there is
- enough free memory to use them. I recommend LHARC since it
- uses a fairly small amount of memory, it's reliable, and
- it's Freeware (the others are Shareware so they should be
- registered).
-
- Using compression software packs more information in
- less space (so you can use fewer floppy disks) but requires
- more memory (RAM). The compression software WML is
- programmed to use and their memory requirements are as
- follows:
-
- ARJ 2.41 needs at least 300k free
- LHARC 2.13 needs at least 189k free
- PKZip 2.04g needs at least 157k free
-
- After you select File/Back-up a summary window pops open
- and a menu of methods will be presented, starting with "DOS
- Copy" and including each compression technique which is
- found on your computer (using your DOS PATH setting) and
- for which you have enough free memory. Once you choose a
- method you are asked to enter the back-up destination
- (which is typically a floppy disk drive, such as A:, but
- you may decide to back-up to another hard disk, a network
- drive, etc.). All WML data files will then be backed-up to
- the destination disk and directory using the method shown
- in the window.
-
- 3. Restoring files from a back-up copy ___________________________________
-
- If you ever need to recover data files from a floppy
- disk you made using the File/Back-up command (above), just
- place the floppy disk in its drive and select File/Restore.
- The first thing you will be asked is to specify the disk
- drive from which to restore files. Once you highlight a
- drive and press ENTER the list of files on that disk will
-
- -14-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- be shown - individual data files as well as any compressed
- archives.
-
- Highlight each file you wish to restore and press the
- SpaceBar key; you will see an arrow appear next to each
- file as it is selected. If you change your mind, just
- press the SpaceBar again and the arrow will go away,
- indicating that the file will not be restored.
- Alternately, you may use the mouse and click the left
- button instead of using the arrow keys and SpaceBar.
-
- Once you have selected all the files you wish to restore
- press the ENTER key or click on the "Ok" button with a
- mouse. Each file will be copied into the current data
- directory.6 Any compressed archives being restored will
- automatically be expanded.
-
- B. Formatting Floppy Disks
-
- This option is for those times when you have decided to
- make a back-up copy of your data but don't have a formatted disk
- handy. File/Format Floppies lets you format a floppy disk to
- your computer's standard density without exiting WVH. If you
- have a high density drive you can only format high density disks
- (in other words, WVH doesn't pass any parameters to DOS FORMAT).
-
- If you have What Floppy Format? (WFF.EXE) available
- somewhere in your search path WVH will automatically access it
- for formatting floppy disks (so you can do whatever you want).
- You will receive a complimentary copy of the latest version of
- WFF with your WVH registration.
-
- C. Re-Indexing Files
-
- If you ever notice that information is missing or appears
- in any way wrong, it is probably because something has damaged an
- index file. WVH will automatically catch and fix most index
- problems (like if power goes out in the middle of the programme),
- but there are times when only you will know that the file indices
- need to be re-built.
-
- ____________________
-
- 6 The directory from which WVH is started is considered the
- data directory - it is where the data files are stored. For
- example, if you are in the C:\WVH\DATA directory and you run WVH
- from there, then files will be created in, backed-up from, and
- restored to this directory.
-
- -15-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- One common example would be if you restored files from a
- back-up disk. When you make a back-up (using WVH's File/Back-up
- option) you are only storing the data files. This saves space on
- your back-up disk. However, it means that if you restore from a
- back-up the index files may be mis-matched to the files. So you
- would use the File/Re-Index option.
-
- If you have large files (thousands of records) re-indexing
- can take a minute or more, depending on your computer's speed.
- Aside from that, though, it is harmless to re-index as often as
- you like.
-
- D. Packing Files
-
- Whenever you delete information from the files WVH marks
- the "slot" (record) in the files as being "available" so that the
- next new piece of information will use that slot. If you delete
- a lot of information (for example, if you delete a vehicle that
- had a lot of service history & parts information) there may be a
- lot of disk space being used to store old information. This is
- where pack comes in handy.
-
- Packing makes a new copy of all of your files which does
- not include deleted records. For every deleted record between
- 128 and 512 bytes of disk space will be freed.
-
-
- X. DATA ENTRY
-
- This menu of What Vehicle History? lets you enter vehicles, _____________________
- mechanics and other information into the data base. The Data
- Entry menu is split into three sections:
-
- 1. Regular (on-going) data entry for vehicle service
- information
-
- 2. One-time data entry for vehicles, mechanics,
- departments, and service codes
-
- 3. Rarely needed data entry (schedule next maintenance) --
- this function is run automatically after you enter
- service for a vehicle, so you would normally not need to
- access the function directly.
- The Maintenance Scheduling portion of WVH is not yet
- completed.
-
- All data entry screens use the same method of asking you to
- choose a code (vehicle, service type, etc.). There are two
-
- -16-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- windows on the screen: the left-hand one showing the codes and
- the right-hand one showing the details.
-
- As you move through the codes in the left-hand window, WVH
- shows you the details for the code which is highlighted. You
- move with the arrow keys, PgUp and PgDn keys, or by pressing the
- letter or number of a code. For example, if you press the "G"
- key WVH will jump to codes beginning with the letter "G". If
- there are no codes that begin with "G" the next code after "G"
- will be highlighted.
-
- You can back-up one step (cancel an operation) by pressing
- the Esc key. Otherwise, just press ENTER to select the code
- which is highlighted and continue with an operation.
-
- A. Service Information
-
- This will likely be the function you use the most in WVH.
- After you have set up your vehicles, owners, etc., this is where
- you enter the actual service information.
-
- Once you select this option you will see the menu of
- vehicle choices. To quit just press the Esc (Escape) key,
- otherwise highlight a vehicle and press ENTER.
-
- Next you will see the menu of service types. Choose a
- service type which describes the information you are going to
- enter and press the ENTER key.
-
- If there is already some service information for that
- vehicle then you will see a menu of dates. The first item in the
- menu is "New date." Highlight your choice and press ENTER.
-
- Finally you are on the service entry screen. There are
- three windows here: One for parts, one for comments, and one for
- everything else. You can jump between the windows using the F6
- (Jump) key. Within a window use the arrow keys to move around.
- When you are finished entering information press the F7 key to
- save it.
-
- When you exit the service screen you are back at the
- vehicle menu (as above) and the cycle starts over. Just press
- the Esc key to stop entering service information.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -17-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- B. Customers/Departments, Mechanics, Service Types, and
- Vehicles
-
- These data entry windows all work similarly. You will see
- two windows: One on the left which has codes, and one on the
- right which has the details about the highlighted code.
-
- Highlight a code and press ENTER to edit it's information
- (in the right-hand window). To enter a new code press the Ins
- (insert) key. To delete (erase) a code press the Del (delete)
- key.
-
- The codes you define can contain up to five letters,
- numbers, or symbols. Only upper-case letters are used. "AG-5"
- and "AG05" are both valid codes, though "AG05" has room for 100
- variations while "AG-5" has room for 10 variations. It's a good
- idea to give some thought to your coding system before entering
- all of your data!
-
- WVH sorts codes in typical ASCII fashion. One character at
- a time is compared, going left to right. For example, here is a
- list of codes in ASCII order:
-
- 1A
- A001 It is best to pad your numbers
- A002 with zeroes (like these three examples)
- A015 so they come out in order.
- A1
- A100
- A1000
- A2
- B001
-
-
- Service Types examples: Use whatever works for you. If
- you have an existing system, just use those same numbers or
- letters. Perhaps you have abbreviations you use on invoices.
- You can use "BR" for "Brakes", or you might just have service
- type "1" for all types of service if you don't care to separate
- the service history by service types. Avoid getting too detailed
- because you will have to enter a separate service record for each
- type of service you want to track. This might mean splitting one
- service into two entries - perhaps you replaced a radiator and
- replaced brake pads at the same time. If you want to print a
- report in the future which shows just the brake work (or
- whatever), then make a service type for it.
-
-
-
- -18-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- C. Inventory
-
- This screen lets you enter your parts inventory into WVH.
- Once you set up inventory items you may enter an item number when
- entering vehicle service information (in the parts window) rather
- than entering the part descriptions and selling prices manually.
- This not only makes entering parts data more convenient, but it
- also helps avoid typing errors.
-
- The inventory window works much like the other data entry
- screens except that a list of inventory codes is not always
- visible on the screen. Instead WVH waits for you to enter a part
- code and, once you do, it checks to see if it is already on file.
- If the code is on file, WVH displays the information for that
- part and you may edit it. If you enter a new part code, WVH lets
- you fill in the information for it.
-
- You may look up an inventory code by pressing the F2 (Find)
- key. This pops open a window which shows the inventory codes on
- file; you can move through this list to find the desired code
- then press ENTER to choose it.
-
- While the cursor is position on any of the fields you can
- press the F1 key to get information about the purpose and use of
- the field.
-
- D. Inventory Receipts & Depletions
-
- The purpose of this window is to let you enter changes to
- your inventory and have those changes automatically calculated in
- your inventory's figures & history. For example, if you are
- tracking your inventory using the Average Cost method then moving
- items in or out of inventory means that a new average cost must
- be calculated. Rather than doing this yourself and entering the
- new cost figure, you can use the Receipts & Depletions function
- to transfer items and WVH will do the calculating for you.
-
- To use this screen just enter a valid inventory code (or
- use the F2 key to look-up an inventory code) and WVH will display
- the current quantity on-hand and quantity on order. You may then
- enter a positive or negative change to the quantity figures and
- you may also enter the value (cost or selling price) at which the
- inventory was sold or acquired.
-
- When you are finished entering figures for an inventory
- item press the F7 key to save the changes. WVH will then present
- a blank form for you to enter another inventory code. When you
-
-
- -19-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- are finished with this window press the Esc key to return to the
- top menu.
-
-
- XI. REPORTS
-
- Highlight the report you want and follow the instructions
- on the screen. For reports which ask for dates - enter the date
- in month-day-year order, entering just the numbers and using a 4-
- digit year.
-
- You can choose to print a report on the screen, on your
- printer, or to a disk file. If your print to a disk file you
- will be asked for a file name (which may include the drive and
- path, if necessary) and the file will be created without any
- printer control codes.
-
-
- XII. PREFERENCES
-
- The Preferences menu contains options which help you
- customize the operation of WVH and set necessary parameters, such
- as the type of printer you have. All of these screens work like
- any of the data entry screens: Use the arrows to move around or
- click with a mouse, press F1 to get help on any item, and watch
- the bottom of the screen for command keys.
-
- Check each Preferences screen before making use of WVH,
- otherwise something might seem wrong with the software whereas it
- is due to the set of conditions under which WVH is operating.
-
- A. Inventory
-
- This screen controls how your parts inventory will be
- handled. The first item, "Print invoice after entering
- maintenance" is set to "Yes" or "No" to tell WVH whether you want
- an invoice printed after you enter service information. If you
- do not print invoices then you can use the Billing options (on
- the reports menu) to print statements. If you choose to print
- invoices then the next line becomes active, on which you may
- enter the next invoice number WVH is to use.
-
- Next is an option for movement tracking. You can track
- your parts inventory by averaging cost figures or by tracking the
- last four costs and using the parts on a First-In-First-Out basis
- (FIFO, the most common, oldest parts are used first) or a Last-
- In-First-Out basis (LIFO, newest parts are used first).
-
-
- -20-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- Next you can enter the default minimum and maximum
- inventory levels. If the majority of parts you will be entering
- are not in stock (such as if you were entering a parts
- distributor's entire catalogue into WVH), you will want to set
- the default Min and Max to zero, since that is what you'll want
- most of the time. If most (or all) of the parts you'll enter
- into WVH are in stock then you'll probably want to default
- minimum to be one (or two or whatever is normal for you).
-
- The Default Selling Price determines which price will be
- assumed when you enter new customers into WVH. If you leave this
- set to "Standard" then every new customer will be set to use the
- "Standard" price for parts unless you change it. Within a
- corporate environment you will probably use "Cost + Overhead" and
- set the overhead to 0% if you do not mark up the parts at all.
-
- The "Warn if out of stock?" option, when set to "Yes", will
- pop open a window telling you that an item is out of stock when
- you try and enter it in a maintenance record. If you go to the
- computer first (before checking stock), then set this to "Yes";
- if you pull the part from stock first and enter the data in the
- computer after the work is finished, then you might want to set
- this to "No." You can change this setting whenever you want, so
- experiment to see which works better for you.
-
- The last four fields are G/L account numbers for printing
- on reports. This is just to place the account numbers on reports
- so that the bookkeeper has them handy.
-
- B. Miscellaneous
-
- 1. Country setting _______________
-
- This setting is used only to determine the spelling of
- "labour" versus "labor" and the date format (mm/dd/yyyy or
- dd-mm-yyyy or yyyy.mm.dd).
-
- 2. License State/Province ______________________
-
- This is the State or Province abbreviation which is
- will be placed in each vehicle's record (you can change it
- if necessary). If most or all of the vehicles you work on
- are licensed in one State or Province, set this to the two-
- letter code. If the license plates are from many places or
- the equipment you work on have no license plates, then
- leave this field blank.
-
-
-
- -21-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- 3. Alert Tone __________
-
- When some type of error or warning message is displayed
- on the screen, you reach the end of a field, press a wrong
- letter in a menu, etc., WVH can alert you with one of three
- sounds or you may select "No sound" for silent operation.
-
- 4. Other ID Titles _______________
-
- The last nine fields have room for you to enter a title
- for each of the nine extra serial number/ID fields for each
- vehicle. For example, you may want to keep track of the
- Engine Frame serial number, so you could set the title for
- the first one to "Engine Frame."
-
- C. Printer
-
- WVH lets you use a laser or dot matrix printer, but you
- must first define it and the fonts you want to use for printing.
- Until you define your printer and fonts there will be a flashing
- message at the bottom of the screen and you will not be able to
- print anything.
-
- The Preferences/Printer window shows the current settings.
- Use the arrow keys to move around, and press the F3 key to change
- anything. For example, to set your Title Font move the cursor to
- that line then press F3 and a menu of choices will appear.
- Highlight a font to use and press <Enter>. When you are
- finished, highlight the "Ok" button and press <Enter>.
- Alternately, you can use a mouse (click on "Ok") or press F7 to
- save the screen and exit.
-
- 1. Laser printer soft fonts ________________________
-
- You will need portrait (SFP) fonts for reports. Once
- you define your font choices on this screen WVH will
- automatically use them for all reports.
-
- Example: Highlight the "Titles Font" line and press the
- <F3> key - a window of font choices will appear.7 You may
- choose any of the built-in fonts or a soft font. If you
- choose "Select a soft font," a window will pop open in
- which you may enter a drive and/or path which contains the
- soft font files (whatever you enter here becomes the
- default response for next time). Next you will be shown a
- ____________________
-
- 7 You must define the printer before you can set any fonts.
-
- -22-
-
-
-
-
-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- list of the soft font files (*.SFP) in that directory. Use
- the arrow keys and PgUp/PgDn keys to move around, highlight
- the one you want, and press <Enter>. The soft font file
- name will now be shown on the screen.
-
- 2. Scalable fonts ______________
-
- A scalable font is a single font (e.g., CG Times,
- Univers, etc.) which can be printed in practically any
- size. PCL 5 printers like the H-P LaserJet III and IV have
- scalable fonts built in. This means you can pick a font
- and print in practically any size you want.
-
- When you select a scalable font WVH will prompt you for
- the pitch (cpi) or the point size, depending on whether it
- is a fixed-pitch or proportionally-spaced font. In general
- numbers between 8 and 14 work best. My favourite font for
- both my laser and dot matrix is a Helvetica-Univers-Swiss-
- etc. (sans serif) font at 12cpi or 12 points.
-
- 3. Lines per page ______________
-
- Enter the number of lines which may be printed on a
- page in your printer. Most of the time you will be working
- with 66 lines total (11-inches of paper printed at 6 lines
- per inch). On laser printers the total number of lines of
- often 60 due to half-inch top & bottom margins.
-
- I recommend that you set this to 55 lines, which is a
- common setting leaving an inch margin at the top & bottom
- of each page.
-
- 4. Left margin ___________
-
- This setting is the same as it would be for a
- typewriter - it is the distance from the left margin, in
- inches, at which printing will begin. If you would like to
- leave space at the left edge (e.g., to 3-hole punch the
- pages) then set this as you wish. If you use a 10 cpi font
- (or 12 points for lasers) there will be no room for a left
- margin on most reports. However, a 12 cpi (or 10 point)
- font, such as Prestige Elite, will give you room to set a
- one-inch margin or so. Experiment to find what works best
- for you.
-
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- -23-
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- D. Sales Tax Rate and Labour Rate Entry
-
- This window lets you set two important items: The
- sales tax rate for your area and whether or not you want to
- enter the labour hourly rate on the Maintenance Data Entry
- screen.
-
- If you do not need to track sales tax, just enter zero
- for this. Otherwise, enter your sales tax rate as a
- percentage (i.e., 7.50 for 7.5%).
-
- When you are entering service information for a vehicle
- you are asked to indicate the mechanic or place of service
- which, in turn, indicates the hourly rate for labour. If
- you wish you can enter the labour rate on the service data
- entry screen, which allows you to over-ride the rate set
- for the mechanic or place of service. This can be handy if
- you don't want to track mechanics, only the service done.
- In this case you could set up a single mechanic and enter
- the hourly rate as it pertains to each incident of service.
-
-
- XIII. HELP
-
- The Help menu contains information screens and print-outs.
- This menu is divided into three sections:
-
- 1. The on-line manual (Index)
- 2. Information about how WVH is running on your computer
- 3. Registration, site license, and update order forms
-
- Choosing the Index option will bring up the table of
- contents for WVH's help system. You may then use the arrow keys
- or a mouse to highlight a choice and press ENTER (or click the
- mouse button) to view the information on the screen. The help
- index contains mostly the same information which is displayed
- when you press the F1 (Help) key on data entry screens, plus
- there is additional information which is only available from this
- menu.
-
- The About option gives you the current version number,
- copyright information, and my address & phone number.
-
- The Files & Memory option tells you how about your
- computer's free memory (RAM and disk space) and shows statistics
- about the opened mail list file (if any), group file,
- abbreviation file, and zip/postal code file.
-
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- -24-
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- The lower three options print various order forms. Order
- Form prints an order form for registering WVH. Site License
- prints a site license form which shows discounted pricing if you
- wish to use more than one copy of WVH at a single location.
- Update/Sampler Form prints a form to use when you want to order
- an update disk to the latest version of WVH - you need not be
- registered to order an update disk. If you have a version of WVH
- which is several months old please feel free to order the latest
- version for evaluation.
-
-
- XIV. ERROR MESSAGES
-
- WVH tries to handle most problems without any attention
- from you, however, there are times when an error happens which
- WVH is unable to handle. There are three types of errors which
- you may experience:
-
- 1. Condition error - this is a problem due to an operating
- condition. Examples of this type of error are if a
- printer is off-line when you try to print or a file is
- locked by another user on a network. If the condition
- is detectable, WVH will report it in a window and, once
- you press ENTER or click the "Ok" button, WVH will
- continue operating.
-
- 2. File error - these problems cause an error screen to
- appear which suggests a possible solution to the
- problem and, if you can't fix it, my address and phone
- number is shown so you can contact me. Common reasons
- for this type of error are that an index file contains
- a bad entry (perhaps due to a power outage) or the disk
- in use contains an error. The most common solution to
- these problems is to re-index your files (File/re-
- Index). If that doesn't work, see the section below on
- disk problems.
-
- 3. Programme error - this is a mistake of mine and will
- cause the programme to abruptly end with a one-line
- error message and a message like "Press any key to
- return to system." Report these errors to me right
- away, please. Just like other large software packages,
- WML contains hundreds of thousands of instructions and
- the bigger it gets the more likely it is that a "bug"
- will creep in there somewhere. These errors get top
- priority and are usually fixed and a new version
- released within a day.
-
-
- -25-
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-
- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- All large software packages have "bugs" which are errors in
- the programming logic. For example, many Windows uses experience
- "General Protection Fault" messages which are caused by bugs in
- Windows and/or other software which was running. As WML goes
- through its evolution, bugs are removed; as new features are
- added new bugs sometimes find their way into the software. It is
- very helpful when someone informs me of a problem they found.
-
- The following sections describe some common errors and
- procedures to correct them.
-
- A. EMS Memory Error
-
- I have discovered a problem on a Packard Bell computer
- which results in WML refusing to run, giving the error message,
- "Not enough EMS to load overlays." This error is generated by
- the programming language, not by WML itself, which has left me
- unable to determine its cause. I saw the error happen with 250kb
- of free EMS memory and 0kb free XMS memory.
-
- My best guess is that since there is some free EMS memory
- the overlay manager tries to load portions of WML into EMS, but
- since there is not enough memory it fails and is unable to revert
- back to operating without EMS memory.
-
- There are three ways around this problem:
-
- 1. Remove the EMM386 line in your CONFIG.SYS file or change
- the "RAM" key word to "NOEMS". Either of these actions will
- remove EMS memory support from your computer. If there is other
- software in your computer which requires EMS to run this will not
- be a practical solution for you.
-
- 2. Change the EMM386 line to have either more or less
- memory, re-boot your computer, and try to run WML again.
- Experiment to find the memory setting which works for WML and
- also allows your other software to operate properly.
-
- 3. Change the memory settings for software which uses EMS,
- such as SMARTDRV, so that there is either more or less EMS memory
- available.
-
- B. Text overlaps on reports
-
- This problem is caused by choosing a font which is too
- large for the report layout - WVH has no way to detect this
- situation. To resolve the problem go to the Preferences/Printers
-
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- screen and change the font to a smaller (lower) point size or a
- more dense (higher) character pitch.
-
- C. Information is Missing - Correcting Disk Problems
-
- I place great emphasis on keeping data safe and know of no
- case where WML has lost data, however, problems with DOS or
- computer equipment may cause data to be lost in rare
- circumstances.
-
- If any of your data seems to be missing exit to DOS and
- type "CHKDSK C: /F" (without the quotation marks; replace "C:"
- with another drive, if appropriate).
-
- MS-DOS 6.2 users: Use the command "SCANDISK C:" since it
- performs a more thorough test.
-
- Either CHKDSK or SCANDISK will check that the recorded
- location of each file is valid. The SCANDISK utility can also
- perform a surface scan which tests the entire disk to be sure all
- areas of it are usable.
-
- If CHKDSK or SCANDISK find any errors they will be reported
- to you and you will be asked for input on correcting the errors.
- CHKDSK only knows how to clear any errors and turn "orphan" data
- into new files. By "orphan" data I mean data which is on your
- hard disk but for which DOS has lost the information about the
- file to which it belongs. Normally this data is not usable or
- requires tremendous effort to make it usable again. I suggest
- you do not create files from this data unless you have lost a
- tremendous amount of data which would be very difficult to re-
- enter or the data is irreplaceable. Beyond this point you will
- require the help of someone who knows how to recover damaged
- files. Contact me if you cannot find a local consultant to
- perform this service for you.
-
- SCANDISK is able to identify bad sections of your disk and
- attempt to move data to safe areas. If the area is badly damaged
- the attempt to move data may not be entirely successful. If
- SCANDISK tells you it has found problems on your disk I suggest
- you let it fix them. If your data is irreplaceable or would take
- a tremendous amount of effort to re-enter, then I recommend that
- you get the help of a consultant. At the very least make a
- complete back-up copy of your data files (or the entire hard
- disk) so that you can attempt to restore information in case
- files are so badly damaged that information becomes lost.
-
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- In most cases you will find that no data is missing and all
- you need to do is re-index your files for the "missing" entries
- to re-appear. To re-build the index files just select the Re-
- index option on the File menu.
-
-
- XV. FILES WHICH MAKE UP THE PACKAGE
-
- The unregistered Shareware Edition of What Vehicle History? _____________________
- is made up of the following files:
-
- FILE_ID.DIZ * Description file for BBSs
- DESC.SDI * Description file for BBSs
- WVH.EXE What Vehicle History? programme
- WVH.HLP Help file
- WVH.MSG Screen message file
- WML.MIX Screen message file index
- WML.HX0 & HX1 Help file indices
- WVH.SCN Screen field definitions file
- WVH.TXT * Documentation in ASCII - TYPE WVH.TXT > PRN
- to print it
- WVH.WP * Documentation in WordPerfect 5 format
- FKEY.LST Function key definitions file
- PRINTER.DAT Printer definitions file
- ORDER.FRM Order form for WVH and other software
- VENDOR.DOC * Information concerning the distribution of
- this software
- SYSOP.DOC * Information for bulletin board sysops
- READ.ME * Latest information
-
- If you distribute evaluation copies to friends and bulletin
- boards please be sure to include all of these files (additional
- files will be created by WVH which contain your data and should
- not be distributed unless you intend to share your data files).
- Files marked with an asterisk (*) are not required to run WVH so
- they may be erased if disk space is a premium (such as if you are
- using WVH on a floppy disk system).
-
- The Registered Edition contains a registration key which is
- contained in the file CONFIG.WVH. If you share WVH with friends
- and BBSs, please ERASE this file from the copies you share:
-
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- INDEX
-
-
- 4DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- Alert Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
- BBS
- Official Distribution Bulletin Boards . . . . . . . . . . . 3
- Computer Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Country
- setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
- CPU
- Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
- Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
- Departments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
- Disk drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Disk drive requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
- DOS requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- DR-DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- EMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
- EMS Memory Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
- Disk errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
- EMS memory error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- Files
- copying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
- Floppy disk
- installing from . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
- Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
- Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
- using the F1 key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- Importing
- ASCII (text) files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 14
- Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
- Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
- Receipts & Depletions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
- Inventory preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
- License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
- Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
- Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Free RAM requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Menus
- using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
- Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
- Novell DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Numeric co-processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
-
- -29-
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- What Vehicle History? _____________________
-
-
-
- OS/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Printer
- defining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
- scalable fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
- RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
- Sales tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
- Service Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
- Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
- Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
- Windows
- using WVH with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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