Software of the Month Club 1996 June

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Page 42. CHAPTER EIGHT - TOOLSET X)tra file work TRUCK has provisions for making changes or corrections in vehicle descriptions and schedules. Those changes include new vehicle tag numbers, driver names, and so on. Records for several of the other files, however, are not changed within the basic program to protect the integrity of the information. If an entry in these files must be changed, or if you want to sort the files to put the entries in chronological order, the Fleet Supervisor should make the changes. It has not been left to the casual user to easily change these records. TOOLSET functions are password protected. You must enter the correct password to gain access to the special editing functions. See the "T" monitor selection earlier. When you choose this selection you will first see a screen requesting a PASSWORD. The password can be up to 8 characters long. As you enter the password, you will not see the entry on the screen. You must know what to enter and you must enter it "blind". To protect the security of the password, it is not displayed on the screen. Now, press enter and there's the TOOLSET menu. If you lose the password, contact TLC SOFTWARE for assistance in recovering the password. To use TOOLSET utilities, simply follow these steps: 1. Set the Path to the drive location for your files if different from the startup choice. Ordinarily, you will use the drive you started with. You can, however work on files stored on another drive. If you need to change it, just set that path into TOOLSET. Include the drive letter (A: through Z:) and the correct directory. 2. Next, choose the Filename you will use from a list on the screen. Move the cursor to the desired file and press <ENTER>. 3. The record number will be set to the number of the last record in the file. If you wish to select a different record, choose the R)ecord selection and enter the record number you want. Usually, the record with an error will be at or near the end of the file since it was probably a recent entry. If you do not know the record number you want but you think it is in about the middle of the file, look at the last record number. If it is 1500, enter 750 to go to the middle of the file and search for it using the N)ext or P)revious keys. Record numbers are included in the printed Repair and Fuel reports. These are the numbers you will want to find when editing these files. Page 43. Back at the menu you will see the selected drive, file name and record number displayed on the right of the screen. From the menu selections, here are the operations you may do on the files: E)dit. You may change the content of a record with this selection. Edit does not work with some files that can only be edited with the regular EDIT selection in other menus. With EDIT and other selections, you may move through the file either by going back to the R)ecord selection and choosing a new number or by pressing N for the next record or P for the previous record. This is the selection to use to correct an error in a repair or fuel entry. D)elete. With this selection, you may delete a record from most of the files. You may want to delete a duplicate record. It may be a description or a maintenance schedule for a vehicle you no longer have. Deleting rids your file of these unneeded records so that the file space may be recovered. When a record is DELETED, it can be UNDELETED if you have not PACKed the file with the REMOVE selection. After it has been PACKed, it is gone forever. BE SURE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU PACK YOUR FILE. You should be aware that when you REMOVE records, the program will remove all records in the file that are marked deleted. In doing that, the records that follow a deleted record are moved up to recover the space used by the deleted record. Because of this, the record numbers will change when you pack the file. The record numbers shown on an earlier printed repair or fuel report will no longer be the current valid record numbers. O)ld records This selection will provide for removal of old Work orders, old Road/Fuel tax records, old tire descriptions and old records in your stock room audit trail file. As some of the records in your files get older, they may no longer be needed in your TRUCK files. Rather than just erase those records, TOOLSET will, with this selection, write those older records to a diskette in drive B:. You specify the date for records to be removed. The diskette may then be stored away for whatever period you feel it may be needed. This routine will reclaim the file space used by these old records. You may delete work orders dated earlier than the date you specify or you may delete those before a specified work order number. Roadtax records (distance traveled) are deleted by date. Specify the date and all earlier roadtax records are deleted. In each case, you must put a formatted diskette into drive B: and a copy of the records being deleted will be copied to that diskette for storage. I)ndex is much like the index function on the housekeeping menus. Page 44. It does more though. These routines write completely new index files. A damaged index will be newly generated. (This is an INDEX ON rather than a REINDEX dBASE type command.) You may use this selection to correct an INTERNAL ERROR(19) (also see this error). In doing the indexing, if you get an error in trying to rewrite an index, you may need to erase the corrupted index before you can generate the new one. After you edit or sort your files you will usually need to reindex them. With an undamaged index file, whether you do it here or from the either of the house keeping menus, the result is the same. S)orting your records is not essential. TRUCK uses index files to keep the entries in order. There may be times, however, when you want to get the file into actual chronological order. This routine will sort some of the records on the DATE field. It writes a backup file in the process. The backup file will be named ???BACK.DBF, where ??? depends on the original filename. The backup for REPAIRS will be REPBACK.DBF; the audit trail file TRAIL.DBF will be TRLBACK.DBF, etc. If something goes wrong, you can use these backups to reestablish your records. For example, you can erase REPAIRS.DBF, rename REPBACK.DBF TO REPAIRS.DBF and be back where you started. Don't forget to REINDEX the file after you SORT it.. M)ake schedules. After you have entered the descriptions of all of your vehicles, use this selection. For every description record, TRUCK will write an entry into your maintenance schedule file. Do this only once when you initially set up a set of records. Later, you will enter the schedules for each vehicle (when oil change is due, etc). If you do this operation after that time, it will overwrite your file with a new one but all of the schedule data you have entered will be lost. If you want to add another schedule to an already existing file, use the H)ousekeeping menu and the B)egin maintenance sched. selection. That will append a new schedule entry to the end of your existing file without upsetting the entries you have already made. To end the TOOLSET session, select Q)UIT at the menu to return to the main menu prompt. CHAPTER NINE - HINTS AND KINKS PACKING YOUR FILES Several times in these instructions, we refer to "PACKING" your files. When records are deleted by any of several operations, the deleted records are not actually removed. They are marked to be deleted. Marked records can be reinstated. When you PACK a file, you complete the removal. After that, you can not recover those Page 45. records. Why pack them? It keeps your file smaller by eliminating unneeded old records. In operations such as entering replacement vehicles, you can save a bit of time when you are entering several vehicles at the same time. Just skip the packing routine until you get to the last vehicle you will enter. Packing after you enter that one will complete the removal for all records marked to be deleted. It doesn't matter when they were marked. CHANGE OPERATORS FOR A VEHICLE You may change the name of the assigned operator by using the Edit selection on the Housekeeping menu. If you want to keep a record of the names of past drivers, make a repair entry using the (OTH)er category. At the note area, show something like "VEHICLE TRANSFERRED FROM J JONES TO J SMITH" ENTER A CREDIT FOR A REPAIR Yes, you can enter a credit. If you have, for example, an insurance payment to offset a repair, you can enter the payment as a repair and enter the amount as a negative number. A $3000 loss payment would be entered by vehicle number and the amount entered as -3000. It will be included correctly in the report and totals for the reports for that vehicle will reflect the credit. Do not enter a negative mileage for an error in the mileage for a vehicle. This will lead to trouble. Instead, use TOOLSET to correct the entry or remove it and redo it. PROGRAM HUNG IN A LOOP Generally, you can stop an operation and return to the menu. Many printed reports provide for pressing the <Esc> key to stop printing. You can get most PC's and compatibles out of a hang-up by pressing ALT-C. Hold down the <Alt> key while you press the "C" key. The program will be interrupted. You can answer "N" to not try again and the files will be closed and you will return to the DOS prompt - no harm done. VEHICLES NOT LISTED IN SEQUENCE Vehicle "numbers" are handled as alphabetic characters. We did this to allow the use of letters and numbers in a unit identifier. When you list your vehicles in several of the reports, you will find them listed as though the numbers are characters. For example, if you have vehicles numbered from 1 through 1000, they will be listed in this order: 1, 10, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, etc. All of the ones will be listed, then the twos, and so on. This is necessary if we allow numbers to be used in combination with letters. If you want your numbers to fall in actual numerical sequence, add preceding zeros to the number. If you do that, the above number sequence for 0001 to 1000 will then be: 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, 0006, 0007, 0008, 0009, 0010, 0011, etc. Page 46. ABORTING A PRINTED REPORT If you get into a printed report and decide it is too long and was not what you expected it to be, you can abort many of the printing operations by pressing the escape <Esc> key. If nothing else works, in a non network installation, you can turn the printer OFF. You will get a Printer Not Ready message on the CRT screen. Enter "(Q)uit" to not retry. The program will close all of your files and return to the DOS prompt. No harm done - just restart TRUCK to continue. DOS ERROR MESSAGES - WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? There are several DOS system errors that may show up as error messages on your screen. Usually you can see a help screen by pressing the <F1> key. Here are the most frequent ones that you need to know about: Proc NEWUNIT line 0, open error C:CREW.NTX (2) INTERPRETATION. In doing the Procedure named NEWUNIT, at line 0 (because line numbers were removed to make the program smaller) there was a fatal error in trying to open the index file named CREW.NTX on drive C:. EXPLANATION. The number (2) is a DOS error number. It means the file was not found. Either it is not on the drive you specified or is not in the subdirectory VEHICLES. Did you use the install routine supplied with TRUCK? If not, check the subdirectory. It must be the subdirectory named in the configuration part of the program. If you use the INSTALL default selections that are supplied with TRUCK, it will be named VEHICLES and will be on the drive you specified when you installed the program. Proc NEWUNIT line 0, open error C:\DESCRIP.DBF (3) INTERPRETATION. In doing the Procedure named NEWUNIT, at line 0 there was a fatal error in trying to open the database file named DESCRIP.DBF in the prescribed directory of drive C:. EXPLANATION. The number (3) is a DOS error number. It means the path to the file was not found. The correct subdirectory was not found on the drive you specified. Check the subdirectory for the correct name. It must be named correctly and must be on the drive specified in the configuration part of the program. Proc NEWUNIT line 0, open error C:OPERATOR.NTX (4) INTERPRETATION. In doing the Procedure named NEWUNIT, at line 0 there was a fatal error in trying to open the index file named OPERATOR.NTX on drive C:. EXPLANATION. The number (4) is a DOS error number. It means there was an attempt to open too many files at the same time. Most database programs open more files at one time than DOS allows unless you provide for more. Making more file space is done in the CONFIG.SYS file with the statement FILES=31. This error Page 47. message means either that the proper statements are not in the CONFIG.SYS file or the correct CONFIG.SYS file is not the one on the boot-up disk you started your computer with. The computer only reads the CONFIG.SYS file at boot-up time. Proc NUMBER line 0, open error (5) INTERPRETATION. In doing the Procedure NEWUNIT, at line 0 there was a fatal error in trying to open one or more of the files. EXPLANATION. The number (5) is a DOS error number. It means there was an attempt to open a file for which access is denied. This could be a network error although the network version of the program will handle a failure to open a file. This may also mean that the file in question has been marked "read only". This is a file attribute error. Whatever its cause, it can be corrected with the DOS command ATTRIB. (See your DOS manual.) Proc PERFORM line 0, printer not ready INTERPRETATION. In doing the Procedure PERFORM (that prints the fuel performance report) output to the printer failed. EXPLANATION. This one is more obvious. Either the printer is not turned on, is not connected, is out of paper or has had some kind of failure. Proc DESCRIP unidentified identifier in index NUMBER INTERPRETATION. The index or database contains a field name that does not match the names for the record. EXPLANATION. This sometimes means you have a corrupted index file. The solution is to use the X)tra selection (TOOLSET) to generate a new index file. The most likely problem, though, is that you are using files from an earlier version of TRUCK with a new version of the program. Before you can use the older files, you must run the UPDATE program to move the old data into the new data files. DATABASE REQUIRED. This error shows up when you try to start the program when it is set up for one drive and subdirectory and you have moved it to another drive or you have changed the configuration to show the wrong drive and subdirectory. INTERNAL ERROR (19) or DOS ERROR (0) This error means you have a corrupted index file. The file may have been damaged by a power failure, program interruption or some computer malfunction. To correct this, use TOOLSET. Open the database file you were using (depending on what you were doing at the time) and use the I)ndex selection on the TOOLSET menu. TOOLSET will generate a completely new set of index files for this database. Page 48. OUT OF MEMORY The TRUCK program will run with a little more than 400k of the base ram available in your computer. This means that you should have about 450k or more actually available to the program. Even if you run the DOS CHKDSK or MEM commands and your computer shows 550 to 610k available for programs, you may have some of it in use and may not have all of the amount shown available when you run TRUCK. Each software "driver", resident program, menu program, windows, even the routines that move things into high memory, all require some of the available base ram. Take a look at the things in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files to see what is actually loaded in the standard RAM area. If you get an OUT OF MEMORY error, try first starting your computer with only a minimum setup. TRUCK should load OK at that point. Now add the things you eliminated one at a time. After adding each one, again try to run TRUCK. Doing this, you will find what is using too much memory for you to run while running TRUCK. If the other program is necessary to run all of the time, you may need to prepare a boot up diskette that omits the program that uses the memory and use that diskette to start your computer when you run TRUCK. IF YOU INSTALL TRUCK WITHOUT USING THE INSTALL ROUTINE Be sure the CONFIG.SYS file includes the "FILES" and "BUFFERS" statements noted in GETTING STARTED. You must have the database and index files in the correct drive and subdirectory. Be sure the records are in the proper place. Properly used, the install routine on the TRUCK diskette will put the files in the right places. The program files and the data files are supplied in a condensed form. They are in self expanding files (using PKWARE software ). You can expand either of these files with the command PROGRAM or FILES. The extracted and expanded TRUCK program file is over 600K. Do not be concerned with the size of it, it has several imbedded overlay files that are called into your computer as they are needed. The program will run with about 450k of available ram. If you install the system with DOS commands, just be sure to modify the CONFIG.SYS file. On a hard drive, everything except the TLC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files normally go into a subdirectory on the hard drive. That default subdirectory will be named "VEHICLES". TRUCK will look for that name. You can use any valid hard drive designator C through Z. You can also install TRUCK along with the file DRIVE.DBF on one hard drive, say drive C: and install the .DBF and .NTX files on another drive. For example, you could have the truck program TRUCKS.EXE along with DRIVE.DBF in a C:\TRANS subdirectory on drive C: and the record .DBF and .NTX files on a file server, drive F: in a subdirectory named \FILES\THIS. Be careful with this. The non-network versions of TRUCK do not have the file Page 49. locking facilities needed for multiple user access. If you want full network file sharing, inquire about the economical upgrade to the network version of the program. On a floppy system, all of the .DBF and .NTX files must be on the data files diskette. DRIVE.DBF always goes on the program diskette with TRUCKS.EXE If you want to install the data files on a separate drive, place the installation diskette in drive A: and run the INSTALL program. Select to install only the FILES. Only the DATA and INDEX files will be expanded on the destination drive, in a VEHICLES subdirectory. This can be handy if you set up different divisions (or customers) on separate high density diskettes. If you want to install the program and/or files in your own choice of directories, just be sure you enter the correct paths in the configuration part of the program (see the "T" monitor setting). Also, modify the file TLC.BAT so that it will move to your program subdirectory and execute the program with the command "TRUCKS". FILE INFORMATION FOR OTHER DATABASE USERS TRUCK is compiled with the Clipper compiler, Summer 87 version. The database files are compatible with dBASE III and other programs that will read dBASE files. The indices in The TRUCK DATA SYSTEM are not compatible with other xBASE programs. When using dBASE to work with .DBF fIles that use index files, do not open the TRUCK index. If your work requires an index you can create an index in dBASE. Be sure the name of any new index does not conflict with the TRUCK indices. NEED TO CORRECT A REPAIR ENTRY Provision for an operator to change a fuel, repair or tax entry after it is made is a function of TOOLSET. Toolset is selected from the main menu. You must enter the correct password to gain access to Toolset. This is designed to maintain the integrity of the information. If corrections need to be made in these records, someone with the password such as the fleet supervisor should make the changes. TRUCK files can also be changed using such database programs as dBASE III or IV, FOXBASE, WAMPUM, and others. USING OPERATING HOURS TRUCK can be used for maintenance records of equipment other than vehicles. Records for other machinery can be recorded. If you enter hours instead of odometer readings, the schedules and records will reflect hours, cost per hour, etc. The title of the printouts and displays will not be correct, but the information is valid if you understand what is recorded. USING METRIC MEASUREMENTS The use of metric entries is fully supported. In the setup routine for TRUCK, if you choose METRIC units, the screens and printed reports will show kilometers, liters, etc. If you are Page 50. upgrading to version 6 from earlier versions of TRUCK, the update program that is furnished with TRUCK when upgrading has a routine that will convert your older English measurement entries to Metric. This will be done for all of the records - descriptions, repairs, fuel, etc. USING OTHER DATE FORMATS The default date format is American following a MM/DD/YY pattern. You may change this to several other formats, one of which may better suit your location. The choice is made in the configuration part of the program. Once set, the selected date format will be reflected throughout the program in all of the screens and printed reports. INSTALLING TRUCK ON A NETWORK NOTES FOR THE NETWORK SUPERVISOR Registration for the network version of the program includes the user fee for an unlimited number of workstations on a single network. It is fully compatible with Novell NetWare 4 and should work with other networks that recognize file and record locking and the sharing of files and records. Limited only by the 29 characters for the PATH statement, the program and the files can be installed in any subdirectory. They need not be in the same directory. The file DRIVE.DBF must reside with the program TRUCKS.EXE and all of the other .DBF and .NTX files must be together. Suggested locations are F:\PUBLIC\VEHICLES for everything. On the diskette we shipped to you, the file PROGRAM.EXE is a PKZIP file containing DRIVE.DBF and TRUCKS.EXE. The file FILES.EXE contains all of the vehicle data files (.DBF) and the indices (.NTX). You must also grant READ, WRITE, CREATE, ERASE and FILE SCAN rights to the users who will login to use the TRUCK program. After you have created the subdirectories and installed the files, you should create a batch or menu program the user can use to start TRUCK. For example, if you have installed the program in DRIVE F: in directory PUBLIC\TLC and the files in PUBLIC\TLC\FILES a batch file in the user's root directory of drive C: could be something like this: F: ( move to drive F: ) CD\PUBLIC\TLC ( change to the program directory ) TRUCKS ( execute the program ) CD\ ( when quitting, change to the root dir. ) C: ( go back to drive C: ) CD\ ( be sure to quit in the root directory ) CLS ( and clear the screen. ) Page 51. HARDWARE USED ON THE WORKSTATIONS The recommended network installation is with workstations that use the same type of monitor and print to the same network printer. That is, the monitors should all be either monochrome or color (CGA, EGA or VGA). In such an installation, all of the workstations will share the same setup for the monitor and printer. Color is highly recommended but only for the enhanced highlighting, warnings and information displays. Functionally the program will have all of the features available in a monochrome setting - but it does look better in color. The database file, DRIVE.DBF, that is installed with the program, TRUCKS.EXE, contains a number of configuration things that are used with the program. Among those are settings for color or monochrome monitors. In a normal installation, the configuration file is installed on the file server and is used by all workstations as they start TRUCK. If all of the work stations use the same type of monitor, this will pose no problem for any of them. Once the monitor setting is made, all will use the same settings. If they are a mix of monochrome and color monitors, you will need to make some changes. For simplicity, you can set the monitor setting to monochrome and let all of the workstations use that setting. The color monitors will lose the color enhancements but all will work with a monochrome display. If you want to use color settings for some workstations and monochrome for some of the others, you can install the program in two different ways. 1. You can install the file DRIVE.DBF and TRUCKS.EXE in two different directories on the file server. Set the startup batch file to use the monochrome setting directory for the monochrome workstations and use the color setting directory for the color workstations. For example, the best way: F:\PUBLIC\TRUCK1 for the monochrome group F:\PUBLIC\TRUCK2 for the color group F:\PUBLIC\VEHICLES for the shared records 2. Or, you can install the file DRIVE.DBF and TRUCKS.EXE in a subdirectory on the workstation itself. For example: C:\VEHICLES for TRUCKS.EXE and DRIVE.DBF F:\PUBLIC\VEHICLES for the shared records If you do install TRUCKS.EXE and DRIVE.DBF in more than one location, be sure that any changes (schedule intervals, shop labor rate, etc.) are made to all of the installation locations. PRINTING ON THE NETWORK The program prints to the standard DOS device PRN as assigned to printer port LPT1. Page 52. Work stations can print to their local workstation printer at LPT1 or you can feed their printed output to a network printer. In Novell NetWare, the command is CAPTURE to reroute that workstation's output. A capture command for NetWare could be something like this: CAPTURE L=1 Q=2 NB NFF TI=5 If you delete the NB, a banner page will precede the printout. Leave off the NFF and a form feed will be automatic at the end. This may not be needed since the TRUCK printouts will eject a page at the end of a report. Typically, you will establish a printer object and a print queue and CAPTURE the output to the queue that feeds that printer. The capture statement must be run at each of the work stations after they login. You can set up your workstations so that some print to their local printer and others print to a network queue and printer. Just do not run the CAPTURE statement at a workstation and the printer output will be to the workstation printer port LPT1 and whatever local printer is connected to it. You must also be aware that workstations on a network are expected to be printing to the same kind of printer. The printer setup is copied into the vehicle record subdirectory as the program starts. If one station is set up to print to a LaserJet and the second station is setup to print to an EPSON dot matrix printer, the second printer settings will overwrite the first settings as the second station starts. REVISIONS TO THE TRUCK PROGRAM Revisions will surely be made from time to time to add new features and to correct any problems that are discovered. Registered users will be notified as major updates become available. We reserve the right to make changes (including additions or corrections) to the program or registration fees without notice and without obligation to notify or furnish the changes to previous registrants. TECHNICAL INFORMATION TRUCK does not need nor recognize expanded or extended memory. The large size (over 600K) is handled through the use of overlay files that share the same memory (RAM) and are swapped in and out of memory as needed. As TRUCK is sent to you, it is in compressed form. We used the program PKZIP from PKWARE, Inc. to compress the files and PKSFX to generate the self extracting files. These make the distribution files much smaller and simplify the installation for you. For those who are interested in the structure of TRUCK, here is a list of the database files along with their indices: Page 53. Database Index Purpose BIDLIST NONE Used for used vehicle sale list DESCRIP VIN Descriptions Indexed on Vehicle ID No. NUMBER Indexed on the company number LICENSE And on the license tag OPERATOR Or Operator's name CREW By Division and operator DRIVE NONE Stores information used by TRUCK FUELS FUELNO Fuel used indexed by CO.No. STATFUEL Indexed by state of purchase VFUEL Indexed by vendor INVENTO BIN Parts room indexed by bin number ROW And by row number RB1 By row/bin combination number HOUSENO By in-house part number MFGNO And manufacturer's part number ORDER ORDER Indexed by order number ORDERDTE Indexed by date PARTS PARTS Work order parts indexed by work order number and correction number. PERMITS PNUMBER Permits indexed by number PERMNO Indexed by vehicle number RECAP RECAP Index by Co. tire No. CAPDATE By recap date CAPPER By vendor REPAIRS REPAIRS Repairs indexed by CO.No. and date CODES Indexed by repair code CODENO Indexed by repair code and date CODEDIV Indexed by code, division and date VCODES Indexed by date and vendor WONUMB Indexed by work order and date WONUMB1 Indexed by date and W.O. # ROADTAX STXNO Road tax indexed by CO.No. and state TAXDATE Indexed by date (used to remove old) SCHEDULE SCHEDULE Maint. Scheds. indexed by CO.No. SCHEDIV By division and company number TAGS TNUMBER Tags indexed by tag number TIREDESC TIRECONO Tires indexed Co. serial No. TIREDATE And by date acquired TIREMFNO By Mfgr. tire number TIREBRAN By brand name ACTIVE By vehicle number Page 54. TIREINST INSTCONO Installation Co. tire No. TIRE_INS By vehicle no. TRAIL TRAIL Audit trail indexed by in-house No. TRAILDTE Indexed by issue date UNITPART PARTDESC Vehicle parts indexed by description PARTGRP By part group PARTNUM By vehicle and group VENDORS VNAME Indexed by vendor name VNUMB By vendor number BACKING UP YOUR FILES (Also see BACKUPS in the DOS section of this manual.) Back up copies of data records are good insurance. You will invest a considerable amount of time in generating these useful records. Accidents and equipment failures do happen. I cannot stress too strongly the need for frequent backups of these data files. If you operate with the data records on diskettes, I suggest that you operate with three copies. This is much safer than just two, the original and a backup. When you first get the data record diskette in service, make two backup copies of it. Label them TRUCK DATA RECORDS 1, 2 AND 3. Begin using diskette #1 with TRUCK and when you have entered records for a while, use the DOS diskcopy command and copy diskette 1 to diskette 2. Now use diskette 2 to continue entering data. Again, after a while, backup #2 to #3 and use #3 for entries. Later, backup #3 to #1 etc. If you have trouble with a diskette, you can go back to the previous copy and only lose the data entered since you made the backup. You will find the three copy procedure is MANY times safer that working with only two. If your data is stored on a hard drive you should seriously consider the use of a good backup program. PC-Tools Plus by Central Point Software is only one of several with a good hard drive backup program that seems to work with any system. Backing up hard drive files onto floppies involves copying the files in the VEHICLES subdirectory onto a floppy diskette. Only the .DBF files need be backed up since the .NTX indices can be reinstalled from the TRUCK DATA SYSTEM diskette. For larger records, you can copy each .DBF file to a separate floppy diskette. Be aware that you are limited to the size of file that will fit on a floppy--360K on a regular 5 1/4"; 1.4M on a high density 3 1/2" disk. Whether you make your backups on diskettes or on tape, the use of three copies is much safer than just two. You should consider keeping a recent copy of your backup at an off-site location just in case your local copy is damaged by a fire or storm. Page 55. If you lose the hard drive files, you can reinstall TRUCK, and copy those backups back into the VEHICLES subdirectory. Run TRUCK and REINDEX the files at the HOUSEKEEPING or TOOLSET menu. NEW RECORDS - OLD VEHICLES When you first use TRUCK to keep your fleet records, you will probably have vehicles in your fleet that are not new. When you start keeping records on these used vehicles, there are some things you must keep in mind about how the program works. When TRUCK generates a repair or a fuel report for a vehicle, it expects to have a beginning and ending odometer reading for the reporting period. Here's how it gets those odometer figures. If you are doing a FULL report, (that is, a report of all of the information in the file for that vehicle) a zero odometer is assumed. You can only do a full report if all of the information has been entered for that vehicle. If you started your TRUCK records when the vehicle was new, you would have a FULL history for that vehicle - starting with a zero odometer. When the report is made, TRUCK takes the last odometer entry and considers that the ending odometer for the report. The difference between the ending and beginning odometer reading (zero, in this instance) is the total distance traveled for the period being reported. That is the distance that is used for calculations for cost per mile/kilometer and miles per gallon/kilometers per liter. If you have a vehicle that has an odometer reading of, say, 50,000 when you start using TRUCK, you can't make a full report of fuel or repairs because you don't have the full history in your file. If you make an entry at 50,100 and call for a full report, TRUCK will calculate from zero to 50,100 - not from 50,000. A FULL report always starts from the beginning - a zero odometer reading. With a used vehicle, you MUST either enter all the past repair and/or fuel data (which can be a monumental job) or make a report limited by dates or from a beginning odometer. Since the odometer readings for a number of vehicles will widely vary, the report between two dates is far more practical. There still must be a starting point for the report. Let's say you are just setting up TRUCK records and it is mid June, 1993. You start you entries as repairs are made and fuel is added. Now, to get a report, call for a report by DATES you will enter for the beginning and ending of the report. But remember, TRUCK is going to look for a beginning odometer. If you call for your report to begin 06/01/93, TRUCK is going to look at the next previous record for that vehicle to get the starting odometer. If you do not have an entry BEFORE 06/01/93, TRUCK is going to pick up the wrong reading. You've got to start the report AFTER THE FIRST ENTRY FOR THAT VEHICLE. Here's the easiest way to do that. If you are starting in mid June, as in this example, make a repair and a fuel entry for each vehicle BEFORE that date, for example 05/31/93. You only need to Page 56. make one. That will be the source of the starting odometer reading for the reports. Then, always start your reports on or after 06/01/93 - an easy date to remember. Any date AFTER 06/01/93 will produce the expected result. For the REPAIR file, if you don't have the repair records, you can just make an entry for each vehicle showing the date and estimated odometer reading. In this example, use 05/31/93 for the date. The FUEL file is a bit more difficult. TRUCK will not let you enter a fuel record with no quantity, price and total -- you just can't have distance accumulated without fuel. Still, there is a way to get a beginning odometer into your records. Enter a fuel entry for each vehicle for 05/31/93 showing the odometer reading at the last PREVIOUS fuel fill-up. You can estimate what that reading is. Enter the fuel as 0.01 gallon/liter at a cost of $0.01 for a total of $0.01. OK, that gets the odometer into the record but what about the cost. That should not be in your calculations. Remember, if you make the report beginning on 06/01/93 or later, the cost of that May entry will not be included anyhow. If you want to eliminate that small cost, after you make the fuel entry, go into TOOLSET, select the FUELS file and the last record number. Choose the EDIT function and simply zero out the fuel entry except for the vehicle number, division, date and odometer. Now, when you make a fuel or repair report, choose the DATE report to begin on 06/01/93. It's easy to remember. You can enter an ending date or, if you just press enter for the ending date, the ending date will be TODAY. For later reports, you can use any starting date AFTER 06/01/93 and get the results you expect. ONE OTHER SMALL PROBLEM. There still may be times when you make a report and the report shows incomplete odometer readings and does not make the calculations. Even if you have the correct beginning odometer in your records, if there is no odometer entry for the last entry for the report, TRUCK will see the ending odometer as ZERO and will calculate a total distance of less than zero and will report the error. Always try to have an odometer reading but, if you can't, just be aware that it can cause this problem if it happens to fall at the very end of your report. CHAPTER TEN - USER SUPPORT We provide support for users of TRUCK by either mail, FAX or telephone, generally without additional charge to the user. We have tried to include all of the information you need to use the program in this manual. Before you call for support, please read the USER MANUAL. There is a table of contents in the front of the manual as well as an extensive index in the back. The answer to your problem is probably included in the manual. If, after searching the manual, you still need help, give us a call. Due to the time and expense involved, we insist that you understand the operation of your particular computer, monitor, printer, network, etc. We can not teach you about DOS. Page 57. If we are to maintain the low cost of TLC SOFTWARE, and you need help beyond getting started or for reporting a problem, there may be a moderate support charge for the time and any expenses (such as telephone calls, extra shipping charges,etc.). SENDING DISKETTES TO TLC SOFTWARE If you have a problem with your data, we may ask that you send us a copy of those files. The data files have a .DBF extension to the filename. Index files have an .NTX extension. If you send files, be sure to tell us how the backup copies were made. Backups made with the DOS "COPY" command can be easily read. We can also "RESTORE" if you use "BACKUP" from DOS version 3.3, 4 or 5 or from DR DOS 5 or 6. We can read standard DOS double density or high density diskettes in either the 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" format as well as QIC 40 format backup tapes. Include in the shipment a written description of the problem you are having and include a sample printed report if applicable. Do give as much detailed information as possible. Tell us what routine you were using, what steps you took and the EXACT text of any error message you may have received. Please send the diskette(s) by mail or UPS. Pack them to prevent damage in shipment. You may include a regular diskette mailer or corrugated paper board to help prevent bending of the diskette. DO NOT SEND YOUR ONLY BACKUP COPY. After our review, since shipping costs are greater than today's diskette cost, the diskettes will not be returned to you unless you make prior arrangements for their return. Specific "hands-on", personal support for your computer installation of TRUCK is available at extra cost. We use the communications program "Close-Up" for this. You will need a copy of the Close-Up program, a Hayes compatible modem and a telephone line connected to the modem. With this, we can operate your computer from our location to trouble shoot a problem you may have, look at your data files as well as upload any revisions to the program directly into your computer. This work is generally done at night. The cost will include your cost for a modem, the Close_Up program plus the telephone time charges and our consultation fee. Please contact us for the additional charges for this service.