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3-29-92 ===================================================================== B & B M A I L User's Guide Most of your questions can be answered by reading this User's Guide COPYRIGHT 1986-91 B&B Systems B&B SYSTEMS P.O. Box 171 Waukesha, Wisconsin 53187 Voice 414-544-5988 (9:00am-5:00pm CDT) Data 414-548-9034 (24hrs) Data line is for P.C. Manager, B&B system's Bulletin Board for Files+Tips+Support+On-Line Ordering Compuserve:70265,410 LIMITED SHAREWARE VERSIONS OF THIS SOFTWARE ARE DISTRIBUTED FREELY. NO PRICE OR CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE CHARGED FOR THIS SOFTWARE, UNLESS IT IS FOR THE COST OF REGISTRATION WITH B&B SYSTEMS. COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTORS MAY DISTRIBUTE THIS SOFTWARE, BUT THEY SHOULD NOT CHARGE FOR THIS SOFTWARE, ALTHOUGH THEY COMMONLY COVER THEIR COSTS WITH A "DISTRIBUTION" FEE. FILES AND PROGRAMS ON THIS DISK SHOULD NOT BE MODIFIED, NOR SOLD AS PART OF SOME OTHER INCLUSIVE SOFTWARE PACKAGE. REMEMBER, THE DEMO VERSIONS LIMIT THE NUMBER OF RECORDS YOU CAN ADD. ------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------- Distribution Policy .................................... 1 Installation ........................................... 2 Operation .............................................. 6 - Add records ............................ 6 - Edit records ........................... 8 - Quick label ............................ 8 - Search/Replace ......................... 9 - Labels/Reports ........................ 11 - Flexi-SORT ............................ 12 - Flexi-SELECT .......................... 13 - Format, Flexi-LABEL/REPORT or dBase ... 14 - Flexi-LABEL ........................... 15 Import/Export ......................................... 20 Duplicate Checking .................................... 24 Maintenance ........................................... 25 Testing Mailings - Nth Sampling Method.................... 27 - Break Even Method ..................... 27 - Probability Method .................... 28 Bulk Mailings ......................................... 30 Miscellaneous ......................................... 34 Troubleshooting ....................................... 36 Error Messages ........................................ 41 Technical Information ................................. 44 Appendix .............................................. 45 Warranty .............................................. 48 Upgrades .............................................. 50 Order Form Site License Index B&B MAIL User's Guide 1 ================================================================= DISTRIBUTION POLICY ================================================================= DEMO versions of Systems produced by B&B Systems of Waukesha are commonly distributed through the 'Shareware' concept. SHAREWARE Software means that you can try software prior to purchasing it. It is based on the premise that 1) you should be able to try software before you purchase it, 2) sharing of information is to be encouraged, and 3) those users who decide to use such software have an obligation to support the Shareware authors so that Shareware development can continue. Shareware versions of this software (limited to 500 records) are distributed freely. We encourage others to distribute these demo versions. But, registration can only be made with B&B systems. Some companies will charge you for a disk copying service, but no price or consideration should be charged for this software, unless it is for the cost of registration with B&B Systems. Commercial distributors may distribute this software, but they should not charge for this software, although they commonly cover their costs with a "distribution" fee. Files and programs on this disk should not be modified, nor sold as part of some other inclusive software package. If you decide to use this software, please register. It is the only way QUALITY software will continue to be available. ================================================================ WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DISTRIBUTE SHAREWARE DEMOS ================================================================ Although B&B Systems encourages you to copy and distribute limited edition Demo versions, this is not public domain software. This program is copyrighted. Also, should you decide to register your system, remember that sharing registered copies with others is not just illegal, but registrations from all users will help ensure that YOUR system continues to IMPROVE and GROW. B&B MAIL User's Guide 2 ------------ INSTALLATION ------------ STEP 1 - WORK WITH COPIES FLOPPY DRIVES ------------------------- If you are using two floppy drives, make two blank 'working' diskettes. Put the master disk in A: and a blank working copy diskette in B:. Use the DOS COPY Command (COPY A:*.DBF B:) and (COPY A:*.NDX B:) to copy all of the Data type files (suffixes ending in .DBF or .NDX) to your working copy on B:. Use the same process to copy System files to your blank System working copy diskette. The System files are all of the remaining non-data files, and they commonly have suffixes like, .EXE,.OVL,.DBC,etc. HARD DRIVES ----------- If you have a hard disk drive, you can store your system on a separate DOS subdirectory on C. Simply use the MD (make directory command) from C:\ (root directory), and then use CD (change directory command) to select the subdirectory you've just created. (eg. MD MAIL, then CD MAIL). Use the DOS command COPY A:*.* C: to copy all files from A: to C:. If you received your B&B system in compressed format, either use PKUNZIP <filename> to un-compress your files, or if your B&B system files are compressed in an .EXE type file, it will uncompress automatically when you enter <filename> STEP 2 SETTING THE ENVIRONMENT ----------------------- The first step is mandatory and involves minimum values in the config.sys file. If you don't have one, use the 'COPY CON' command as explained in the DOS manual, or make one with your Non- Document (ASCII) mode of your word processor. If you have an existing config.sys file, use your word processor to incorporate the proper lines of coding. This file should reside on your C:\> or A:\> root directory (the drive you boot from). The FILES statement tell DOS how many open files to allow. Every 'files' number uses about 48 bytes of RAM (not much), so feel free to use A MINIMUM of 40. Increase if you get 'Cannot Open File' errors. The file is probably there, just no place to allocate it in memory. The BUFFERS holds data from the disk, similar to a crude disk cache. Unfortunately, each 'buffers' number uses 528 bytes (Maximum is 99 under DOS 3.3). Use too many, and you'll get 'Not Enough Memory' errors, not enough and you'll be constantly accessing your drive which is not as fast as memory (plus it's mechanical wear and tear). B&B MAIL User's Guide 3 ------------- MANDATORY Lines in Config.sys file ---------------- | | | FILES=40 (or more) | | BUFFERS=10-15 | | | | Minimum values. Reserves sufficient RAM memory to operate. | ----------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 3 - Installation prompt ---------------------------- Re-Boot your computer so that it will read your new config.sys file, and properly configure your computer. Enter MAIL from the DOS prompt (C:\MAIL>). Anytime the file called config.mem is missing, and IT WILL BE MISSING the first time you run B&B MAIL, you will be prompted for installation. Config.mem is a file containing your memory variables as defined by you as you step through the installation program. When finished, you will be at the Main Menu. It is important to remember that you can re-install B&B MAIL anytime by simply erasing the file config.mem. This may become necessary should you change printers, or find that the installation wasn't done properly the first time (maybe you installed the wrong printer codes, and the printer isn't responding with the proper print style). Just use the DOS ERASE command to erase config.mem. PROMPTS: --- Install your system on a hard disk? If No, assumes you will be using floppy drives A: and B: NOTE - If you're installing a hard disk and created a separate subdirectory for your B&B System, you should be 'ON' that subdirectory now. (Subdirectories are names of storage areas on your hard disk which 'branch out' from the 'root' directory. For more on subdirectories, see your DOS manual). --- Your Company or Organization name. --- Use Fast Screens? If you are not planning on customizing your screens, use "Y". NOTE: if you would like a fast AND customized screen, contact B&B Systems for customization services. B&B MAIL User's Guide 4 Installation is now complete. These installation instructions were intended to keep your files organized in a simple and efficient manner. Please do not try to improvise by making multiple copies of the .DBF or .EXE files in multiple locations, or on different floppy disks. We've seen it done with enigmatic results. Don't do it. If you need to identify individual records for specific uses, like identifying specific sales personnel, use the miscellaneous codes. B&B MAIL User's Guide 5 PRE-PLAN USE OF YOUR FILE eg. MISC. CODES ------------------------- It pays for you to look ahead as to how you expect to use your file. You can 'dissect' your master file into sub-files, and thus use one file for multiple purposes. For example, there is a 2 character MISC. CODE, and an 8 digit CUSTNO number. Either one of those codes could be used to identify the type of record. Upon printing labels you could select only those with MISC. CODE='B' which may represent your Bridge Club, while 'Z' might represent a list of Zoos. The MISC. CODE can also be used to indicate the source of your names (eg. X=from XYZ List Company, or PC=from ad in PC Magazine, etc.) These two extra codes give you many selection variations. For large volume mailers, the Misc. Codes can be used to contain the carrier route information. Either of the Misc. Codes can also be used to contain a value (number) of any EXTRA LABELS you may desire for a record. For example, If you wish to print 15 extra labels for A.B.Crayon Company everytime you print labels, put a 15 in one of the Misc. Codes, and in Flexi-Label, use the Extra Labels feature and pick Misc Code #2 to control the number of labels to print. Just remember, if you are dedicating Misc. Code #2 to control the number of labels, make sure you're not using it to indicate the age of your customers too! B&B Mail will allow you to select different MAIN files (other than Mail.dbf) from the maintenance menu. The purpose of this option is to allow access to infrequently used files. It is not recommended that you separate different file uses in this manner, use CODES. This is an important consideration, because having all the records in one file will be an advantage when it comes to maintenance. When you edit a record in one file, a similar record in another file will become outdated. Instead, the record, (or even multiple copies of it) should remain on the main file, coded as having two uses. If you need a 'tickler routine' you can use the Sales Date as a future date requiring action. Then, say on 01/01/99, use Flexi-Select to select "Saledate>'01/01/91'". Then just those records after that date will appear on the browse screen. INSTALLING/SELECTING MULTIPLE PRINTERS -------------------------------------- If you have multiple printers, you can install each printer. This is accomplished by INSTALLING the system twice. Each time you enter 'MAIL', and the file config.mem file is missing, you will be prompted to INSTALL. Install the printer control codes for the secondary printer first. Once this printer is installed, you can then rename the config.mem file to configa.mem (a=alternate). (from DOS REN CONFIG.MEM CONFIGA.MEM). Enter 'MAIL' again to install your main printer. Since config.mem will be missing, this second file will be named config.mem and will be the default file for your main printer when retrieving your memory variables. When you start your system, all B&B systems will sense if BOTH config.mem and configa.mem files exist. You will then have the option to select which printer you will be using for that session. B&B MAIL User's Guide 6 --------- OPERATION --------- MAIN MENU --------- From the Main Menu you can ADD, EDIT, produce LABELS or REPORTS, IMPORT or EXPORT files, access MAINTENANCE MENU, or run a check on DUPLICATE Records. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | MAIN MENU | | --------- | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ADD LABELS IMPORT MAINTAIN | | EDIT REPORTS EXPORT DUPLICATES | | | | | | | | OPTION SCREEN MENU | | --------------------------------- FLEXI SCREENS | | | SORT | ------------------ | | | SELECT RECORDS |----->| Define up to | | | | NTH SAMPLING | | 20 different | | | | STARTING POINT | | FLEXI-SORTS | | | | FILE/SCREEN/PRINTER OUTPUT |<-----| FLEXI-SELECTS | | | | FORMAT | | FLEXI-LABELS | | | --------------------------------- | FLEXI-REPORTS | | | | ------------------ | | | | | ONE-STEP | | OUTPUT | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD RECORDS ----------- Repeat Data - from 1st Added Record to 2nd ------------------------------------------ Prior to adding your first record, you will be asked if you wish to repeat data from one label record to the next. This is handy if you are adding several records with the same city name, or similar addresses, which means you'll only need to type over the unwanted information, which reduces keystrokes. B&B MAIL User's Guide 7 Also, if you Add a record that appears to be a duplicate of an existing record, a prompt allowing you to cancel the addition of the new record, as well as displaying the possible duplicate record(s). When in either the ADD or EDIT mode, when your cursor is on certain fields such as state, zip, customer # or the miscellaneous codes, you can access "help" files. By pressing the F1 (Help) the records in the supporting .dbf files, state.dbf, zip,dbf, custno.dbf, code.dbf and codeb.dbf are displayed. While the records are displayed, you can enter F10 to quit or 'Enter' to transfer the displayed data to the field being edited. You can move to different records with PgDn/PgUp keys, or, if you enter the first 'character' in the code you are searching for, the first match will appear at the top of the list (if found). With the zip file you can search on city name, in addition to zip code. Records are maintained (added, edited, etc.) in these files from the Maintenance Menu. Also, while in the ADD/EDIT screens, you can control the entry of either VALID or BLANK data in the fields supported by "help" files. Select "O"ptions from the Maintenance Menu and you can define whether a warning appears when attempting to enter a value that cannot be found in the supporting "help" file [VALID test], or whether a blank value will cause a warning message on the screen [BLANK test]. For example, entering "II" in the state field will cause a message to appear on the screen if 1) "II" is not in the states .dbf file, and 2) you have selected the VALID test for the states file in the Options choice from the Maintenance Menu. If an operator MUST enter a value in the Customer # field, you can have a warning message for BLANKS, and/or a VALID customer #. Quick Search - Editing mode --------------------------- Prior to editing, you will be presented with a Search Screen which will aid you in finding the record to edit. Two options, Last Name and Record # are Quick search functions that will locate a record in less than 1 second. General Search - Editing mode ----------------------------- Besides Last Name in the Quick Search, all of the other data fields are presented in the General Search, allowing you to locate records based on a value in any of these other fields. Pick a field, enter the data and PgDn. If you are not sure WHERE your data resides in the field, enter a ? in the first position of the field, followed by the search data. Entering "?123" will allow you to find records: "123 W. Main" or "64123 W. Main". B&B MAIL User's Guide 8 BROWSE Records List ------------------- Add - Repeat Data from existing record -------------------------------------- When you are in the edit mode (E from the main menu), you can "browse" thru a list of up to 21 records at one time, and entering "A" will repeat the data in the currently selected record into a NEW record. (Handy if you wish to add a record that is almost a duplicate of an existing record). Delete ------ 'D' will prompt you to either Delete the record, or if already marked for deletion, Recall it from deletion status. Whenever a screen is "re-painted" on the monitor, records marked for deletion are marked with an asterisk (*). Records are NOT permanently removed until housekeeping from the Maintenance Menu is completed. Edit ---- 'E' will Edit the record. Once in the Edit mode, you can access your help files by putting your cursor on the appropriate field and use the F1 Help key to recall data in these files. If you press "Enter" while data in one of the help files is displayed, that data will be entered into the field. This can save keystrokes, and reduce 'typos'. F1 Help is also available in the 'A'dd mode. After editing, B&B Mail will detect if you changed any data, and will ask if you wish to proceed, and save your changes. Arrows, PgUp/Dn --------------- The 'up/down' arrow keys will select records vertically, and the left/right arrow keys will pan the different fields so that you can review all fields in up to 21 records at one time. 'PgUp/Dn' and the 'Home/End' keys will list a new page of records, or go directly to the top or bottom of the file. Quick Label ----------- 'L' is the Quick Label function and it produces a single label, postcard or envelope using a standard name/address/city,state format. You will be prompted for the rows/columns to indent before printing, and the rows to skip after printing (to force postcards or envelopes to eject, or move to the next label position). B&B Mail will automatically remove blank (no data) lines. You can use Control-L to bypass the prompt and print the label directly. B&B MAIL User's Guide 9 Continue Search --------------- If you used the General Search, you can "continue" your search for the NEXT record having your search data by entering 'C'. If there is a subsequent record with matching data, that record will now appear on the top of the list. Sort ---- Additionally, to change the sequence of the records in this BROWSE list, enter 'O' to Flexi-Sort the records temporarily. Select ------ Entering 'S' will allow you to Flexi-Select certain records so that you won't need to page down as often, and can concentrate on seeing just certain records on your list. Please be aware, that if you are selecting several records in a file of several thousand records, your screen prompts will be slower because the 'unneeded' records will still need to be passed. Every time you select a "Portion" of your file with Flexi-Select, an 'S' will appear on the bottom-right corner of the screen, indicating to you that a Flexi-Select is in force. Conversely, a blank in the corner indicates that you are looking at the entire file. If you keep a mailing record of people who have purchased product from you, as well as just inquiries, one of the ways in which you can use Select is to view just those records with Sales greater than zero "Sales>0", or the opposite, "Sales<1". Either way, you will be presented with just those records meeting the test. Search\Replace -------------- Entering 'R' will invoke the Search/Replace function. This feature is useful when you want to change the values of multiple records. For example, to change the address of all 'Jim Smith' records, use 'S' to Flexi-Select JUST the 'Illinois' records, verify by reviewing the list, and then select 'R'. Enter the new address in the address field. Important: make sure you've selected all of the appropriate records (Illinois) FIRST, otherwise you'll change all of the records in your file to the SAME address. This is a powerful feature, BUT use carefully. Normally, no changes will occur for any REPLACE field that you have left blank, but sometimes you may desire to "blank" existing data. You can force the field to be blank or 0 by entering 1's in all positions in the field. B&B MAIL User's Guide 10 You can also force data in a field to be properly capitalized. For example, say you imported a data file that has all characters in the Last Name field in UPPER CASE. You can convert the data to Initial upper case, with the remainder being in lower case, by entering the word PROPER in the last name field. The word PROPER will NOT replace all of your last names, but instead the last names will be converted to the proper case. B&B MAIL User's Guide 11 LABELS AND REPORTS ------------------ ------------------------------ | All-In-One Option SCREEN | ------------------------------ 1 of 10 (each screen defines a specific sort and record selection, etc. Thus you can have up to 10 different mixtures of sorts, and selection criteria. Screen #2 may have the same sort and selection criteria as screen #1 except, maybe in the all-in-one screen #2 you defined the output device to be the screen instead of the printer). ---------------------------------------------------------------- DESC: | This is for info only. Describe label type, sort, etc. here | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- SORT ----------- ------------- SELECT --------------- | | | | | 'Y ' = display screen | | (See Flexi-Sort) | | of Flexi-Sorts | | | | 'N ' = no sort | ---------- Nth Sampling ---------- | '# ' = execute this | | | | sort # directly | | Print every Nth Record | | | | | ---------------------------- ------------------------------------ ------------------------ STARTING POINT -------------------------- | | | Start at specific record number, or last name | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------- OUTPUT ------------------------------ | | | Send to Screen, Printer, or a Disk File | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------- FORMAT ------------------------------ | | | (See Flexi-Sort, except 'N ' executes dBASEIII file) | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ Once you've 'E'dited the options here, the values are saved for future use. Then, in the future <ENTER> will be the only keystroke required to select all the Sorting, Selecting and Formatting options you prefer. Use PgUp/Dn to scroll through 10 different Option screens. B&B MAIL User's Guide 12 To begin, the typical choice is "E" to edit. You would then skip to each SORT, SELECT and FORMAT box to enter a "Y" to force each list of options to appear. (you could also enter "N" to accept the defaults, or "1-20" for the specific option desired). Then, after selecting desired values in each box, your cursor will again wait for the next keystroke at the top of the page. Pressing "Enter" will start the process rolling. FLEXI-SORT ---------- If you entered 'Y' from the All-In-One Option Screen, the SORT options (if any) are displayed. You can SELECT an option, or Add, Delete or Edit options. ----------------- FLEXI-SORT Screen ------------------ | | | (Up to 20 different sorts displayed here) | | | | | | You can use the arrow keys to hi-light one of | | the 20 options and either 'D'elete the option | | (except line #1) or <ENTER> to select/run it. | | | | | | Entering 'A' will present a list of all fields | | of data. Select your fields, and this sele- | | ction will be added to the list of options that | | will be redisplayed. | | | | You can 'E'dit directly, but it is recommended | | that you delete, then re-add. | ------------------------------------------------------ Entering a number (1-20) from the Option Screen also bypass the above screen, and forces THAT pre-defined sort to be executed directly. Example: selecting three fields S+Z+LN will produce a sort Last Name sorted WITHIN Zip Code sorted WITHIN State - Major to Minor Sort order. B&B MAIL User's Guide 13 FLEXI-SELECT ------------ Similar to Flexi-Sort, 'Y ' displays Flexi-Select options where you can select, add, edit or delete one. 'N ' bypasses the screen, and a numeric value (1-20) executes that selection directly. When adding a Flexi-Select option you will be asked to also select an Operator after you've selected the field. An example of an operator is: 'equal to' or 'greater than'. Next, you will be asked to enter a value to be tested for (eg. Last Name='SMI'). Finally, you can quit, or select a Connector to link additional selections, like below: Examples: Last Name='SMI' Last Name='SMI' .OR. Last Name='JONE' Last Name='SMI' .AND. Zip<>'666', etc. The 'E'dit feature in Flexi-Select allows you to be more precise in the selection of your records. The reason for this is that the use of parentheses allows better Boolean logic. B&B Mail will not automatically insert these parentheses because it really can't determine the placement of parentheses in a multitude of .AND. or .OR. statements. For example, the following two expressions will select different records simply because of careful placement of parentheses. This is BOOLEAN logic and it basically goes like this: Line #1 will select all records having a Last name equaling 'SMI' and not having a zip code starting with '666'. After that test has BEEN MET, other records whose Last name may NOT be 'SMI' will be selected as long as the zip is not equal to '555'. Line #2 will select just the records having a Last name equaling 'SMI', and once that test has BEEN MET, THAT record cannot have a zip code of '555' or '666'. Last Name='SMI' .AND. Zip<>'666' .OR. Zip<>'555' Last Name='SMI' .AND. (Zip<>'666' .OR. Zip<>'555') Nth SAMPLING - from Option Screen ------------------------------------------ If you wish to "Test" your mailing list by mailing only to a portion of list, Nth sampling is a good choice. Enter 10 if you wish to print every 10th record (skipping 9 records). (for Flexi-Labels only) B&B MAIL User's Guide 14 STARTING POINT - from Option Screen ----------------------------------- You would normally print your records beginning from the top of your file. But you can start printing after skipping a certain number of records, or skipping to a specific last name in the file. You may have had your print job interrupted (printer jams, etc.) and wish to resume printing where you had left off. If you print 5,000 labels, and the printer jams prior to finishing the job, enter 5,000 in order to skip printing the first 5,000 again. OUTPUT - from Option Screen --------------------------- You can have your output directed to your Monitor Screen, Printer, or to a Disk file (for manipulation later by other software systems). FORMAT - from Option Screen --------------------------- 'Y' will take you to FLEXI-Labels or Reports, depending on your selection from Main Menu. These detail screens give you many of the same options as the FLEXI-Sort screen would (although the FLEXI-Label screen looks somewhat different because of the need to display the label). You can 'A'dd an option (in Flexi-Label you will be adding fields), 'E'dit the values, or <ENTER> to execute the selection. A numeric value (1-20 reports, 1-10 labels) will run the FLEXI- option # automatically. 'N' will allow you to run dBaseIII .LBL or .FRM type files from DOS. You will see a directory of .FRM or .LBL files, and you can select one to run. You can use the dBaseIII file samples provided, modify them, or create your own. If you have dBaseIII, at the dot prompt, enter '.MODIFY REPORT(LABEL) oldfile' to modify the file. Or use the '.CREATE LABEL(REPORT) newfile' command to make your own. B&B MAIL User's Guide 15 FLEXI-LABEL - detail screen --------------------------- The 1st of 10 possible label layouts are displayed, one on each page. PgUp/PgDn to review each label format. ----------------------------------------------------------- | | | -------- LABEL CONTENTS ------- | | | | | | | | | | | 20 lines of label data | Set-up | | | | Questions | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------- | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------- First Time - Editing -------------------- To set up your label definitions the first time, you will normally enter 'E' to edit the default values. These values include: a short description (to help you remember the type of label stock to use, who normally uses these labels, etc.), set-up defaults, and all 20 lines of the label. When editing the 20 lines of the label, enter any text, or message you wish to appear on all labels. The syntax for text is simple: enclose in single quotes and use the plus sign to link anything prior to/after the text. Printer commands must be in decimal form and entered as: CHR(decimal code). If you want to put the "First Name", "address", or any other field on the label, it is recommended that you use the more automatic 'A'dd fields mode. Add fields ---------- If you select 'A', your next step is to select the line to be modified (with arrow keys), then, enter 'A' again to select from the list of field names, F10 when done, or 'D' to Delete, 'I' to Insert a line. (NOTE: you can enter these field names directly in the Edit mode if you are confident about spelling the field names right, and linking fields with plus signs(+) and identifying spacing with single quotation marks(')). B&B MAIL User's Guide 16 Printer Control Commands ------------------------ The use of PRINTER CONTROL commands can be especially powerful in your label. You can insert printer codes which "skip ?? lines" before or after your data which effectively expands your label to more than 20 lines. You can use fancy fonts in the printing of name tags. On laser printers you can print envelopes or postcards by incorporating the printer code to use the 'landscape' mode (on laser printers, this means rotating the print direction 90 degrees) at line #1 of your label format. Set your page length and ejects properly, and you can print one envelope at a time. TIP: If you use a laser printer, it applies toner in a heat process. To avoid partially sealing your envelopes when printing them, order quality envelopes that are not heat sensitive. This becomes a greater problem when humidity is high. Count of labels to be printed ----------------------------- 'C' will provide a preliminary count of the labels to be produced BEFORE you start. 'Z' will take you directly to the ZIPGROUPS report, bypassing label printing. F10 will return to the Main Menu. Set-up questions - Flexi-Label detail screen -------------------------------------------- Label stock - Enter the # of labels across on your label stock, 1, 2, 3 or 4 across (count # labels left to right across page). If the label stock is greater than 1 across, you will be asked for the amount of SPACES to skip between labels (left to right spacing). Since you have vertical control over spacing between labels, and horizontal control when there is more than 1 label across the sheet, you have COMPLETE control over how your labels appear, and you can accommodate ANY type of label stock. B&B MAIL User's Guide 17 Vertical spacing - Enter the number of vertical LINES to skip between labels. This will depend on the size of your labels (distance between the bottom to top of each label), the number of lines printed on each label, and the print style to be used by the printer. The default is 3 lines between labels based on the standard distance between many label types of 1/2" and the common print style spacing of 6 lines per inch. Starting Row/Column - Identify where you want the printer to start printing your first label. The default is row #0 and column #0 (the topmost and leftmost position). # of copies - Enter the number of sets of labels desired. The default is 1 set. If selecting multiple copies, normally each set of labels start on a new page. But if you want to make multiple copies of just several labels, select [N]o so that blank labels are not wasted on each page. You can also use this option to make your own company's return labels. Just enter your company data, Flexi-Select just THAT record number, and if you want 50 labels, enter 50 copies, or use the EXTRA labels function (see below). Page Length - Use this value to define how many lines are printed on a page. At 6 lines per inch, the default page length is 66 lines, less a couple lines for margins. This value is used in conjunction with the next option, Pause after printing a Page - Handy if you have to insert label stock manually. If you have continuous fanfold label stock, or if your printer feeds label stock automatically such as laser printers, you do not need to pause between pages. If you produce many labels, we suggest you consider continuous label stock. Page Eject - If you use continuous form labels, you won't need ejects. If you have a laser printer with sheet stock, answer 'Yes' to send a page eject after printing a full page (see page length above). Full State Name - You can opt to print the State name on each label instead of the Postal Service abbreviation for states. The information for state names comes from the states.dbf file. B&B MAIL User's Guide 18 Extras - You can automatically produce extra labels for a particular record if you have inserted a numeric value into one of several fields. You can use the Customer #, Sales, Code #1, Code #2, or even the Business Phone field. You will be asked which field to use. (Note to print extras of just one record, say labels for YOUR COMPANY NAME, you should have already selected that record in Flexi-Select). But if you are printing "EXTRA" labels, and if you selected the Sales Field to indicate how many EXTRAS to produce, make sure that you don't have a record with $400 in the Sales Field because you'll end up with 400 labels. If some of the values translate to a non-numeric value, such as "MB" in Code, or "444-555-1111" in business phone, B&B will default to a quantity of one label. If you are not sure how these values will affect your labels, experiment. You can select a zip code having only about a dozen records. That way, if you make any errors, you will not waste much label stock. TIP: Use paper initially to adjust sizing. LABEL STOCK ----------- Some printers can utilize labels made especially for copiers, others require special laser labels. Avoid labels designed for typewriters. Die Cut labels with the excess removed can peel-off and jam your printer. Here are some SAMPLE value for several different type of Label stock. (These values will depend on the number of lines printed on each label, the type of printer, and personal alignment preferences. These SAMPLES were based on 6 lines/label): ------ LABEL TYPE (see below) ------ A B C # ACROSS PAGE 2 3 1 # HORIZ. SPACES 40 29 NA # VERTIC. SPACES 6 3 3 STARTING ROW 4 0 0 STARTING COLUMN 4 0 0 # COPIES ----- indiv. preference ----------- PAGE LENGTH 64 64 ? PAUSE AFTER EA PG ----- indiv. prefer/printer type--- EJECT AFTER EA PG ----- printer type ---------------- USE STATE NAME ----- indiv. preference ----------- EXTRA LABELS ----- indiv. preference ----------- A= Avery Labels #5163(laser) #5352(copier), 2 across, 10/pg, 2"x4" B= Avery Labels #5360(copier), 3 across, 21/pg, 1-7/16"x2-13/16" C= Generic, 1 across continuous fanfold labels, 4"x1-7/16" B&B MAIL User's Guide 19 PAUSE/CANCEL PRINTING --------------------- The system can be forced to PAUSE by entering Ctrl-S. Entering another Ctrl-S will resume. You can CANCEL many of the output options with the F10 key (except Import/Export). ZIPGROUPS Report ---------------- After labels are printed, you will be prompted to select the ZIPGROUPS report which summarizes the number of pieces in the mailing on 9, 5 and 3 digit zip code subtotals. This option is only accurate when the zip code sort is selected. If you've already printed your labels and want JUST the ZIPGROUPS report, you can enter 'Z' from the FLEXI-Label screen, or just start printing labels, F10 to quit immediately, and your zip group prompt will appear. You will be prompted for the 'group size' you wish to see. If you are only concerned with the zip groups having 10 pieces or more, you can select to print only groups having 10 or more pieces. B&B MAIL User's Guide 20 IMPORT / EXPORT --------------- B&B Systems can READ or WRITE files from/for use by, other sources (mainframe computer, 1-2-3, word processors, mail-merge, dBase, R- Base, list vendors, etc.). Which File? ----------- Normally, when exporting or importing, you will be using the default Master Data file. But you can select other .dbf files to export or import. For example, you can import records into the Zip.dbf file, used in the F1 (Help) mode when on the zip code field. If you only enter records for Illinois, you could Import a file of Illinois Zip/City/State data into your Zip.dbf file. You would be wasting a lot of Disk Space if you imported all 43,000 USA zip codes. If you expand into Iowa, import Iowa zip codes at a later date. TIP:B&B Systems makes available the latest Zip Code data for the USA, or in separate zip files for each state. If you have a modem, you can download these files free from B&B System's bulletin board, P.C. Manager. To import these files into the Zip.dbf file. Simply select [I]mport from the main menu, select ZIP.DBF as the import file, select the file type (these zip files are provided in dBase format) and enter the name of the file to be imported, such as ZIPNY.DBF. IMPORT ------ B&B Systems will import these types of files: ASCII (Comma Delimited or SDF, Standard Data Format) dBaseIII (.dbf) Lotus 1-2-3 DIF SYLK (Multiplan Spreadsheet) If you purchase data for your System from a vendor, ask if they will supply the data in one of the formats (such as ASCII comma delimited) that B&B Systems can Import, and if ASCII, if they will supply the data in the order (which field comes 1st, 2nd, etc.) shown in the structure of the .dbf file in the Appendix. If you want to see an example of how the Import file should appear, Export a 'TEST' file for review. If importing .DBF type files, order is not important, but field names should match. TIP: If you import files regularly, the Add Date, unless you add it to the import file first, is normally missing. You can use Search/Replace to enter the Add Date by Flexi-Selecting all records with a blank Add Date, then Search/Replace with current date. When adding records in Add Mode, Add Date is assumed to be today's date. B&B MAIL User's Guide 21 EXPORT ------ B&B Systems can export the same type of files listed under Import, plus, it can produce a Ventura type file that can be used in Desk Top Publishing. B&B Systems will automatically assign TAGs to each field. There are several additional options available before exporting your file. You will be presented with the FLEXI-SORT option to allow you to sort your file in a specific order. The FLEXI-SELECT option will allow you to select only specific records for your export file. And lastly, A VERY POWERFUL OPTION. You will be asked if you would like to change the 1) sequence of your output fields AND/OR 2) Which fields are included. For example, you may prefer your file to have the Company Name (CN) in front of the Last Name (LN). OR, you may not wish to include Sales (SALES) or Added-to-file- date (ADDDATE) in your export file. This option may be necessary if the system using this file requires a certain sequence of fields. If you select to export an ASCII Comma Delimited field, you can also opt to select a different delimiter (the character that separates each field) than a comma. For example, you may use a software package that needs the '@' character to mark the beginning and ending of fields. ASCII type files ---------------- There are two common types of ASCII file formats: COMMA DELIMITED and SDF(Standard Data Format). ASCII refers to the fact that ONLY Normal ASCII characters (numbers or letters of the alphabet, upper or lower case, and a limited number of special codes) appear in the file. There are no special control or binary codes. In both types of ASCII files, every record is a separate line, with records separated by a line feed ASCII(10) and carriage return ASCII(13). The remaining difference between these two types of files is how the data appears on each line. You can test if a file is ASCII by reviewing the file on your screen. At the DOS prompt, enter C:>TYPE FILENAME.TXT. If every character is legible (no special characters, unusual spacing, no beeps from your computer), then it is probably an ASCII file. Most other programs, such as Lotus 1-2-3, R-Base, Symphony, and most MailMerge programs can use, or produce, a file in at least one of these formats. B&B MAIL User's Guide 22 COMMA DELIMITED files contain commas to separate fields. Many Word Processing and Data Base Management software handle this type of file. Commonly double quotes (") are used to enclose character type fields. Numeric fields are left alone. Also, numeric fields do not contain commas to delineate thousands. This transfer method saves space, and is fine if the number, AND the order of the fields is the same in the FROM and TO systems. STANDARD DATA FORMAT files contain fields that start in specific positions no matter how much data the field actually contains (common for Spreadsheet programs). Field 1 starts in Column 1 and field 2 starts in Column 12(?) even if field 1 is blank. This method is necessary if you need to change the length of fields, OR add/delete fields because the FROM or TO system have differing file structures. The reason is: since all data is in columns, you can use a word processor to shorten/eliminate/add columns. For example, if you require that the export file ADDRESS be 20 characters long, instead of 25, you need to use your word processor to DELETE a 'Block' of text 5 columns wide. You will need to become familiar with 'Blocking' and setting the 'Blocking' mode to columnar (ie. the text you block will appear to be vertical columns, and excludes text to the left and right of your 'Blocking' markers). In Wordstar, set this mode with Ctrl-K-N. If, in the prior example, you need an address 30 characters long, you would INSERT a 'Block' of blank text 5 characters wide at the 25th position of the address. COMMA DELIMITED file example ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Smith, Joe, 123 Main ST, New York, NY, 10000, etc. | | Jones, William, 666 E St, Elmhurst, IL, 60011, etc. | ----------------------------------------------------------------- STANDARD DATA FORMAT file example ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Smith Joe 123 Main ST New York NY 10000,etc. | | Jones William 666 E St Elmhurst IL 60011,etc. | ----------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORT/EXPORT FROM DATA BASES, INCLUDING SQL Most software packages support the writing and reading of standard ASCII files, and SQL data bases are no exception. Using Oracle SQL version 5.1 as an example, ASCII files can be exported, or written from SQL by using Oracle's SPOOL <filename> command; issuing SELECT <field names,...> statement; and SPOOL OFF after writing the file. Don't forget the YYYYMMDD ASCII date format. To read an ASCII file into SQL, use Oracle's ODL utility. By writing a copy of B&B's records, then reading them into SQL (and B&B MAIL User's Guide 23 vice versa), you can transfer data back and forth. If the number of fields are different on the data bases (ie. you need to 'write' a home AND business phone number but only have one phone number, set up a 'blank' field with a length of 1 character. Then when defining the fields to be written, enter the name for the 'blank' field wherever you need a field, but don't have one). Also, when any data is changed, re-index (housekeeping) your B&B records before using them. B&B MAIL User's Guide 24 DUPLICATE CHECKING ------------------ B&B Systems offers both SOUNDEX (sound-a-like) and EXACT testing of records in your file. Exact matching will NOT uncover differences in spelling. If you have two records, one with a last name of SCHULTZ, and one with SHULTS (with matching first names and city names) exact matching will not identify them as duplicates, although they may be. Once you've selected the type of matching you prefer, the next step is to select WHICH FIELDS of data are compared. The default is first/last and company names. But you can be more specific based on your needs. For example, if you do not allow two records with the same address, you can select the address field. The selection of fields uses any one of the currently defined fields in a Flexi-Report, or you can define a new Flexi-Report, just for this duplicate checking process. If FLEXI-Report #3 defines the fields Address and Misc Code, then if you select #3, duplicates found for those two fields will be listed. You can also opt for your B&B System to automatically mark all duplicate records for deletion. But it is suggested that you print a report of the duplicates BEFORE opting to delete them automatically. Check the report first for accuracy and then re- run the process with the automatic deletion feature turned-on. If there are several records you prefer NOT to delete, note their record numbers on the report, process the automatic deletions, then go back and Recall them from deletion status individually in the Edit mode. You also have the option of assuming that the newest record is the "good" record, which reviews the file in reverse order. B&B MAIL User's Guide 25 ================= MAINTENANCE MENU ================= DELETE/RECALL RECORDS Deletions or Recall from deletions can be done here on a mass basis, instead of individually. REMOVE RECORDS MARKED FOR DELETION - HOUSEKEEPING This process is commonly called "packing" because it physically removes records that you have previously marked as deleted, but still occupy space in the file. As a secondary function, when these records are removed, the index files (which provide the "pointers" for locating records) are also re-written or re- indexed. This secondary function is important by itself when it appears that records are not being located properly. PRINT CONTROL MENU A Printer control menu is provided to send control characters to change printer options. The default values are for Epson and compatible printers, but by entering 'E' you can edit these values to suit your printer. In order for you to properly edit these codes, you need to use your printer manual to identify the proper DECIMAL codes for the desired result, and be sure to maintain the proper syntax: CHR(your decimal code) plus '+' to link multiple codes. This menu can be called from the Maintenance menu, and is not related to the printer codes entered during installation. There are three Custom codes that can be edited for any use. If you've ever wondered how you can change your printer fonts just prior to a print job, you can do it with PRINT CONTROL MENU. Let's say you were just about to print a QuickLabel from the browse screen, but want to change your printer style to BOLD. Access this menu, select the bold option, and your ready to print without leaving your system. SAMPLES CODES :EPSON/compatible HP LaserJet ================================================================== Condensed print :15 27,40,115,49,54,46,54,72 Normal print/reset:27,64 27,69 Near Letter Qual. :27,69 Use Upper tray : 27,38,108,49,72 Use Lower tray : 27,38,108,52,72 Underline ON "[" :27,45,1 27,38,100,68 Underline OFF "]" :27,45,0 27,38,100,64 MODIFY DATA ENTRY SCREEN PROMPTS This option allows you to modify the Field Names that are displayed while Adding/Editing a record. SELECT A DIFFERENT MAIN FILE Access a file other than Mail.dbf (see Pre-Plan use of your files). B&B MAIL User's Guide 26 OPTIONS ------- With this selection you can change some of the behavior of B&B Mail. For instance, you can elect to check for duplicates each time you add a record. Also, after adding a record, the next record screen will "clear" the name and address information. B&B Mail senses that when this critical information is missing, and will exit from the Add Mode when you PgDn. If you elect to NOT clear this data for each new add screen, (ie. you are entering "RESIDENT" for names and don't want to retype "RESIDENT" each time), remember that in order to exit the Add Mode, put blanks in the name/address info. Also, similar name and address data may lead to frequent "duplicate record" warnings, and you can elect to NOT check for duplicates. If you do not customize your system, fields supported by 'Help' data file (such as states or zip), can be checked two ways for proper data entry. You can elect to VALIDATE the value that is entered by checking the value for its presence in the help file. If not found, a warning will appear on the screen. You can also request a screen warning where no BLANK data is allowed. You can check for VALID data and/or BLANK data. You can Enter "EXTRANOTES", or text, for any record two different ways. The default is to insert your notes into dBase's proprietary .DBt file. The advantage is that you can then produce reports with your extra notes for each record. This option is selected whenever the prompt is left empty. The second method is to insert a value at the prompt that will TAKE DATA FROM THE RECORD AND USE IT TO ASSIGN A DOS FILE NAME. Your text is then saved in individual files. The advantage here is that you can access these files as normal DOS files, and if corruption occurs in one file, the other text in the other files isn't lost. For example, if you enter "SUBS(ln,1,4)+SUBS(fn,1,4)" at the prompt, you will have selected to save your text in separate DOS files and the name of the file will be based on the first four characters of the last name, and the first four characters of the first name (ie. text for the James Smith record is saved under SMITJAME.NOT). NOTE: 50 line DOS files consume about 4,000 bytes each. The default is 50 lines maximum per record, but this can be changed in the Options section of the Maintenance Menu. B&B MAIL User's Guide 27 ----------------- TESTING MAILINGS ----------------- If you want to keep your vendor or purchased lists as separate test files, copy your B&B master files (empty) to a temporary 'test' directory and load the vendor list (Import). Or, use your word processor to edit the import ASCII file, insert a 'TM' (or some other marker) in the Misc. Code location in the file. Import, and then use Flexi-Select to select only Misc. Code='TM' records to test your mailing. You can test the probable results of your mailings using Nth sampling technique. Use of the Nth sampling technique, such as mailing to every 100th record, is most useful when additional information is known in addition to zip codes. Information such as age, or earnings level are invaluable. Measure the response to the test mailings. If you notice the response is only 2% overall, but 5% from a 40-50 year old age group in all Zips starting with 631xx, focus your mailing. Produce labels from your file for records with a Misc. Codes=40 (Misc. Code used as age indicator) and Zip codes=631. Results of tests from a sample, as long as the sample is reasonably large enough to be representative, can normally be applied to the whole file. If you are not sure how many to include in your sample mailing, there are several approaches which will probably give you better results than just guessing. Each method gets progressively more complicated, but the results become more predictable and measurable. It should be obvious that the larger number in the sample, the more reliable the results. But sampling is meant to give you an idea of the effectiveness of your list before you invest all the dollars on postage/printing for the entire list. Method #1 - Simple Nth Sampling ================================================================ If you decide to send a test mailing to every 10th record on your file, you would select 10 for your Nth value. But if your file size is small, a test of one tenth of a file size of 1,000 would only produce 100 test mailings, probably not large enough to provide reliable test results. Whereas a file size of 500,000 records would produce a test of 50,000 pieces. This size is probably unnecessarily large to provide a measure of effectiveness. Use discretion. Depending on your selection, the Return Rate of the test mailing may not be representative of the total file. If the sample size were 1,477, and the total number of records in the file was 15,000, use Nth sampling to select every 10th record (15,000/1,477). B&B MAIL User's Guide 28 Method #2 - Break Even Method ================================================================ Step 1 - Calculate the Return Rate that would be required for you to cover all of your costs, but not provide a profit (Break Even). For example, if you make $100 profit on each sale, and the printing/mailing costs are $1 per mailing piece, you would need a 1% return to break even. Step 2 - Assume that you need a certain # of returns before the results would be considered valid. For a small mailing, a return of 30 pieces may validate the effectiveness of the mailing. A large file may require 75 returned pieces. We will assume 60 here. 60 returned indicating valid test Formula for sample size = --------------------------------------- .01 Return Rate = 6,000 Method #3 - Probability ================================================================ Step 1 - Make a 'Best Guess' of the return % you expect. (eg. 4%, or .04). Step 2 - Pick an Acceptable Margin of error (eg. plus or minus 1% would be .01) Do not define a margin of error too fine (say, .005), because this just forces the sample size to be geometrically, and maybe unreasonably large. Step 3 - Desired Confidence level (eg. 'I want to be 95% sure my sample size is right.'). Use a confidence level that is standard like, 99%, 95%, 90%, etc. Again, the larger the confidence level, the larger the sample size will be. Convert the % to the Standard Deviation (in this case, 1.96). Any book that covers Standard Deviations will include a bell shaped curve called a normal curve that illustrates the law of probability (the likelihood of a value being on/or near the center line, after being repeated many times.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- CALCULATE THE SAMPLE SIZE (uses example figures from above): .04 x (1 - .04) Formula to calculate Sample Size = ------------------------ (.01/1.96) x (.01/1.96) B&B MAIL User's Guide 29 .0384 = ------------------------ (.005102) x (.005102) = 1,477 AFTER INITIAL MAILING, MARGIN OF ERROR CAN BE CALCULATED (Assumes Actual Return of 5%): Formula to verify Margin of Error = 1.96 x square root of: .05 x (1 - .05) = --------------- 1,477 = .011 CONCLUSION ---------- Based on the examples shown above, you can be 95% sure that your mailing list would produce a 5% return, plus or minus 1.1%. Make sure you are comfortable with the Confidence level selected, Return Rate, and Margin of Error. The size of the sample will then take care of itself based on the formulas. B&B MAIL User's Guide 30 -------------- BULK MAILINGS -------------- If you produce enough mailing pieces, you may want to consider sending your mailings using a discount Postal Service rate. (Contact US Postal Service for current rates and restrictions. Recently, the Post Office minimum is 200 for 3rd class or 500 for 1st class. A 500 piece first class mailing could cost $110, while pre-sorting would cost $90. The savings become larger as the # of pieces increases.) Since rates and requirements are subject to change, this section is intended only to help you become familiar with Postal Service discounts. B&B Mail's sorting and ZipGroups report provide the 9,5 and 3 digit Zip summaries required. STEP 1 - Select Rate desired (No mixing) -------- TYPES ------------- --------- REQUIREMENTS -------- 3rd Class Carrier route sort 10 or more pieces per route, 125 per zip. 3rd Class 5/3 digit Zip sort More than 125 pieces for any 5 digit zip. Residual mail goes at bulk rate, and does not apply towards 200 minimum. 3rd Class Bulk rate 1st Class Carrier route sort 10 or more pieces per route, 125 per zip. 1st Class 5/3 digit Zip sort STEP 2 - Bundle w/Rubber Bands Same for all classes ----------------------------------------------------- Bundle all pieces with the same 5 digit Zip (minimum of 10/bundle, maximum of about 4" thick). Groups of 10 or more are marked on ZipGroups report. After making as many complete 5 digit Zip groups as possible, consolidate all pieces with the same first 3 digits. These groups are also marked on ZipGroups report. B&B MAIL User's Guide 31 STEP 3 - Put PO stickers on top mailer in each bundle ------------------------------------------------------ The Post Office supplies 'D' stickers (for all 5 Digits match), '3' stickers (for first 3 Digits match), and 'S' sticker (for all one state) bundles. These stickers are applied on the top piece in each bundle. RESIDUAL MAIL -Remaining pieces should be grouped by State. State bundles can be given an 'S' sticker. Miscellaneous pieces can be bundled and given an 'MS' (MIXED STATES) sticker. Residual mail may not qualify for the discounted rate, and should be sent 1st class. If you selected one of the 1st class discounts, your residual mail can count toward the minimum (500 pieces). STEP 4 - Bag bundles -------------------- The Postal Service supplies bags to insert your bundled pieces. The quantity minimums for the number of bundles in each bag is similar to the number of pieces in each bundle, 10 minimum (except for the 'residual' bundles at the end). Step 5 - Complete form RE: # of pieces, bags -------------------------------------------- Prepare the appropriate Postal Service form Other discounts --------------- Additional discounts are available with Zip+4 sorting, but is not available for carrier route mailings. B&B MAIL User's Guide 32 POSTAL SERVICE -------------- The Postal Service provides the rubber bands for bundling, stickers for marking the first piece in each bundle, bags, trays, labels for bags, and forms for detailing the pieces in your mailing, and net postage. The easiest way to handle payment of postage is to open an account for the permit number, pre-pay, say $100, and subsequent mailings will be deducted from the balance in your account. The Postal Service provides other services for free, or for a modest charge. They will correct non-existent addresses, or update addresses for 'change of addresses' that they may have. They offer services to update the Zip+4's in your floppy disk file, if presented to them in ASCII format (SDF or Comma Delimited). Most Post Offices will have reference books you can take with you for the asking. ANNUAL BULK MAIL PERMIT # ------------------------- Give your print shop the Bulk Mailing Permit # (obtained from the Postal Service) so that the printer may include it when printing your window envelopes. As a low volume alternative, you could also have a stamp made to 'stamp' each envelope with your permit #. The current annual fee for a Permit # is $50. But if you compared a postage rate of $.22 versus a 3rd Class $.125 bulk rate, you would only need one mailing of about 600 pieces to recover the cost of the annual fee. After that first mailing, every additional mailing during the year would provide net savings. If you have some concerns over the response rate or effect of a bulk rate mailing, relax. Surprisingly, marketing surveys dealing with response rates have found that first class vs. bulk mail postages consistently does not effect mailing response. TIP: when you ask the printer to print the Bulk Permit # box on the envelope, ask that the size of the box be smaller than a postage stamp, that way you can use your bulk envelopes for first class mailings also. There is less waste, and no one can see the permit # underneath the postage stamp. B&B MAIL User's Guide 33 SELLING YOUR MAILING LIST/BUYING MAILING LISTS ---------------------------------------------- Should you decide to sell your mailing list, normally it will be for a one-time use. If you want to take steps that the list is IN FACT used only once, consider 'planting' names (of relatives, friends, special PO Boxes, etc.) in the list with mis-spellings that will identify the person purchasing your list. There are service bureaus that will assist you in selling your mailing list. One of them is the Standard Rate and Data Service, 3004 Glenview Rd, Wilmette, Illinois, 60091, 312-441-2277. This company issues a 'list of mailing lists'. There are about 80,000 lists by Market classification represented. You can register your list with them at no charge. Just ask for the Editor of the Direct Mail List Rates & Data, and request a listing form. If you are interested in purchasing a list, the 'Direct Mail list' is published 6 times/year, and costs about $269 for six issues, or $166 for one. This is also a good source for buying lists. B&B MAIL User's Guide 34 ------------- MISCELLANEOUS ------------- GENERAL COMPUTER OPERATIONS --------------------------- BACKUP ------ Make BACKUP copies often (at least of your *.dbf files). If you have many transactions per day, you should backup daily, if not twice daily. You should also have multiple backup copies so that you have at least one backup that is less than one day old, one a week old, one a month old, etc. Some B&B Systems have a backup option which allows you to control which files are "backed up" and to what drive, through a .BAT file called BACKUP. You should be familiar with DOS copy commands in order to edit this .BAT file and how you can compress files while copying them, or send them to a higher capacity drive. Accessing this batch file from within your B&B System gives you DOS power, but it is your responsibility to understand the appropriate DOS commands. You can also use B&B Mail to write an ASCII file to a blank floppy in A: using the Export option. Backup hardware has become available in many different formats. The mini-tape cartridge devices are handy. The external versions can be moved around to perform backup on multiple PC's. Applications with large hard drives/files, especially where lists are often sold to other mailers, may find the units which can write/read standard 9" reel tapes useful. B&B SALELEAD VS. B&B MAIL ------------------------- B&B Salelead is a superset of B&B Mail that was designed to consolidate Marketing Information, and to be your letter manager. If you are looking for options other than affixing labels to envelopes, B&B SaleLead was designed to use personalized letters which fit into window envelopes eliminating matching labels with letters, allows professional customized letters, and reduces manpower for mailings. NETWORKING VERSION ------------------ B&B Systems networking versions are available upon request. You can use multiple copies of single-user B&B Systems on many workstations, but in order to share one data file, you need a network version. Network versions work on any LAN that supports standard protocols of DOS versions 3.1 and greater (ie. Interrupt 21 data locking). B&B Systems are NetBios compatible, and will support any number of workstations. Fully compatible with dBase, B&B Systems can run at the same time as dBase's LAN. B&B MAIL User's Guide 35 Networks supported: NOVELL; 3COM; 3+; 10NET(v 4.0); PC-NET; PC- LAN; LANTASTIC (v2.2); BANYAN; INVISIBLE; SIMPLENET(v 3.0). Note:Let us know if using Novell Spooler earlier than version 2.0. NetBIOS is not necessary for file/record locking, but is required for message/task handling. B&B Systems Network versions support full record and file locking functions without separate software. If you still require message, task sending or WHOHASIT() communication functions between workstations and file servers, you will need the separate LAN Networker+ software LAN-PAK from Wordtech systems. To Install, 1. COPY networker+ files to file server, 2. RUN laninst.exe, 3. Specify the LAN.COM residence, 4. Specify LAN.LOG + QUE residence, 5. Run INSTALL after loading/logging onto LAN Operating System. 6. Use a .BAT file to Run LAN.COM with options from each workstation. CUSTOMIZING SERVICE ------------------- If you wish different fields on your screen, or would like some other modification made to your B&B System, we will be happy to discuss the cost of your desired changes. EXISTING FILE CONVERSION SERVICE -------------------------------- If you currently have a file of mailing records (from a 'list' vendor, 1-2-3 files, ASCII files, etc.), but do not know how to convert them to the B&B format/structure (see Appendix), B&B will convert this file for you at ten cents per name. Send the file electronically to B&B's electronic Bulletin Board, P.C. Manager, or send on an IBM 5 1/4" 360K floppy disk/or 3-1/2" 1.4m disk to B&B Systems. The approximate time required is 2 weeks. YELLOW PAGES NAMES/ADDRESSES by ZIP CODE or SIC Code ---------------------------------------------------- B&B Systems can provide you with Company Name - Address - City - State - Zip - SIC Code data from the Yellow Pages for any ZIP CODE or STATE or SIC (Standard Industrial Code) that you supply to us. The costs vary, depending on the quantity desired. Leave a message on B&B's Bulletin Board, PC MANAGER, requesting a quote for desired zip codes and types of businesses. After a deposit, the completed file can then be mailed to you on a floppy, or made available to you on the Bulletin Board. LABELING Machines ----------------- Machines are available to affix self adhesive labels onto your mailing pieces. Some manufacturers:Novatec of Gladwyne, PA; B&B MAIL User's Guide 36 Master Addresser of Minneapolis, MN. PRINTER FONT COMMAND MENU ------------------------- A Printer control menu is provided to send control characters to change printer options. The default values are for Epson and compatible printers, but by entering 'E' you can edit these values to suit your printer. In order for you to properly edit these codes, you need to use your printer manual to identify the proper DECIMAL codes for the desired result, and be sure to maintain the proper syntax: CHR(your decimal code) plus '+' to link multiple codes. This menu can be called from the Maintenance menu. B&B MAIL User's Guide 37 TROUBLESHOOTING --------------- Before calling for technical support, many problems can be resolved by: 1. Ensuring that you have all of the files listed in this documentation. 2. Checking your config.sys file for the proper Buffers and Files statements. Q. REPORTS DON'T FIT PAGE A. If your reports don't seem to fit the paper properly, the wrong printer control codes could have been used. In order to verify this, double check your printer manual. You can re-install your system (simply ERASE config.mem from DOS). Or you can edit these codes in the Maintenance Menu where each of the printer control codes should appear as a 'CHR( )' with your decimal code in the parentheses. Q. THERE IS AN ERROR WHENEVER I START-UP MY PROGRAM. A. Re-read the Installation section of the DOCumentation file, including any README files. Start-up errors are usually an indicator of problems with the set-up values in the .MEM files needed by your B&B system. This can occur when upgrading to newer versions that may have different start-up values, but the old config.mem file still remains. To ensure that you get off to a fresh start, use the DOS ERASE command to erase any files created upon installation, like CONFIG.MEM - see list of files in Appendix. Then, re-install Q. HOW CAN I PRINT JUST ONE LABEL/POSTCARD, AND HAVE THE PRINTER PAUSE? A. When defining the label set-up values, enter the number of lines you wish to skip between labels (eg. entering 30 lines will force a 5" piece of paper out of the printer after printing - 30 divided by 6 lines/inch). Also, enter 'Y' to pause after printing a page, and define the page as 34 lines long, 4 lines for the label plus 30 skip lines. Q. HOW CAN I PRINT MANY COPIES OF JUST ONE LABEL, SAY FOR MY COMPANY? A. Make sure you've Added a record containing your company name/address. Then you can use one of two methods. In example one, while in the add mode, you should also enter a numeric value for the number of labels desired in the Sales, Code #1, Code #2, Phone, etc. field. (Any field that is not being used for anything else) Either way you will need to Enter L for Labels, and use Flexi- Select and Flexi-Label by 'E'diting and entering Y in the Options selection screen for both. In Flexi-Select, 'A'dd a new selection to select just your newly added record. You can enter RECORD #, EQUAL TO, and Your COMPANY's record RECORD #, or COMPANY NAME, EQUAL TO, ABC Co. Highlight that new selection, and <Enter>. B&B MAIL User's Guide 38 In Flexi-Label, select an existing label format, or PgDn to select a new format. In example one, 'E'dit in Flexi-Label to change the EXTRAS code. Enter the code for the field containing the number of extra copies desired (code#1, code#2, etc.). Or, enter a multiple number of copies. Q. MY LABELS ARE NOT PRINTING PROPERLY ON PAGES AFTER THE 1ST? A. If you are using sheet label stock, such as that used by laser printers, there are various values that affect positioning of labels. Make sure your page length is accurate. If you elect to EJECT after each page (and you should), a new page is automatically started and the first label position is defined by your starting row and column values. Q. I HAVE A LAPTOP THAT IS CONSIDERED TO HAVE A COLOR DISPLAY, BUT THE FLAT SCREENS DO NOT HAVE THE RESOLUTION I WOULD LIKE. HOW CAN I FORCE MONOCHROME DISPLAY? A. Since version 3.0, colors are determined by the detection of color capability. But you can enter '<PROGRAM NAME> MONO' at DOS and B&B will force the use of monochrome screen definitions. Also, use a program like cursrlap.com to change the cursor to a "block" style from B&B Systems to make cursor easier to see on laptops. If you want to change the cursor everytime you run your system, make a file called 'GO.BAT' with the following lines and the cursor will change to a "block", your program is run, and the cursor changes back: CURSRLAP <PROGRAM NAME> MONO CURSRLAP Enter GO to run your program. Q. I WANT TO DEFINE A SORT USING FLEXI-SORT, HOW DO I? A. To use Flexi-Sort, Flexi-Select and Flexi-Label/Report, you use the same method. When you select Labels or Reports from the main menu, you will be presented with an Options Screen which contains all of the different options you can select before producing your labels or reports. If you enter E to edit these options, you can enter Y, N or an existing sort number in the box marked Flexi-Sort. If you select N, there will be no defined sort (except for the default). If you enter a number, that number should be a sort option that is ALREADY defined if you were to look at all of the Flexi-Sort options. Entering Y will force the display of all of the previously defined options, and you can select from this list. Thus, if your option screen indicates that previously you selected Sort #4, and you wish to change that sort, [E]dit your options, B&B MAIL User's Guide 39 bring your cursor to the Flexi-Sort box, and enter Y (plus a space to erase the 4). When you are done defining all of your options, entering Return will proceed with the Label/Report process and you will then be presented with a list of existing sort options and you can choose one, or add/delete another. Q. HOW DO I ENTER PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS INTO MY LABEL ? A. In the Flexi-Label screen, you would normally use [E]dit to insert the COMMANDS into an existing line (in front of data already on that line). Or, to add codes to a new line, it is easiest to enter 'A' as if you were going to add fields, but use the [I]nsert line option to move the label format lines down. [E]dit the label, and go to the label line desired, press the "Ins" key for the Insert mode (so that any existing data on that line is not overwritten) and enter your Printer codes using this format: "CHR(your printer's decimal code)". Join additional codes with a "+". Q. CAN I PRINT ENVELOPES ? A. Yes, through two different methods. If you have a laser printer that can print in landscape mode (printing rotated 90 degrees), insert printer control codes to change to landscape mode, and enter a start row and column that will start the printing "low on the page". Landscape codes for the HP LaserJet are:"CHR(27)+CHR(38)+CHR(108)+CHR(49)+CHR(79)" For other printers, you'll need to either feed the envelopes, or purchase envelope stock that comes affixed to continuous fanfold paper. Q. I JUST WANT TO CHANGE THE NAME OF SOME FIELDS ON THE EDIT SCREEN A. If the system is already installed, just erase the installation file, config.mem. When prompted for using "FAST" non-customized screens, answer "N". In the Maintenance Menu, the screen option allows you to change, say, SALES to WIDGETS. The description will now be Widgets in the edit screen. Q. HOW DO I CONTROL THE # OF FIELDS IN THE ADD or EDIT SCREENS, OR ORDER OF FIELDS IN THE BROWSE, ADD or EDIT SCREENS ? A. THIS CAN BE COMPLEX. (TO CONTROL THE # OF FIELDS, YOU NEED dBASE) The # of fields is controlled by your main data (.dbf.) file and supporting files are called "mail"flds or "sale"flds.dbf/txt. (Depending on whether your have BBMAIL or BBSALELEAD). The Order of fields are controlled by the later two files. The mailflds or saleflds.txt is a duplicate of the .dbf file, but with one significant difference, it can be edited with your word processor. TO CHANGE THE ORDER OF DATA ON EACH PAGE IN THE BROWSE SCREEN: B&B MAIL User's Guide 40 Use your word processor to edit this .TXT file. The page # is controlled by the ORDER field which is the 62-65th columns. If the 62nd and 63rd columns is 11, that field will appear on the 11th page of the Browse screens. If the 64th and 65th columns is 3, that field will be the 3rd field from the left on page 11. The ORDER field should not contain duplicates and try to distribute fields on each of the BROWSE LIST pages, (ie. if the ORDER for field#1 is " 1 1" and for field#2 it is " 2 1" and for field#3 it is " 3 1", you will have one field displaying on individual pages; not very efficient). On the other hand, if you try putting too many fields on one page, and thus have fields with a combined width greater than 80 characters (ie. ORDER=" 1 1"," 1 2"," 1 3"...," 199") your screen will scroll unusually because it will try displaying more than 80 characters on one line. TO CHANGE THE ORDER OF DATA ON THE EDIT and ADD SCREENS: Use your word processor to edit this .TXT file. The order of fields (cursor movement) is controlled by order in the .TXT file. If First Name is followed on line #2 by Last name, then switching those two lines will reverse the order of the cursor. Also, the location of the field "description" is controlled by "srow" and "scol" values in columns 54-55 and 56-57. The data box is controlled by the "grow/gcol", columns 58-59 and 60-61. The first value is the row number and should be (3 to 24). The second value is the column number (0 to 79). TO CHANGE THE NUMBER OF FIELDS (add or delete): If you never use some of the fields, for example, "COUNTRY", you can eliminate it. Delete the COUNTRY record from the .TXT file with your word processor. Then .USE MAIL/SALELEAD.dbf in dBase and MODIFY STRUCTURE. You then move the cursor over COUNTRY and use CTRL-U to eliminate it. Eliminating unneeded fields will decrease the amount disk space used by your file. To Add fields, insert a new line in the .TXT file and fill out the required data (see Appendix). Then in dBase, .USE your main .DBF and MODIFY STRUCTURE. Position the cursor where you want the new field, and Ctrl-N to insert. Several things to remember about the ????flds.txt/dbf files: -Each line/record defines data for ONE field in your main .dbf file. -Don't change the values for the field FIELDNM (they match your .DBF). -If you delete lines/records in the .TXT file, you should also change the structure of your main .dbf. -If you change the FIELDLN (length of data stored in the field) from, say 20 characters to 10, modify the main .dbf STRUCTURE -Do not INSERT new fields in the .TXT file after the RECNO() record (always the last record), or after any memo type fields. B&B MAIL User's Guide 41 -Do not delete the fields EXTRANOTES and LINKNUM. -In the .TXT file, you'll notice that the city, state, and country fields FOLLOW zip. That's because if you use F1 in the zip field, and press [Enter], data is inserted in those fields in that order. So care must be taken to make sure order is maintained and field lengths match in your main .dbf and zip.dbf. IMPORTANT: If you make changes to the .TXT file, either COLUMNS 62-65 affecting ORDER in the Browse screen, or if you inserted/deleted lines controlling the NUMBER of fields, you need to ERASE the config.mem file containing Browse screen definitions. The new data in the ????flds.txt will then overwrite the old data in the ????flds.dbf file. If you've changed the NUMBER/ORDER of fields for the Add/Edit screens, also erase the default .SCN file. A new one will be created based on your new .TXT file. Remember, when the Add/Edit screens are changed, say "N" to the fast screen option (non-customized) during installation. NOTE: if you delete fields, previously defined FLEXI-Reports, Sorts, or Selects may no longer work if they reference a field that no longer exists. Q. WHAT IS THE HDATA FIELD IN MAILFLDS/SALEFLDS.DBF/TXT? A. Starting in column 43 is the 11 character H"elp" DATA field. Position #1 is the Alphabetic letter (A-J) designating the file "number" as it was opened when starting your system. Letter A will correspond to the first record in FILES.DBF, and is the first file opened. These files are always "open". Some files, like Help files, have an "x" in this position meaning that they are opened only when F1 is pressed when the cursor is on that field. Position #2, and #3 are "Y"ES and "N"O indicators to tell the system whether to check for Valid Entries, or Blank entries respectively. Position #4 thru 11 is the name of the HELP .dbf and .ndx file to call when pressing the F1 key. In effect, you can add your own Help files for any field by supplying a ??.dbf and ??.ndx file, entering ?? in the 4th position, and putting an "x" in Position #1. Q. I HAVE A LARGE FILE AND IT SEEMS THAT FLEXI-LABEL TAKES LONG TO PRINT LABELS. HOW CAN I INCREASE SPEED? A. The speed of label printing involves many factors, including: CPU:8088 XT machines are slowest. 80286/80386 machines are faster. HARD DRIVE: (Access Time). Some drives are 65 micro seconds, others are 3 times faster at 18. HARD DRIVE: (data fragmentation). Over a period of time, data for your file will be spread in disjointed areas over your disk requiring longer access times. Use a utility that optimizes. BUFFERS: in config.sys file can be increased reducing disk access. USE RAM DRIVE: Requires loading entire system onto a RAM drive. USE "N" in FLexi-Label: Run a dBase .LBL file (which is modifiable if you have dBase). Flexi-Label is more complex, and takes longer. B&B MAIL User's Guide 42 Q. SOME WINDOWS/PORTIONS OF THE SCREEN ARE TOO LIGHT. A. If you change between monochrome monitors, or laptops, erase your .SCN file and reload your system (use MONO in the command line if appropriate). B&B MAIL User's Guide 43 ERROR MESSAGES --------------- MESSAGE SOLUTION ================================================================= ERROR OPENING FILE A file cannot be found. If using a two floppy system, ensure that data files are on B:. Check listing of all files in Appendix to make sure all of them are on your directory. Don't change location of files after installation. Also, check config.sys file to ensure 'files' statement is OK. I/O ERROR Disk is full. Erase unnecessary files, incl. *.Bak files. Delete unneeded records, and Pack the file. Larger hard disk. TOO MANY FILES OPEN Make sure your computer was 1) booted FROM a disk with the right config.sys file and 2) that the config.sys file contains the proper FILES and BUFFERS statements. 3) try increasing their value, then re-boot. 4-SYNTAX ERROR IN FILTER Your Flexi-Select is invalid. If EXPRESSION you edited it, please recheck placement of parentheses, or redefine. 10-FILE DOES NOT EXIST (See ERROR OPENING FILE) 13-SYNTAX ERROR/VARIABLE The most common cause of this UNDEFINED error is because of an old .MEM file that is missing a new variable. You can eliminate this error by erasing one, or all of the .MEM files. B&B Systems will build these files automatically from scratch. 18-INVALID REPORT FORM FILE If you developed your own *.FRM file make sure you developed it using DBIII, and it resides on the same drive as other *.FRM files. 19-REPORT STACK OVERFLOW A field expression is too complex in the *.FRM (Report) file. B&B MAIL User's Guide 44 22-ERROR CREATING FILE Usually incurred when writing a file and 1) the wrong config.sys file was used, or 2) there is insufficient disk space, or 3) disk is bad. Or, you may have installed your system on C:\???, then moved it to another directory. Reinstall by erasing config.mem. 23-ERROR OPENING FILE (See Error Opening file, TOP) 24-ERROR CLOSING FILE Usually due to insufficient disk space. 25-ERROR READING FILE A frequent cause is a corrupted *.DBF file. If familiar with repairing *.DBF file structures, you could attempt repair, or use your backup file. Also check if proper config.sys was used. 26-ERROR WRITING FILE Usually due to insufficient disk space. 27-ERROR POSITIONING IN FILE Usually due to swapping disks before a file is closed. 30-RECORD OUT OF RANGE Re-Index records (Maintenance Menu) Check for duplicate .ndx file(s). 31-NOT A DBASEIII DATA BASE *.DBF file may be corrupted. (See #25). 32-NO SUCH RECORD IN INDEX Re-Index records (Maintenance Menu) or ERASE .ndx files from DOS. They will be re-created at start-up. Check for duplicate .ndx file(s). 33-ILLEGAL KEY You need to do Housekeeping from Maintenance Menu. A record in the index file was not found in the .dbf file. Or, you can erase the .ndx files, they will be re-created. 38-INDEX SYNC ERROR (See #33) 42-PRINTER NOT READY Printer not turned on, or not connected to proper parallel or serial port, or (if connected properly), a DOS command such as MODE changed configuration. B&B MAIL User's Guide 45 43-NOT ENOUGH MEMORY Insufficient RAM. Make sure other RAM resident applications are not running, ie. Sidekick, etc.. Also, check to make sure you installed config.sys FILES/BUFFERS correctly. 57-BINARY FILE NOT FOUND A binary (.bin) type file is not on the same drive or directory. 58-MEMORY ALLOCATION ERROR Not enough memory to load binary file. If 640K is available, re- boot to erase any TSR programs 68-EXPRESSION STACK OVERFLOW There are too many variables in the expression. Simplify the number of selections..PA HELP. I'M STUCK ---------------- ANY PROGRAM CAN CORRUPT FILES - HOW TO AVOID IT ----------------------------------------------- If you are running a system and you get into a situation that you'd like to exit from, some applications allow you to enter the ESC (Escape) key. In other systems. you may need to wait for the process to end. If your system allows the use of the ESC key, and B&B does, use it, the ESC key will not alter or change the files. BUT, Be patient. Depending on what the system was doing, it may take 1 second or 1 minute. BUT PLEASE, IN ALMOST ALL CASES, AVOID RE-BOOTING (cold or warm boots). If you re-boot your computer BEFORE your system finishes the process it is currently working on, you could corrupt your file(s). The computer may have been READING data, but does not now know where to WRITE it. THIS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR CAUSES OF CORRUPTED FILES. This is another good reason for frequent back-ups. If you are not sure if your file has become corrupted, print a report that lists the entire file. If any of the data appears missing or switched, your file is probably corrupted. If binary, or strange looking characters appear, your file is corrupted. If you're not sure, first try Re-Indexing your .NDX files by selecting REINDEX from the Maintenance Menu, or erasing all .NDX files (B&B will re-create them if missing). Re-run your report, and if that does not fix the 'order' of your data, run the DOS CHKDSK program with the '/f' (fix lost clusters option), C:DOS>CHKDSK C:/f. If corruption did occur, DOS will write the corrupted data in separate files called FILE0001.CHK, 0002, etc. Since this data has now been separated from your .dbf or other files, you should copy your .dbf files from your backup. If your B&B System does not boot properly, you may need to copy your system files from back-up also. B&B MAIL User's Guide 46 HINT: CHKDSK is a good command to insert in your autoexec.bat file, so that your hard drive is checked every time you turn your computer on. This takes 10 to 20 seconds longer to boot, but it will avoid the continued corruption of a fragmented disk. Backup is such a critical issue, it cannot be overemphasized. .PA ---------------------- TECHNICAL INFORMATION ---------------------- Computer : PC-DOS IBM PC, XT, AT or compatible. DOS : DOS 2.0 or greater (3.1 for networks) Memory : 410K free (without TSR programs) RAM. Monitor : Monochrome/Color/EGA supported. Disk Drive: 1 or 2 Floppy drives. Hard Disk recommended. Printers : Any Serial or Parallel printer, including Lasers. dBASEIII COMPATIBLE ------------------- Your data base files are dBaseIII compatible. If you have dBaseIII, you can access your files independently of your B&B SYSTEM program. This is an added feature of using B&B Systems. Your B&B System is all you really need, because all B&B Systems are independent from dBaseIII. dBase is a trademark of Ashton-Tate. 1-2-3 and Symphony are trademarks of Lotus Corporation R:Base is a trademark of Microrim COPY PROTECTION --------------- Copy protection can involve intricate and complicated schemes, and we believe overcomplicate operations. Thus, we DO NOT copy protect BB Systems. All we ask is that you honor your Copyright and Leasing responsibilities. We encourage copying of the restricted Shareware versions. F1- HELP KEY ------------ Entering this key when you are prompted for an answer will many times provide you with a HELP WINDOW which will add further information to help you in selecting an answer. B&B MAIL User's Guide 47 -------- APPENDIX -------- The MAIL.DBF file contains the following fields: ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIELDS* DESC TYPE LENGTH ----------------------------------------------------------------- LN Last Name Character 20 FN First Name Character 15 TITLE Title/Position Character 20 CN Company Name Character 35 AD Address Character 30 ADO Address Overflow Character 35 C City Character 20 S State Character 2 Z Zip Character 10 COUNTRY Country Character 15 BP Phone Character 12 CUSTNO Customer number Numeric 6 CODE Misc. Code Character 2 CODEB Misc. Code #2 Character 2 SALES Any $ data Numeric 9,2 SALEDATE Date $ received Date 8 ADDDATE Date added Date 8 EXTRANOTES- Notes Memo 10 LINKNUM Link to other files (Future Use) 9 * Although these field names are not changed in the file, you can change the descriptions that appears on the screen. The STATES, CUSTNO, CODE, CODEB, and ZIP.DBF files contain the following fields: (In States.dbf, this data is State abbreviation, and full name; In Zip.dbf it is zip code and city name, plus two other fields:state abbreviation and country). ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIELDS DESC TYPE LENGTH ----------------------------------------------------------------- CODE Code Character 2 DESC Full Descrip. Character 20 The MAILHELP.DBF file contain the following fields: ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIELDS DESC TYPE LENGTH ----------------------------------------------------------------- TEXT HELP TEXT Character 40 START Start Indicator Character 8 STOP Stop Indicator Logical 1 * You can customize your own help screens by editing this file in dBIII. B&B MAIL User's Guide 48 MAILFLDS.DBF contains the names of data fields, and other data in the mail.dbf file. FIELDNM is the same name used in the MAIL.DBF field name. DESC is up to you. DESCLN is the length you want reserved for the description. FIELDLN and FIELDTY should match the length and type in the MAIL.DBF file. Put a '9' in PCTR if you only want numbers, an 'X' for any character, and 'D' for Date validation. HDATA should be A if there is no corresponding 'help' file. SROW,SCOL,GROW,GCOL control the rows/columns where your description and data box appears on-screen. ORDER controls the fields position in the BROWSE screen (Page, then position on page). CONFIG.MEM is the installation file. It is created upon first running the system. It contains values such as your company name, etc. If you change names, change printers, or run into unexplainable errors, C:\MAIL>ERASE CONFIG.MEM to allow reinstallation. Other .mem files listed below are created automatically if not found, and can be deleted if unexplainable errors are encountered after upgrading.: FILES.DBF - Contains system file names, index structures when .ndx files need rebuilding, required .ndx files, etc. MAILALLL.MEM - your Options screen label definitions MAILALLR.MEM - your Options screen report definitions MAILSORT.MEM - your Flexi-Sort definitions MAILSELE.MEM - your Flexi-Select definitions MAILRPT.MEM - your Flexi-Report definitions MAILEXIM.MEM - your Import/Export definitions MAILLBL.MEM - your Flexi-Label definitions PRINTER.MEM - your Printer Control Menu commands The following index files support .dbf files by providing record markers for finding records quickly: CODE.NDX, CODEB.NDX, CUSTNO.NDX, STATES.NDX, ZIP.NDX, ZIPCITY.NDX, MAILHELP.NDX. LN.NDX and Z.NDX support the Mail.dbf file. With version 3.4, Index files are now created if missing. dBaseIII Report (.FRM) and Label (.LBL) files may be included to allow you to use this method of producing reports and labels. B&B MAIL User's Guide 49 UPGRADING: When upgrading, these files contain the latest file structures. If needed, your existing data is moved into these files, existing files are deleted, and the upgrade file is renamed. If not needed, upgrade files are deleted. UPGRADE.DBF/DBT is changed to: MAIL.DBF/DBT UPGRSTAT.DBF STATES.DBF UPGRZ.DBF ZIP.DBF MEMORY ISSUES: -------------- If you have a computer with limited memory, B&B Systems can provide to you, at no additional cost, versions of B&B Systems that can operate in such systems. We will provide you with an .EXE file and an external .OVL file. First, make sure that the RAM memory in your computer is not being limited due to TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs that you load into memory at boot, but wouldn't normally use with your B&B System. When using an .OVL (Overlay) file, it will only be swapped into RAM, when necessary, allowing you to fit you application in, for example, a computer having only 512K RAM memory. Remember, the amount of RAM required is not related to the size (bytes) of an .EXE file. These low memory versions are available on B&B System's Electronic Bulletin Board, P.C. Manager. EXPANDED MEMORY --------------- B&B Systems automatically use up to 64K of expanded (version 3.2 or 4.0) memory, if available. If you encounter conflicts, especially if running Window or Desqview on a 286/386 machine, you can set the DOS environment to ignore this memory by entering SET QSEMS=0 at DOS prior to running your program. RAM DISK -------- Sometimes data is temporarily swapped to disk. You can speed system operation if you use a ram disk by including "SET QSSWAP=X:" in your config.sys. B&B MAIL User's Guide 50 -------- WARRANTY -------- DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITED WARRANTY The Software and accompanying written materials (including instructions for use) are provided 'As Is' without warranty of any kind. Further, B&B Systems does not warrant, guarantee, or make any representations regarding the use, or the results of the use, of the Software or written materials in terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability, currentness, or otherwise. The entire risk as to the results and performance of the Software is assumed by you. If the Software or written materials are defective, you, and not B&B Systems or its dealers, distributors, agents, or employees, assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, or correction. B&B Systems warrants to the original LICENSEE that 1) the disks on which the SOFTWARE is recorded is free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use and service for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of delivery as evidenced by a copy of the receipt. Further, B&B Systems hereby limits the duration of any implied warranty(ies) on the disk to the respective period stated above. Some states do not allow limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you. B&B Systems' entire liability and your exclusive remedy as to the disk(s) shall be, at B&B Systems ' option, either a) return of the purchase price or b) replacement of the disk(s) that does not meet B&B Systems' Limited Warranty and which is returned to B&B Systems with a copy of the receipt. If failure of the disk(s) has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication, B&B Systems shall have no responsibility to replace the disk(s), or refund the purchase price. Any replacement disk(s) will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period, or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer. THE ABOVE ARE THE ONLY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THAT ARE MADE BY B&B Systems ON THIS B&B Systems PRODUCT. NO WRITTEN OR ORAL INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY B&B Systems, ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS, OR EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY, AND YOU MAY NOT RELY ON ANY SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS, WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. B&B MAIL User's Guide 51 NEITHER B&B Systems NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS PRODUCT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH PRODUCT EVEN IF B&B Systems HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES , THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. The SOFTWARE and documentation is provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication, or disclosure is subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision (b)(3)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at 252.227-7013. Contractor/Manufacturer is B&B Systems, P.O.Box 171, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53187. Should you have any questions about this Agreement please write to the address above. B&B MAIL User's Guide 52 -------- UPGRADES -------- When upgrades become available, copy all upgrade files that have 'upgrade' in the file name to your C:\>MAIL directory. Files such as the MAILLBL.MEM and MAILSORT.MEM can also be copied over ONLY if you DO NOT WANT your EXISTING FLEXI-LABEL or SORT DEFINITIONS. The most recent versions of B&B Systems programs are always available on Compuserve (GO IBMAPP), EXECPC, or B&B's own Bulletin Board, PC MANAGER, (414) 548-9034. Our Electronic Bulletin Board supplies registered owners with the latest versions of unrestricted B&B Systems without waiting for mailed copies. Always Search for files starting with 'BB'. B&B MAIL User's Guide 53 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ORDERING INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------------------------- If ordering by check, please allow at least 2 weeks. 5-1/4" floppy disks are sent unless you specify different media. If you prefer, B&B Systems can supply your program via modem if you register on our bulletin board which has two advantages: 1. upgrades of new unlimited versions become available immediately. 2. If paying by Visa/Master Charge, you can get your system faster, as soon as 1/2 hour. You can order by calling B&B Systems direct (414-544-5988), or call our Bulletin Board, P.C. Manager (414-548-9034) and <A>CCESS the ORDER system from the Main Menu. You will be asked for shipping information, and your credit card data. After your card is verified, you will be authorized to access the unlimited versions and you can call back to download your system. If you order by mail, and plan to download electronically, you will be registered under the first and last name and password you supply on this form. It is recommended that you change your password after accessing B&B System's bulletin board the first time. If you ordered from a dealer and want to be eligible for upgrades, sign on to P.C. Manager, and leave a message that you would like a security level allowing upgrade downloads, and which dealer you purchased your system from. Once the purchase has been validated, your security level will be upgraded. We try to keep our software costs low. We cannot afford to train users about computers unless they apply for annual technical support via telephone. Most questions we have received can be answered by reviewing this documentation file. Technical questions uploaded through the bulletin board are answered at no charge. If you've forgotten to register and need access to more than 500 records immediately, and you do not have a modem, we can supply an emergency access code over the phone with a credit card order. If you plan on installing B&B systems on MORE than one machine, order additional copies on your INITIAL order because the multiple copy discount is per order. You can move a registered system to a new machine, but making copies is not only illegal, but more importantly, unethical. Order the NETWORK version if you intend to INSTALL your B&B system on ONE single Network file server, allowing the SAME data to be shared on an unlimited # of workstations. A SITE LICENSE allows unlimited use of NETWORK or STAND-ALONE versions at one location. A CORPORATE LICENSE allows the same unlimited use, but at multiple locations. OTHER SERVICES: (billable by project or by hour) CREATE NEW or MODIFY EXISTING B&B SYSTEMS add/edit screens, rpts. REMOTE LASER LETTER/REPORT PRINTING programs OPERATE WARRANTY/SALES LEAD CARD FULLFILLMENT programs B&B MAIL User's Guide 54 ---------------------------------------------------------- O R D E R F O R M ---------------------------------------------------------- B & B S Y S T E M S 627 Madison P.O. Box 171 Waukesha, Wisconsin 53187 Order/Technical Support: 414-544-5988 BBS: 414-548-9034 DESCRIPTION QUANTITY EACH TOTAL ---------------------------------------------------------- B&B MAIL Label System 1st copy $65.00 _______ extras_____ 30.00ea _______ NETWORK _____ 235.00 _______ SITE LIC_____ 750.00 _______ CORP LIC_____ 1200.00 _______ B&B SALELEAD Letter and 1st copy $199.00 _______ Marketing Info. Manager extras_____ 99.00ea _______ NETWORK _____ 499.00 _______ SITE LIC_____ 1500.00 _______ CORP LIC_____ 2500.00 _______ B&B TODO Day/Monthly Scheduler 35.00 _______ ONE YEAR's UNLIMITED Technical Support Phone service (Annual $ amount same as software cost above) $_______ FILE CONVERSION SERVICE (# records)=_____ x $.10 $_______ Customization Service (screens, etc. - call) $_______ Shipping and Handling: ___ Sign me up on BBS for immediate downloading - $0 Password desired ____________ ___ US Postal Service - $0 ___ Express Mail $12 $_______ WI 5% Sales Tax $_______ Total: $_______ Format:___ 5-1/4" ___ 3-1/2" Visa/MC Card Number: _____________________ Exp Date:________ Signature: __________________________________________________ Name: _____________________________________________________ Street Address: _____________________________________________ (if PO Box, add street address) City: ______________________ State: _____ Zip: __________ Bus. Phone: ( ) __________________________ Current Version # _______________ Date:_________________ B&B MAIL User's Guide 55 INDEX AD, 5, 45 ADDDATE, 21, 45 ADDED-TO-FILE-DATE, 21 ADDRESS, 8, 9, 15, 22, 24, 26, 35, 36, 45, 49, 52 ADHESIVE, 35 ADO, 45 AFFECTING, 39 AGE, 5, 27 ALLOCATION, 43 ALL-IN-ONE, 11, 12 ARBORSOFT, 34 ASCII, 2, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 32, 34, 35 ASTERISK, 8 AUTOEXEC, 34, 44 AVERY, 18 BACKUP, 34, 42, 43, 44 BANYAN, 35 BAT, 34, 37, 44 BAUD, 51 BBMAIL, 38 BBS, 52 BBSALELEAD, 38 BIN, 43 BINARY, 21, 43 BLOCK, 22, 37 BOOLEAN, 13 BOOT, 2, 43, 44, 47 BP, 45 BROWSE, 5, 8, 9, 25, 38, 39, 40, 46 BUFFERS, 2, 3, 36, 40, 41, 43 CACHE, 2 CARTRIDGE, 34 CCESS, 51 CD, 2 CDT, 1 CHKDSK, 43, 44 CHR, 15, 25, 33, 36, 38 CLUSTERS, 43 CN, 21, 45 CODEB, 7, 45, 46 COLOR, 37, 44 COLUMNAR, 22 COM, 34, 35, 37 COMMA, 20, 21, 22, 32 COMPRESSED, 2 CONCURRENTLY, 51 CONDENSED, 25 CONFIG, 2, 3, 5, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47 CONFIGA, 5 CONTINUES, 1 CONTROL-L, 8 CONVERSION, 35, 52 B&B MAIL User's Guide 56 CORRUPTION, 26, 43, 44 COUNT, 16, 31 CRAYON, 5 CTRL-K-N, 22 CTRL-N, 39 CTRL-S, 19 CTRL-U, 39 CURSRLAP, 37 CUSTNO, 5, 7, 45, 46 CUSTOMIZATION, 3 CUSTOMIZE, 26, 45 CUSTOMIZING, 3 DBASE, 2, 20, 35, 38, 39, 40, 44, 52 DBASE'S, 26 DBT, 26, 47 DECIMAL, 15, 25, 33, 36, 38 DEDICATING, 5 DELETE, 8, 12, 13, 15, 22, 24, 25, 38, 39, 40, 41 DELIMITED, 20, 21, 22, 32 DESC, 11, 45, 46 DESCLN, 46 DESQVIEW, 47 DIF, 20 DISCLAIMER, 48 DOS, 2, 3, 5, 14, 21, 26, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 47 DOWNLOAD, 20, 51 DRIVE, 2, 40, 41, 43, 44 DUPLICATE, 2, 6, 7, 8, 24, 26, 38, 42 EGA, 44 ELP, 40 EMERGENCY, 51 ENVELOPE, 8, 16, 32, 38 ENVIRONMENT, 2, 47 EPSON, 25, 33 ERASE, 3, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46 ERRORS, 2, 18, 36, 46 ESC, 43 EXAMPLES, 13, 29 EXECPC, 50 EXIT, 26, 43 EXPORT, 2, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22, 34, 46 EXTRANOTES, 26, 39 FANFOLD, 17, 18, 38 FIELDLN, 39, 46 FIELDNM, 39, 46 FIELDTY, 46 FILENAME, 2, 21, 23 FILTER, 41 FLDS, 38, 39, 40 FLEXI-LABEL, 2, 5, 14, 15, 16, 19, 36, 37, 38, 40, 46, 50 FLEXI-REPORT, 24, 46 B&B MAIL User's Guide 57 FLEXI-SELECT, 2, 5, 9, 13, 17, 18, 21, 27, 36, 37, 41, 46 FLEXI-SORT, 2, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 21, 37, 38, 46 FN, 26, 45 FONT, 33 FORGOTTEN, 51 FRAGMENTED, 44 FRM, 14, 41, 46 GCOL, 39, 46 GENERAL, 7, 9, 34 GRANTS, 51 HARDWARE, 34 HDATA, 40, 46 HINT, 44 HORIZONTAL, 16 HOUSEKEEPING, 8, 23, 25, 42 HP, 25, 38 HRS, 1 IBMAPP, 50 IMPORT, 2, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 46 IMPORTANTLY, 51 INDENT, 8 INFREQUENTLY, 5 INSTALLATION, 2, 3, 4, 25, 36, 40, 41, 46, 51 INSTALLATIONS, 51 LANDSCAPE, 16, 38 LANTASTIC, 35 LASERJET, 25, 38 LBL, 14, 40, 46 LICENSE, 2, 51 LIGHT, 40 LINKNUM, 39, 45 LN, 12, 21, 26, 45, 46 LOCATE, 7 LOCKS, 35 LOTUS, 20, 21, 44 MAILALLL, 46 MAILALLR, 46 MAILER, 31 MAILEXIM, 46 MAILHELP, 45, 46 MAILLBL, 46, 50 MAILMERGE, 21 MAILRPT, 46 MAILSELE, 46 MAILSORT, 46, 50 MAINTENANCE, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 25, 26, 33, 36, 42, 43 MARGIN, 28, 29 MD, 2 MEMO, 39 B&B MAIL User's Guide 58 MEMORY, 2, 3, 5, 43, 44, 47 MICRORIM, 44 MODEM, 20, 51 MONITOR, 8, 14, 44 MONO, 37, 40 MONTHLY, 52 MULTIPLAN, 20 NDX, 2, 40, 42, 43, 46 NETBIOS, 35 NETWORK, 35, 51, 52 NEWEST, 24 NON-CUSTOMIZED, 40 NOVATEC, 35 NOVELL, 35 NTH, 2, 6, 11, 13, 27 ON-LINE, 1 OPERATION, 2, 6, 47 ORACLE, 22 OUTPUT, 6, 11, 14, 19, 21 OVERFLOW, 41, 43, 45 OVERLAY, 47 OVERWRITE, 40 OVL, 2, 47 PACK, 41 PARALLEL, 42, 44 PARENTHESES, 13, 36, 41 PATH, 34 PC-LAN, 35 PC-NET, 35 PEEL-OFF, 18 PGDN, 7, 15, 26, 37 PGUP, 7, 8, 11, 15 PHONE, 18, 23, 36, 45, 51, 52 PKUNZIP, 2 PORT, 42 POSTAGE, 27, 32 POSTCARD, 8, 36 PRESENCE, 26 PRODUCTION, 48 PROPRIETARY, 26 PROTOCOLS, 35 QSEMS, 47 QSSWAP, 47 QUICKLABEL, 25 QUIT, 7, 13, 19 QUOTE, 35 RAM, 2, 3, 40, 43, 44, 47 REBUILDING, 46 RECNO, 39 REGISTRATION, 1 REGISTRATIONS, 1 REINDEX, 43 B&B MAIL User's Guide 59 REINSTALL, 42 RELOAD, 40 REPORT, 2, 14, 16, 19, 24, 30, 37, 38, 41, 43, 46 RESET, 25 REVERSE, 24, 39 REVIEWS, 24 RE-BOOT, 3, 41, 43 RE-INDEX, 23, 42 ROOT, 2, 3, 29, 34 ROW, 17, 18, 37, 38, 39 R-BASE, 20, 21 SALEDATE, 5, 45 SALEFLDS, 38, 40 SAMPLING, 2, 6, 11, 13, 27 SCHEDULER, 52 SCN, 40 SCOL, 39, 46 SDF, 20, 21, 32 SEARCH, 2, 7, 9, 20, 34, 50 SERIAL, 42, 44 SERVER, 51 SIC, 35 SIDEKICK, 43 SIMPLENET, 35 SORT, 6, 9, 11, 12, 19, 21, 30, 37, 38, 50 SOUNDEX, 24 SOUND-A-LIKE, 24 SPEED, 40, 47 SPOOLER, 35 SPREADSHEET, 20, 22, 34 SQL, 22, 23 SROW, 39, 46 START-UP, 36, 42 STRUCTURE, 20, 35, 39 SUBDIRECTORY, 2, 3, 34 SUBS, 26 SUBSTANTIAL, 51 SWITCHING, 39 SYLK, 20 TELEPHONE, 51 TICKLER, 5 TIPS, 1 TITLE, 45 TODO, 52 TRAY, 25 TROUBLESHOOTING, 2, 36 TSR, 43, 44, 47 TXT, 21, 38, 39, 40 UNCOMPRESS, 2 UNDERLINE, 25 UNETHICAL, 51 UN-COMPRESS, 2 B&B MAIL User's Guide 60 UPGRADE, 47, 50, 51 UPGRSTAT, 47 UPGRZ, 47 UPLOADED, 51 VALID, 7, 26, 28, 40 VALIDATION, 46 VENTURA, 21 VOICE, 1 WARRANTY, 2, 47, 48 WIDTH, 39 WINDOWS, 40 YYYYMMDD, 23 ZIPCITY, 46 ZIPGROUPS, 16, 19, 30