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PREFACE.TXT
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1991-10-25
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Preface to the Tutorials
At the heart of this program is an automatic tickler file that relates
activities to debtors. This program will summarize dollars spent for any
activity or group of activities, for any debtor, for any period of time.
Thus it is ideal for tracking revenue or expense data on a debtor, but it
can also be used to summarize collections, subscriptions, or any monies
received for any one person or group of persons.
Before entering an activity record, you must first create one main record
in the debtor file. From this record will be related all activities about
that debtor. Stated another way, you cannot enter an activity into the
Activity file unless you first have an entry in the debtor file. There is
one exception, though. If someone is using the program in your absence,
such as a secretary, the program will allow him or her to enter an
unlimited number of activities for a debtor called 'NEW'. This exception
is intended to be used intermittently in your absence and allows you to
identify those activities that were recorded while you were gone.
Definition of 'Company Name':
In the debtor file you will observe these three fields:
First Name : Last Name :
Full Company name of debtor :
Let's say that you are making an entry for 'John Doe' and he has no
company name. Make these two entries:
First Name :John <====enter this Last Name :Doe <=====enter this
Full Company name of debtor : <====leave this line blank.
If you enter a first and last name for someone who has no company name, the
program will create a company name on the screen for you of:
first name + last name.
Observing how the program shows appointments:
Bring up the program (PROGRAM.EXE) the first time with this command:
GO
This will take you through the system installation process and will then
present you with the Main Program Menu. Once you see this, exit the
program with an 'X'.
After you have left the program , set the system date to January 2, 1986,
with the following command:
C>DATE <====== enter this command
Current date is Mon 12-01-1986
Enter new date: 1-02-1986 <==== enter this date
A number of appointment records are in the Test Data that reflect
appointments made during the 2 weeks following January 2, 1986. Now invoke
the debtor Tracking System by entering: GO. The program will then give you
an analysis of the appointments for that day, as well a graphics
presentation of all appointments for the next two weeks. (It does this if
you have at least one appointment for today.)
A Preview of the options that customize this system:
Accessing the Custom Options:
Let's say that you don't want the program to show you the appointments
every time you bring up the program. Once you arrive at the Main Program
Menu, you will observe Option 5, Other Options. Enter a '5' (without
quotes), and you will then be at the Other Options Menu. At this menu, you
have a number of options. Later you can come back to this part and explore
the meaning of the various options by reading through the 'Help' file. For
now, enter 'C' to access:
C) Customize this system to your needs
You will then see the Custom Options Menu. For now, we are only
interested in option 4,
4) Toggle initial graphics image for Appointments
Before selecting option 4, let's go to the Help file to understand exactly
what this option does. Do this by entering an 'H' for Help. Once you have
done this, you will be in the Help file for the Custom Options Menu. Using
the Up and Down arrows on your keyboard, scroll through the Help file until
you come to the explanation for Option 4.
After you have understood what Option 4 will do for you, select the
'ESCAPE' key to exit from the Help file. You will then be back at the
Custom Options Menu. For now, enter '4' once and watch the screen. The
message to the right of Option 4 will change from [now on] to [now off].
After you have observed this change, select '4' once more so that [now off]
becomes [now on], thereby restoring the original setting. Later on, when
you become more proficient with the program, come back to the Custom
Options Menu and experiment with the various options available to you. (You
can, for example, change the name used throughout the program for Expenses
to Collections or Revenues. Many of the names and titles used throughout
this program can be modified through the Custom Options menu.)
For the time being, return to the Main Program Menu by entering 'R' twice.
Then exit the Main Program Menu by entering an 'X'. Once you have returned
to your default drive, change the DATE back to the true current date with
the DATE command.
"Light bars"
Each selection on any menu is highlighted with a light bar. As you scroll
up or down the light bar, explanatory text appears on the bottom line of
the screen, explaining the highlighted option. Each light bar selection
has different explanatory text.
Simplified Logic
of accessing records in the Activity file:
The tutorials describe the process of adding records into the activity file
from the Activity file menu, Add screen, and will help you in understanding
the flow of logic in the program. Over time, however, some new functions
have been added into the program that make access into the activity file
much more streamlined.
From the debtor file, Get option, you will observe these 3 functions:
S for search
F6 for Act Now
F7 for Flash Report
The 'S' option gives you the ability to look at the debtor file in any
one of six 'views' or search criteria:
"1) Search by Company Name"
"2) Search by First Name"
"3) Search by Last Name"
"4) Search by Phone Number"
"5) View or search by Zip Code"
"6) View or search by Category"
Once you select your 'view,' then all records are stacked or ordered in
that sequence. If, for example, you select the last name 'view', then
after you search and locate one record, all records before and after that
one will be ordered alphabetically by last name.
After you have identified and isolated your single record in the debtor
file using this 'S' option, then enter the 'F7' function key. In a few
seconds Flash Report will appear and will display to you all associated
activity records for the person. The most recent activity will appear
first. If, for example, you have entered 50 activities for that person
over the last three years, then you will be looking at all of those
activities, and can scroll up or down to see the entire listing of comments
that you had entered at the time you originally created the activity.
At that point, you enter function key 'F6' for Act Now, or Activity Now.
This single function key sets up a blank record in the activity file,
partly filled out with that person's information but waiting on you for any
comment specific to that activity as well as any future commitment date.
If you enter a commitment or callback date, then in a few seconds a window
appears and displays to you all associated activities on that date. In
this way, you can level your work load without leaving the record or while
still on the phone.