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2022-08-26
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FILE CABINET
by
D. J. B. Shibley
Yes, we know your New Year's
resolution. It was the same as ours.
This was going to be the year that
you finally got ORGANIZED. The year
that you got your ducks all in a row.
The year that your rolodex stopped
being a collection of initials and
phone numbers scribbled on Juicy Fruit
wrappers.
Look around. It's almost summer.
Have your goals brought order to
chaos? Or have they slunk off to
where old diets go to die?
Well, there are no more excuses--
LOADSTAR brings you FILE CABINET, the
perfect database to organize every
thing from your stamp collection to
your favorite addresses.
FIRST THINGS FIRST....
FILE CABINET can be used to store an
unlimited number of files on different
disks, but before you start creating
new files, you must have an
initialized disk-- which you will
learn how to make when we discuss the
COMMAND ENTRY option of the MAIN MENU.
Some other points.... Shibley has
included two sample files, PHONE and
ALBUMS, for you to practice using
FILE CABINET. Also, remember to
press RETURN when you wish to enter
file and field names.
*** MAIN MENU OPTIONS ***
NEW FILE
Choosing the NEW FILE option allows
you to set up the parameters of the
new file. The program first asks you
to enter the filename, which may be
up to sixteen characters long. Then
you are asked to enter the number of
fields-- variables like names, zip
codes, and addresses that you want to
keep track of. You may have up to
eight separate fields.
The program then prompts you to
enter the field names, which may be
up to eight characters long. If you
do not enter a field name, the program
will assign you one.
Here is an example of what you
would enter if you were keeping track
of phone numbers:
Filename: PHONE
# Of Fields: 4
Field 1: NAME
Field 2: STREET
Field 3: CITY/ZIP
Field 4: PHONE#
Pressing RETURN after each entry
moves the cursor to the next field.
Once you have established the fields,
you then set up your initial records.
After you have completed entering
records, pressing RETURN for each
field in a record will take you to
the FILE MENU, whose options will be
discussed later.
NOTE: You may have a maximum of
thirty files on one disk.
* * * * *
All of your files need not take the
same format as PHONE; you may also
set up VARIABLE FILES. Variable
files have only one field, but can
have up to ten entries per field.
ALBUMS is an example of a variable
file. The author wanted to start a
file of record albums to be listed by
group. He named the field ALBUMS,
then chose "1" as the number of
fields. VARIABLE FILES MUST HAVE ONLY
ONE FIELD.
The author named the field *ARTIST;
the "*" in front of the field name
tells the program that this is a
variable file. Then the author
entered his artists' names, then their
albums.
You may set up your own variable
files in the same manner. If you
have less than ten entries for a
particular record, merely press RETURN
on a blank line to move on to the
next record.
* * * * *
EXISTING FILE
Once you have created a file, this
option allows you to manipulate the
data within it. When you choose this
option, you are first prompted to
enter the complete filename. After
you have entered the filename, you
will see the FILE MENU screen.
DISPLAY DISK
This options lists all of the
filenames of the disk currently in
your drive.
COMMAND ENTRY
The COMMAND ENTRY option of the
MAIN MENU has a number of options
that allow you to manipulate your
data files-- initialize disk, copy
files, etc. These options will be
discussed in detail later on.
*** FILE MENU OPTIONS ***
DISPLAY
The DISPLAY option allows you to
index any record in the file you are
working with. For example, if you
wanted to view a record in the PHONE
file, you would enter it's filename
when prompted. The program would then
display the file's fields. An entry
in any of the fields will display the
record you are looking for.
For example, if you entered PHONE,
fields like NAME and STREET would be
displayed. Then, entering JOHNSON
in the name field would access the
record for Bill Johnson.
If you do not know the entry for
that record's NAME, pressing RETURN
will move the cursor to the NUMBER
field, allowing you to access the
record with the phone number. You do
not have to enter the full name to
access a record; the program will
display the first match it finds.
You may also "scroll" through the
records by entering single letters
until you get a match. Once you get a
match, pressing RETURN repeatedly will
display the records. To exit the
records, press N for NEXT. This
will send you to a blank record
screen. Entering nothing in each
field (pressing RETURN repeatedly)
will return you to the FILE MENU.
ADD RECORDS
This option allows you to add a
new record to a file, entering it as
you did the records in the NEW FILE
option. At the upper right hand
corner of the screen is total number
of records in that file. The number
may not exceed 200. Pressing RETURN
for each field of a record, again,
will return you to the FILE MENU.
EDIT RECORDS
This option allows you to make
changes to existing records after
you have accessed them. Once the
record you want to alter is displayed,
you may use the DELETE key to move the
cursor to the left hand margin and
then type in the new entry. Once you
have made the changes, you may
return to the FILE MENU as you have in
other options.
DELETE A RECORD
This option will eliminate an
entire record from the file you are
working on. After you have accessed
the record, you will be asked if this
is indeed the record you want to
erase. Respond with either (Y)es or
(N)o. If you answer "no", the program
will continue to search for another
match and restate the question if one
is found.
PRINT
To use this option, you must have a
printer attached and ready to run.
The program will print the entire
file in the order in which it was
entered (unless you have performed a
sort by using an option from the
COMMAND ENTRY option.) You may also
alter the format of the printout by
using the SET PRINT command that will
be discussed later.
EXIT FILE
This option exits to the MAIN MENU.
Pressing RUN/STOP will also exit. If
you have altered the file, you will
be asked if you wish to save those
changes; respond with (Y)es or (N)o.
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