World of Shareware - Software Farm 2/wosw_2.zip/wosw_2/DATABASE/DINFOPRO.ZIP/DINFO.DOC

Text File | 1991-09-28 | 15KB | 323 lines

                        dINFO MANAGER PROFESSIONAL


     dInfo Manager Professional requires very little from the user
  beyond pointing at a desired action and hitting the ENTER key. It
  was designed this way from the start.

     dINFO Manager Professional contains complete DBMS & reporting
  facilities. It will give you complete control over your dBASE data
  files.  Reports, label definitions, and form letters created with
  dINFO can be saved, edited, and rerun at will.  All output can be
  sent to the printer, screen, or to a disk file.  Custom indexes can
  be built from within dINFO for your report and label runs. dINFO
  offers a number of very useful file managment routines as well.



  ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE

      Include the following statment in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

                             SET CLIPPER=E:0

  This variable is important to the program.  Do not fail to include
  it in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  It can offer protection against
  corrupted index files in machines with expanded memory in use.  If
  this fails to work try this syntax:

                            SET CLIPPER=//E:0

  This should alleviate any problems with expanded memory you might
  encounter.

  *-------------------------------------------------------------------*
                                MAIN MENU
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------*

     CREATING A REPORT DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME

     dInfo Manager Professional creates three distinct types of reports.
  A single file report uses just one primary file.  A relational report
  type one uses both a primary and secondary file.  There is one record
  in the secondary file for each primary record.  A relational report
  type two uses both a primary and secondary file.  There are multiple
  secondary records for each primary record.  Your data detemines which
  type of report you will need to create.

     Creating a report is essentially the same process for all report
  types. First, the report type is chosen and then report parameters
  are entered. You can control things like the left margin, spaces
  between printed fields on the report, page width, page length, etc.
  The only parameter that may be confusing to the you is the subtotal
  parameter.

     Say, for example, you have a file of customer purchases like
  DORDER.DBF.  It is indexed on customer number and you are trying to
  total the purchases for each customer and want a grand total of all
  purchases.  If you choose the subtotal option on the report parameter
  screen dInfo Manager Professional will print and sum all of the purchases
  for customer 100, display a subtotal, space, and then begin printing
  and summing the purchases by customer 200 and so forth.  Create a
  single file report for DORDER.DBF with the subtotal option.  Total the
  QTY and SELL fields for practice.  The subtotal option's use will then
  become clear.

     You choose your primary and secondary files from a scolling list.
  You choose the fields you wish to include in the report from scrolling
  lists.  Nothing could be easier!  Just remember the following:


  1. A MAXIUM OF 27 FIELDS FROM EACH FILE MAY BE USED IN THE REPORT.

  2. THREE CALCULATED FIELDS MAY BE DEFINED PER FILE.

  3. MEMO FIELD PROCESSING IS LIMITED TO ONE MEMO FIELD IN A SINGLE FILE
     REPORT.

  4. FIELDS APPEAR ON THE PRINTED REPORT IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE
     SELECTED.

  5. IF YOU DO NOT ENTER A COLUMN HEADING FOR A FIELD THE FIELD NAME WILL
     BE USED AS A COLUMN HEADING ON THE REPORT.

  6. IF YOU ARE USING TOTALS, SUBTOTALS, AND/OR CALCULATED FIELDS EXPECT
     YOUR REPORT TO BE WIDER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE SELECTED FIELDS ALONE.
     EXTRA SPACE IS ALLOCATED TO A FIELD BEING TOTALLED AND TO A CALC
     FIELD BEYOND THAT WHICH IS DISPLAYED BY THE FIELD SELECTION SCREEN.

  7. WHEN CREATING RELATIONAL REPORTS OR WHEN SELECTING THE SUBTOTAL
     OPTION BE CERTAIN TO SELECT KEY FIELD OF PRIMARY FILE AS FIRST
     PRIMARY FIELD SELECTED!  (** Very Important **)

  8. PRIMARY & SECONDARY FILE KEYS MUST BE IDENTICAL WHEN CREATING
     RELATIONAL REPORTS.   (** Very Important **)

  9. ALL OUTPUT CAN BE STOPPED WITH THE ESC KEY IF YOU DESIRE.


     EXECUTING A REPORT DEFINITION

     Simply select the report definition from the scrolling list by
  striking enter.  You will have an opportunity to edit the report
  parameters you entered when you created it.  You can also edit or
  create a query for the report and save it under the same or differ-
  ent name.  Output for all reports can go to the printer, screen, or
  to a disk file.


     dINFO DATABASE MANAGER

     The database manager is completely menu driven and allows you to
  add, edit delete, search for, and view your database records. It is
  completely data driven and requires no special instructions.  The
  only word of caution involves using a query over the database.
  This should be done only with small to medium sized files to avoid
  serious performance degradation.

     Please note that when you query the primary file BEFORE entering
  the database manager you effectively filter the records you are able
  to work with.  You will only be able to view and edit those records
  that satisfify the query conditions.  If you create a query AFTER you
  are inside the database manager you must use the query facilities to
  view only those records matching the query condition.

     Once again, you should avoid placing a query condition on very
  large files before entering the database manager.  Experiment with
  medium sized files and note the difference as the files grow larger.


  *-------------------------------------------------------------------*
                           LABELS & LETTERS
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------*


    CREATING A MAIL LABEL DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME

    dInfo Manager Professional permits the creation of standard, large,
  or cheshire format mailing labels.  Simply take the Mailing Label
  Print option from the L & L menu.  You will be asked to choose a
  primary file and primary file index.  Next you will be given the
  opportunity to query the primary file if you desire. In this manner
  you can select to filter out certain zipcodes or cities according to
  your preferences and needs.

    You will then enter the label module.  Choose the create option from
 within the label module.  Assign the label file a unique and meaningful
 name. Select the modify contents option.  Press F2 to choose field names
 for each line of the label you wish to create.  Follow the prompts and
 press F10 when you are done.  Be sure to choose the proper format and
 dimensions from within the dimensions selection.

    By experimenting with the other options you'll find that you can
 tag select records and print only them if you choose.  You can now print
 your mail labels and recall the new label definition you've just created
 whenever you wish. Just remember the following:

  1. Be certain to choose the proper format and dimension from within
     the dimension option.  You can make adjustments to the default
     sizes as you wish.  Maximum label size is 24 X 60.

  2. Create index files keyed on the fields by which you want to order
     your label printout.  If you want labels to be printed in zipcode
     order then be sure to create an index file keyed on zipcode etc.

  3. Make use of the test pattern and correct your alignment before
     beginning a large label run. (** Very Important **)

  4. Make use of the query builder to select or filter your primary
     file when printing labels if you don't wish to create a label for
     every record in your file.

  5. You can pause printer output with ALT-C if your label run jams in
     the printer.  It's not the most sophisticated way to do so, but
     it certainly works.  ESCAPE will ABORT a label printout.

  6. A sample label definition (DMAIL.LBL) is provided on your diskette.
     You can experiment with changes and printing by selecting it. First
     select the Process Mailing Labels option from the L & L menu.
     Then select DMAIL.DBF and DMAIL.NDX as your primary file and index.

  7. The copies parameter will determine how many labels for each record
     are printed.

  8. The blank lines parameter will control the printing of blank lines
     in your label definition.  Blank lines can be useful for spacers
     when printing large labels.


   CREATING A FORM LETTER

   Form letter creation is actually quite simple.  It is also a data
   driven process.  As a tutorial, select the Process Form Letters
   option  from the L & L menu.  Select DLETTER.DBF & DLETTER.NDX
   as your primary file and index.  Do the following:

   1. Create a Form - Use F3 to place the current date anywhere you wish.
                      Use F2 to select and position field names on your
                      letter. Enter the rest of a sample letter.

   2. Save the Form -  Strike F10 when you are done typing your letter.

   3. Select the option to send the output to a file.

   4. Examine the file FORMLETR.PRN after exiting the program. You'll
      see how the program drew all the information from DLETTER.DBF
      into your letters.


  *-------------------------------------------------------------------*
                           FILE MANAGEMENT MENU
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------*


     CREATE A NEW INDEX FILE

      Simply select this option from the File Mgmt menu. Select a
   primary file. Select the field(s) you wish to index on and give
   the new file a name. That's all!  dInfo Manager Professional does
   the rest!

    ( ** VERY IMPORTANT ** )
    1.  dINFO converts numeric and date fields to character values when
  you build an index with them.  dINFO ensures the proper ordering of
  values in this manner. It is recommended that you build your indexes
  with dINFO's Index Builder for use with dINFO's Database Manager.
  Character indexes are completely compatible and need not be rebuilt.
  This conversion of numeric & date fields to string values is standard
  practice and enables you to build compound keys with mixed data types.
  These indexes are not backwards compatible with dBASE, but it is a
  simple procedure to rebuild an index file using dBASE if you must for
  reasons of compatiblity with other programs which access your data
  files.


      MODIFY OR CREATE A DBF

      This is also a powerful function.  It permits you to add, delete
  or reposition fields in your file.  It will also create a new file for
  you from scratch.  Once again, experimentation with a BACKUP COPY of
  one of your files is required to understand this module.


      PERFORM A GLOBAL REPLACE

      Watch out for this module!  Use this only if you really understand
   what you are doing with it.  With it you can change EVERY first name
   in your database to JOHN or anything else you type in.  That's fine
   if that is really what you set out to do.  GLOBAL REPLACE means just
   that.  When you choose a field from one of your files to update this
   module will update EVERY ONE of those fields!  Experiment with
   dummy files and BE CAREFUL!


      APPENDING RECORDS FROM ANOTHER DATABASE

      This is a very powerful module with many options.  The only way
   to fully understand its operation is to use it extensively on a
   backup copy of one of your files.  Remember, the primary file you
   choose is the one to which records will be appended (added on to
   the end of the file).  Appending does not replace the records in
   the primary file with new records.  The process ADDS TO the file.

      This module will let you append data from a file with different
   field names and different field types.  Again, it is very flexible
   and requires experimentation to master.  Use a BACKUP COPY of one of
   your files to experiment with and follow the screen prompts carefully.


    COPY A DATABASE FILE

    This module permits you to copy the primary file you choose out to
  another file you can name.  This process creates a new file which is
  an exact copy of the primary file.  This is a good module to use to
  create files you can experiment with using the MODIFY and APPEND
  modules!


   PACKING A DATAFILE (Removing Deleted Records)

    1. (** Very Important **)  Removing deleted records from a file can
  be a lengthy process depending upon the size of the file.  Although
  dINFO packs the file in the safest possible manner, you should take
  every precaution with your valuable data.  Backup your important files
  before packing them.  If anything at all should go wrong in the copy
  process such as a disk I/O error or power glitch your data will be
  protected.

    YOU are responsible for the safety of your data at all times.
  Every reasonable precaution was taken in creating dINFO. In the
  event of an unforseen problem, however, there is no substitute
  for a backup copy of your data.  No data processing department
  in the world operates without backup nor should you.

     Once again, YOU are responsible for maintaining adequate backup
  copies of your data.  Backup important files before packing.  Backup
  is a resonable precaution to take whenever making large changes to
  your files.

    2.  This option is available from the File Mgmt Menu. Simply select
  a file to be PACKED. ALL records you've marked for deletion will be
  permanently removed from the file. dINFO packs files & memo fields in
  a safe manner by copying them out to temporary files.  Be sure you
  have enough disk space left to pack a large datafile before deciding
  to pack the file.  You'll need double the space of your file and its
  associated.DBT file, if it has one, to be on the safe side.

    3. YOU MUST REMEMBER TO REBUILD YOUR INDEXES AFTER PACKING!!



   DUPLICATE FIELD CHECKING

     Take the Duplicate Record Check option from the File Mgmt menu.
  Simply select the field or fields for dupe checking.  The report of
  duplicates can be viewed on the screen, sent to a disk file, or the
  output can be sent to a printer.



                            **  END OF FILE ***