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D A T A M A N A G E R
USER MANUAL
SOFTWARE MASTERS
P.O. Box 1592
Ellicott City, MD 21041
(301) 750-0577
What Does Data Manager Do?
Welcome to Data Manager! This program is designed to be an easy-
to-use, helpful tool in your everyday life, both at home and at
the office. In one easy to learn program, we have provided you
with a way to keep track of many bits of information. You will
be amazed at how much you can do on your computer, and at how
quickly you will be able to learn to use all the features of this
program.
NOTE: DATA MANAGER is the new name for the program we previously
called DATA MASTER, but changed as there was another program with
a similar name. However, both programs are the same.
Here are some of the things that Data Manager will do for you:
AUTOMOBILE: Can't remember when you had your last oil change,
brake job or tune up? Need to track the history of a car repair?
This feature not only tracks past and future activities, but you
can keep notes on conversations with repair people, insurance
agents, etc.
BUSINESS: Keep track of the conversations you have with your
prospects and clients, tickle dates you need to set, to do items
resulting from the conversations and also a log of phone calls.
CALENDAR: Keep track of important coming events and appointments
for each family member or business associate.
DIRECTORY: Keep important phone numbers and addresses at your
finger tips by first name, last name, subject or a variety of
other ways, including listings of "friends of" your children or
business associates.
FINANCIAL: Track home or business accounts, including due dates,
balances, payments, outstanding debts. Assign categories to your
entries and you have easy access to data by type.
INVENTORY: Keep serial numbers, model numbers, purchase dates
and costs of valuable home and office appliances, electronic
equipment, furniture, and other valuable items. You can easily
print out a listing to keep in another location in case of damage
to your home or office. Repair or insurance calls are a breeze
when all the pertinent information is so easily available!
EXERCISE: Track your workout type, time, duration and frequency.
You can watch as your fitness levels progress to new heights.
WEIGHT: Since you're tracking your exercise levels, of course
you'll want to track your weight. Password protection can assure
that the numbers stay as confidential as you desire.
LIBRARY: Organize all your CDs, VCR tapes, record albums, movies
and cassettes.
JOBS TO DO: Whether at home or at the office, this "to do" list
is a great reminder for family members or business associates of
the tasks that need to be accomplished.
MESSAGE: Keep a phone next to the computer, and family members
or business associates can type messages directly into Data
Manager for any user. Optional password protection means that only
the intended recipient sees those confidential messages!
OUTLINE: Use as a project manager, or to prepare outlines. This
is very good for preparing meeting agendas.
PHONE CALL LOG: Keep track of your phone call conversations as
well as the numbers you called and when.
RECIPES: Sure, a word processing program can be used to type up
recipes, but we think you'll like the way you can categorize your
recipes any way you want for easy retrieval by type of recipe.
SHOPPING: Tired of doing your shopping list by hand, maybe
forgetting something? With this list, you can even arrange your
list by aisle! How organized can you get?
TRAINING: Keep track of your employee's training classes. Quickly
locate who has been where and what classes have been requested
and/or scheduled.
TV SCHEDULING: Don't miss another favorite show, special, or
sports event. Automatically adds your entries to the Calendar.
VOCABULARY TEST: Always wanted to learn Spanish? Kids need to
be drilled for their math or English test in school? Enter the
data in this section, and let the computer do the drilling.
WORD PROCESSING: If you have a printer, this program will let
you do some simple word processing. In addition, you will be
able to print out notes to people in the directory using the
mail-merge facility.
How did you ever live without this program? Well, from now on
you don't have to. Read the next page to see how to get Data
Manager permanently in your home or office.
DATA MANAGER is a shareware program that is distributed for
evaluation. Users that decide to use the program should register
their copy. Users that register receive the following:
1) A validation number that permanently removes all
registration reminder screens.
2) A printed manual
3) A disk containing the latest version of the program.
4) Notices of updates.
5) Information about other Software Masters programs.
We have tried to make the registration fee extremely reasonable.
If you decide to begin using the program on a regular basis, we
would appreciate your registration fee so that we can continue to
distribute and support the program. We feel that as shareware
products go, DATA MANAGER is an outstanding bargain.
REGISTERED USERS
Once you are a registered user, you are permitted to use this
program on any computer. Although this version is not
specifically designed for a local area network (LAN), you are
permitted to install the program on a LAN as long as you limit
access to a single user at a time.
You are also permitted to install the program on more than one
computer at a time (ie. at home and at work). However, if the
program is installed at multiple sites, you must ensure that only
one of the programs is being accessed at a time.
ALL USERS
You are permitted (and encouraged) to use the program in accordance
with the information above. You do not own the software, but are
only licensed or permitted to use it, depending on your
registration status.
You are permitted to make copies of the file "DATAM.EXE" to give
to friends or co-workers for evaluation. These potential users can
then initialize their copy of the program, and create their own
databases, system manager and users. These new users can become
registered users by following the instructions above.
LICENSE AND WARRANTY
This document is the sole agreement between Software Masters and
registered and non-registered users of DATA MANAGER.
TERMS
This copy of DATA MANAGER is protected under Federal
copyright laws. Failure to comply with those laws may
result in fines and/or jail terms. (However, we have
tried to provide you with all the flexibility you need
so that you will not be tempted to violate the law.)
WARRANTY AND LIMITS OF LIABILITY
********************************
SOFTWARE MASTERS guarantees that the program, if used with common
sense and in accordance with proper computer techniques, will
operate in accordance with the printed manual for a period of 90
days from the registration date.
SOFTWARE MASTERS shall not be responsible for any data that is
lost. SOFTWARE MASTERS' liability will be limited under any and
all circumstances to the registration fee paid for using the
software.
Copyright 1991 by Software Masters
All Rights Reserved
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
INSTALLING/STARTING DATA MANAGER . . . . . 3
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION QUESTIONS . . . . . . 5
SECURITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
MAIN MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
MENU SELECTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
UTILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
GETTING STARTED
Congratulations on choosing to use DATA MANAGER. We think you
will find that the program is an extremely useful tool in
managing your day-to-day data. You will probably use the
CALENDAR, DIRECTORY and MESSAGE CENTER on a daily basis.
DATA MANAGER is also extremely easy to use. You will probably
learn how to use most of the menu options in a matter of minutes.
They all work basically the same way -- once you have learned
one, you have learned them all.
The best way to get the most out of your Data Manager program is
to take a little time at the beginning to enter all the data
you've been keeping (in a million different places) into the
appropriate Data Manager category. While this may take a little
organizing on the front end, we can promise that it will pay off
in the long run every time you access Data Manager thereafter.
Data Manager has tremendous educational value for novice computer
users. DATA MANAGER users will quickly find that a computer is a
tool to use, rather than a mysterious, complex box of wires. You
will find that users, upon arriving at the office or at home,
will usually check out the Message Center as soon as they walk in
the door. You will also find that users will enjoy leaving
messages for others on the computer, reducing lost or forgotten
messages.
Users will also learn about security levels and passwords, a
common need in today's working environment.
Some other features of the program are:
o Calendar -- Whenever you need to enter a date, you can
usually call up a calendar on the screen to view the
current month. You can also view all subsequent and
previous months simply by pressing the appropriate
arrow keys.
o Office/Home Version -- You can quickly switch between
the Office and Home versions of the main menu. You
still can access the Home-related functions from the
Office menu.
o Color/Monochrome -- You can switch between the two
modes depending on your video card and monitor. This
option is very helpful for laptops as well as some
monitors. If you are not absolutely sure that you are
using the best setting for you monitor, switch back and
forth to pick which one works best for you.
o Passwords -- The program has security levels for each
main menu and submenu option. The System Manager can
determine who has access to each activity. The
passwords are encrypted so that they are not
accessible, even using a utility program.
o Keyboard Assistance -- The bottom two lines of the
screen will generally contain helpful hints as to which
special keys are active and the result of using them.
o Text Sensitive Help -- If at any point in the program
you are not sure what to do, you can press the F1 key
to get on-line help on that item.
o Screen Save -- In order to significantly reduce screen
burn-in, the main menu will automatically disappear
after 60 seconds of non-access. You will then see
alternating colors of slowly rising windows of the
Message Center and the Calendar. (You can set the
screen to turn off altogether after the 60 seconds of
non-use.) Pressing any key will return you to the main
menu.
o Compression of Databases -- In order to purge out old
data, particularly "memo fields" that are no longer
needed, an appropriate menu choice for this activity
has been added to the program.
o Backup System -- If the program is installed on a hard
drive, a menu option exists to quickly back up the
databases onto a diskette in the "A:" drive.
o Error System -- If an error should occur (damaged
diskette, etc.) an error screen will appear indicating
specifically what the problem is. Although the
resolution of the error is sometimes difficult, having
the specific problem displayed will help us more
quickly resolve the problem over the phone.
But enough, let's get on with the show!
INSTALLING/STARTING DATA MANAGER
This program will run on computers with or without a hard drive.
Also, the program will automatically adjust itself to run on a
color or monochrome monitor, depending on what you have.
Finally, the program will run on any MS-DOS machine, whether it
be an XT, 286, 386 or 486.
Installing the Program on a Hard Drive:
To install the program on your hard drive from the "C:\"
directory, type the command "MD DATAM" and press Enter to create
a directory called DATAM. Then type the command "CD DATAM" and
press Enter to change to that directory. Next, place the Data
Manager diskette into the floppy (A:) drive, close the drive door
and type "COPY A:DATAM.EXE" (where A: is the drive you are using)
and press Enter. Finally, type "DATAM" and press Enter to run
the program. You can remove the Data Manager disk from the floppy
drive and put it away in a safe place, because all of the data
you enter into Data Manager from that point on will be stored on
your hard drive.
(Note to advanced users: A batch file set to CD\Datam;Datam;CD\
will provide quicker program access.)
Running the Program from a Diskette:
If you are going to run the program from the diskette (much
slower than running it from a hard drive), put the Data Manager
diskette in the appropriate drive and close the drive door. Then
type the drive letter "A:" or "B:",( depending on which drive you
are using), and press Enter to switch to that drive. Then type
"DATAM" and press Enter to run the program.
The diskette should be left in the computer whenever the program
is running because the data you enter will be stored there.
Leave the diskette in the drive until after you have exited the
program (by hitting the Esc key).
The First Time You Run the Program: ("Initializing" the Program)
Several databases and other kinds of files will automatically be
created the first time you run the program. Also, several files
will be created that configure DATA MANAGER specifically to your
computer's hardware. This "initialization" will take a little
longer the first time you run the program, so please be patient.
You will be prompted for the program owner's first name and
password, which will come into play later if you choose to use
the security features of the program. After the files have been
created and the questions have been answered (see next section of
System Configuration Questions), the main menu will come up.
When you run the program again, you will start at the main menu.
If you get an "Open Error" Message:
Most new computers have a file called "CONFIG.SYS" which allows
database files to be opened. If you get an "OPEN ERROR" message
when you run the program, you need to create the "CONFIG.SYS"
file. Although an experienced PC user can quickly create this
file, PC novices should ask for help in creating this file. If
you do not know anyone that can help you, please call us and
we'll walk you through the process.
Copying the Program for a Friend or Co-worker to Evaluate:
You should copy only the DATAM.EXE file to the new diskette. All
database files and system configuration files will be created for
the new user the first time they run the program. Copying files
other than the DATAM.EXE files causes problems for a new systems
manager, can cause corruption to the data, and may prevent the
program from running properly. In addition, copying other files
violates the agreement made with Software Masters concerning the
creation of evaluation copies, as well as pertinent copyright
laws.
To create an evaluation copy, follow these instructions:
If your program is installed on the hard drive:
Place a blank, formatted diskette in the disk drive and
close the drive door. Type: COPY C:\DATAM\DATAM.EXE A: and
press ENTER. The program will be copied to the floppy disk.
If you are running the program from a diskette:
You'll need a computer with two disk drives. Place your
Data Manager diskette in one (A:) drive and a blank,
formatted diskette in the other (B:). Type COPY A:DATA.EXE
B: and press ENTER. The program will be copied to the
diskette in the B: drive.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION QUESTIONS
During the initial configuration, you will be asked several
questions. The first question is whether you have a printer
attached to your computer. You should either press Y or N. You
can change this setting later on if you add or subtract a printer
to your system.
You will then be prompted for the name of a system manager name
and password. It is extremely important that you enter your name
correctly and then enter a password that you will be able to
remember. This initial configuration will give you the highest
possible security level, Level 9. That will give you the
authority to add new users, set password requirements and in
general, maintain the system. Please enter your name and
password carefully. You do not need to set security levels at
this time, but you may want to later. (See section on Security
in this manual.)
Next, you will be shown several helpful screens to read with the
instruction "Press any key" when you are finished. It will also
be pointed out in these screens that it is a good idea to read
the UTILITIES--APPLICATION USAGE/SUPPORT screens before exploring
the program. (It is OK to ignore this advice if you just can't
wait to get into the program, but you should go back and read
these screens soon thereafter!)
Finally, the program will automatically configure itself to the
type of computer and the speed at which your computer operates.
The program will likewise configure itself to the type of monitor
and video card you are using. These automatic configurations
will be saved and used throughout the life of the program.
SECURITY
In order to maintain confidentiality of the information you store
with this program, you can set security levels for most of the
menu options. You can set different security levels for ADD,
VIEW, MODIFY, DELETE and PRINT for each of the main menu options.
You can also set security levels for the LETTER option in WORD
PROCESSOR and the TEST option in VOCABULARY.
Most importantly, you can set the security level for accessing
the SYSTEM ACTIVITIES & DEFAULTS option under UTILITIES. Failure
to do this would allow someone else access to these screens and
they could lock out the system manager. Even if you do not
activate any of the other security levels, you should still set
this one to level 9.
When you are prompted to set security levels, a "0" means no
password will be required. A level of "1" or higher will require
entry of a password prior to gaining access to the menu option.
If you set the security level at "7" and someone that only has a
security level of "5" tries to access the option, they will get
an "Access Denied" message.
For those menu options that a password is required (level 1 or
higher), the user will be given several attempts to enter the
correct password prior to returning them to the main menu. If
the user name is not in the database, they will get the message
"Invalid User Name." (The system manager needs to add the name
as a new user.) If the password is incorrect, they will get an
"Invalid Password" message.
You will probably find that the most important menu options to
require a password for are FINANCIAL, MESSAGES, WEIGHT AND
UTILITIES.
MAIN MENU
General Instructions
When the main menu first appears, you will notice that the bottom
two lines of the screen are generally reserved for "keyboard
assistance". This area will contain instructions as to which
special keys are currently active. You will also note that the
F1 key is generally available for help.
To select a menu option, you can either move to the option using
the up and down arrow keys and press Enter, or simply press the
letter for the desired menu option. If you type the desired
letter, you do not need to press the Enter key as you will
advance directly to the next level.
Once you select an option, you will be presented with a submenu.
Generally, this submenu will consist of ADD, VIEW, MODIFY, DELETE
and PRINT (the print option will be shown only if you indicated
you have a printer connected). For the VOCABULARY option, you
will also be presented with a TEST option. For the WORD
PROCESSING option, you will be presented with a LETTER option
(again, if you have indicated that you have a printer connected).
You can select the option in the submenu in the same way you
selected an option from the main menu. You generally use ADD to
add a new item to the database, VIEW to view the items that were
previously added, MODIFY to modify an item previously entered,
DELETE to delete an item, and PRINT to print your data if you
have a printer connected. (I told you it was easy!)
There are times throughout the program where you will be asked if
the item is RECURRING. You should either respond with a Y or an
N, depending on whether you want to add another similar activity.
Entering Y will "carry over" the same data into the next input
screen, and you need only modify those items that are different.
If you want to add more items, but they are different activities,
just answer N and you will then be provided with an empty input
screen.
For example, if you are going to attend a seminar on 2/15 and
2/18, you should answer Y to RECURRING when entering the first
item. Then you will only need to change the "5" to an "8" when
entering the second item.
The other frequently asked question is whether you want the
activity added to the CALENDAR. You should again either answer a
Y or an N. If you enter a Y, the activity will automatically be
added to the CALENDAR database. (The item will appear along with
the other activities in the CALENDAR portion of the main menu
screen.) NOTE: If you later delete the item from the individual
database it will not delete from the CALENDAR database unless you
select CALENDAR, DELETE and select the item.
Finally, there are a number of databases where you can select a
"CATEGORY" when VIEWING, MODIFYING OR DELETING. If you cannot
remember the category you used when entering the data, simply
press the F2 key to see previous entries (F2 will be displayed in
the keyboard assist area) or press Enter to select all items in
the database.
There are a number of databases that have "windows" where you can
enter data into a free format. When presented with a window, you
can type almost any amount of data. You can move up and down
through the information in the window by using the up and down
arrow keys. You can also use several word processing features
like End to go to the end of the line and PageUp and PageDn to
maneuver through the window. Finally, to exit the window, you
should press the F7 key.
MENU SELECTIONS
A - AUTOMOBILE
You can use the AUTOMOBILE program to capture not only your
planned maintenance activities, but more importantly, keep a
history of activities that have taken place. In the Notes
section, you can enter detailed reports of the conversations you
had with service technicians, managers or sales people.
For example: On January 7th, a technician told you your brakes
only had about 5000 more miles before they needed to be replaced
and the cost would be $69.95. You could enter that information
into the NOTES window for later retrieval. If "Steve", the
muffler store mechanic also told you that you should drive
another 3000 miles before they would reevaluate your muffler, but
that the guarantee would still be in effect even though the time
had expired, you could enter that information as well.
When you first add information, you will be prompted for the
ACTIVITY, DATE, CAR, MILES and NOTES. The ACTIVITY entry is a
summary field that should contain entries such as "Tune-up","Fix
brakes" or something similar. You will then be prompted for the
DATE and CAR. You can track information separately on as many
vehicles as you like.
If you can't remember how you entered a specific car, (ie. Ford,
Van, Bronco, etc.) you will note in the keyboard assist area at
the bottom of the screen that by pressing the F2 key you can see
a listing of previously entered vehicles. After pressing F2, you
can arrow down to the one you desire and press Enter. Doing so
will automatically select that vehicle.
Next, you will be prompted for MILES and ADD TO CALENDAR. If you
want to make sure you don't forget a future activity, enter "Y"
to add the ACTIVITY to the CALENDAR file. Finally, you will be
given an opportunity to enter your comments, conversations, etc.
into the free format NOTES window. You can continue to enter as
much information as you want. The information will scroll within
the window. When you are through entering NOTES, simply press
the F7 key to exit the window.
If you select VIEW, MODIFY, DELETE or PRINT, you will first be
asked which car you are selecting. Again, if you cannot remember
how the cars were entered, you can press F2 to assist you. If
you do not want to restrict your activity to a specific car but
want to see them all, simply press the Enter key without making
an entry.
In this section, you will be prompted for the Activity, Date,
whether the activity is Recurring, and whether you want to add
the activity to the Calendar (displayed on main menu screen).
You may have to abbreviate the activity, but there should be
plenty of room. The date entered must be a valid date
(i.e.15/47/55 is not acceptable.) For more information about
RECURRING and CALENDAR, see the General section under MAIN MENU.
When using the PRINT option, you will be asked if you want to
print the entire file (limited to a specific car if you choose to
limit the list) or if you want to print only specified activities
along with the NOTES that were entered. If you select the
individual entries with the NOTES, you will then be provided with
a scrolling window of records.
You can scroll to the record you want, press the Enter key and
that record will be printed. You can then move to any other
records you want to print in a similar fashion. When you are
finished selecting records, simply press the Esc key to return to
the main menu. The paper will be automatically ejected from the
printer. (The printer needs to be on-line when you return to the
main menu.)
B - BUSINESS CONTACTS
You can use this option to record your discussions with business
contacts. You will also be able to track assignments resulting
from the discussion and then make timely followups. These
contacts can be potential customers or current clients.
When Adding your contacts for the first time, you will be able to
show the company name, type of company, address, phone number,
contact and any notes that are pertinent. You will also be asked
for a followup date and time, a status comment for display
purposes, and whether you want to add an entry to the main
CALENDAR, a JOB to do and the PHONE CALL LOG. You will also note
that the computer assigns company code numbers automatically for
you.
The power in this option is then to access the MODIFY mode to
update your information when you followup with clients. Simply
select 'E - ALL BUSINESSES' and 'F/U DATE ORDER' to be presented
with a list of all your contacts and the date you need to
followup. You can also select 'ALPHABETICAL ORDER' or 'CODE
ORDER'.
As above, you will be able to access the JOBS (TO DO), PHONE CALL
LOG and main CALENDAR if you so choose. You will also note that
in modify mode, you are placed immediately in the conversation
update mode. If you need to modify any of the client
information, press the <F9> key instead of the normal <F7> key to
exit the window.
C - CALENDAR
The CALENDAR option is designed primarily to capture future
activities and information pertaining to those activities. It is
not designed to record past events (unlike the AUTOMOBILE file).
Each time you run DATA MANAGER, a comparison will be made between
your computer's system date and the dates of the calendar
activities. If any dates are in the past, you will be asked if
you want to delete all activity dates that have passed. If you
press Y, all old dates, along with their NOTES, will be deleted
from the file. Pressing the N will leave the old activities
intact.
When adding data, you will be asked for the ACTIVITY, DATE, TIME
(including AM/PM) and PERSON. A pop-up calendar is available
when prompted for the DATE. To display the calendar, simply
press the F5 key. (You will note that the F5 indicator will be
displayed in the keyboard assist area at the bottom of the
screen.) The pop-up calendar will display the current month with
the current day being highlighted. To view other months, press
the following keys:
next month : right arrow
previous month : left arrow
same month, next year : up arrow
same month, last year : down arrow
To return to the input screen after viewing the calendar, press
the Esc key.
The final item you will be prompted for is RECURRING. Answering
"Y" to this question will retain all of the data you just entered
into the screen for the next item you will be entering. You only
need to change the information that changed.
When entering NOTES information, you can enter such reminders as
"Take chart to meeting" as well as any other reminders you want
to enter pertaining to that activity.
D - DIRECTORY
This program will enable you to do several things. You will be
able to quickly find someone's phone number (and address) simply
by searching by their first name, last name, subject or "friend
of". For example, if you are a tennis player and you need to
find a substitute for a match, you can easily list all
individuals for whom you have entered "tennis" as the subject.
Or, if you need to get in touch with your child, who is spending
the afternoon with their friend Mary, you could either have the
program list all "Mary"s, or list all the phone numbers where the
"friend of" entry is the name of your child.
Another useful feature is the ability to merge the WORD
PROCESSING notes with entries in the DIRECTORY. In other words,
if you wanted to send out a note concerning a tennis activity to
all individuals (or some individuals) in the "tennis" subject,
this is easily accomplished. Instructions for doing that are in
the WORD PROCESSING section.
When first entering data into the DIRECTORY, you will be asked to
enter the name and address of the individual. If you don't know
the answer to some of the questions, simply press Enter through
any unknown answers. When entering SUBJECT or FRIEND OF, you can
press F2 to review a list of prior entries into each of these
fields. You will also have a NOTES section where you can put
additional information like the person's work/home phone number
or other pertinent data.
When retrieving data, you will be able to "search" on several
different fields and then be able to select from the possible
entries by pressing the Enter key while on the record you want to
review.
F - FINANCIAL
This program works much the same way as AUTOMOBILE in that you
save historical data. You will be able to query the file to list
all your bill due dates, balances, payments, outstanding debts,
etc. for any individual account or for all accounts in specific
categories.
Although it may take extra time to enter in the data for your
bills and payments, I think you will find having quick access to
this data will be worth your time.
In addition to the normal information you enter, you will be
prompted for a CATEGORY. To gain the most from the system, you
may want to categorize your accounts into such categories
as"Utilities", "Charges", "Stores", "Insurance", etc. Later on,
you will be able to restrict your searches by that category.
Again, if you forget the categories, simply press the F2 to view
and select from the categories previously entered.
You can VIEW or PRINT your data by business expenses, tax
deductions, paid, unpaid, type of account category, etc.
Finally, the NOTES window is available for narrative comments
such as "On 1/17, Mrs. Brown said that since the refrigerator was
not delivered, I do not need to make a payment this month."
(Hint: When entering data, use the F2 key to make sure you are
entering data consistently and to save typing time.)
I - INVENTORY
In this section, you will be prompted for Item, Category, Date
Purchased, Where Purchased, Purchase Cost, Serial Number and
Value. You can use this database to track many different
categories of information by using the category option. You can
use it for insurance purposes, equipment at the office,
collections, etc. Just press Enter for any prompt that does not
apply to what you are inventorying. If you are using this
program to create a log for insurance purposes, it is a good idea
to print out the listing and store it somewhere else.
E - EXERCISE
In this section, you will be prompted for Name, Date, Activity,
Length and Time. You can later measure your progress by
selecting the Name you want to view. If the security level is
set to "1" or higher, you will only be able to view the data that
applies to the name and matching password.
J - JOBS (TO DO)
In this section, you will be asked for Activity, Person, Due
Date, Add to Calendar and Priority (1-9). You can view this list
by selecting a specific person. These entries can also be added
automatically to the Calendar database.
L - LIBRARY
You can use this menu option to keep an up-to-date inventory of
your entire collection of audio and video recordings. When
selecting TYPE, simply enter CD, VCR, CASSETTE, FILM, or
whatever. For those items that have a digital counter location,
enter the number for quick access later on.
M - MESSAGE
In this section, you can leave messages (telephone or other) for
any user that has access to the PC. If you have the security
level set to "1" or higher, only those individuals who have been
added as users to the system will be able to retrieve their
messages (see Security Section).
Again, if security is on, messages can only be viewed by the
intended individual, and only the individual that left a message
will be allowed to modify or delete the message they left.
However, if security is not in place, anyone will be able to add,
view, modify and delete anyone's messages.
Finally, if a printer is connected (and you have so indicated in
the PRINTER/CLEAR-SCREEN OPTIONS), you will be able to print out
a message before answering the question about whether the message
should be deleted. To print the message, press the F10 key when
the F10 message appears in the keyboard assist area in the bottom
two rows of the screen. (Because of the nature of the Message
Center program, the PRINT option to print all messages will not
appear in the menu.) The printer will automatically eject after
you exit the message.
When the password requirement is in effect for leaving messages,
you will be able to type your message before being asked for your
password. This eliminates the need for someone to go through the
password routine before they can start taking a phone message.
However, only valid users will be allowed to leave messages.
O - OUTLINE
You can use OUTLINE as a project manager or simply to prepare
outlines. Although it is similar to the other programs, there
are some major differences. Generally, to use OUTLINE as a
project manager, enter "Y" when asked if you want "Person/Date"
entries. If you only want to create outlines for meeting agendas
or similar lists, answer "N".
When you want to insert a new item in an outline, you just go to
the spot where you want to insert the line and press the Ins key.
A new blank line will be inserted for you to enter your data.
However, prior to entering data, you must first decide upon the
level of outline. In other words, are you creating a new I, A,
1, a, etc.? These choices can be seen by pressing the right
arrow key to move "in" to the outline or the left arrow to move
back out. (You probably will need to see this on the screen to
understand these instructions.)
Once you have selected the appropriate level you will then be
able to enter your data. If you said you wanted to also show
individual names and due dates, you will be prompted for that
information as well. To delete a line, simply go to the line and
press the Del key. For both of the above activities, the outline
will renumber itself appropriately. For example if you have an A,
B and C under roman numeral I and add an item between the A and B,
the new item will become B. The former B and C will then become C
and D.
There will be some times where, because of the outline structure,
other things will happen. For example, if you add a new roman
numeral II between IA1a and IA1b the program will create empty
lines for the missing items. Or, if you try to delete a IA but
there is an IA1 and IA2, the program will not let you do so until
you delete the sub-items. Again, you have to play with this to
understand it.
W - WEIGHT
In this section, you will be prompted for Name, Date and Weight.
To measure your progress, you can view the database by selecting
your name in the VIEW option. If the security level is set to
"1" or higher, you will only be able to view the data that
applies to the name and matching password.
P - PHONE CALL LOG
This menu option can be used to track your phone calls with any
notes you want to make. You can use this information to validate
a long distance bill or simply to have a valuable history of
phone conversations and dates.
R - RECIPES
In this section, you will be prompted for Title, Category,
Ingredients and Instructions. You should think about how you
want to categorize your recipes before you begin. For example,
you could begin all breakfast recipes with a code "B" category,
lunches with a code "L" and dinners with a code "D". You could
begin all cakes with a "C", etc. You can further break down the
choices with the second letter by showing all meat recipes for
dinner with a "DM", all chicken recipes for dinner with a "DC"
etc. You have up to 3 letters to categorize the recipes.
After you categorize the recipe, you will have a window for
Ingredients and then a second window for Instructions. You can
print individual recipes or listings of recipes by category.
S - SHOPPING
In this section, you will be prompted for Item, Quantity, Store
Category, Item Category, Aisle and Priority. You can enter
categories such as "Grocery", "Hardware", etc. so that your
shopping list will be restricted accordingly. When you access
your list, you will also be prompted as to whether you want the
items in Store Order, Aisle Order or Item Category Order.
For example, if you had entered aisle information, the list can
be printed out in aisle order. If not, you could print out your
list in Item Category Order such as dairy, cans, freezer, etc.
Finally, you will have the option to delete all items in your
list after it has been printed.
T - TV SCHEDULING (HOME menu)
In this section, you will be prompted for Name of Show, Date,
Time, AM/PM, Recurring and Add to Calendar. For those shows that
you want to add more than once, just show Y for Recurring. The
information will be carried over to the next screen and you only
need to change the appropriate items, probably the date. You can
also add the TV show to the calendar database to be displayed on
the main menu screen.
T - TRAINING CLASSES (OFFICE menu)
Managers can use this option to keep track of the training
classes employees have requested. Individuals using the program
can also keep track of their own training classes. Once a course
has been approved, use the MODIFY option to update the
information. Pressing the <F4> key when the class is first
selected will take you quickly to the APPROVED block.
U - UTILITIES
See the next section dedicated to Utilities.
V - VOCABULARY TEST
Even though the title indicates vocabulary, this menu option can
be used for a number of different learning exercises. Basically,
the format is in the form of a question and an answer. You will
enter the questions as the WORD/PHRASE and the answers as the
TRANSLATION. When you select the TEST option from the submenu,
you will be asked which way you want to be tested. You will be
presented with a random set of WORD/PHRASES and you must supply
the TRANSLATION, or you can be presented with the TRANSLATION and
you must supply the WORD/PHRASE.
You can set up multiple databases when you answer the prompt
LANGUAGE/SUBJECT. Some of the subjects you can enter are foreign
languages (Spanish, French, etc.), math problems (3 x 6, 1/8 +
3/5, etc.), states and capitals, and regular english vocabulary
information.
When you are in the TEST mode, you will be given three attempts
to provide the correct answer. If you are unsuccessful, you will
be provided with the answer. No totals or final score will be
displayed or calculated.
W - WORD PROCESSING
This option is dependent on having a printer connected to the
computer. You don't have to have a printer connected to ADD,
VIEW, MODIFY or DELETE Word Processing documents. However, you
do need to have a printer connected to select the LETTER option.
When using this word processor, you can use the PageUp and
PageDn keys to move a page at a time, the Ctrl PageUp and Ctrl
PageDn keys, respectively, to move to the top and bottom of the
document, the Ins key to switch back and forth between insert and
typeover mode, and the normal up and down arrow keys.
You can also merge a word processing document with the Directory
database. To do this, select LETTER from the submenu (only shown
if you have indicated that a printer is attached.) You will
first be asked for the name of the document creator. All
possible documents will be displayed in a window for you to
select by pressing Enter.
You will then be given the option to select a specific category
of entries in the Directory database. You can either select a
subject, or press the Enter key, which will provide you with the
entire database. Once you have made this choice, a window of all
possible items will be displayed. To print a letter, just put
the "prompt line" on the name you want to select and press the
Enter key. (This may be confusing to read, but I think you will
find it easy when you do it.) You will remain in the window to
select as many entries to merge with the letter as you like. At
the bottom of the list, you are also given the option to send the
letter to all individuals on the list.
UTILITIES
There are a number of submenus that are available by selecting
the UTILITIES menu. The first submenu will automatically come up
for all users regardless of how the security levels are set. The
items in the first submenu are as follows:
A - APPLICATION USAGE/SUPPORT
This menu option provides a general description of the program,
licensing, copying, and support. It should be read by all users.
If you have a printer attached to your system, this menu option
can print out a registration form.
C - CHANGE PASSWORD (USER)
This menu option is always available to users, regardless of
their security level and any password restrictions. If the
security system is put in place by the System Manager, users
should use this option to change their passwords on a frequent
basis. They will be prompted for Name, Old Password (and if it
matches) a New Password.
V - VALIDATE PROGRAM
This menu option will only be displayed if the program has not
been validated. If you select this option, an Initialization
Number will be displayed on the screen and you will be asked to
enter the Validation Number.
To secure the validation number, you can print and mail the
invoice (which lists the Initialization Number) from the
APPLICATION USAGE/SUPPORT option or call us at (301) 750-0577.
S - SYSTEM ACTIVITIES & DEFAULTS
This menu option (which can be password protected) leads to the
options described below:
A - ADD NEW USERS
As the system manager, you will use this option to add new
users. When you add users, the database will be checked to
make sure that the name was not previously entered. You
will then be asked for the security level you want to assign
the new user (! is the lowest level, 9 is the highest).
Lastly, you will be asked for the beginning password for the
user. It is generally a good idea to give the user their
own name as an initial password. They should then change
their password to something that only they know. (For more
information, see the section on Security.)
B - BACKUP OR RESTORE DATABASES
This option can be used to backup the databases from a hard
drive to the A: drive. You should obviously use the backup
option frequently. If the program is not installed on a hard
drive, this option should not be selected.
If you use the restore option, you will completely replace
all DATA MANAGER databases that are on the hard drive with
the older databases from the last time you did a backup.
Consequently, you should only select the restore option in
extreme circumstances.
C - COMPRESS DATABASES
You should periodically select this option to delete the
"window" data for those individual entries that have been
deleted. This option is used to compress the databases that
contain word processing "windows" that have been deleted
because, unfortunately, the "windows" of data are not
deleted when you delete individual items. The compression
of other records is automatic.
D - DEFAULTS
You can use this option to set the following defaults:
o Office versus Home main menu
You can access all submenus from either menu.
However, if you are using the program at the
office, selecting the Office version will not
display items pertaining to the home (ie. Recipes,
TV, Vocabulary). However, these items can be
accessed by selecting PERSONAL/HOME.
o Printer connected: This option is used to inform the
program that you either do or do not have a printer
connected. The answer will remain in effect until
you reselect the option and change your answer.
Pressing Y will allow you to print Messages, print
lists and merge Word Processing letters.
o Complete versus rising screen blank out
Your monitor can be damaged by displaying a
particular screen for extended periods of time.
In order to prevent the main menu from "burning"
an image on the monitor from continuous display,
the main menu will either totally blank out or
create "scrolling" windows that move and change
colors at regular intervals. You will be asked
whether you want total screen blank out or
scrolling windows. When you first start the
program, it will be set to give you the scrolling
MESSAGES and CALENDAR so you can tell at a glance
if you have any messages or current calendar
items. If, however, you do not want anything to
be shown on the screen, you can use this option to
set the screen to a total blank out.
In either mode, the screen will not change for 60
seconds from when it is first displayed. If you
want the main menu to remain continuously without
going into either of the screen-save modes, just
press the down arrow to the next selection on the
menu when it first appears.
o Color versus monochrome display
The program will automatically detect the type of
video card and set the colors appropriately.
However, there are times where you may want to
manually override the setting. The most common
example is a laptop with a color card, which will
work best in monochrome mode. There are other
types of monitors, such as CGA, where the
monochrome may be easier to read.
o Verification of deletions without confirmation
Normally, when deleting records, you will want to
view them prior to deleting them. However, if you
will be deleting a lot of records and you do not
want to take the time to view each record prior to
deletion, set this option "N". When you are then
presented the scrolling window of records for
deletion, simply pressing the Enter key on a
record will delete it. NOTE: Be careful that you do
not hold down the <Enter> key too long when
selecting this option or you may inadvertently
delete extra records.
M - MODIFY A USER PASSWORD
This section can be used when a user forgets their password.
R - REINDEX DATABASES
If an error message is ever displayed during the operation
of the program, or if an item that you think was entered
does not appear in the database, you should select this
option. Occasionally a database "index" will become
corrupted and reindexing may correct the problem.
S - SECURITY LEVELS
This section is used to set password security levels for all
available menu options. (See the section on Security for
more information.)