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Text File | 1989-01-28 | 21.0 KB | 739 lines

HHHH HHHH OOOOOOOOO MMMM MMMM EEEEEEEEEEEE HHHH HHHH OOOOOOOOOOO MMM MM MM MMM EEEEEEEEEEEE HHHH HHHH OOO OOO MMM MM MM MMM EEE HHHHHHHHHHHH OOO OOO MMM MM MM MMM EEEEEEEEE HHHHHHHHHHHH OOO OOO MMM MMM MMM EEEEEEEEE HHHH HHHH OOO OOO MMM MMM EEE HHHH HHHH OOOOOOOOOOO MMM MMM EEEEEEEEEEEE HHHH HHHH OOOOOOOOO MMM MMM EEEEEEEEEEEE H O M E I S U R A N C E (HOME INVENTORY AND INSURANCE PLANNING) Created By: Steve Hudgik HomeCraft Computer Products P.O. Box 974 Tualatin, OR 97062 IIIIIIIIIII NNNNN NNN SSSSSSSSSS IIIIIIIIIII NNN NN NNN SSSSSSSSSSSS III NNN NN NNN SSSS III NNN NN NNN SSS III NNN NN NNN SSS III NNN NN NNN SSS IIIIIIIIII NNN NN NNN SSSSSSSSSSSS IIIIIIIIII NNN NNNNN SSSSSSSSSS Version 3 - Copyright 1988 by Steven C. Hudgik This software is provided as SHAREWARE allowing you the opportunity to try it before buying it. If you like Home Insurance you are asked to become a registered user by sending $59.95 to: HomeCraft - P.O. Box 974 - Tualatin, OR 97062. You can also register by phone using your VISA or MASTER CARD by calling 503-692-3732 between 8AM and 8PM pacific time. Please add $3 for shipping ($5.00 outside the U.S.). Registered users will receive the latest (fully operational) version of the software, a complete printed manual, one year of free support, and any corrections or revisions issued during the next year. NOTE: Version 3 of Home Insurance uses a new data file format that is not compatible with earlier versions of Home Insurance. Registered users get a free copy of a utility to convert the older data files for use with version 3. This software and manual are copyrighted. They may not be modified in any way, or combined with any other software or documentation. Copies of the disk containing this software may be given away. However, they may not be sold without the express written permission of the author. If given away, the contents of this disk may not be changed. I encourage you to give copies of this disk to your friends - shareware is intended to be shared with as many people as possible. Pass it around and let others make a copy. I hope you find Home Insurance to be useful and a valuable addition to your software library. NOTE: Due to space limitations on the disk, this is a shortened version of the Home Insurance manual. NOTE: Indexing is not available in the shareware version of Home Insurance. Indexing provides a way to do faster (much faster) searches and it is used to put entries in alphabetical order. HOME INSURANCE Version 3 INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing Home Insurance. Home Insurance is software that allows you to keep track of what you own, where items are located and how much it would cost to replace something that is lost. Unfortunately, most of us do not find out how much property insurance we need until after we suffer a major loss. We then may learn that our insurance coverage, although based on replacement value, is not sufficient to cover the complete loss. Home Insurance provides protection in several ways. First, it provides a way for you to determine whether or not you have adequate property insurance. For example, insurance policies generally limit the coverage for some special items such as jewelry, collectibles (coins, stamps, plates, dolls, ect.), guns and furs. By categorizing items by type, Home Insurance can give you the total replacement value for each type of item you own. This allows you to compare what you actually have versus the limits given in your insurance policy. If you should suffer a loss, from theft, fire, vandalism - any type of loss, Home Insurance is your record of what you had. It will allow you to put together a list of what was lost, providing you with model numbers, serial numbers and descriptions. Using Home Insurance Depending on the size of your home and how much you've packed into each closet, you can expect to spend several hours entering the list of everything you own into your inventory for the first time. I suggest setting aside one day to do a complete inventory. Start in one room and list the complete contents of that room (a clip board with a pad of paper will be helpful for this). Go from room to room until everything is listed. If you haven't had an appraisal done recently, you might use your Sears, Penney's or other catalog to determine the current replacement value for some items. For others you may need to do a little window shopping to get a good idea of what it would cost to replace them. If you want to be accurate, don't guess. If you guess high, you will be paying for more insurance than you need. A low guess will result in inadequate coverage. Valuable items should be appraised by a professional appraiser to get a realistic estimate of their value. THE MAIN MENU Type "HI" to start Home Insurance The Main Menu will always be the first thing you see when you boot up the software. If you have a monochrome monitor, and just see dark blocks on your screen, then push F1. F1 toggles the setting for color on and off. <5> File Name The filename is the name used for storing your inventory on the disk. You can have as many separate inventorys as you wish, using a different filename for each. Up to 9,999,999 entries can be made in each. MAKING ENTRIES Entering information into the inventory is very simple. Select #1 on the Main Menu and an information entry screen will appear. The length of the bar next to each item shows the amount of space available for each item. The cursor will not go past the ends of the bar. Let's look at the type of information that can be entered on each line: Description - You this line is used to enter and descriptive phrase that applies to this object. When making entries you should be consistent when using upper and lower case letters. During searches the software will differentiate between upper and lower case letters. Thus entering the work "Computer" is not the same as "COMPUTER." I usually enter the description using all upper case letters. Model # - Enter the model number, if there is one. ID Mark - This line is for any identifing marks on the item. This could be a social security number engraved on the back of it; a specific pattern of scratches, dents, or other damage; or anything else that would uniquely identify this item. Serial Number - Enter the serial number, if there is one. Note - This line is provided for miscellaneous information. Value - Enter the current value of the item. This should be a realistic replacement value, which may be less than what you think the item is worth. (The Detail Level) Owner(s) - Enter the name(s) of the people who own this item. The first three letters of the name are used to do some summaries, so be sure these are different for each person, or start each line with a three letter abbreviation for that person's name. Location - Enter a description of the location of this item. The description can be a single word such as "Bedroom" or a complete address. Home Insurance uses the first three letters on this line to classify items by their location, so be sure that you don't duplicate the first three letters for two different locations. Other - Like the NOTE line you can enter whatever information you feel is useful. Type - Use this line to classify items by type. The classifications you use will depend on your requirements. Like Owner(s) and Location the first three letters of the Type designation are used to sort your inventory. You should avoid entering types that start with the same first three letters. NOTE: The searches are not limited to the first three letters. You can search for any or all words (or individual characters) on the Owner(s), Location and Type lines. Purchase Date - The purchase can be important for establishing the vaule of an item. Updated - You can not enter anything on this line - the cursor will skip over it. Each time you save a new entry or edit an existing entry Home Insurance will get the date and time from your computer's clock and enter them here. Notes-1/2/3 - The next three lines provide space for you to enter additional information about each item. (The Complete Level) All of the information at this level is intended to identify where you purchased (obtained) the item from. This could be a dealer, wholesaler, radio station contest, gift from a neighbor, etc. This information allows you to go back to the original dealer, if you need to replace the item. SAVING THE ENTRY Once you've entered all the necessary information push the F5 key to save this entry. F5 can be pushed while any of the three screens are displayed. EDITING EXISTING ENTRIES Selection two on the Main Menu allows you to change any part of any existing entry. You will first be asked for the number of the entry you want to edit. As you make entries the software automatically numbers them sequentially. The first entry you make is number 1; the 100th is number 100. This number is displayed in the upper right of the screen when you are making entries. It is also printed on all reports. If you don't know the number for the entry you need to change, use the search function to find the entry. When the entry is found you will automatically be in the edit mode (more on that shortly). Once you have entered the number for the entry you want to change it will be displayed on the screen. You can then make changes in the same way you originally entered information. When you have made all the needed changes, push F5 to save the edited entry. Deleting An Entry The editor is also used to delete an entry from the inventory. With the entry you wish to delete on the screen, push the F4 key. This will not erase the entry - all the information will still be there. The entry will be marked as deleted, however, and will be skipped in any search of the inventory. You can "undelete" an entry by pushing F5 to re- save the entry. If you wish to completely eliminate an entry from the inventory, you can use the editor to type in a new entry in the same spot as the deleted entry. There is also a inventory utility that will erase all deleted entries from the inventory (more on that shortly). SEARCHES AND PRINTED REPORTS The most useful function in Home Insurance is the Search / Printed Report function. This is the function you use to sort and find specific items or types of items. You can list all the items with a specific description; or all the items of a specific type, with a specific color, that is in a specific room, and is worth more than $100. Select #3 on the Main Menu and you'll see a screen that looks like the information entry screen. The information you want to search for is entered on this screen (or the series of three screens at the Complete level). Pushing F2 will change how the report is printed. The default setting is the monitor. You can also set the output for CONTINUOUS paper, single sheet, or for a disk file. Pressing F3 will result in the entries being listed in the order they were entered. After pressing F3 you will be asked for the entry number to start the listing at and the entry number to end it with. F4 is used to get a listing of all of the entries in your inventory in alphabetical order. You must be using the indexing feature of Home Insurance (Index On) for this function to work. (Indexing not available in shareware). SEARCHES There are several ways you can search your inventory. F6 - Normal Search When you push F6 an indexed search will be conducted, if you've entered something to search for on the Description, Model #, or ID Mark lines. The other type of search is a sequential search. This means that every entry in the inventory is looked at to see if it is a match. In a sequential search any entry that contains the information you entered will be identified as a match. For example, if you enter PC Computer, or even just PC on the title line, Kaypro PC Computer will be identified as a match. (NOTE: Capital and lower case letters are seen as being different. This a search for "COMPUTER" will not find "Computer" as a match). Editing After A Search When a search finds a matching entry in your inventory, that entry will displayed on the screen. You can then edit that entry just as you would using the "Edit An Entry" function. Type the changes you need to make, then push F5 to save those changes. NOTE: The indexes are the most fragile parts of the Home Insurance data files. If at any time you feel the indexes are not working properly, go to the Inventory Utilities menu and build new indexes. The problems should then clear up. INVENTORY UTILITIES There are eleven functions available on the Inventory Utilities screen. Some of these are also available as a part of the Main Menu and are provided as a convenience here. These functions are: Copy Inventory Files - Used to copy all of the items from one file to another file. This utility is intended for users upgrading from floppy disks to a hard disk. It will transfer items from floppy disks to a hard disk, combining the files from several floppies into a single file on the hard disk. Condense Data - When a item is deleted from the inventory all of the information remains in the file and it can be recovered. If, however, you would like to completely erase all of your deleted entries (i.e. to reduce clutter), this function will permanently remove them from the file. File Name - Used to change the current filename being used for inventorying. (This function is also provided on the Main Menu). Reserve Space - This function will set aside space on your disk for future entries in the inventory. Level - Allows you to change the level (Insurance, Detail or Complete) in use. (This function is also provided on the Main Menu). Security Code - The security functions are not available in the shareware version of Home Insurance. Index On/Off - In the upper right corner of the screen is a prompt for the F3 key. This toggle allows you to not use the indexing. For example, if you are using floppy disks, you may wish to save disk space by not using the indexes. Customize - Pushing F7 allows you to customize one line title at each level. ADJUST FOR INFLATION / DEPRECIATION When you select this function from the Utility Menu, you will first be asked to select a general category; owner, type, location or all entries. You can then enter up to ten abbreviations (the first letters of a name or location) for which you would like to have the replacement value adjusted. When you have entered all of the abbreviations for items that you want to adjust the values, push the ENTER to accept the last abbreviation and then push F5. Next you will be asked to enter the percentage by which you would like to adjust the current replacement value of for each item that matches any of the abbreviations you entered. You can enter either a positive or a negative number here. A positive number would reflect inflation or appreciation. A negative number represents depreciation. TOTAL VALUES Function <9> on the Utility Menu is provided to give you the total replacement value of a group of items. You can find the total value of all of the items in a room, or all of your video equipment or everything in your house that's owned by your sister. INSURANCE PLANNING The final function on the Main Menu (number 8) is a little different in that it is not related to keeping a home inventory. The features we've discussed so far will help you determine the amount of home owner's (or renter's) insurance you need. Your car and health insurance needs are fairly straight forward and there's not much a computer can do to help you in those areas. This leaves one major insurance need, your life insurance. LIFE INSURANCE PLANNING The first selection on the Insurance Planning Menu is used to calculate the amount of life insurance you need. Most of the information required is obvious, so I'll just describe the information to entered for your children's college education. Planning For College Education The ages for up to 12 children may be entered (just number your children from 1 to 12). The default setting already has child number one on the screen, so push the down cursor key once. We'll assume that your first child is five years old. The Insurance Planning assumes your child will enter college at age 18. If a child is over 22, then it is assumed they are old enough to pay their own way. Push the #5 key and then push ENTER to set the age of your first child at fives years old. The cursor will move to the "College (Y/N)" line. Push the "Y" key. The amount of insurance needed has change to $415,465.64. NOTE: The yearly cost of college is based on a 1985-86 average cost of $7486 per year. The average cost of a private college during that period was $9,659, for a public college it was $5,314. When you pushed the letter "Y" the cursor jumped back up to the Child Number line. You can now enter the information for your second child. Use the down cursor key to move the cursor to the monthly Mortgage/Rent line. Monthly Expenses Your life insurance needs are calculated two ways. The first is based on maintaining your current income. The second method is based on your monthly expenses for your mortgage/rent, car payments and any other major monthly payments you need to make. If your monthly expenses are greater than what they should be for the income you have, then your insurance needs will be calculated based on your monthly expenses. The "Other Monthly Liabilities" line should be used to enter the total amounts of any other bills that MUST be paid. For example, a home improvement loan or the extra costs resulting from caring for a handicapped child should be entered here. Do not enter food, clothing or utility costs, as these living expenses are already allowed for in the calculation of your life insurance needs. Lump Sum Liabilities The lump sum liability line is used to enter the amount of any loan that you would want to pay off in its entirety. This could be a home improvement loan, the balance due on credit cards, or you could even enter the amount of your mortgage here (don't enter a monthly mortgage payment in that case). Social Security Moving to the lower right of the screen there are three addition lines of information that can be entered. The top one is for a monthly payment that your family may be eligible for from Social Security. We can not predict what this amount will be as it will vary based on your income and the number of children in your family under the age or 18 and 16. Contact your local Social Security office for more information on the benefits you are eligible for. This completes the shareware documentation for Home Insurance. on the benefits you are eligible for. This completes the shareware documentatio