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dBCoinTM FOR DOS Coin Collection Inventory System Version 1.0 USER'S GUIDE Changing Seasons SoftwareTM This product was developed with Microsoft Visual BasicTM. Copyright 1993 by Changing Seasons Software All Rights Reserved. If you are an individual, (not a business or an institution) you may use the program on any other computer(s) that you personally own. You may make backup copies of the program only for your use. However, no part of this user guide may be photocopied. Copyright 1992 by Microsoft Corporation Microsoft and Visual Basic are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Changing Seasons Software warrants for a 90-day period beginning on the date you receive delivery of a registered copy of the program, that, if properly installed and operated on a computer for which it was designed, the program will perform substantially according to the User's Guide. The Changing Seasons Software's liability shall, in any event, be limited to the purchase price of the program and shall not include consequential damages, such as loss of data resulting from use of the program. The Changing Season Software will not honor any warranty unless you own a registered copy of the program. Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Getting Started Introduction. . . . . ...........1 Hardware and Software Requirements ........1 System Files. . . . . ...........1 Overview of dBCoin Features . ..........1 Installing dBCoin . . . ...........2 Chapter 2 - Using dBCoin Starting dBCoin . . . . ..........3 Exiting dBCoin . . . . ..........3 Working with the Menu Bar . . .........4 Selecting Menu Commands . . .........4 Using dBCoin's Control Menu . .........5 Chapter 3 - Building a Database Opening a Database File. . . ..........5 Adding Records . . . . ..........7 Find Records . . . . ...........10 Editing Records . . . . .......... 11 Printing Records . . . . .......... 12 Chapter 4 - Database Reports Types of Reports . . . . .......... 13 Displaying and Printing Reports . ......... 13 Chapter 5 - Utility Programs File Repair. . . . . ........... 16 Pack Deleted Records . . . .......... 17 Import/Export ASCII Text Files . ......... 17 Chapter 6 - Technical Support . ......... 19 CHAPTER 1 - GETTING STARTED Introduction Welcome to dBCoin for DOS. dBCoin is a coin collection inventory system developed specifically for the hobbyist. Hardware and Software Requirements IBM PC or compatible 640K RAM Hard Drive DOS 3.1 or higher System Files README Basic information about program and a registration form in ASCII text format. COINDOS.EXE dBCoin application. SAMPLE.DAT Sample data. Registered Version Only ISAMREPR.EXE Data file repair utility. ISAMPACK.EXE Pack deleted records utility. ISAMIO.EXE Import/export ASCII text file utility. PROISAMD.EXE Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program required to use utilities. Overview of dBCoin Features * Intuitive data entry, edit, query and browse features. * Information sorted and indexed on all fields (except comments). Indexes are included in the data file. Indexes are not stored in a separate file. * Quick and easy access to coin information. * Reports display records and collection statistics on screen or printed hard copy. * Create one or more database files. Each file can be as large as 128 megabytes. * Mouse and keyboard supported. 1 Installing dBCoin Copy dBCoin files to your hard drive before attempting to run the program. The dBCoin files are compressed into a self-extracting file called COIND.EXE. Use the following instructions to create a directory and copy the program files from the disk to the new directory on the hard drive. Ignore the quotations when entering instructions. 1. At the C> type "cd\" and press ENTER. The root directory will now be current directory. 2. Type "md coind" and press ENTER to create a new directory called COIND. 3. Type "cd\coind" and press ENTER. The COIND directory isnow the current directory. 4. Insert dBCoin disk into drive A or B. 5. Type "A:" or "B:" for the drive containing the dBCoin disk. 6. At the A> or B> type "copy *.* c:" and press ENTER. COIND.EXE will now be copied to the COIND subdirectory on the hard drive. 7. Type "C:" and press ENTER. The prompt should be C:COIND>. 8. Type "coind" and press ENTER. The dBCoin files will now be unpacked and available for use. 2 CHAPTER 2 - DBCOIN Starting dBCoin 1. At the C> type "cd\COIND" to make the dBCoin subdirectory the current directory. 2. Type "COINDOS" and press ENTER. The dBCoin title page will appear. 3. Press ENTER. The dBCoin menu bar will appear. Mouse 1. Point to File on the menu bar and click. 2. Point to the Exit menu item and click. The dBCoin for DOS order form will appear if you are using a review copy. Keyboard 1. Press ALT, F. 2. Press X. The dBCoin for DOS order form will appear if you are using a review copy. Working the Menu Bar Select a Menu: Mouse * Point to a menu item on the menu bar and click to open the menu. Keyboard * Press ALT and the highlighted letter of the menu item you want. Cancel a Menu: Mouse * Click the menu name or any where outside the menu. Keyboard * Press ALT or ESC to cancel the menu and move back to the application workspace. Selecting Menu Commands Choose an Item from a Selected Menu: Mouse * Point to the menu item and click. 3 Keyboard * Type the highlighted letter in the item name. Using dBCoin's Control Menu Open dBCoin's Control Menu: Mouse * Point to the Control Menu box in the upper-left corner of the window and click. Do not double-click or you will close the window. Keyboard * Press ALT and "-" (minus key). Control Menu Commands Command Action Restore Restores the window to its size before it was enlarged or shrunk to an icon. Move Allows window to be moved to another position on the screen. Size Allows you to change the size of the window. Minimize Shrinks the window to an icon. Maximize Enlarges the window to full screen. Close Closes window on the screen. 4 CHAPTER 3 - BUILDING A DATABASE Opening a Database File dBCoin allows you to create one large database or several small database files for your coin collection. See Chapter 2 to start dBCoin. Create a Database File: Mouse 1. Point to File on the menu bar and click to open the menu. 2. Point to the New File menu item and click. The File Open dialog box will appear. Change the drive - a. Point to the Drive List box arrow in the middle of the screen above the Directory List box and click. A list of the available drives will appear. b. Point to the proper drive and click. The new drive will appear below the File Name Text box. Change the directory - a. Point to the current drive in the Directory List box and double-click. b. Point to the new directory and double-click. The drive and new directory will appear below the File Name Text box. 3. Point to the File Name Text box and click. Enter file name with eight or fewer characters and a file extension. The current drive and path is displayed below the File Name Text box. We recommend you use the file extension .DAT. (Example: COIN.Dat) 4. Point to the OK button and click to create the file entered in #3. The File Open dialog box will disappear when a valid file name is entered. Cancel your selection without creating a file by pointing to the Cancel button and clicking. Keyboard 1. Press ALT, F to open the menu. 2. Press N. The File Open dialog box will appear. 5 Change the drive - a. Press TAB to highlight the Drive List box. b. Press the direction arrow key(s) to highlight a new drive and press ENTER. The new drive will appear below the File Name Text box. Change the directory - a. Press TAB to highlight the Directory List box. b. Press the direction arrow key(s) to highlight the new directory and press ENTER. The drive and new directory will appear below the File Name Text box. 3. Press TAB to move the cursor to the File Name Text box. Enter a file name with eight or less characters and file extension. The current drive and path is displayed below the File Name Text box. We recommend you use the file extension .DAT. (Example: Coin.Dat) 4. Press TAB to highlight the OK button and press ENTER to create the file entered in #3. The File Open dialog box will disappear when a valid file name is entered. Cancel your selection without creating a file by pressing TAB to highlight the Cancel button and pressing ENTER. Open an Existing Database File: Mouse 1. Point to File on the menu bar and click to open the menu. 2. Point to the Open menu item and click. The File Open dialog box will appear. Change the drive - a. Point to the Drive List box arrow in the middle of the screen above the Directory List Box and click. A list of the available drives will appear. b. Point to the proper drive and click. The new drive will appear below the File Name Text box. Change the directory - a. Point to the current drive in the Directory List box and double-click. b. Point to the new directory and double-click. The drive and new directory will appear below the File Name Text box. 6 3. Point to the file listed in File List box and double-click. The database file will open and the File Open dialog box will disappear. Keyboard 1. Press ALT, F to open the menu. 2. Press O. The File Open dialog box will appear. Change the drive - a. Press TAB to highlight the Drive List box. b. Press the direction arrow key(s) to highlight a new drive and press ENTER. The new drive will appear below the File Name Text box. Change the directory - a. Press TAB to highlight the Directory List box. b. Press the direction arrow key(s) to highlight the new directory and press ENTER. The drive and new directory will appear below the File Name Text box. 3. Press TAB to highlight the first item in the File List box. 4. Press the direction arrow key(s) to highlight a file to open and press ENTER. The database file will now open and the File Open dialog box will disappear. Close a Database File: Closing the file will save any changes made to the database. The current open file must be closed before opening a new file. Mouse 1. Point to File on the menu bar and click to open the menu. 2. Point to the Close menu item and click. Keyboard 1. Press ALT, F to open the menu. 2. Press C. Adding Records Mouse 1. Point to Records on the menu bar and click to open the menu. 2. Point to the Update menu item and click. The Data Entry and Edit screen will appear if you have already opened a database file. The opened database file name is displayed in the screen title bar. 7 A Menu dialog box will appear if a file is not open. Point to the OK button and click. The dialog box will disappear. See the instructions for Opening a Database File. Keyboard 1. Press ALT, R to open the menu. 2. Press ENTER. If you have already opened a database file, the Data Entry and Edit screen will appear. The opened database file name is displayed in the screen title bar. A Menu dialog box will appear if a file is not open. Press ENTER. The dialog box will disappear. See the instructions for Opening a Database File. The following list are the data entry fields for each record stored in the database: Length Field Description (Characters) Format Country Issuing coin 25 Text Catalog No. Catalog number 8 Alpha/Numeric Type Type 20 Text Denomination Circulation value 20 Text Mint Date Year minted 8 Alpha/Numeric Coin Grade Condition 5 Alpha/Numeric Purchase Date Date purchased 8 MM/DD/YY Cost Purchase price 9 $0-$999,999.00 Market Value Catalog value 9 $0-$999,999.00 Notes Comments 100 Text Enter Data: Data entered becomes part of a field when the cursor is moved to another field by pressing TAB, pointing to a different field and clicking or pressing SHIFT, TAB. Press TAB to move the cursor forward from field to field and button to button. Press SHIFT, TAB to move backward. Use a mouse to move around the screen by pointing to a field and clicking once. Use the direction, BACKSPACE, DEL and INS keys to edit fields. The program does not require fields to be changed when the data from the previous record is the same as the current record you are entering. Press TAB to skip to the next field without changing information in the current field. Each data entry field has built-in edit checking. Information is validated when entered. For example, you cannot enter alpha characters in the Cost field. An invalid entry will cause a Data Entry Error dialog box appear. Press ENTER to remove the dialog box. dBCoin may insert one or more zeroes in the catalog number you enter. The program does this to insure this field will sort properly. For example, catalog number 23 will become 023. If the zero is not added, the catalog number 125 will be listed before 23 because "1" is less than "2". 8 Enter a coin's purchase date in the format MM/DD/YY. dBCoin may insert zeroes in the date to insure the field will sort properly. For example, a date entered as 1/1/92 will be changed to 01/01/92 by the program. Grade Field Type a condition in this field or select from the list box. Mouse 1. Point to the arrow on the right side of the field and click. A box with a list of common coin conditions will open. 2. Point to a condition and click. 3. Press TAB to save your selection and move to the Purchase Date field. Keyboard 1. Press the UP or DOWN arrow key(s) to display a list of common coin conditions. 2. Press TAB to save your selection and move to the Purchase Date field. Data Entry and Edit Command Buttons: Select the command buttons at the top of the screen by pointing to a button and clicking or pressing ALT and the key for the highlighted letter. Use the TAB key to highlight the query buttons (<, <=, =, => and >) and press ENTER. Save a Record: Mouse * Point to the Add button and click. Keyboard * Press ALT, A. This will save the record now displayed on the screen in memory. The cursor will move to the Country field where you can begin entering the next record. New records are saved to the hard drive after every 10 records and when you exit from the Data Entry and Edit screen. Change fields any time before selecting the Add button. See Editing Records to change a record after adding to the database. Annual Rate of Return This field displays the increased/(decreased) value of each coin as an annual percentage rate. The rate is based on the length of time you have owned the coin. The field is calculated each time a record is changed or added to the database. You can edit this field. This field is for display purposes only and is not saved in the database. 9 Finding Records dBCoin provides powerful query features to find records. Queries are done by using an exact match (=) or an approximate search (<, <=, => or >). Selecting (=, => or >) when all fields are empty will cause dBCoin to display records in the order they were entered. Database queries are done on all fields except Notes. Queries are done on multiple fields. dBCoin will combine each field's search criteria into one query. The program will query the database according to the order search criteria was entered in the data entry fields. Queries are not case sensitive. 1. Enter the search criteria in the proper field(s). Note: Use the Clear button to erase incorrect search criteria from the data entry fields before selecting a query button. Changing the search criteria without erasing all the fields with the Clear button will cause a dialog box. Press ENTER to clear the dialog box from the screen. 2. Select a query button (<) LESS THAN, (<=) LESS THAN EQUAL TO, (=) EQUAL TO, (>) GREATER THAN or (=>) GREATER THAN EQUAL TO and click or press ENTER. 3. dBCoin will now search the database using the criteria you specified. dBCoin will display in the Data Entry and Edit screen the first record meeting the criteria. All records are available for examination after the query. A Data Entry Error dialog box will appear if a record is not found. Press ENTER to clear the dialog box from the screen. 4. Use the Next button to move forward through the database. Use the Previous button to move backward. Mouse * Point to the Next or Previous buttons and click to display a different record on the screen. Keyboard * Press ALT, N (Next) or P (Previous) to display a different record on the screen. You also can press TAB to highlight the Next or Previous buttons and press ENTER. Note: Next button - A Data Entry Error dialog box will appear when you reach the last record in the database. Press ENTER to clear the dialog box from the screen. Previous button - A Data Entry Error dialog box will appear when you reach the first record in the database. Press ENTER to clear the dialog box from the screen. 10 Editing Records Use the Data Entry and Edit screen to edit records stored in your database. Change a Record: Use the Change button to save changes made to the record now displayed in the Data Entry and Edit screen. After editing the record do the following to save the change(s): 1. Point to the Change button and click or press ALT, C. An Edit Record dialog box will appear requesting verification to save the change(s). 2. Point to the YES button and click or press ENTER to save the change(s). Point to the NO button and click or press TAB to highlight the NO button and press ENTER to cancel the change(s). Changes are saved to disk when you exit from the Data Entry and Edit screen if YES is selected. Delete a Record: Use the Delete button to delete the record now displayed in the Data Entry and Edit screen. 1. Point to the Delete button and click or press ALT, D. An Edit Record dialog box will appear requesting verification to delete the record. 2. Point to the YES button and click or press ENTER to delete the record. All fields will be cleared. Point to the NO button and click or press TAB to highlight the NO button and press ENTER to cancel Delete. Clear Data Entry Fields: The Clear button will remove information displayed in the data entry fields. Using the Clear button will not affect information already stored in the database. Point to the Clear button and click or press ALT, L to clear the screen. Print a Record Use the Print button to print the record displayed in the Data Entry and Edit screen. Point to the Print button and click or press ALT, R to print the record. 11 Exit the Data Entry and Edit Screen: Point to the Exit button and click or press ALT, X to leave the Data Entry and Edit screen. Exiting from the Data Entry and Edit screen will save all additions, changes and deletions made to the database. dBCoin will automatically update the database indexes if records were added, changed or deleted. 12 CHAPTER 4 - REPORTS Types of Reports dBCoin can generate various reports that can be printed as hard copy or displayed on your computer screen. The Coin Inventory List will list the records in sorted order. The Collection Analysis Report will show statistical information about your coin collection. Reports are setup to print on an 80 column printer. Coin provides powerful record sorting features. Selecting the Screen or Printer buttons when all sort field check boxes are empty will cause dBCoin to display records in the order they were entered. The database can be sorted on all fields except Notes. Sorting can be done on multiple fields. Below the command buttons is a sort field check box for each field in the database except Notes. Each check box is labeled with the corresponding field name. Placing an "X" in one or more sort field checks boxes will cause dBCoin to sort the database on those selected fields. Sorting is done in ascending order according to the order the boxes were checked. Note: Only selecting the Cancel button can remove the "X" from check boxes. Selecting Cancel will erase the sort order you selected. Coin Inventory List Display Report Mouse 1. Point to Reports on the menu bar and click to open the menu. 2. Point to the List Records menu item and click. The report screen will appear if a database file is open. A Menu dialog box will appear if a file is not open. Point to the OK button and click. The dialog box will disappear. See instructions for opening a database file. 3. Point to the proper sort field check box and click. An "X" will appear in the box. Sort field check boxes are located below the command buttons. 4. Point to the Screen button and click to display records on the screen. Records are listed in sorted order according to the order the boxes were checked. A maximum of 15 records can be displayed on the screen at once. Scroll through the records by pointing to a Scroll button and clicking. 13 The following buttons are used to scroll through the database: Home - Scrolls to first record. Next - Scrolls to next record. Prev - Scrolls to previous record. PgUp - Scrolls up one screen. PgDn - Scrolls down one screen. End - Scrolls to last record. Keyboard 1. Press ALT, E to open the Report menu. 2. Press ENTER. The report screen will appear if a database file is open. A Menu dialog box will appear if a file is not open. Press ENTER. The dialog box will disappear. See instructions for opening a database file. 3. Press TAB to move to the proper sort field check box(es). 4. Press the SPACEBAR to place an "X" in the box. The sort field check boxes are located below the command buttons. 5. Press ALT, S to display records on the screen in sorted order according to the order you checked the boxes. A maximum of 15 records can be displayed at one time. The following methods can be used to scroll through the database: 1. Press TAB to highlight a Scroll button and press ENTER. 2. Press ALT and the letter highlighted on the Scroll button. (Example: ALT, E for the End button) The screen is not large enough to display the entire record. Do the following to display more record information: Mouse * Click on the scroll bar below the record display area. The scroll bar can be moved left or right. Keyboard 1. Press TAB to move the cursor to the record display area. 2. Press the left and right arrow key(s) to display more record information. Clear Screen: The Cancel button will remove records and clear the sort field check boxes. Point to the Cancel button and click or press ALT, C to clear the screen. 14 Print Report Follow the same procedure for displaying records on the screen except click or press the Printer button. Exit List Records: Point to the Exit button or press ALT, X to leave the Coin Inventory List screen. Collection Analysis Report Display Report Mouse 1. Point to Reports on the menu bar and click to open the menu. 2. Point to the Analysis menu item and click. The Collection Analysis report screen will appear if a database file is open. A Menu dialog box will appear if a file is not open. Point to the OK button and click. The dialog box will disappear. See instructions for opening a database file. 3. Point to the Screen button and click to display an analysis of your collection. Keyboard 1. Press ALT, E to open the Records menu. 2. Press A. The Collection Analysis Report screen will appear. A Menu dialog box will appear if a file is not open.Press ENTER. The dialog box will disappear. See instructions for opening a database file. 3. Press ALT, S to display an analysis of your collection. Print Report Follow the same procedure for displaying records on the screen except click or press the Printer button. Exit Collection Analysis Report: Point to the Exit button or press ALT, X to leave the Coin Inventory Analysis screen. 15 CHAPTER 5 - UTILITY PROGRAMS The following utility programs are included with registered versions of dBCoin: 1. ISAMREPR.EXE - Repairs damaged databases. 2. ISAMPACK.EXE - Removes deleted records from the database. 3. ISAMIO.EXE - Import/Export ASCII text files. 4. PROISAMD.EXE - Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program required to use ISAMPACK.EXE and ISAMIO.EXE. These utility programs run from the DOS prompt and not from inside dBCoin. File Repair Use the ISAMREPR.EXE program to recover databases that become damaged. The utility can only restore physical integrity to a database. Some records will not be restored if a crash occurs between the time records are entered and saved to disk. The utility recreates a new database from the damaged file. Your database file will require repair if dBCoin displays a dialog box with the message: "Problem with database. Data may be corrupted.". You should exit dBCoin and return to the c:\COIND> prompt. Type "ISAMREPR Databasename" and press ENTER. Databasename is the file name of the database you need to repair. Do not enter the quotation marks. The utility will display messages on the screen during repair. These messages describe the types of problems discovered and corrected. The following messages may appear: Message Explanation A table was truncated: Part of a database table was damaged data lost. resulting in a data loss. One or more records Some damaged records were found and were deleted. deleted. Cannot repair: not a Repair process stopped because the database file. file was not recognized as a database. Cannot repair database: Repair process stopped because the uncorrectable problems. database cannot be repaired. Reasons include: information to reconstruct data is unavailable, rebuilt data and indexes are inconsistent or missing. 16 Repair of file completed Repair process completed. successfully. A repair will stop if the hard drive is full or the program runs out of memory. The ISAMREPR utility requires additional space within your damaged database to accomplish the repair work. The database will increase in size by at least 32K. Do not run the utility if this amount of space is not available on your hard drive. The utility deletes damaged records, but does not compact the file. See Pack Deleted Records to compact a repaired file. Pack Deleted Records Deleting records does not change the size of the database file. Deleted data is marked and reused when records are added to the file. The utility shrinks the database file in increments of 32K. The utility has no effect on the file size if less than 32K of data (approximately 140 records) is marked for deletion. The utility removes deleted records every time the program runs. Removing deleted records compacts the file which can improve performance. Use the utility only after deleting many records. Return to the c:\COIND> prompt and use the following procedure to run ISAMPACK.EXE: 1. Type "PROISAMD" and press ENTER. The TSR will be placed in the computer's memory. 2. Type "ISAMPACK Databasename" and press ENTER. Databasename is the file name of the database you want to pack. The utility will display a progress report on the screen. The original database file is renamed with the file extension .BAK. A new compacted file is created with the original name. Import/Export ASCII Text Files An ASCII text file can be imported into an existing database file. The new data will be added at the end of the database. Records stored in the ASCII file should have the same number of fields, field lengths and fields stored in the same order as records in the existing database. The imported records will not be stored properly in the database if the ASCII file does not meet these criteria. Return to the c:\COIND> prompt and use the following procedure to run ISAMIO.EXE: 1. Type "PROISAMD" and press ENTER. The TSR will be placed in the computer's memory. 17 2. Type "ISAMIO /I Asciifile Databasename "Coins" /A" and press ENTER. Asciifile is the ASCII file to be imported. Databasename is the file name of the database. Include the complete path in Asciifile and Databasename (Example - c:\COIND\COINS.DAT). Enter the word Coins surrounded by " " as above. An existing database file can be exported into an ASCII text file. Return to the c:\COIND> prompt and use the following procedure to run ISAMIO.EXE: 1. Type "PROISAMD" and press ENTER. The TSR will be placed in the computer's memory. 2. Type "ISAMIO /E Asciifile Databasename "Coins" /C" and press ENTER. Asciifile is the ASCII file to be exported. Databasename is the file name of the database. Include the complete path in Asciifile and Databasename (Example - c:\COIND\COINS.DAT). 18 CHAPTER 6 - TECHNICAL SUPPORT We have tried to design dBCoin to be easy to use. Still, we will be happy to help if you have a problem. Contact us by one of the following methods: Telephone (608) 273-2739 Probably the best way to solve a problem. It is easier to provide help when we can speak with you directly. Call during the following times: Monday - Friday 7 - 9 PM Saturday 9 AM - 4 PM All times are Central Standard Time. Please try to be in front of your computer with the program operating. Diagnosing a software problem is difficult if you are not at the computer. CompuServe Contact person: Mark Hetzel ID number: 71371,731 Write Send correspondence to: Changing Seasons Software 4466 Sentinel Pass Madison, WI 53711 We would appreciate your comments or suggestions on dBCoin for DOS. 19