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┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ Users Manual │ │ U.S. Philatelist Database │ └────────────────────────────────┘ Table of Contents Page License Agreement .............................................. 2 Overview of functions .......................................... 3 Additional functions in the registered version ................. 5 Installing software on your computer ........................... 6 MAIN MENU ...................................................... 7 ADD STAMP ...................................................... 8 add a stamp to your inventory .............................. 8 DELETE STAMP ................................................... 10 delete a single stamp ...................................... 10 delete a range of stamps ................................... 10 MODIFY/VIEW .................................................... 11 modify your stamp inventory ................................ 12 view your stamp inventory .................................. 14 modify (add) market value entries .......................... 15 view market value database ................................. 16 modify name to go on the reports ........................... 17 modify percentages for good/bad stamps ..................... 18 recalculate inventory values ............................... 19 REPORTS ........................................................ 20 create reports ............................................. 21 view reports ............................................... 21 print reports .............................................. 21 wantlist report ............................................ 22 inventory report ........................................... 27 investment report .......................................... 28 STAMP IDENTIFIER ............................................... 30 identify Washington/Franklin stamps of 1908-1922 ........... 30 MAIL BID AUCTIONS............................................... 31 track mail bids / auctions ................................. 31 SYSTEM UTILITIES ............................................... 32 change screen colors ....................................... 33 set view mode to 43/25 lines ............................... 34 backup/restore data files .................................. 35 shell to DOS ............................................... 36 Please support the shareware concept of marketing software. Through your support (both financial and through your comments), this program will continue to help collectors track their collections for a low cost. ┌───────────────────┐ │ License Agreement │ └───────────────────┘ The program is a proprietary product of Greg W. Morken and protected by copyright laws. Greg W. Morken retains full title and ownership of the program. The evaluation version of U.S. Philatelist Database is NOT public domain nor free software, but is distributed as "shareware". The shareware concept allows for trial use of a program to decide if it will meet your needs. If you use it on a regular basis, you are expected to pay for it. U.S. Philatelist Database is copyright (c) 1991, 1992 by Greg W. Morken. Non-registered users of this software are granted a limited license to make an evaluation copy for trial use on a private, noncommercial basis, for the express purpose of determining whether U.S. Philatelist Database is suitable for their needs. At the end of this 21 day trial period, you should either register your copy or stop using this software. Registered users are licensed to use the program on the following terms and conditions: a. You may load and use this program on any computer available to you as long as only one copy is executing at a time. Limited Warranty The program diskette is warranted to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for 1 year from date of delivery to you. Just return the disk for a replacement. Except for the above warranty, the software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, are expressly disclaimed. You assume as risk as to selection, quality, installation, results, and performance. Greg Morken does not warrant that the functions contained in the software will meet your requirements or that the operation of the software will be uninterrupted or error free. Parts of this program are copyrighted by: Nantucket Corporation - compiler Rick Spence - various subroutines that made life much easier James Occhiogrosso - backup/restore function The bottom line to this software package is I wrote this program to track my own collection. I purposely priced this program far below the cost of other stamp inventory programs on the market that have the same functionality. I did this because I enjoy programming and wanted to return something to the stamp collectors/dealers for all the joys they've provided for the kids and me this last year. ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ Overview of Functions │ └────────────────────────────────┘ This program allows you to keep detailed information about each stamp in your United States stamp collection with this easy-to-use menu driven program. Data fields provided for each stamp include: 1. allows user up to 64,000+ characters to describe each stamp 2. stamp number 3. centering 4. type of stamp 5. gum condition 6. number (if part of a block) 7. original cost 8. current market value 9. date acquired A Winter 1991 market values database is included. These values can be easily changed by the user. The values supplied are based on F-VF condition. This market value is adjusted by a user changeable percentage for the entire range of centering and gum conditions that are found on stamps. Although the program will automatically determine the value of a stamp, the user can always over-ride this value and put in their own value. In addition to standard functions such as adding or deleting stamps from your inventory, the user can modify information for any stamp. This can come in handy for changing the program-calculated value of a stamp. In this way, you can enter a more realistic value based on the cancellation color, missing perforations or the historical importance of one of your covers. Additionally, The user can modify the market value and description of any stamp in the value database. The user can also modify the percentages used for determining the multiplier value for the very nice down to substandard stamps. NOTE: Unlike the registered version, the evaluation copy doesn't allow you to add new stamp numbers to the market value database. There are several reports available. They can be viewed on the screen or sent to most 80 column printer. For each report type, the last two generated reports are stored on the disk. Reports can be viewed on screen using 43 lines (EGA or VGA systems only) or the default 25 lines. These reports include: 1. Four different varieties of wantlists a. one listing only stamp numbers listed for giving to approval dealers, etc. b. one with both stamp numbers and market values for your use at stores or stamp shows c. both reports listed above can have the stamp descriptions added to it 2. Eight different inventory reports providing stamp number, type, gum, centering, price paid, adjusted market value, and remarks. a. one listing your entire inventory b. one listing all stamps acquired after a certain date c. one for each type of stamp (mint, used, plate block, etc.). Each category type can be listed on its own individual report 3. Investment analysis showing for each stamp category and source, the number of stamps, total price paid, current value, and percentage. All reports can be viewed within this program or printed on most 80 column printers. 4. An auction report showing the status of all bids in effect. This report gives the dealers name, auction closing date, lot number, description, and bid price. Not only can you view the reports on the screen, you can also view the market value database or your inventory entries in a multi-stamp viewing mode where 25 or 43 lines are shown at one time. The program contains a backup and restore function to save your critical system data (inventory, mailbids, etc). The backup function will write to multiple disks and format a disk first if the user puts in an unformatted disk. There is also a stamp identifier for the Washington / Franklin issues of 1908-1922. Even if you don't know what the watermark or paper type is, the program displays all possible stamp numbers based on what you DO know about the stamp. The default screen colors can be changed by the user to any color combination they want. The registered version will save these custom colors to disk as the 'new' default. The evaluation version will use those colors for the current session only. ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ Overview of Additional Program │ │ Functions (Registered Version) │ └────────────────────────────────┘ The following functions are available ONLY in the registered version: 1. You can add your name and address to any report. This is convenient when mailing wantlists to approval dealers. Your shipping address is pre- loaded for your convenience. Anytime you create a report, you will be prompted to see if you want your name added to the top of the report. 2. You can add new stamp numbers into the market value database. 3. All shareware screens are eliminated. 4. When you select custom colors for your program to use, these values are saved to disk as the 'new' default next time you start the program. The evaluation copy will change the screen colors for that session only. 5. Only registered users may receive market value updates (Spring and Winter). The evaluation version contains many 'dummy' values and contains fewer stamps then the registered version. These market value updates for more then 3,000 stamps will be available for $10. 6. Registered users receive a printed user's manual. 7. Registered users are notified by mail when new versions are released or market value databases are available. 8. Technical support is available by sending a letter to the address on the title page or by leaving E-mail on CompuServe in the collectibles forum (GO COINS at any ! prompt, then select area 2 - STAMPS). My CompuServe user number is 70403,2746. I usually check for mail every other day on CompuServe and offer prompt responses. Registered users will receive my phone number for immediate help. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Installing the software on │ │ your computer │ └──────────────────────────────┘ If you are installing this program for the first time, use the INSTALL program to install the program files onto the drive and subdirectory of your choice. *************** * WARNING * *************** If you are upgrading versions and you have already entered some stamps into your inventory database, do NOT use the INSTALL program. Using the INSTALL program will overwrite your current stamp inventory database with a blank fresh copy. If you are upgrading versions from a previous version, use the following procedures: 1. Copy all files from the v2.0 disk into a new subdirectory separate from your old one. 2. Copy your current STAMPS.DBT into the new subdirectory 3. Copy your current STAMPS.RPT into the new subdirectory and rename this file to STAMPS.DAT. 4. Copy your current MAILBID.RPT into the new subdirectory and rename this file to MAILBID.DAT 5. Run the new program .... Registered users ... please don't hesitate to call if you need ANY assistance in loading the new program. ┌─────────────┐ │ Main Menu │ └─────────────┘ To select any menu option, use the up and down arrow keys and press <enter> when your menu choice is highlighted. An alternative method is to press the selection number (e.g., you can press "1" to add stamp to inventory). Selecting menu option eight or pressing <esc> will stop the program and return you to the DOS prompt. Each menu option is briefly described below: ADD INVENTORY add a stamp to your inventory DELETE INVENTORY delete a single stamp delete a range of stamps MODIFY/VIEW modify your stamp inventory view your stamp inventory (multiple stamps on screen) modify (add) market value entries view market value database (multiple stamps on screen) modify name to go on the reports modify percentages for good/bad stamps recalculate inventory values based on changes to percentages or to market value database REPORTS create, view, print wantlist, inventory, investment reports STAMP IDENTIFIER identify Washington/Franklin stamps of 1908-1922 MAIL BID AUCTIONS track mail bids to multiple companies SYSTEM UTILITIES change screen colors backup/restore system data files set view mode to 43 or 25 lines per screen shell to DOS temporally ┌─────────────┐ │ ADD Menu │ └─────────────┘ This option allows the user to add new stamps to their inventory. If you want to quit while in the "add stamps" input screen, press the <ESC> key. This will discard all changes made so far and return you to the main menu without saving this record. Each data field in the "add stamps" data input screen is described below: [Catalog Number] - up to six characters (up to four numeric digits with leading prefix character or trailing suffix character allowed). For example: an airmail stamp could be entered in any of the following formats: C10, C010, C0010. You can add a suffix letter to any of the above examples if from a booklet (ie. C10a). When entering se-tenants (e.g., 1331-2, the space twins pair), use the proper catalog number. For this example, the previous pair is actually 1331a according to Scott Publishing Company. [Description] - if the catalog number you've just entered matches an entry in the market values database, a short description of the stamp is displayed otherwise a "not found" message is displayed. If this "not found" message is displayed, you may want to add this new catalog number to the market value database along with the appropriate values (see modify market values within the "modify menu" for more information). Only registered users can add new entries into the market value database. [Date acquired] - defaults to today's date although any date can be entered in the format Month/Day/Year [Cost of stamp] - purchase price can be any value between 0 and $99,999.99 [Source of stamp] - a pop-up menu appears with 8 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. Contact me to have other choices added to the pop-up menu. [Type of stamp] - a pop-up menu appears with 6 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. [Centering] - a pop-up menu appears with 5 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. A general guideline to use is shown below: Average - perforations cut into the design (1 or more sides) Fine - perforations come near 2 adjacent sides F/VF - perforations come near 1 side, rest are fairly centered Very Fine - all margins well clear of the design but some are not equal Extra Fine - all margins about equal distance from the design [Gum] - if the stamp type is mint, plate block, or coil line pair, a pop-up menu appears with 5 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. If the stamp type is used, first day cover or ordinary cover, this field defaults to "Not applicable". [Multiple] - if this stamp is part of a block, enter the number of stamps that make up this block. IMPORTANT NOTE: all plate blocks and coil line pairs default to a 1 in this block otherwise the value of the plate block/coil line pair will be incorrectly valued at 4 or 6 times the correct value. [Remarks] - describe your stamp in as much detail as you want to. This field allows you use up to 64,000 characters for your description. For large descriptions, the 5 line window will scroll through your entire description using standard editing keys (arrows, PgDn, PgUp, Home, End, etc.). Pressing <esc> will discard any changes you've just made and save the previous contents of this field (unless reediting an entry, pressing <esc> will leave you a blank field). To save the current description, press <Ctrl-W>. [Catalog value] - the program will calculate the market value of the stamp. If the stamp is NOT found in the database (indicated by the description field at the top of the screen) this value defaults to the price you paid for this stamp. Otherwise it takes the value it finds in the market value database and multiplies it by percentages based on gum and centering. To change these percentages see 'modify percentages' option listed under the MODIFY/VIEW main menu option. The user can override the computer generated value by entering their own estimate of the stamp's value and pressing <enter>. [Saving stamp data] After the user has entered all information for this stamp, the user is asked if the data is correct. Select 'Y' to save the this stamp in the inventory database, 'N' to reedit the fields or 'Q' to quit without saving and return to the main menu. [Add more stamps] After each stamp has been entered and saved, a prompt will ask the user whether to go on to the next stamp or exit to the main menu. Press 'Y' to enter more stamps into your inventory or 'N' to return to the main menu. ┌─────────────┐ │ DELETE Menu │ └─────────────┘ This option allows the user to remove stamp(s) from their inventory. Selecting this option from the main menu will display a "delete" sub-menu with 2 choices; delete a single stamp or delete a range of stamps. ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ Delete individual stamp │ └─────────────────────────┘ The user enters the catalog number of the stamp to delete from their inventory. The catalog number can be up to six characters (up to four numeric digits with leading prefix character or trailing suffix character allowed). Pressing <esc> when prompted for the catalog number will return the user to the main menu. For example: an airmail stamp could be entered in any of the following formats: C10, C010, C0010. You can add a suffix letter to any of the above examples if from a booklet (ie. C10a). When entering se-tenants (e.g. 1331-2, the space twins pair), use the proper catalog number. For this example, the previous pair is actually 1331a according to Scott Publishing Company. If a match is found, the user is shown the stamp record and is prompted to confirm this is the record to delete. If you have three different copies of a given stamp, the program will show each record asking if this is the particular stamp record to delete. Using this previous example, you could have deleted one, two or all three copies of this catalog number. If a match is not found, an error message is displayed and the user is prompted to enter another catalog number. Press <esc> to exit back to the main menu. ┌────────────────────────┐ │ Delete range of stamps │ └────────────────────────┘ The description for this choice is similar to "delete single stamp" described above but allows an entire range to be deleted. The actions are the same as above. ┌──────────────────┐ │ MODIFY/VIEW Menu │ └──────────────────┘ This option allows the user to view or modify the inventory and market value records, modify the name or address placed at the top of each report, adjust the percentages used to adjust a stamp value because of centering or gum considerations, and recalculate inventory value based on any changes you've made to the market value database or to the percentages for centering/gum. Inventory Modify individual record View multiple records Market Values Modify individual record View multiple records Modify name/address used on reports Modify percentages for centering or gum conditions Recalculate inventory values ┌───────────────────────────────┐ │ Modify your stamp inventory │ └───────────────────────────────┘ This option allows you to change any of the fields used to describe your stamp collection (including computer calculated value for any stamp). After selecting whether you want to modify a single or range of stamps in your inventory, a screen of information appears (similar to the 'add stamp' screen). If you want to edit the displayed record, enter 'Y' to the prompt otherwise enter 'N'. You will be asked the same "edit this record" prompt for each inventory record matching or within the range of these catalog numbers. Each data item is described below: [Catalog Number] - up to six characters (up to four numeric digits with leading prefix character or trailing suffix character allowed). For example: an airmail stamp could be entered in any of the following formats: C10, C010, C0010. You can add a suffix letter to any of the above examples if from a booklet (ie. C10a). When entering se-tenants (e.g. 1331-2, the space twins pair), use the proper catalog number. For this example, the previous pair is actually 1331a according to Scott Publishing Company. [Description] - if the catalog number you've just entered matches an entry in the market values database, a short description of the stamp is displayed otherwise a "not found" message is displayed. If this "not found" message is displayed, you may want to add this new catalog number to the market value database along with the appropriate values (see modify market values within the "modify menu" for more information). Only registered users can add new entries into the market value database. [Date acquired] - defaults to the original date you bought the stamp although any date can be entered in the format Month/Day/Year [Cost of stamp] - purchase price can be any value between 0 and $99,999.99 [Source of stamp] - a pop-up menu appears with 8 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. Contact me to have other choices added to the pop-up menu. [Type of stamp] - a pop-up menu appears with 6 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. This program defines "unused" as "mint with no gum" so select "mint" for unused stamps. [Centering] - a pop-up menu appears with 5 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. A general guideline to use is shown below: Average - perforations cut into the design (1 or more sides) Fine - perforations come near 2 adjacent sides F/VF - perforations come near 1 side, rest are fairly centered Very Fine - all margins well clear of the design but some are not equal Extra Fine - all margins about equal distance from the design [Gum] - if the stamp type is mint, plate block, or coil line pair, a pop-up menu appears with 5 choices. Using the arrow keys, highlight your choice and press <enter>. If the stamp type is used, first day cover or ordinary cover, this field defaults to "Not applicable". [Multiple] - if this stamp is part of a block, enter the number of stamps that make up this block. IMPORTANT NOTE: all plate blocks and coil line pairs default to a 1 in this block otherwise the value of the plate block/coil line pair will be incorrectly valued at 4 or 6 times the correct value. [Remarks] - describe your stamp in as much detail as you want to. This field allows you use up to 64,000 characters for your description. For large descriptions, the 5 line window will scroll through your entire description using standard editing keys (arrows, PgDn, PgUp, Home, End, etc). Pressing <esc> will discard any changes you've just made and save the previous contents of this field (unless reediting an entry, pressing <esc> will leave you a blank field). To save the current description, press <Ctrl-W>. [Catalog value] - the program will calculate the market value of the stamp. If the stamp is NOT found in the database (indicated by the description field at the top of the screen) this value defaults to the price you paid for this stamp. Otherwise it takes the value it finds in the market value database and multiplies it by percentages based on gum and centering. To change these percentages see 'modify percentages' option listed under the MODIFY/VIEW main menu option. The user can override the computer generated value by entering their own estimate of the stamp's value. [Saving stamp data and market value] After the user has entered all information for this stamp, the user is asked if the data is correct. Select 'Y' to save changes made to this stamp entry, 'N' to reedit the fields or 'Q' to quit without saving changes and return to the main menu. If there are any more inventory entries matching the user criteria, the next record is displayed and so on. ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ Stamp inventory viewing │ └─────────────────────────────┘ This option allows you to browse multiple inventory records on the screen at once. There are two screen modes available; 25 lines and 43 lines. If you have an EGA or VGA system, select the 43 lines option. You can view more stamps this way. See the screen view option under the system utilities menu option for more information. Use the standard editing keys (up/down arrows, <PgDn>, <PgUp>, etc) to view other records. Press the <esc> key to exit this function to go back to the modify menu. ┌───────────────────────────────┐ │ Modify market value database │ └───────────────────────────────┘ This option allows you to change any of the stamp values or description for more then 2,500 stamps. The registered version allows new catalog numbers to be added to the database. Enter the starting catalog number of the stamp and fill in each of the displayed fields with your updated market values. After entering the new values, you'll be asked to confirm everything is correct. Press 'Y' to save this record or 'N' to reedit the values. After saving this record, the user is asked if they want to go to the next record or quit to the main menu. The catalog number cannot be changed within this program. ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ Market value database viewing │ └────────────────────────────────┘ This option allows you to browse multiple market value records on the screen at once. There are two screen modes available; 25 lines and 43 lines. If you have an EGA or VGA system, select the 43 lines option. You can view more stamps this way. See the screen view choice under the "system utilities" menu option for more information. Since there are more data fields then room on the screen, press the right arrow key several times to see the other market values for this catalog number. The stamp number is listed twice in the display. It is shown in the far right and far left columns to make it easier to see which values go with which number. Use the standard editing keys (up/down arrows, <PgDn>, <PgUp>, etc) to view other records. Press the <esc> key to exit this function to go back to the modify menu. ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Modify name/address used in reports │ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ Use this option to modify the name and address used at the top of the various reports. This field is pre-loaded with your shipping address when this package is mailed to you. Up to 4 lines are available to enter your name and address. NOTE: this option is available only on the registered version. ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Modify percentage for centering and gum │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ Rather then having a huge database of values for every possible centering and gum condition that a stamp may have, another method was used. Since most people are more interested in the approximate value (rather then the exact to- the-penny value) of their collection, percentages are applied against base value for those really good stamps or space fillers. In those circumstances that this method doesn't work, the user can manually change the adjusted market value. The supplied values should be adequate for normal usage. If you modify any of the percentages, it's suggested you recalculate all the inventory values using the next option listed on the next page. ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ Recalculate market value │ └────────────────────────────┘ Anytime you modify the percentages (for adjusting values based on centering and gum conditions), you must recalculate all the stamp inventory values. The same holds true anytime you modify the market value database or load a new updated database. Selecting this option allows the computer to recompute the market values of your inventory. WARNING: using this option will override any manual changes you've made to your inventory values. ┌────────────────┐ │ Reports Menu │ └────────────────┘ This option allows the user to create, view or print a variety of reports. If you create a report, a copy is always made to disk. This allows you to print the reports at your convenience anytime at the DOS prompt. The last two generated reports for each type (inventory, wantlist, or investment) are saved. The oldest report has a file extension of ".BAK" and the newest report has no file extension (e.g. WANTLIST. ). The registered user has the option of putting their name and address on any report they want to. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ Create, View, Print │ └─────────────────────┘ [ Create ] Selecting 'create' option will display a pop-up window with three choices. Select WANTLIST to create a report listing the stamps you need for your collection. Select INVENTORY to create a report listing all stamps in your collection. Select INVESTMENT to create a report that analyzes your stamp purchases as an investment. [ View ] Selecting 'view' option will display a pop-up window with three choices. Select the report you want to view on the screen. If it has been created already, the most recent report will be displayed on the screen. If you have an EGA or VGA display, select the 43 line screen option under "system utilities" to see more of the report on the screen. [ Print ] Selecting 'print' option will display a pop-up window with three choices. Select the report you want to print. If it has been created already, the most recent report will be printed to the parallel port (LPT1). If you have a serial printer, set up the printer as you normally would using the DOS's MODE command (something similar to MODE COM1:96,,,,P). Make sure you also use the following command at the DOS prompt: MODE LPT1:COMx where x is the serial port your printer is connected to. These reports can be printed on any 80 column printer (laser or dot matrix). For best results, when printing the wantlists to a laser printer, use the eight lines per inch setting on your printer. ┌─────────────────┐ │ Create wantlist │ └─────────────────┘ This option allows the user to go through their stamp collection and identify the stamp numbers of blank spaces they want to fill. The user selects each stamp category (mint, used, etc), range of catalog numbers and price range to include on the report. There are 4 varieties of wantlists available: type 1: This report contains a stamp number, market value, and description for each stamp you need in your collection. type 2: This report contains a stamp number and the F-VF base market price for each stamp you need in your collection(for your use at stamp shows and retail stores). type 3: This report contains a stamp number and description for each stamp you need in your collection. type 4: This report contains only stamp numbers (for sending to approval dealers, etc). For each stamp category (mint, used, etc), a comment can be added to the stamp category title in the report. A sample page for each of these wantlist varieties are shown on the next four pages. A type 1 wantlist report is shown below: U.S. Philatelist Database v2.0 Copyright (c)1991 Greg Morken Listing created: 01/20/92 WANTLIST - United States Stamps Mint Stamps 0003 $ 928.00 5c Franklin brown 0007 $ 530.30 1c Franklin blue 0009 $ 371.20 1c Franklin blue 0010 $ 1007.50 3c Washington orange/brown 0011 $ 137.90 3c Washington dull red 0014 $ 2121.10 10c Washington green 0015 $ 2121.10 10c Washington green 0018 $ 795.40 1c Franklin blue 0020 $ 477.20 1c Franklin blue Used Stamps 0007 $ 86.70 1c Franklin blue 0009 $ 77.00 1c Franklin blue 0010 $ 38.50 3c Washington orange/brown 0011 $ 6.70 3c Washington dull red 0024 $ 21.70 1c Franklin blue 0025 $ 26.50 3c Washington rose 0026 $ 2.70 3c Washington red A type 2 wantlist report is shown below: U.S. Philatelist Database v2.0 Copyright (c)1991 Greg Morken Listing created: 01/20/92 WANTLIST - United States Stamps Mint Stamps │ 0009 371.20 │ 0011 137.90 │ 0020 477.20 Used Stamps │ 0007 86.70 │ 0009 77.00 │ 0010 38.50 │ 0011 6.70 │ │ 0024 21.70 │ 0025 26.50 │ 0026 2.70 A type 3 wantlist report is shown below: U.S. Philatelist Database v2.0 Copyright (c)1991 Greg Morken Listing created: 01/20/92 WANTLIST - United States Stamps Mint Stamps 0009 1c Franklin blue 0011 3c Washington dull red 0020 1c Franklin blue Used Stamps 0001 5c Franklin brown 0003 5c Franklin brown 0007 1c Franklin blue 0009 1c Franklin blue 0010 3c Washington orange/brown 0011 3c Washington dull red 0014 10c Washington green 0015 10c Washington green 0017 12c Washington black 0018 1c Franklin blue 0020 1c Franklin blue 0022 1c Franklin blue 0023 1c Franklin blue 0024 1c Franklin blue 0025 3c Washington rose 0026 3c Washington red 0028 5c Jefferson red/brown 0029 5c Jefferson brown 0030A 5c Jefferson brown A type 4 wantlist report is shown below: U.S. Philatelist Database v2.0 Copyright (c)1991 Greg Morken Listing created: 01/20/92 WANTLIST - United States Stamps Mint Stamps │ 0009 │ 0011 │ 0020 Used Stamps │ 0007 │ 0009 │ 0010 │ 0011 │ 0024 │ 0025 │ 0026 ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ Create inventory report │ └─────────────────────────┘ This report contains detailed information on each stamp in your inventory. The report contains stamp number, type, gum, centering, original cost, current adjusted value, date purchased, source and remarks. A short sample inventory report is shown below: U.S. Philatelist Database v2.0 Copyright (c)1991 Greg Morken Listing created: 11/12/91 INVENTORY - U.S. Postage Stamps Cat # Type Gum Cent Cost Cur Value Purchased Source 0011 Used NA VF $ 10.00 $ 6.90 10/23/91 MAIL BID Left margin single with nice CDS cancel 0230 Mint NH VF $ 10.00 $30.00 12/25/90 OTHER Christmas gift from Aunt Hilda, plate number single ┌───────────────────────────────────┐ │ Create investment analysis report │ └───────────────────────────────────┘ This report shows the financial aspects of your collection. The report contains a wide variety of data including the number of stamps in your collection, original cost of your stamps, current market value, net gain/loss, and average value/cost of each stamp. The middle part breaks down the same information just presented by stamp types. This way you can see how each type (mint, used, etc) has appreciated/depreciated for you. The last section breaks down the same information by source. This shows the source of the biggest bargains you've obtained. A sample report is shown on the next page.U.S. Philatelist Database v2.0 Copyright (c)1992 Greg Morken Listing created: 01/20/92 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS - U.S. Postage Stamps Total number of stamps in collection : 406 Original cost of collection : $ 2446.21 Current market value of collection : $ 4255.79 Net gain/loss : $ 1809.58 Average value per stamp : $ 10.48 Average cost per stamp : $ 6.03 Totals by stamp type: Stamp Type Total number Original Cost Current Value Net Gain Pct ------------- ------------ ------------- ------------- ---------- --- Mint 348 1816.08 2863.81 1047.73 57 % Used 53 598.88 1310.66 711.78 118 % Plate Block 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 % Coil LP 2 1.25 0.69 -0.56 -45 % FDC 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 % Ord. Cover 3 30.00 80.63 50.63 168 % ------------ ------------- ------------- ---------- TOTALS 406 2446.21 4255.79 1809.58 Totals by source: Source Original Cost Market Value Gain/Loss ------ ------------- ------------ --------- Mail Bids 1362.52 2477.48 181 % Auctions 22.00 38.60 175 % Retail Store 0.00 0.00 0 % Mail Order 446.69 648.02 145 % Approvals 407.65 516.68 126 % Post Office 0.00 0.00 0 % Stamp Shows 169.95 229.39 134 % Other 28.40 331.01 116 % ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Identify Washington/Franklin issues │ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ This option allows you to identify stamps issued for the Washington / Franklin issues of 1908 - 1922. Even if you don't know what the watermark or paper type is, all possible stamp numbers are given based on what you DO know about the stamp. Each data field is described below: [perforation] A pop-up menu of many choices is shown. Select the number of perforations (horizonal side first, followed by vertical side). [watermark] A pop-up menu with 4 choices is displayed. Select your choice by moving the selection bar over your choice and press <enter>. If you are not sure of the watermark, select unknown. [printing method] A pop-up menu with 5 choices is displayed. Select your choice by highlighting your choice using the arrow keys and pressing <enter>. If you need more help identifying the printing method, select 'identify' and some additional help is available. Select 'unknown' if you are unable to determine the printing method. [portrait on stamp] A pop-up menu with 2 choices is displayed. Select your choice by highlighting your choice using the arrow keys and pressing <enter>. [face value] Enter the face value of the stamp (1 cent to $1.00). [stamp type] Two and three cent stamps were printed with plates with slightly different characteristics (1 mark versus 2 marks on ribbons, more dots on the face, etc.). Select 'identify' to help you with these small differences. Select 'unknown' if you are unable to determine the type of stamp. [paper type] There are various paper types for those stamps with perforation 12x12. Select your choice by highlighting your choice using the arrow keys and press <enter>. Select 'unknown' if you are unable to determine the stamp paper type Based on your data entries, the program will determine all stamps with the characteristics you've selected. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Tools for mail bids/auctions │ └──────────────────────────────┘ This menu option contains many utilities to help you track bids made to mail bid auctions. It also gives you the opportunity to browse through the market value database while making those bids. ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │ List a stamp value for making bids │ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ Enter a starting stamp number to view. Enter a number up to six characters (up to four numeric digits with leading prefix character or trailing suffix character allowed). For example: an airmail stamp could be entered in any of the following formats: C10, C010, C0010. You can add a suffix letter to any of the above examples if from a booklet (ie. C10a). The market value for a screen full of stamps is displayed starting with the number you've selected. Press the right arrow to see other category values for this number. Use standard movement keys (ie PgDn, arrows, etc) to view other numbers. Press <esc> to return to the mail bid menu. ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │ Add active mail bid to database │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ Select this option to store all the bids you make at mail bid auctions. Enter a company name, closing date, lot number and bid amount. You must then either save the information, reedit it or quit to main menu without saving this entry. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Delete mail bids that closed over 7 days ago │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Select this option to delete all mail bids in auctions that closed over ten days ago. If you haven't been contacted by the stamp company after 10 days, you were either unsuccessful at your bids or it's time to find a company with better service. ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ Print mail bids in effect │ └─────────────────────────────┘ Select this option to send the mail bid database entries to the printer. ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ List mail bids in effect │ └────────────────────────────┘ Select this option to view mail bid database entries on the screen. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ System Utilities │ └──────────────────────────────┘ Selecting this option allows you to access functions that affect system performance and 'feel'. In the next several pages, each option is fully described in detail. CHANGE SCREEN COLORS change screen colors using custom colors set colors to the monochrome support set colors to the standard colors default CHANGE VIEWING MODE (25/43 LINES) set viewing mode to 43 lines (EGA/VGA systems only) set viewing mode to 25 lines (all systems) BACKUP/RESTORE SYSTEM DATA FILES backup user data files to floppy disk restore data files from floppy disk SHELL TO DOS ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Change screen colors │ └──────────────────────────────┘ There are 3 choices under this menu option. [Change screen colors uning custom colors] Select this option to change the colors that the program uses. The left side of the screen shows the 127 possible color combonations that you can choose from. The right side shows a sample screen. After you select all the colors for each section of the screen, the sample screen will be updated with your colors. Enter 'Y' to the question, everything correct?, to save these color choices. Enter "N" to reedit the color choices. The registered version will save these color combonations to disk for the next time you start the program. The evaluation version will save your preferences for this session only, they won't be remembered the next time you start the program. [Set colors to the monochrome default] Sets the colors to the optimum color combonation for monochrome screens. [Set colors to the standard color default] Sets the colors to the original color combonation for color screens. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Change to 25/43 lines │ └──────────────────────────────┘ On systems equiped with EGA or VGA screens, you can utilize the extra lines allowed by these screen types to view extra lines of any report or to view databases onto the screen. If you select 43 lines and and your screen doesn't support it, the default 25 lines will be used. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Backup / restore │ └──────────────────────────────┘ Nobody expects their hard disk to crash but it is possible. It is highly recommended that you save your files periodically (weekly ?) so you can reload the program and your data files with a minimum of reentering the data back into the program. The following files are saved: CV.DAT, CV.DBT, STAMPS.DAT, STAMPS.DBT, MAILBID.DAT, MARKET.DAT. The other files are not saved because they can easily be reloaded from the master distribution disk. There are 2 steps in this operation; backup and restore. [backup] This option will store your critical user data files to any floppy drive "A" through "D". After selecting this option, you enter the drive letter of the floppy disk drive to use. The program then determines the size of all the data files it will backup and shows the information on the bottom of the screen. The user is prompted to insert a backup floppy disk in the drive they earlier specified. All files are deleted on the floppy disk (if any). If the program couldn't delete a file on the floppy disk (e.g. hidden, system files), the program asks you whether to insert a new disk or to continue using the current one. Another possibility is when a user puts an unformatted disk into the drive. The program will sense this condition and will format this disk automatically (assuming the FORMAT.COM program is accessible through your DOS path). The program will also back up data over multiple floppies. [restore] This option makes it easy to restore data files in cases of system or user malfunctions (accidently deleted subdirectories, corrupted files, etc). First reload the program files from the master distribution disk (if necessary). Then select the restore menu choice and press <enter>. Enter the floppy drive to restore from (drives A-D are supported) and insert the disk to restore. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Exit to DOS │ └──────────────────────────────┘ Selecting this option will allow you to temporally exit to DOS. System memory will be reduced 371K while you are at the DOS prompt. Type 'EXIT' at the DOS prompt to return to the stamps program. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Error Reporting Form │ └──────────────────────────────┘ All software products are not 100% error free. Although this product has been thoroughly tested, some bugs may have slipped through. Please send the following form (or information on it for CompuServe messages) to: Greg Morken 1648-A 7th Ave. Langley AFB, VA 23665-1702 CompuServe #70403,2746 Version # ■───────────────────────────■ Product Name ■───────────────────────────■ Circle your responses DOS version 2.x 3.x 4.x 5.x Computer type 8088 80286 80386 80486 APPLE Display Screen VGA EGA CGA Hercules MCGA OTHER(specify) Color or monochrome screen ■───────────────────────────────────■ Printer type ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ■ Description of Error: ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■ ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■ ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■ Error messages if program crashed ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■ ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■ Your name/address (phone number optional) ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■ ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■ ■──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────■