The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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M A G V 1.60 User supported software written by Norman Newman Kibbutz Tsor'a M. P. Shimshon ISRAEL 99705 ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Runs on all IBM-compatible computers: XT, │ │ AT, PS/1, PS/2. Requires DOS 3.0 and one │ │ 360K drive. 640K memory recommended. │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ LEGAL NOTE ---------- This program is copyright 1991/3 by Norman Newman, Kibbutz Tsor'a, M.P. Shimshon, ISRAEL 99705; all rights reserved, all wrongs deserved. This program may be freely distributed and copied, provided that no changes are made in the program files MAG.EXE and MAG.DOC. The author denies all responsibility for any damage which may arise by the use or misuse of this program. This software is provided as shareware; this means that you have the opportunity to try MAG before having to register and pay for the program. Should you decide to keep and use the program, you are requested to register your copy with the author by sending a cheque for $25. This will entitle you to receive a new copy of the program without the shareware window at the beginning, along with the source code (written in Turbo Pascal 6, using Turbo Vision), free support, a laser-printed copy of the documentation, and copies of other programs written by Norman Newman (see the advertisement at the end of the documentation). This program is "user-driven" and suggestions for additional features are welcome. This documentation describes version 1.60, which is the current released version (2/93). Note that files produced by previous versions of MAG are NOT compatible with this version; should you have a data file produced by an earlier version of MAG, you will be sent a conversion program upon registering this copy of MAG. WHAT IS MAG? ------------ MAG is a program designed to maintain a library of articles published in several magazines. Although the program was designed for use with computer magazines, it can be used (with a little imagination) for articles published on any subject. MAG allows the use of several data files, and so one may store the computer related articles in the file 'COMPUTER.M16' (the .M16 extension is mandatory), and the photography articles in the file 'PHOTO.M16'. MAG was written with the aid of Borland International's "Turbo Vision" programming interface. Turbo Vision supports an implementation of IBM's SAA-CUA (Systems Application Architecture - Common User Access) standard, which means that the program displays and receives its data by means of such devices as windows, dialog boxes, list boxes and buttons. This standard is supported by many contemporary programs, and having a common user interface makes using the programs easier. MAG supports both the keyboard and the mouse. It maintains all of its data in memory, meaning that accessing data is instantaneous, with no need to read any disk(ette); this also means that the amount of data which MAG is capable of storing is limited to the amount of memory on the computer. 640KB memory should be adequate for about 1500 articles. MAG supports autosaving, a device by which new data are saved to the disk automatically every so often (exactly how often depends on how it is defined). INSTALLATION ------------ Your distribution diskette should contain the following files: MAG.EXE and MAG.DOC. If you have a floppy disk system, prepare a newly formatted diskette and copy both files onto this diskette. If you have a computer with a hard disk, create a new subdirectory and copy the files into this subdirectory. As mentioned above, MAG can work with several data files; these do not have to reside on the same floppy or within the same directory as MAG. GETTING STARTED --------------- The program is invoked by typing MAG at the DOS command line; as the program uses no ancillary files, the program need not reside on the current floppy or within the current subdirectory in order to be executed. An optional file name may also be typed, in which case MAG assumes that this name is the name of a suitable data file to be read. If this file does not reside on the current floppy or within the current subdirectory, you must supply the full path name to the file. As the .M16 extension is mandatory, you don't have to type this extension. Here are some examples of command line use: C:\ mag C:\ mag d:\databank\computer C:\ \databank\mag a:special Should you have a non-registered version of the program, you will initially receive what is called 'the shareware window': this window (or dialog box) informs you of the program's name and version, who wrote it and when, and what the terms for registration are. In order to remove the window from the program, you have to type the number displayed and to press <ENTER>. Please note that this number is random, and so will vary from invocation to invocation. If the program is invoked without a filename, the program will display a new dialog box allowing you to choose a suitable data file or create a new one.The cursor will initially reside on a line labelled 'Name', with the contents '*.mag'. If you know the name of the data file that you wish to use, simply type the name of the file; otherwise type <Alt-F>, which will move the cursor to the screen area labelled 'Files'. In this area will be listed the names of both all the files in the current directory whose extension is '.MAG' and all subdirectories; you can move the cursor through these names by pressing the arrow keys. You choose a file by pressing <ENTER> when that file's name is highlighted. Should you decide to create a new data file, write on the 'Name' line the name of the file which you wish to create. After the shareware and filename dialogs have been dealt with, the program is ready to receive and display data. The main screen can be divided into three parts: the bottom line is called the status line, the top line is called the menu bar, and the middle portion (coloured blue on a colour screen) is the workspace. On the status line appear four different items. The first two inform you of general commands: pressing <F10> will make the menu bar active, and pressing <Alt-X> will stop the program running and return you to DOS. The next item on the status line is called 'the hint'; this will either be a hint on how to operate the dialog box which is on the screen, or will be a copyright notice. When you start the program, there is no dialog box on the screen, and so the hint will be the copyright notice. The final item on the status line is a clock; its accuracy depends on the accuracy of your computer's clock. The menu bar has four visible options: 'General', 'Articles', 'Show Articles', and 'Magazines'. Note that the first letter of each option is coloured red. There are three equivalent ways to choose one of these options: a) move the mouse pointer over the desired option and press the left mouse button; b) press <F10> to take the cursor to the menu bar, which will highlight Articles (on a colour screen, this will be green); press the arrow keys until the highlight is on the desired option, and then press <ENTER>; c) press <Alt-key>, where 'key' is the red (first) character in each option (eg <Alt-A> - pressing <ALT> and <A> simultaneously - will select 'Articles'). If you are creating a new data file, the 'Show Articles' and 'Magazines' options will be coloured grey and not black; this means that you cannot select these options. They become selectable only after you have entered data into the database. After you have selected an option, a pull-down menu will appear underneath the selected option, allowing access to several sub-options. You can choose one of these sub-options again in any one of three ways: by using the mouse as above, by moving the green highlight with the arrow keys and pressing <ENTER> when the desired sub-option is lit, or by pressing the red (first) character (no need for <Alt>!). Certain sub-options also have dedicated hot-keys: for example, pressing <F3> will select the 'Add article' sub-option. Instead of giving a formal introduction to the menu structure and the various sub-options, we will take a guided tour of MAG as it appears to the user about to start a new database. SETTING AUTOSAVE ---------------- The first thing which I normally do is to select the AutoSave option; setting AutoSave means that MAG will automatically save its data after five (or however many I choose) operations. Should there be a power cut before I leave the program, most (if not all) of the articles which I have entered will be saved (unless the power cut happened during the save). This option is chosen by pressing (in sequence) <F10>, <ENTER> and <ENTER>; you may choose to do this differently by selecting 'General' and then 'Set AutoSave' with the mouse. Once the option has been selected, a dialog box will appear in the middle of the screen, asking 'Save after how many changes?'. I normally type '5' and press <ENTER>, meaning that MAG will save the data after every five articles. Should this number be set to 32767, the AutoSave feature will be ignored by the program. DIALOG BOXES ------------ It is worthwhile digressing for a moment to consider the AutoSave dialog box. This box is probably the simplest dialog box which will appear during the program, and yet is indicative of all the larger dialog boxes. A dialog box will contain one or more of the following items: Buttons: these are "shadowed" text normally appearing at the bottom of a dialog box. You get out of a dialog box by pressing the button marked 'OK' to confirm your choices, or by pressing the 'Cancel' button to cancel them. Input boxes: an input box (a blue line on a colour monitor) prompts you to type in a string. List boxes: a list box contains a list of items from which you can choose (for example, a list of articles to edit). You can navigate around dialog boxes by pressing <Tab> to go forwards, and <Shift-Tab> to go backwards. If you have a mouse, it is even easier to get around in a dialog box: just click on the item you wish to choose. To cancel the dialog box, click on the 'Cancel' button or on the 'close box' in the upper left corner of the frame. You can also choose items in a dialog box by pressing their hot key, which is <ALT> and the highlighted letter in each command. Pressing <ESC> cancels the dialog box. SETTING DEFAULTS ---------------- After having set the AutoSave, I then set the Defaults. The program maintains a default magazine and issue, which saves time when entering articles into the database. This sub-option is chosen from the 'Articles' option on the menu bar. A dialog box will open containing two input boxes and two buttons. The first input box is for a magazine, whose length can be at most three letters (eg DDJ for Dr Dobbs Journal). The second input box is for the issue, and should be five letters long (eg 12/92). It is strongly advised to enter dates in this format so that they can be processed properly in the 'Find Issues' option. If you are satisfied with what you have enter, press the OK button to set the defaults, else press the Cancel button to quit. ADDING AN ARTICLE ----------------- This sub-option can be accessed either choosing the 'Articles' option on the menu bar, or by simply pressing <F3>. A dialog box will appear on the screen, awaiting you to fill in the various fields; if you have set the defaults (see the previous section), then the magazine and issue fields will already be filled. The lengths of the various fields are as follows: Title: 40 characters Author: 30 characters Magazine: 3 characters Issue: 5 characters Page: 3 characters Language: 16 characters Subject: 16 characters Remarks: three lines of 40 characters. All the fields except for the remarks fields are obligatory. You will see next to the Language field the legend 'Press F1 to paste', and next to the Subject field the legend 'Press F2 to paste'. The meaning of this is as follows: should you press F1 whilst the cursor is on the language field (or F2 on the subject field), a window will open displaying all the different languages (subjects) which have already been defined within the database. You may choose one of these by pressing <ENTER> or by double clicking the mouse on the desired name; you scroll through the list by pressing the arrow keys or dragging on the scrollbar. Should you decide not to use one of the predefined names, simply press <ESC>; the window will disappear and you will be returned to the language (subject) field. The purpose of this is to prevent capitalisation errors and to minimise the number of languages and subjects defined. If you are using defaults, press <Alt-P> after having typed the author's name, instead of <TAB>. This will cause the cursor to skip over the magazine and issue fields (which have been filled in by the defaults) and to reside on the page field. When you are satisfied with the data in the dialog box, press the OK button so that the data will be added to the database. Note that in the top right corner of the menu bar appears the number of articles defined in the database. EDITING AN ARTICLE ------------------ This sub-option is chosen from the 'Articles' option on the main menu. You will be presented with a list box containing the names of all the articles entered into the database; scroll though it until you find the article that you wish to edit. Please note that the order of appearance in this list box is the order in which the articles were entered into the database, and so the last article entered will be the last article in the list box. This can be quickly accessed by pressing <CTRL-PGDN>. When you have found the article you wish to edit, press <ENTER> or double click the mouse on the article. The edit dialog box will open, with the data regarding the chosen article displayed. You can edit any field within the dialog box, including the language and subject. Should you press OK, the article will be updated in the database. It is also possible to edit articles when they are being displayed; more information will be given about this in the following section, 'displaying articles'. DISPLAYING ARTICLES ------------------- There are three display options: by language, by subject and by author. As these options differ only in the field by which they sort, we will discuss displaying by language. This option can be accessed either by choosing the 'Show Articles' option from the menu bar, or by pressing <F4> (<F5> will choose 'show by subject' and <F6> 'show by author'). A list box will open on the left side of the screen displaying all the languages which have been defined in the database. Scroll through the list until you find the language by which you wish to display. After having pressed <ENTER> or double clicked on the name, the list box will temporarily close, and a dialog box will open, asking you whether you wish to send the output to the printer or to the screen (the default choice). Should you press <Shift-Tab> and then <ENTER> to select output to the printer, data for all the articles matching the given language will be printed. After the printing has finished, the list box will reappear. Should you choose to send output to the screen, a second list box will appear in the middle of the screen displaying all the articles in the database whose language matches the chosen language. Only the title of the article and on which page of which issue of which magazine will appear in the list box. Scroll though this list box until you find an article which you wish to see in full, and then press <ENTER> (or double click). A window will open displaying all the data regarding the chosen article; when you have finished viewing this data, press <ENTER> and the window will close, leaving you back on the (second) list box. Should you wish to edit the data regarding the chosen article, press <TAB> or click on the 'Edit' button; this will cause the program to display the article's data in the 'add article' window, allowing you to edit the data. When you choose the 'OK' button from this window, the 'add article' window will disappear, and the screen will return to its previous state, but now displaying the edited data. When you have seen enough articles written in this language, press <ESC> to close the second list box and to return to the first list box, in order to choose another language to sort by. When you have seen enough articles written in any language, press <ESC> again, and the first list box will be closed, returning you to the main menu. SHOW ISSUES ----------- This option is chosen from the 'Magazines' option on the main menu. Its function is to list all the issues of a given magazine which are contained within the database. First you will be presented with a list of all the different magazines which are known to the database. After chosing a magazine from this list, a window will open listing all the issues of that magazine which have been entered into the database. Note that for this option to work properly, you must have added the issue dates in the form MM/YY (eg 12/92). Otherwise, the issues will be sorted in an unpredictable order. If you select one of the issues listed by pressing <ENTER> or by double clicking the left mouse, a window will open listing all the articles contained in that issue. Selecting one of the articles will display the information about that article. LAST ISSUES ----------- This option is chosen from the 'Magazines' option on the main menu. It will open a window listing all the magazines known to the database, and the last issue of each one. Note that for this option to work propely, you must have added the issue dates in the form MM/YY (eg 12/92). Otherwise, the issues will be sorted in an unpredictable order, and the 'last issue' may not necessarily be so. RESOURCES --------- This option is chosen from the 'General' option on the main menu. It will open a window listing statistics about the various items in the database: how many articles, how many magazines, how many subjects, how many languages, and how many authors. The amount of free memory is also displayed, from which is derived the maximum number of articles which may be added to the database. This final figure should not be taken too seriously! The amount of free memory depends on how much memory is in your computer, and how much has been assigned to other programs (normally terminate-and-stay-resident ones). CHOOSING A NEW DATABASE ----------------------- If you are working with several databases, you can load a new one without having to exit 'MAG'. Choose from the main menu 'General', and then choose 'Change database'. The 'choose file' dialog box will be displayed, enabling you to choose a new database. CLEVER TRICKS ------------- When you are adding an article, press <F4> at some stage. The list box containing all the languages defined will appear, and you can display articles as described above. If you press <F4> while the cursor is on the 'language' line, the list of all articles for that language will appear. Similarly, pressing <F5> while the cursor is on the 'subject' line will cause a window with all the articles for that subject to appear. Pressing <F6> while the cursor is on the 'author' line will cause a window with all the articles written by that author to appear. You can access any of the options and sub-options defined in the menu bar - except for 'Add article' and 'Edit article': MAG will not allow you to add or edit more than one article at a time. VERSION HISTORY --------------- The purpose of this section is to show that MAG is constantly being updated in response to suggestions received. Fortunately none of the changes have been because of bugs! The changes listed here are mainly those of interest to the user, and so the many implementation changes have been ignored. Version 1.60 - 11 February 1993. A different format used for storing authors, languages and subjects, resulting in a 20% saving of space. This also means yet another conversion program! The datafile extension changed to 'M16' to minimise errors arising from reading files created with previous versions of MAG. Version 1.53 - 4 February 1993. 1. By adding an 'edit' button to DisplayForm, it is now possible to edit an article after viewing it via 'Show by ...'. 2. Filename displayed in statistics window. 3. 'Change database' command added. Version 1.52 - 26 December 1992. Support for magazines added. 1. We now maintain a collection of magazine names which is used as a default in the 'List Issues' dialog box. 2. This dialog box is now 'active', and pressing <ENTER> will display all the articles from the selected issue of the selected magazine. 3. 'Last issues of all magazines' dialog added. 4. Autosizing of list boxes added. 5. A new feature added: if we are adding or editing an article and F4/F5/F6 is pressed on the correct line (eg F6 on the author line), all the articles written by that author can be displayed, thus skipping the 'choose author' dialog box. 6. Resources report added. 7. Menu structure changed slightly. Version 1.51 - 6 December 1992. 1. AutoSave made user-changeable. 2. The add form is now inserted into the desktop instead of being executed; this means that we can perform a search whilst entering an article. 3. All the fields in the 'Add article' form (except for the remarks) are now compulsory. Version 1.5 - December 1992: 1. AutoSave made user definable. 2. Better memory use. 3. Record size (on disk) decreased without effecting performance. This means that files created with versions up to 1.43 have to be converted. 4. New version of the shareware dialog added. 5. In the add article dialog, the cancel button no longer has a short cut key (after having lost many articles by typing Alt-C instead of Shift-C!). 6. Displaying by author added. 7. All fields (except for the remarks) are now compulsory. Version 1.43 - July 1992: 1. The list box in IndexScreen (show article) changed from passive to active, allowing the display of an article. 2. The method of updating the statistics changed. Version 1.41 - January 1992: 1. Help contexts used. 2. Editing of articles allowed. 3. The 'remarks' fields now stored as dynamic strings, saving about 10% memory. This necessitates a change in the file format, and so a conversion program is required to update files created with versions 1.0 - 1.3. 4. Defaults added. 5. Shareware screen added. 6. Multiple data files allowed. 7. If there aren't any records in the database, most commands are disabled. 8. Printing option added. Version 1.3 - December 1991. 1. Statistics added. 2. Language and subject fields made compulsory. Version 1.2 - November 1991. 1. List issues option added. 2. Memory sieves detected and removed. Version 1.1 - October 1991. 1. Display dialog speeded up. Version 1.0 - June 1991. First Turbo Vision version. Original Turbo Pascal 5.0 version - November 1989. ADVERTISEMENT Other shareware programs written by Norman Newman: 8PUZZLE: this program reproduces the puzzle of eight numbered blocks and one empty space in a 3 x 3 grid. "...In the last version we complained about the method of moving the blocks. This has been fixed. You can also save and reload games, ask for hints and more." PsL News, November 1989. ACDB: a database front end for AutoCAD, which allows you to store information about drawing files, retrieve them by various criteria, view the drawings themselves, and launch AutoCAD. May be used with other programs as well. AMATEUR: an expert system shell. "Is an expert system shell that is small, simple yet effective." PsL News, December 1988. BIGBEN: a TSR program which emulates the Big Ben clock in London by chiming every 15 minutes, and ringing the hour on the hour. EXHUME: exhumes data lost on a damaged disk. "Will rescue (or "exhume") data which have been lost on a disk after the directory or FATS have been corrupted." PsL News, October 1990. HEBCAL: a multi-year Hebrew calendar which will display Hebrew calendars even without a Hebrew BIOS (VGA screen required). HYPER: a simple hypertext implementation. "[HyperSee] displays in a hypertext format ASCII text files created with any text editor or word processor which will save in straight ASCII. We like HyperSee because it is extremely simple, yet it works. It does not support graphics, but for a text-based system, it has the advantage of being small enough (17K) to include on shareware disks for viewing program documentation files." PsL News, February 1991. INFER: a program to solve the hypothetical syllogism. SPEECH: speaks keystrokes through the Speech Thing (manufactured by Covox Inc). A must for vision-impaired users. PASMAC: a TSR program which provides a several keyboard macros for Pascal programmers. The sign-on message explains the use of the program. THE IMPORT MANAGER: a sophisticated program which maintains a database for an import/export business. Tracks orders across the high seas. Manages payments (but you have to supply the money!). All these high quality programs will be yours when you register your copy of MAG. REGISTRATION FORM FOR MAG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Name: ____________________________________________________ Street:___________________________________________________ City: __________________ State:________ Zip:____________ Computer Brand: ______________________ Model: ___________________ Current MAG version number: Previous MAG version number: Where did you get your copy of MAG? Friend [ ] BBS [ ] Shareware library [ ] Check here if you need a 3.5" disk [ ] Amount to send: $ 25.00 Please make your check payable to: Norman Newman and mail to: Kibbutz Tsor'a M. P. Shimshon ISRAEL 99705 Comments: