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MANUAL.TXT
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. CUMBERLAND STORY - Version 1.2
USER MANUAL
Copyright 1993 Cumberland Family Software
All rights reserved
LHA Archive utility
Copyright Haruyasu Yoshizaki, 1988-91
. CUMBERLAND FAMILY SOFTWARE
Ira J. Lund
385 Idaho Springs Road
Clarksville, TN 37043
For Technical Support call 615 647-4012
.====================================================================
.TABLE OF CONTENTS
(same as Detailed Reference Section of printed manual)
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 5. The Help System .................... 60
Chapter 6. The Main Screen .................... 89
Chapter 7. The Word Processor ................ 120
Chapter 8. F2-File Menu .......................... 155
A. Define Book ............................ 164
B. Define Contents ........................ 169
C. Select Book ............................ 258
D. Printer Configuration .................. 266
i. General Information ............ 268
ii. Printer Definition ............. 285
E. Exit to DOS ............................ 310
Chapter 9. F3-Edit Menu .......................... 318
(Cut and paste features)
Chapter 10. F4-Topic Menu ........................ 355
A. Select Topic ........................... 357
B. Prior and Next Topic ................... 362
Chapter 11. F5-Print Menu ........................ 371
A. General Information .................... 373
B. Title Page ............................. 391
C. Table of Contents ...................... 397
D. Current Topic .......................... 404
E. Choose Chapters ........................ 409
Chapter 12. F6-Spell Check Menu .................. 420
A. How it works ........................... 422
B. Proof Word ............................. 445
C. Proof Entry ............................ 453
D. Misspelled Words ....................... 463
E. Edit User Dictionary ................... 493
Chapter 13. F7-Utilities Menu .................... 523
A. Text Search ............................ 525
B. Cumberland Diary Import ................ 558
C. ASCII Import ........................... 572
Chapter 14. Backup and Restore Utilities ......... 598
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix A: Trouble Shooting ............................ 633
Appendix B: Error Messages .............................. 702
.====================================================================
.CHAPTER 5. THE HELP SYSTEM
Only the Detailed Reference section is contained in the Help Screens.
The Help System works by opening a screen into the on-disk manual
called MANUAL.TXT. The Help System is context sensitive. It opens the
text file to the location explaining the option you are currently
using. There are also three help options to help you find the
information and help you need.
1. F2-INDEX. This option opens a pop-up window with a list of indexed
topics. The topics are entered alphabetically and you can quickly
find what you are interested in by beginning to type the name of
the topic. As the letters you type appear at the top of the
window, the list will automatically scroll to the nearest
alphabetical location in the list. You may also page-up and page-
down. Use the arrow keys to select your topic and press the enter
key to select it. The on-line Manual-Help System will immediately
open to the appropriate location.
2. F3-LINE. This option allows you to enter the line number in the
help text file which you wish to quickly go to.
3. F4-SEARCH. You may press F4 and enter any word. The Help System
will search the manual for the word entered, beginning at the
current location. If the word is found it will display the page
with the word highlighted. If the word is not found the small
search screen will go away and no change will take place.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 6. THE MAIN SCREEN
The most prominent feature of the main screen is the word processor
which is described in the next chapter. In the upper left corner of
the screen will appear your book title and your name. Immediately
above the word processor are two lines. The top line contains the
currently active book name, the currently active chapter and
currently active topic. The second line contains the topic memory
jogger. This short statement or question is to help you remember
ideas, and events to write in your book under each topic. In the
lower left is shown the current line number the cursor is on in the
text screen and whether you are in insert or overwrite mode.
The following keys can be used in most entry screens when data is
entered. (See next chapter for keys used in the word processor.)
Right arrow/
left arrow: moving one character at a time
End key: Jump to last character in field
Home key: Jump to first character in field
Control-End: Erase from present position to end
Insert: Toggles between insert and over-write modes.
(In insert mode cursor is larger,
in overwrite mode cursor is smaller.)
Enter-key: Causes the program to accept the entry and to prompt
for the next field. No entry will be accepted unless
the enter-key has been pressed.
Up arrow/
Down arrow: Moves the cursor to the next or prior field.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 7. THE WORD PROCESSOR
The word processor consists of 16 lines at the bottom of the screen.
The appropriate method of writing is to type continuously without
carriage returns at the end of lines. The computer will automatically
wrap a word down to the next line if it will not fit on the current
line. Carriage returns (enter key or return key) are entered at the
end of paragraphs only. You may enter more than one carriage return
to put spaces between paragraphs.
The following keys are used during use of the word processor.
All alpha-numeric and typable symbols.
Left and Right Arrow keys - Moves one character to the left or
right, as appropriate.
Up and Down Arrow keys - Moves up or down one line.
Home key - Moves to the first character in the
current line.
End key - Moves to the last character in the
current line.
Ctrl-Home (hold Ctrl and press Home Key)
- Moves to the first line and character
of the current entry.
Ctrl-End (hold Ctrl and press End Key)
- Moves to the last line and character
of the current topic.
PgUp and PgDn keys - Moves up or down 16 lines.
Backspace key <-- - Deletes the letter behind the current
cursor location.
Del key - Deletes the letter at the current
cursor location.
The word processor in CUMBERLAND STORY also contains a cut-and-paste
feature which is explained in the chapter explaining F3-Edit.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 8. F2-FILE MENU
The six function keys, F2 through F7, are pull down menus. Once one
menu is pulled-down, you can rotate between the menus using the right
and left arrow keys. Notice that some menu items have short-cut keys
shown to the right of the menu item, usually control keys. These
items can be accessed with the appropriate key without accessing the
pull-down menu.
.A. DEFINE BOOK
The Define Book Editor is the access to the author name, address and
book title. All of this information is printed on the Title Page.
The author name and Book Title are also displayed on the main screen.
.B. DEFINE CONTENTS
This option will bring up a list of the currently defined chapters.
After a book has been created there will be one chapter shown, the
Introduction with one topic called [introduction]. The [introduction]
topic heading is not printed. Neither the Introduction chapter or
[introduction] topic can be deleted.
ADDING CHAPTERS
There are two ways to add chapters to your book.
1) Pressing F3 will bring up a list of pre-defined chapter headings,
which you may choose from. These are suggested chapters only and
appear in the approximate order of a person's life. You may use
all or some of these chapters. You may use them in a different
order than is presented. You may also intermix these chapters with
user-defined chapters.
2) Pressing F4 will cause a small window to appear, prompting you to
type in your own chapter heading. You may enter any chapter
heading you desire.
When adding chapters, the new chapter will always be inserted into
the existing chapter list immediately after the current cursor
location. See the chapter on Book Suggestions for ideas on using
these two options to create personal and ancestral stories.
DELETING CHAPTERS
Pressing the Del-Key will bring up a screen warning you of the number
of topics and lines of text associated with the selected chapter.
These topics and text will be deleted from your book if you answer
"Y"es.
MOVING CHAPTERS
Pressing F5 at the chapter you wish to move will bring up a screen
prompting for the new location of the chapter. Simply enter in the
desired chapter number of the new location. When the enter-key is
pressed the selected chapter will be moved to it's new location.
ADDING TOPICS
From the Edit Table of Contents Screen, pressing enter at any chapter
location will bring up a list of the currently defined topics
associated with the chapter selected. You may add to this list in
three different ways:
1) Pressing F3 will bring up a list of the pre-defined topics
associated with the selected pre-defined chapter. If the selected
chapter is user defined, this option will not work. You may
choose any or all of the suggested topics. If you choose a pre-
defined topic, there is a memory-jogger line associated with each
topic which will be displayed on the main screen while editing
that topic. You may intermix pre-defined topics with user-defined
topics in any chapter.
2) Pressing F6 will bring up a list of ALL pre-defined topics for all
pre-defined chapters, including some topics not associated with
pre-defined chapters. The first group of topics which have very
similar headings to the chapter headings are not associated with
any chapter. As described in the Book Suggestions section on
Ancestry Story Books, these are useful when you define each
chapter as the life of one individual. Then these topics become a
brief outline of a person's life within that chapter.
3) Pressing F4 will cause a small window to appear prompting you to
type in your own topic heading. You may enter any topic heading
you desire.
When adding topics, the new topic will always be inserted into the
existing topic list immediately after the current cursor location.
See the chapter on Book Suggestions for ideas on using these three
topic options to create personal and ancestral stories.
DELETING TOPICS
Pressing the Del-Key will bring up a screen warning you of the lines
of text associated with the selected topic. This text will be
deleted from your book if you answer "Y"es.
MOVING TOPICS
Pressing F5 at the topic you wish to move will bring up a screen
prompting for the new location of the topic. Simply enter in the
desired chapter number of the new location. When the enter-key is
pressed the selected topic will be moved to it's new location.
Topics can be rearranged within a chapter, but cannot be moved to
another chapter.
To move a topic to another chapter you must define a topic within the
new chapter and use the Mark and Insert Text options to move the text
from the old topic to the new. Once the text has been moved, then
the old topic can be deleted from the F2-File/Define Contents option.
.C. SELECT BOOK
This option shows a screen with a list of currently defined books.
Simply point and press enter to select the book to work on. You may
create a new book using the F2-Add Book option. You may also delete
a book. Point to the book to be deleted and press the Del-key. You
will be asked to confirm the deletion before it is deleted. BE
CAREFUL! Once a book has been deleted, it is gone forever.
.D. PRINTER CONFIGURATION
.i. General Information
In this option you will configure a group of 3 options which only
need be set once, no matter how many databases you set up. To set
any option, simply point to it and press the enter key. Each option
will be described below.
You set the printer port and the printer country code by simply
selecting from the options presented. If you do not know what your
printer port is, it is probably LPT1.
In order for the printer country codes to work properly, the
appropriate country code for your printer must be set in the printer
definition as explained below. Almost all of the pre-configured
printers sent with the program already have properly set country
codes.
.ii. Printer Definition
You may simply select one of the pre-programmed printers from the
selection list included with the program. If your printer is not in
the included list, you might try using an Epson printer if you have a
dot matrix printer or an HP Laserjet if you have a laser printer, as
these two are the industry standards and many other printer
manufacturers will make their printer codes compatible with these two
printers.
If you find that you must add a printer of your own, simply press the
insert key. You will see a new printer added with the same name as
the printer you were pointing at - with a small "z" after the name.
Point at this new printer and press F3. Under this new screen you can
change the name of the printer and add all of the appropriate setup
strings. You might wish to view some of the included printer setup
strings to get an idea of how to enter the codes. You must enter
ASCII codes in arrow brackets, such as <15>. You may enter several
ASCII codes in one set of arrow brackets if there are commas between
them, such as <27,23>. You may also enter combinations of ASCII codes
and printable characters, such as <27>@. When you are finished press
escape to get back to the printer selection screen. If you changed
the name of the printer, it may be in a different location now as the
program will automatically put it in it's alphabetical order.
.E. EXIT to DOS
This option will bring up a window asking confirmation before exiting
the program. This option also has a short cut key, Control-X.
Without invoking the F2-File menu you may press the X key while
holding down the control key. This will also bring up the window
confirming exiting of the program.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 9. F3-EDIT MENU
The word processor in CUMBERLAND STORY contains a
cut-and-paste feature which can be accessed by the F3-Edit menu or by
using the shown short-cut keys. These keys are described below.
Ctrl-M: This initiates the mark-text mode. The current character will
be highlighted. You may then use the four arrow keys, pgup,
pgdn, home, end, and ctrl-end keys to locate the cursor to
the end of the text to be marked. The beginning of the
marked text must come before the ending. If you page up or
arrow up in front of the beginning mark, the cut mode will
be exited and you will be back in the regular word processor
mode.
Esc-key: Exits the mark-text mode.
Del-key: Deletes the highlighted text and copies it to the paste
buffer. The paste buffer can contain 600 lines, just as
much as the topic can contain. The contents of the paste
buffer will be erased when the next Ctrl-M (Mark Text) is
executed.
Ctrl-C: Copies the highlighted text to the paste buffer without
deleting the highlighted text.
Ctrl-I: Inserts text from the paste buffer into the current cursor
position.
Only those options currently available will be shown on the F3-Edit
menu. Until a delete or copy text has been issued, there will be no
text in the paste buffer, therefore the Insert Text Option will be
unavailable. Delete and Copy Text options are only available when
text is highlighted.
Text may be cut (deleted or copied) from any topic in the book and
pasted into the same or another topic. Be certain that pasted text
and current text do not exceed the 600 lines capacity or text may be
lost at the end of the topic.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 10. F4-TOPIC MENU
.A. SELECT TOPIC
This option will cause a list of chapters and topics for the current
book to appear. Using the arrow keys you may select any topic, press
enter and immediately call up that topic as the current one.
.B. PRIOR AND NEXT TOPIC
These option causes the currently edited topic to change to the prior
or next topic in the book. If the current topic is the INTRODUCTION
topic, no change takes place when selecting the prior topic. If the
current topic is the last topic in the book, no change takes
place when selecting the next topic. These options have short-cut
keys, Control-P for prior topic and Control-N for next topic.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 11. F5-PRINT MENU
.A. GENERAL INFORMATION
All of the print outs are formatted for 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. All
reports have been formatted to print in 10 characters per inch and 6
lines per inch. These reports can be aborted early by pressing "S"
as shown while the report is being printed. Be patient, the report
will stop printing at a convenient line, eject a page and return
control of the computer back to you. If you shut off the printer you
will get a red error screen. If you select abort at this point the
program will quit and you will be dropped down to DOS. The graceful
way to stop printing is to press "S" and wait for the printer to stop
itself.
All reports can be printed to the printer or to an ASCII text file
(ASCII export). Simply press F8 to send the report to a printer or F7
to send it to an ASCII file. An ASCII file can be imported by many
popular word-processors.
.B. TITLE PAGE
You may print the Title Page using this selection. The title page
will show all of the information entered in the F2-File/Define Book
option, including: Book Title, Author name, address and Year of
printing.
.C. TABLE OF CONTENTS
When selecting this option, you will be prompted to enter the
beginning page number of each chapter. These page numbers will be
shown on the Table of Contents. It would be better to print this
option last, after the book has been printed, so that the page
numbers of each chapter may be entered.
.D. CURRENT TOPIC
This option will print the current topic displayed on the screen.
You may enter in the beginning page number. Page numbers will not be
printed on the Introduction pages.
.E. CHOOSE CHAPTERS
You may choose to print one or more chapters, or the entire book from
this option. The first screen will prompt you to select the first
chapter to be printed. The second screen will prompt you for the last
chapter to be printed. The third screen will prompt for the beginning
page number of all the selected chapters. Page numbers will not be
printed on the Introduction pages. The beginning page number entered
will begin on Chapter 1 if the Introduction chapter was selected as
the first chapter.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 12. F6-SPELLCHECK MENU
.A. HOW IT WORKS
To use a spell checker, you must understand it's capabilities and
it's limitations. The Spell Check dictionary consists of the
following four data files:
CUMLAND1.DIC - This is the dictionary containing over 60,000 words
used by the spell checker.
CUMLAND2.DIC - This is the lookup index for finding similar words to
a misspelled word.
CUMLAND3.DIC - This is the dictionary for user entered words.
CUMLAND3.K01 - Key file #1 for user entered words.
CUMLAND3.K02 - Key file #2 for user entered words.
CUMLAND4.DIC - This file contains numeric information used by the
program to help lookup words in the dictionary.
When the spell checker checks a word, all it does is simply look up
the word in the dictionary. If the word is not found, it is assumed
to be spelled incorrectly. Remember, that the spell checker cannot
tell if you used the wrong word. If you typed "your" when you meant
"you're", the spell check will still think that you have spelled the
word correctly.
.B. PROOF WORD
When selecting this option, the word at the current cursor location
will be checked. (This option has a short-cut key, Ctrl-W.) If the
word is spelled correctly you will immediately be returned to your
location in the word processor. When the word has been misspelled it
will be handled as explained under Misspelled Words below.
.C. PROOF TOPIC
This option will check all words in the current topic beginning with
the line at which the cursor is located. (This option has a short-cut
key, Ctrl-T). The screen mode will change and each word will be
highlighted as it is checked. If the highlighted word is correct,
the next word will be checked and so on. When a misspelled word is
encountered it will be handled as explained under Misspelled Words
below.
.D. MISSPELLED WORDS
If the word is not found in either the spell check dictionary or the
user dictionary a screen with a menu containing four options will be
presented.
1. Suggested words - This option will list several words similar to
the spelling of the misspelled word. It may not always list the
word you were looking for or it may not even find any suggested
spellings. Generally, if you have typed the first letter and
next few consonants correctly, it will list several words with
the word you are probably looking for.
2. Word Okay - continue.. This option allows you to recognize a
special word which you know is correct (such as names) but do
not want to add to the user dictionary. This option will simply
skip the checked word.
3. Add to Dictionary - If you know you have spelled the word
correctly and want to add it to the user dictionary, then
select this option. Any use in the future of this word will not
result in a misspelling notification. Words greater than 15
characters in length are not included in the spell check
dictionary. Words up to and including 20 characters in length
can be added to the user dictionary.
4. Type a correction - This option allows you to re-enter a
misspelled word. The re-entered word will then be checked for
correct spelling.
.E. EDIT USER DICTIONARY
This option allows you to view and edit the words which you add to
the dictionary. You may actually perform three functions:
1) Delete a word from your dictionary by pressing the delete key.
The program does not prompt you a second time. Pressing the delete
key will cause the word to immediately be removed from the
dictionary.
2) Add a new word to the dictionary by pressing the insert key. You
will then see a prompt where you enter the new word. It is
possible to add a word to the user dictionary that already exists
in the main dictionary. This will not affect the operation of the
program. It is also possible to enter two words as a single word
such as "no one", but it does no good to do this since the spell-
checker checks one word at a time and will never look up the
double word. Hyphenated words are treated the same as a double
word. For example, "double-word" will cause the spell checker to
look up two words: double and word, rather than one word. Words
with apostrophes will be treated as a single word: "our's".
3) Edit an existing word by pressing enter on the word the highlight
bar is pointing to. You may correct the spelling of a misspelled
word in the user dictionary with this option.
All corrections, additions and deletions are automatically saved as
you work on them.
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 13. F7-UTILITIES
.A. TEXT SEARCH
This option allows you to search through text within your book for a
word or phrase. (This option has a short-cut key, Ctrl-S.) The
search will always begin on the line on which the cursor is currently
located. It will search to the end of the text of the current topic.
The search is "case insensitive" which means that regardless of
whether you enter the search word (or phrase) in lower or upper case
it will find text printed in either lower or upper case which matches
the search word. The "case" of the search word and entry text is
irrelevant during the search.
You may specify three options for the search: Current Topic Only,
Forward Search or Reverse Search. If you specify "Current Topic
Only", the search will stop at the end of the current topic if the
search word is not found. If the search word is found, you will be
returned to the wordprocessor mode with the cursor pointing to the
beginning of the found word.
If you select "Forward Search", the search will load and search the
next topic if the word is not found in the current entry. This search
will continue to the end of the book if the word is not found. If the
search word is not found you will be returned to the book in which
the search was started. If the search was successful in finding the
search word, the search will stop at the appropriate entry and the
cursor will point to the beginning of the found word or phrase.
If you select "Reverse Search", the search still searches in the
current topic from the cursor line to the end of the current topic,
then (if the search word is not found) it loads the PREVIOUS topic
and searches from top to bottom. The search will continue until it
comes to the beginning of the book.
.B. CUMBERLAND DIARY IMPORT
This option will first request the drive and directory containing
your CUMBERLAND DIARY program. (You might not have it installed in
the same directory as CUMBERLAND STORY.) It will then give you a
selection of DIARIES similar to that encountered upon entering the
CUMBERLAND DIARY program. If the Diary you select is password
protected you will be prompted for the password. You may now select
the particular Diary Entry you wish to import. The entire diary
entry will be imported into the paste buffer. To include the text
into CUMBERLAND STORY go to the appropriate topic and text location
and use the Ctrl-I (F3-Edit/Insert Text) command to paste the diary
entry into your book.
.C. ASCII IMPORT
This option allows you to enter a file name (or directory,
sub-directory and file name) of an ASCII file to be imported into
Cumberland Story. When a file is imported it will be loaded to the
paste buffer. You then go to the entry and location where you want to
insert the text and use "F3-Insert Text" or Ctrl-I to paste the
imported text into the story.
Because the paste buffer is as large as the maximum size of a book
topic (600 lines) the ASCII text file must not be larger than this
size. If you have a large file to import which you want entered into
several topics, you must create separate files for each topic, then
import and paste each one separately.
The import utility will import text with any margin size up to about
200 characters per line. Because ASCII text does not contain end of
paragraph markers or other formatting features, when the text is
imported the utility attempts to determine the margins and paragraph
endings as best as possible. However, you may find that you may need
to do some slight editing to indent and/or locate paragraphs as
appropriate.
[To export to an ASCII file, see F5-Print/ e. Printer Setup.]
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
.CHAPTER 14. BACKUP AND RESTORE UTILITIES
Backing up your data is very important. You can loose months worth of
work in a split second, if the power goes out, or the files get
messed up. Keeping a regular backup of your database should be
followed religiously. Then if you loose some data, it will not be a
total loss of the entire database. You will be able to restore the
data to the state it was in at the last time you did a backup.
Provided with the registered version of Cumberland Story is a copy of
Haruyasu Yoshizaki's LHA compression utility and two batch files:
BACK.BAT and REST.BAT. LHA compresses data, which can take up a
fraction of the space it normally would take.
By entering the "BACK" command from DOS, in the Cumberland Story
directory you can backup the database you desire and compress it at
the same time onto a disk in drive a or b or another directory on
your hard drive. To use the backup command enter BACK, followed by a
space, the name of the database, another space and the drive to
backup to.
Example: BACK SAMPLE1 A:
The restore (REST) works almost the same but the parameters are
entered in reverse order. For example, to restore the SAMPLE1
database from drive A enter the following command:
Example: REST A: SAMPLE1
When restoring a corrupt file, the LHA utility will notify you that
there is a file already existing with the name of the one you are
restoring. Answer "Y"es to all of these questions to restore your
entire database.
.====================================================================
. APPENDIX A: TROUBLE SHOOTING
.--------------------------------------------------------------------
"It doesn't work" may sum up your feelings about a problem, but these
words are useless if you need help from a consultant or programmer.
You can minimize frustration and save time by learning to provide
specific details that will lead to a solution.
Remember that nearly 80 percent of computer problems are caused by
user errors. Before running any software, read the instructions. You
don't have to read every word just to get started. You can find the
sections of the manual that tell you how to begin, and those that
apply to the task you are trying to perform. With large manuals,
there is usually a table of contents and an index. Skim these to
familiarize yourself with the topics that are discussed. Then you'll
know where to look when you have a question. With shorter manuals,
such as those that come with most shareware products, go ahead and
read the whole thing. It's embarrassing to mail a long letter or
make a long distance phone call, only to find that everything you
needed to know was on page 2.
Before assuming a program "doesn't work", check a few simple items.
Is the computer plugged in and turned on? Are all necessary devices
(such as the monitor and printer) connected properly and turned on?
Did you spell the command correctly when you typed it? Are you logged
onto the right disk drive and directory? Is it possible that the
program has system requirements that you don't meet, such as a hard
disk, or a certain amount of memory? If memory seems to be the
problem, do you have "memory resident" programs (also called TSRs or
"pop-up" utilities) which can be removed from memory? Try running the
program on a different computer.
If the program worked in the past, but doesn't now, can you think of
anything that has changed since the last time you used it? Have you
moved the computer or made changes in any of the connecting cables?
Is it possible there has been damage of some kind, or that files have
been erased? Have you added any new memory-resident programs or
device drivers which might cause a conflict?
If you see an error message on screen, copy it completely and
exactly. Don't try to remember it! If possible, make a print-screen
of the message. On most computers, you can do this by holding down
the SHIFT key while you press the PRINT SCREEN key (sometimes
abbreviated to PRT SC). The purpose of the error message is to convey
specific information to the programmer so that the problem can be
solved. Your consultant will need the exact wording of the message in
order to interpret it correctly.
Many error messages include an explanation that can help you solve
the problem yourself. Some error messages are explained for you in
the program manual. When reporting a problem, be very specific.
What were you trying to do? How did you do it? What did you expect
to happen? What actually happened? Exactly what did you do just
before the problem occurred? What did you do afterwards? What did you
see on the screen? Have you had different or similar results in the
past? Can you reproduce the problem and describe the circumstances
under which it occurs? Is there a consistent pattern of some sort?
I support my users, and am happy to answer your questions and help
solve any difficulties you may have. Please understand that there is
a limit to the amount of help I can give you with software which I
did not write. If you are having continuing difficulty with DOS
commands, you probably need to study your DOS manual or contact
MicroSoft for help. If you are baffled by your menu system, your best
bet is to talk to the person who installed it, or to the author of
the menu software.
.====================================================================
.APPENDIX B: ERROR MESSAGES
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* "Abnormal Program Termination"
If you receive this error message when trying to start the program
it means that you do not have enough free memory. Use CHKDSK to
check your system's memory.
* "Cannot Execute ...\CSTORY.EXE"
If you receive this error message when trying to start the program
it means that you do not have enough free memory.
* "Error on LPT1" or other printer port
If you receive this message when trying to print a report it means
that your printer is turned off or it is off line. Correct the
problem and press "R" to retry. If you press "A" to abort, the
program will stop and you will be dropped back to the DOS prompt.
Pressing "F" (Fail) or "I" (Ignore) has no effect.
* "Insufficient Memory"
If you ever receive this error message at any time during program
execution then you do not have enough free memory.
* "Invalid Data File" or "Invalid Key File"
If you ever receive one of these messages at any time during
program execution then your data files have become corrupt. There
are only two solutions to this problem. 1) Restore a recent backup
of your data files. If you do this you will have lost all of the
work you have done since the backup was made. 2) You can copy all
data files onto a disk and mail to me with a $10 fee and I will
restore your data as best as I can. I cannot guarantee that I will
be able to recover all of your data.
To avoid receiving these errors in the future, be very careful to
exit the program after each use. Invariably the cause of corrupt
data is from turning off the computer or re-booting while the
program is running.
* "Subscript out of Range"
I hope that you never see this error. If you do or if you see any
other error not specifically defined in this appendix then please
call me with specific information as to what you were doing to
obtain this error. In all likelihood the cause of this error is a
bug in the program.
* "Too Many Open Files"
If you ever get this message it simply means that you need to
increase the number of files in the CONFIG.SYS file of your root
directory. Edit CONFIG.SYS and add the lines FILES=40 and
BUFFERS=20 as indicated in the installation section. You must re-
boot the computer for these changes to take effect.
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