Cream of the Crop 1

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Cream of the Crop 1 / Cream of the Crop 1.iso / BUSINESS / REALQUIC.ARJ / README.TXT < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1991-02-28 | 71KB | 1,614 lines

Thank you for taking the time to run this real estate managment software. This package will allow you to: - Perform listing managment - Recall homes/properties based on price,area,street or any number of search parameters. - Perform market analysis - Perform agent sales analysis - Perform buyer qualification much the same way as a lending institution. - Produce amortization schedules given any three of principal interest, term, or payments. - Produce mortgage comparison tables. - Calculate balloon payments - Produce professional looking reports for your clients. - Show the merits of owner financing. - Calculates commissions, fees and company dollars. - And much more. This is not intended to be a final operating manual. To receive an complete operating manual you must first become a registered user of this package. Registering your software with us has the following advantages, you will receive: 1. Complete phone support. 2. Complete operations manual. 3. A copy of the latest software version. (This copy will not include the introductory message asking you to become a user. You also will receive the latest version, which may have additional functions and bug fixes over this shareware version. We have no control over the amount of time the shareware version has been in the public domain, so this may be an older copy ) 4. A special program which will allow you to design your own MLS screen in place of ours. 5. Copies of several other utility packages. To run your system you will need at least 356k of RAM with DOS version 3.0 or higher. A hard disk, color monitor and printer are recommended but not mandatory. To run the package, simply type REALTY at the dos prompt. ****** We always welcome your comments, both good and bad. Please let us know how feel about your software by writing us at: You may register your package for $54.00 by sending check or money order (U.S. Funds ONLY!) Princeton Economics, Inc. P.O. Box 400 E. Princeton, MA. 01517 508-464-5474 PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS MANUAL FOR: RealQuik Version 4.00 ShareWare Version Real Estate Amortization and Listing Software by Princeton Economics, Inc. Princeton, MA 01517 (508-464-5474) WARRANTY: PRINCETON ECONOMICS INCORPORATED SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO DEFECTS IN THE DISKETTE AND DOCUMENTATION AND THE PROGRAM LICENSE GRANTED HEREIN. IN PARTICULAR, AND WITHOUT LIMITING OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM LICENSE WITH RESPECT TO ANY PARTICULAR APPLICATIONS USE OR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCETON ECONOMICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER DAMAGE INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES. ALL DATA CONTAINED IN OUR SYSTEM AND CALCULATIONS PERFORMED ARE OF AN APPROXIMATE NATURE. ONLY AN AUTHORIZED FINANCIAL INSTITUTION CAN GIVE YOU EXACT FIGURES AND FINANCIAL DATA. Introduction Thank you for your interest in RealQuik (tm), the versatile software package from the Princeton RealEstate System (tm) by Princeton Economics. RealQuik (tm) solves many of the day to day problems encountered in a modern real estate office. RealQuik's financial section will: Calculate unknown loan variables such as - Principal - Interest - Term of a loan - Monthly Payments Produce reports and tables on - Full term amortization listings - Amortization with balloon payments - Mortgage comparison tables Perform buyer qualification - Calculates PITI/income ratios - Handle installment debts in PITI/Income ratios - Allows for creative financing options RealQuik(tm) also has a complete LISTING SERVICES section which will allow agents to quickly and easily search for properties based on any combination of search variables which would normally appear in an MLS book. The listing section will: Allow for any number of search conditions - Search on a price range - Search on a city - Search on a listing number - Search on ranges (e.g. 2000-3000 sq.ft.) - Search on any combination of the above items or any item in an MLS form. Allow for easy modification - You may define your own MLS screen or you may use ours. - Your screen may contain as few as three or as many as one 100 entries Fast and simple to learn - When searching on a unique key, such as listing number, finds one listing out of a thousand in just over one second - Easy to learn menu driven format with help and suggestions at the bottom of the screen RealQuik(tm) also has a MARKET ANALYSIS and office financial section. this section will allow you to: - Search on all pending sales or closed sales - Search on property types such as residential, commercial, etc. - Search on open house dates, closing dates, etc. - Search on agents, commissions, dates, etc. - Automatically compute company dollar based on selling price, commissions, franchise fees, referrals, etc. In addition, RealQuik(tm) allows for: - Customized printed reports of user defined fields in the listing database. - The ability to "name" a search mask with a brokers initials so that he/she may quickly perform searches - Converts the listing database into a standard ASCII file which may be imported into other vendors spreadsheet, statistical or database packages. - Up to six "range fields" may be user defined (in addition to several predefined fields). Range fields allow the broker to search on an range, for example all properties with square footage between 3000-3500, etc. RealQuik(tm), will run on any IBM PC/XT/AT or compatible running PC or MS DOS version 3.0 or higher. RealQuik(tm) requires 356k or more memory. RealQuik NETWORK will operate on virtually all PC local area networks available including 10NET, 3Com, Novell, Vines, PCMOS and many others. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The "Shareware" version of RealQuik(tm) only allows you to enter 30 listings in the database. It is fully functional in all other respects except as noted futher in this manual. EDITING DATA ENTRIES & COMMAND KEYS: (Important, read this first). For single entry items (i.e. answer Y or N for yes or no) it is usually sufficient only to push the key involved to activate the response. For multiple character items (i.e. names, prices, etc.) you must follow the response with the ENTER key to activate the process. Since there is always a chance of making a typing error, we allow you to use the following editing commands to correct errors. (Note: these editing commands are the same as those used in the WordStar word processing package by MicroPro International, we are not associated with MicroPro in any way ). The ^ key symbol indicates the use of the control key. ^E -- Move right one character ^S -- Move left one character ^G -- Delete the character at the cursor ^A -- Move to the beginning of the line ^F -- Move to the end of the line ^Y -- Delete the entire line In addition, the arrow keys may be used in place of ^S and ^D (left an right arrow respectively). The backspace and delete keys may also be used to erase characters in front or behind the cursor respectively. The ^M key may be used in place of the ENTER key. On the MLS screen and Financial Analysis screens ONLY ^E may be used to move up ^X may be used to move down The up and down arrow keys may also be used on these screens. SPECIAL NOTES: Special notes will appear on lines 23, 24 and 25 of the crt screen. Lines 23 and 24, if present, will contain helpful information regarding the operation of the software for the particular screen invoked. These lines will appear in low video mode ( a light gray color) and will often change as new screens appear and/or data is entered. The user is recommended to look at these lines often as they provide a level of help to aid in the software operation. Line 25 is reserved for error messages. Error messages will appear in red and remain on the screen for a period of time proportional to the length of the message. When the message times out, it will disappear and the cursor will return the user to the field where the bad data was encountered. An example of bad data would be entering a character when a number was expected, etc. OPERATION NOTE: This manual assumes that you are familiar with the basic features of MS-DOS, the operation of your computer hardware and the layout of your computer keyboard. If you are not familiar with these basic functions, we would kindly refer you to the system operating manuals supplied with your computer/printer/crt. RUNNING THE MAIN PROGRAM In order to run the main program, copy all the files from your distribution disk to either drive 'c' , if you have a hard disk, or to another disk if you are running with a two floppy system. (Always run the the duplicate and keep your master safe). To run the program you will need the following minimum programs: REALTY.EXE REAL5.MSK The program will create the following files which must reside in the same subdirectory and drive. REALTY.CFG REALDATA.DAT REALDATA.IX Additionally, if you decide to make your own MLS screen mask, the file RLCUSTOM.MSK will also be created. (More on this later). To run the program simply type the command REALTY at the DOS prompt and push the return key. If you are running the package for the first time and your configuration file, REALTY.CFG, doesn't exist, you will receive an error message at the bottom of the screen asking you to "...configure your system immediately...". You may want to jump ahead in the manual to the "configuration" section at this point. MAIN MENU The following main menu will appear when you run your software: The RealQUIK (tm) Real Estate System Copyright (c) 1985,1986,1991 by Princeton Economics, Inc. Princeton, Massachusetts ╔══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Amortization and Mortgage Comparison ║ ║ Listing Function Database ║ ║ Financial Analysis Section ║ ║ Modify System Configuration ║ ║ Typewriter Emulation ║ ║ Quit to DOS ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════╝ You may make selection by either depressing the highlighted letter (usually the first letter) on each line or by moving the cursor with the up/dn arrow keys and striking "enter". The latter method has the advantage of displaying a "help line" on the bottom of the screen. CONFIGURING YOUR SYSTEM: "Modify System Configuration" Typing an "M" from the main menu will display the following configuration screen: Miscellaneous Data and Configuration Assignment Data Files Subdirectory---------- c:\newrealty________ Company Name--------------------- Princeton Economics_ Color Screen--------------------- Y Printer assigned to LPT#--------- 1 Use Continuous Feed Paper ?------ Y Use Company Letterhead ?--------- N Memory available for program use -------------- 332544 Largest free block for HEAP use---------------- 332544 Currently using DOS version-------------------- 3.30 Space available on local drive (k bytes)------- 2988 Space available for data files (lcl or ntwrk)-- Not Available DATA FILES SUBDIRECTORY: Enter the drive and path in which your "REALTY.DAT" and "REALTY.IX" data files exist. NETWORK USERS: We suggest that you leave this entry BLANK (the default directory) since in many cases you will be "logged in" to the correct directory. NOTE: The shareware version is NOT network compatible. COMPANY NAME: If you are not using letterhead paper you may desire to enter your company name here. This entry will be printed out on all amortization forms. COLOR SCREEN: Answer "Y" to use the color character set or "N" for the monochrome character set. PRINTER ASSIGNED TO LPT#: NETWORK USERS: enter the assigned printer number here, other users will usually assign the number 1. In the event that no printer is available, enter the number 4. The number four redirects all printed output to the CRT screen. The software attempts to detect a valid printer at run time and will force a value of '4' in many cases (but not all) if a printer is not detected. PAUSE FOR PAPER CHANGE OR CONTINUOUS FEED. If you have continuous feed paper (ie rolls or perforated sheet) answer a 'Y' for continuous, otherwise enter a 'N' to pause. A 'N' will stop the printer at the end of every page to allow you to insert a new sheet. (note: printing is formatted at six lines to the inch vertically. This is the default for most printers. If your printer is different consult the owners manual to see if you can change it to six lines to the inch. ) LETTERHEAD OR PLAIN PAPER. If you have company letterhead in you printer, answer an 'Y' to this question, otherwise answer a 'N' for plain paper. If you select plain paper, you will be prompted to enter your company name. This name will be used on all printed reports. You may omit the name by either pushing return to the "enter company name" query or by selecting "letterhead" which suppresses name printout. The remaining information on this screen is for informational purposes only and may not be changed. SELECTION 'A' -- AMORTIZATION AND MORTGAGE COMPARISON To run the calculations for amortization schedules, select 'A' from the main menu. NOTE: While in the amortization section you may use the 'Esc' key to backup to the previous entry. For the purpose of illustration we will assume that you wish to have the system calculate the monthly payments for a loan. Proceed as follows: THE COMPUTER SAYS YOU TYPE Enter the Principal amount Enter an amount. (You may use a dollar sign and commas if you wish but these are not necessary). If you wish to have the system calculate the principal amount, simply strike the enter without entering an amount. Enter the term in years Enter the number of years of loan or strike ENTER if you wish the system to calculate the term. (Remember, you must enter at least 3 of the 4 variables or you will get an error message) Enter the interest rate Enter the interest rate in percent WITHOUT the percent sign. Leave blank if you wish the system to calculate the rate for you. Enter the monthly payment If you entered the above three parameters, you will never actually see this question. Instead, the monthly payment will appear. If you had left one of the above blank you would be required to enter a number here and the blank field would be filled in when you strike enter. IMPORTANT NOTE: The calculations shown are close approximations. Different lending institutions may use formulas slightly different than those incorporated in this program. These values are meant as a guide ONLY. The computer will next display the following mini-menu. Please choose one of the following: For the amortization table Type A For a mortgage comparison table Type M To repeat the above calculations Type R To Quit to the Main Menu Type Q SUB SELECTION 'A' -- AMORTIZATION TABLE From this menu you may calculate a table of monthly payments. This calculation will allow for balloon payments as well as for non-calendar fiscal year subtotals. For the purpose of illustration we will choose a balloon payment with a non- calendar fiscal year. The questions listed below will reflect these choices. We urge you to try all different possibilities. THE COMPUTER SAYS YOU TYPE Do you want the amortization Strike Y if you want a printout or table printed N if you want just a screen display. Enter customers name for report If you want the name of the customer to appear on the cover sheet then enter it now, otherwise just strike enter. Enter the agent's name for report Enter your name if you wish it to appear on the cover page or hit enter if not. Enter any notes for the report Use this area for notes such as the address of the property, etc. Push enter to leave it blank. Will there be a balloon payment Type a Y if so or N otherwise NOTE we type a Y for this example Enter balloon payment due date You must enter the date due as month/year (i.e. 1/88, 11/05, etc) Enter the month and year of the Enter in above format first payment Enter the fiscal start month If your calculations will be based on a fiscal year then enter the first month of the clients fiscal year. Hit return if the calendar year is to be utilized. (i.e. enter 5 for May, etc.) Check printer and press return If you answered Y to print the to start printing the report, you will get this question. If you selected the printer, the computer will begin printing the report. It will display the year to date interest and principal paid on the bottom of the screen. The message "press any key to stop" will be displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. To stop the calculations, simply press the space bar (or any other key). The computer will ask if you wish to resume or return the the mini-menu. When the date of the balloon payment has been reached, the computer will display the amount in the upper right corner of the screen. (replacing the previous message.). SUB-SELECTION 'M' -- MORTGAGE COMPARISON To produce a mortgage comparison table choose selection 2. The table will be produced on the screen. Should you wish to print the table, use the SHIFT/PRTSCR key as outlined in your DOS manual (or just "Prt Scrn" on AT class machines) The table will allow you to compare various monthly payments for different interest rates and principals. The interest rated and principal spread will be calculated based on the numbers for principal/interest/monthly payment/rate, three out of four of which you entered previously. A sample mortgage comparison display appears in the next figure: ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Enter the PRINCIPAL AMOUNT (or return) 350,000 Enter the TERM IN YEARS(or return) 30 Enter the INTEREST RATE(or return) 10.1 Your monthly payment will be $ 3097.41 ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Interest - - - - - - - - - - Principal - - - - - - - - - - 342000 346000 350000 354000 358000 362000 8.1 2533.37 2563.00 2592.63 2622.26 2651.89 2681.52 8.6 2653.97 2685.01 2716.05 2747.09 2778.13 2809.17 9.1 2776.46 2808.94 2841.41 2873.88 2906.36 2938.83 9.6 2900.72 2934.64 2968.57 3002.50 3036.42 3070.35 10.1 3026.61 3062.01 3097.41 3132.80 3168.20 3203.60 10.6 3154.02 3190.90 3227.79 3264.68 3301.57 3338.46 11.1 3282.82 3321.22 3359.62 3398.01 3436.41 3474.80 11.6 3412.93 3452.84 3492.76 3532.68 3572.59 3612.51 12.1 3544.21 3585.67 3627.12 3668.57 3710.02 3751.48 12.6 3676.59 3719.59 3762.59 3805.59 3848.59 3891.59 13.1 3809.96 3854.52 3899.08 3943.64 3988.21 4032.77 13.6 3944.24 3990.38 4036.51 4082.64 4128.77 4174.90 Press any key to continue SUB-SELECTION 'R' -- REPEAT THE ABOVE CALCULATIONS This selection will return the cursor to the Principal amount entry and allow you to repeat the calculations. SUB-SELECTION 'Q' -- RETURN TO THE MAIN MENU Pushing this key will return you to the main selection menu. SELECTION 'L' -- Listing Functions Data Base To utilize the MLS data base capabilities of the software you should select the 'L' option from the main menu. Entries in the data base may be recalled rapidly based on the format of the MLS books. For example, if you want to recall all houses in the 80 to 100,000 dollar range, or all houses with pools, only a few keystrokes and a couple of seconds later and you will have your data. You may also perform complete market analysis of properties and allows you to make your own listing screen to suit your needs (see appendix). When you enter 'L' from the main menu the following listing services sub-menu will appear: Multiple Listing Services Menu Princeton Economics, Inc. ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║ Add New Listings ║ ║ Search for Listings ║ ║ Edit Listings ║ ║ Delete Listings ║ ║ Miscellaneous Information ║ ║ Special Functions ║ ║ Print Listings ║ ║ Return to main menu ║ ╚═══════════════════════════╝ ADDING DATA-- Sub-Selection 'A' As an example of how to recall listings, you must first enter your listings using the ADD function in the Listing Services Selection menu. Be sure to enter cities, streets etc. in the same manner each time (i.e. for Boston, always enter it as "Boston" or "BOS" or "Bstn", it doesn't matter how, just be consistent) To navigate around the screen you should use the up/down arrow keys or the return key, which functions like the down arrow. For questions like "fireplace" or "pool", we suggest you simply enter a Y or N. The computer will do a character by character match for each field when a search is done. If you are not consistent, you will not find your properties later on. (Note: upper and lower case do not matter. The computer converts everything to uppercase automatically when searching ) The operation of the arrow keys is as follows (whether in ADD, SEARCH, DELETE or EDIT). The left and right arrow keys will move you around WITHIN an entry. For example, if you enter "Boston" for city, the left/right keys will move you from the "B" to the "n". The up/down arrow keys will move you from one field to the next, ie. listing number to city, etc. Do not think of the up/down keys as moving from column to column, rather from one data field to the next. (The operator should review the use of the editing keys in the first section of this manual for additional key functions). You may also use the PgUp and PgDn keys to jump around faster. The PgUp/Dn keys function as if you strike the arrow keys 10 times, in other words PgUp will move you up 10 fields or PgDn will move you down 10 fields. The 'End' key at the bottom of the screen is the key used to "file" your data for that property in the computers database. Until you push the End key, nothing is saved. You MUST REMEMBER to strike 'End' to store your data, or no permanent record will be maintained. This is also true of EDITING and DELETING data. SEARCHING-- Selection 'S' After you have made your entries assume a client comes in and is looking for property in Salem, simply call up the search function and use the arrow keys to move to the "CITY" field in the MLS screen. Enter the word "Salem" (upper and lower case never matters, feel free to intermix them ) and push the `End` key. The software will now search and display all Salem entries. For another example, lets say a client wants a house in the 150,000 to 200,000 dollar range. Call up the search screen again, move to the PRICE field with the arrow keys and enter "150,000-200,000". The system will now display all houses on file within this range. You may add as many search parameters as you wish before you push the 'End' key to begin the search. For example you could enter "Salem" for city, "150,000-200,000" for price and specify a fireplace and inground pool. The system will then recall only those properties meeting the search criteria. NOTE: If you register your software with Princeton Economics, you will receive a special utility package called NEWSCRN which will allow you to customize the MLS screen to your exact requirements. NOTE: You may improve the performance of searching for a price range if 0.00 dollars is the low end or infinity is the high end. For example if you want to see all houses up to a maximum of 250,000.00 dollars simply enter this as "-250,000". The leading dash ("-") signifies that the computer should start from zero. Likewise a trailing dash will indicate that there is no upper limit. For example, to search from $90,000 and up, simply enter as "90,000-". This method of data entry is valid for ALL range fields, be they price, date or user defined. If you desire to edit an entry while typing ( or before you file the entry with the 'End' key ) use the editing commands described in the first section of this manual. We strongly advise that you enter some "nonsense data" and then practice editing the field using the editing keys. For example if you wish to delete the whole line, type ^Y (ctrl-Y). After each entry is displayed, you will see at the bottom of the screen that you may choose to type "F" to file the entry, "R" to recall a previously filed entry "N" to display the next entry or "Q" to quit and return to the main menu. The "N" and "Q" selections are fairly straight forward, "F" and "R" require a little more explanation. FAST FILE & FAST RECALL -- "F" & "R" defined: The software also has the capability of temporarily "filing" the listing in memory for later rapid retrieval. For example, if you are paging through listings with your client, some may look more interesting than others. The more interesting ones may be "tagged" by using the function keys on the left of your (IBM) keyboard. To tag a listing, select "F" after the listing is displayed rather than "N" to go on to the next listing. You will then be asked to push a function key (F1 thru F10, your choice, does not have to be in any order) to "tag" the listing on the screen. After you have tagged the entry you will see line 22 on the screen indicate that you pushed a function key for filing purposes. This is just a reminder of which function key you pushed. Now that you have filed a listing you may continue to page through other listings by repeatedly pushing the "N" key to show next entries, until you find another listing you wish to file. You may file up to 10 listing, one for each function key, in this manner. When you are all done paging through listing, (or at any time for that matter) you may select the "R", or recall option (as opposed to the "N", "Q", or "F" ). When you strike the "R" key you will next be asked to push one of the function keys you previously used to tag a listing with. When you do so, that listing will immediately appear. SPECIAL FUNCTIONS: There are three "special keys" which are also displayed as active on the help-line at the bottom of the screen. These are F1 for market analysis, Alt-F1 (ie hold down the ALT key and push F1) for the user defined range screen and F10 for recalling a search mask. If you were to push "F1" you would see the following screen pop-up and overlay your search screen: ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Sale status----------- ____________ Open House date--- Property Type--------- Listing date------ Agent one------------- Expiration date--- Agent one commission%- 0 Closing date------ Agent two------------- Selling price----- 0 Agent two commission%- 0 Total commission-- 0.00 Office---------------- Franchise fee----- 0 Area------------------ Referral fee------ 0.00 Origin---------------- Agent one comm.--- 0.00 Buyer----------------- Agent two comm.--- 0.00 Total commission %---- 0 Residuals--------- 0 Referral fee %-------- 0 Company dollar---- 0.00 Push `End` key when done or `Esc` to cancel ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ (We have left most fields blank in the above example) The F1 screen is used for MARKET ANALYSIS and AGENT PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS. Fill in the desired information on selling price, agents name, agent commissions, etc. You may then search for agents, locations, prices, etc. the same way as you did above. The only exception is that you may search on a range of dates in the "listing date" "closing date" and "expiration date" fields. The range data for dates is incorporated the same way as is the search for price. For example, lets say you wanted to search for all listing which closed between 1/12/85 and 2/12/85. You would enter the search mode and immediately press F1 (leaving the main listing screen blank, indicating to the computer you want all listings in the main screen). You would then move the cursor to the "closing date" field and enter the date as "1/12/85-2/12/85" and push the end key twice. (Once to clear the market analysis screen and the second time to begin the search). You would then see all listings which closed between the two dates, inclusive. (Assuming that you religiously fill in the closing dates in the first place!) This screen will also compute commissions, referrals, misc. fees and company dollar as well as allow you to enter agents, locations, etc. Remember, you may search on any combination of fields in either the market analysis or main listing screens. Searching while in the market analysis screen is done in conjunction with the main listing screen. What we mean by this is that the market analysis screen is simply an extension of the main listing screen. The reason we make you press F1 to display the market analysis section is twofold. Firstly, there simply isn't enough room on the main screen to include all that information, secondly, your clients may be looking over your shoulder while your searching and some of the information in the market analysis screen may be considered confidential. To further elaborate on the "extension" concept, lets say you wanted to search for all properties sold in Princeton within the same date range above. What you would do is to enter the Search mode and move the cursor over to the city field and enter "princeton". You would then push F1 and enter the date as outlined above. Push 'End' twice (once to leave the market analysis screen and once again to begin the search) and you will limit your date search to all listings in Princeton. One final note on this screen. The word "SOLD" is a KEYWORD when placed in the 'Sale Status' entry. It tells the computer NOT to display the listing when in the 'Search mode' (We didn't think you would want to be bothered when searching for properties for clients with all the 'Sold' properties appearing.) If you specifically desire to search for "sold" property, you must enter the word "sold" in this field. The other special key is the Alt-F1 key which would display the following pop-up over the search screen: ╔═══════════════════════ Range Data ═════════════════════════╗ ║ SqFeet------------------------ 1000-3000 ║ ║ Baths------------------------- ______________________ ║ ║ FloorHgt---------------------- ║ ║ RoomCount--------------------- ║ ║ BedroomCount------------------ ║ ║ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ NOTE: The entries shown above are the default entries. You may customize these fields by using the NEWSCRN program. The NEWSCRN program is only available to registered users. This screen allows you to search on a 'range' of data. By default all these entries are numeric in nature. For example, you may want to display all properties in the 1000-3000 square foot range. To do so, make the entry shown above and depress 'End' to return to the main screen and the 'End' again to start your search. Please note that all search criteria are logically inclusive (ANDed) That is to say, you may enter search criteria in the main search screen and/or the F1 screen and/or the Alt-F1 screen and all criteria will be applied. RECALLING A SEARCH MASK -- F10 For a description of function F10, see the section entitled "Starting your search", below. STARTING YOUR SEARCH: When you have completed defining your search criteria you would then press the 'End' key to start the search sequence. Before the search actually begins you will be asked if you want to "Save this search mask to disk?". If you answer yes 'Y', you are next asked to enter your initials and then asked for a 'name' under which to store the search mask. The name can be up to eight alphanumeric characters. After you make these two entries, a file is created with the filename you entered in the 'name' field and an extension consisting of your initials. When you next desire to perform a search based upon the same search criteria you would simply depress the F10 key while in the search screen. You will next be asked to enter your initials and strike "enter". Once you strike enter, you will be presented with an alphabetized list of all search masks which belong to you. You may use the up/dn/right/left arrow keys to select the mask or simply begin spelling the mask name. If you choose the spelling method, the cursor will progressively jump to each entry matching the characters you entered. Once the previously stored mask is entered, you are next asked to either begin the search by depressing 'S' or elect to edit the recalled search mask by pressing 'E'. If you edit the mask you will also be given the opportunity to store the new mask under a different name. IMPORTANT NOTE: New releases of version 4.0 allow a displayed screen recalled under a search mask to be seen only ONCE. The reason for this is to allow an agent to perform a search on a previously defined and stored search mask and ONLY SEE those listing which were added to the file since the search mask was last utilized. This is done to prevent redundant display of all listings. You may reset the search mask to once more redisplay ALL listings matching a stored search mask via the "Special Functions" sub selection. This function is defined further on in the manual. If you desire to delete selected search masks, see the section entitled "Special Functions" further along in the manual. "NOT FOUND" Options: If your search criteria are not matched, you will be informed at the bottom of the screen that no match exists and then be given the opportunity to "Browse" the database. By pushing the 'B' key to browse you will see the following screen overlay the existing screen: Listing City Price Address KB299 Boston 100000 27 Union St KB877 Salem 450000 12 Any St. KB889 Salem 300000 223B East 7th St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . etc. Use ARROWS to Highlight and push END to select or ESC to Quit. Although the "screen" shown above is for example purposes only, it represents a powerful feature in your software to locate listings based on only partial information. For example, if you were to enter the letters "KB" (again referring to our example) in the "Listing number" field of the search screen you would not find any listings since all the listings in our example only begin with the letters KB. By depressing the 'B' (for browse) key you would see the above screen appear which shows you all listings BEGINNING with the letters KB. IMPORTANT NOTE: The browse screen search is based on partial characters in KEY FIELDS only and does not apply any additional search criteria. The two key fields currently utilized are 'Listing number' and 'City'. EDITING & DELETING ENTRIES To edit or delete an entry select the 'E' for edit or 'D' for delete from the Listing Services Menu. You may find the listing in the same manner as you use to search for listings. All the editing keystrokes mentioned previously apply here also. If editing, simply change the fields you wish and push the 'End' key to make the changes permanent. If you are deleting and entry you will be asked twice to confirm your intentions before the data record is actually deleted. SOME GENERAL NOTES ON SEARCHING The RealQuik system uses what is known as an indexed B-Tree searching method based on "keys". The "key" is a special tag used by the computer to rapidly locate data. Another way to accomplish a search is a simple sequential search whereby the computer simply looks at each record at a time to see if it matches the search criteria. RealQuik actually uses both. There are two "key" files. The first one is the listing number and is considered a unique key. What this means is that there can be no two identical listing numbers on file at the same time. ( Try it, you will receive an error message after you press the 'End' key). The second key is the city field. This field allows for duplicate entries. ( You will most likely have more than one listing in the same city!). All other fields are done sequentially. Therefore, if you enter additional information, in addition to the city, a rapid retrieval of the city will be found and then the screen will be compared on a field by field basis to verify a match. Since the listing number is unique, there is no need to enter any additional information as there can be no duplicates. A listing number search will give you the fastest retrieval. (Typically less than 1 second for almost 1000 entries, on a hard disk system ). If you deal with only one city, it may be to your advantage to experiment with your data entry technique. For example, where the program asks you to enter the city, you may instead want to enter the street. This would make the street an keyed parameter and would vastly improve the search time. Alternatively, you may want to enter city as "city/street", it really doesn't matter, the computer is simply doing a character match. The important thing to remember is that you must be consistent with your entries. "Princeton/Main" (in the above framework) is not the same as "Princeton/Main St." , nor is "Princeton/Main St." the same as "Princeton/Main St" (no period at the end of street). The only thing that doesn't matter is case, so "Princeton", "princeton" or "PrinCEtoN" are all considered the same. Sub-Selection 'M' -- Misc. Information If you depress the 'M' key while in the Listing Services sub-menu you would see the following screen appear: Memory available for program use -------------- 20785 Largest free block for HEAP use---------------- 20785 Currently using DOS version-------------------- 3.30 Space available on local drive (k bytes)------- 2966 Records:8, Sections:8, Deleted:0 Station:0 2/27/1991 Push any key to return to the listings menu This is an "information only" screen which displays helpful system information as well as the number of active and deleted records on file. The data shown above will change to reflect your machine and/or network environment. Sub-Selection 'F' -- Special Functions When 'F' is depressed from the listing services sub menu, the following sub (sub-sub to main menu) will appear over the listing services sub-menu: ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║ Add New Listings ║ ║ Search for Listings ║ ║ Edit Listings ║ ║ Delete╔════════ SPECIAL FUNCTIONS ═════════╗ ║ Miscel║ Assign Listing Fields to Print ║ -> ║ Specia║ Edit/Delete Search Masks ║ ║ Print ║ Convert Listing File to ASCII file ║ ║ Return╚════════════════════════════════════╝ ╚═══════════════════════════╝ Sub-sub selection 'A' -- Assign Listing Fields to Print This function defines which fields will appear on printer when you select the "Print" option from the listing services sub menu. No printing of listings may be performed until this section is completed. The following (somewhat imposing) screen will appear when this sub-sub function is activated: Order of Entries in Listing Screen 1 Listin 8 20 FlrP.> 10 39 BRS 12 58 DW 10 83 RoomCo 30 2 City 20 21 Fence 11 40 Gal 9 84 Bedroo 30 3 Price 20 22 Fnd 10 41 Wiring 9 4 Addres 25 23 LR 13 42 Plumb 10 100 PROP_TYPE 5 Broker 14 24 Roof 9 43 BTH 12 101 SALE_STATUS 6 Phone 11 25 S.Pump 9 44 Gas 9 102 AGENT_1 7 Direct 63 26 Bsmnt 10 45 Water 9 103 AGENT_2 8 Owners 40 27 DR 13 46 Pool 10 104 OFFICE 9 Bkr.Co 12 28 Ext 10 47 Shower 12 105 AREA 10 Style 8 29 Insul 9 48 Sewer 9 106 ORIGIN 11 Twn.Co 7 30 St.Wdw 10 49 Gar 9 107 BUYER 12 Ld/A(E 8 31 KIT 12 50 Drwy 10 108 TOT_COMM. 13 Hs/Sz( 10 32 Floors 8 51 Porch/ 11 109 AGENT_1_COM 14 Age 3 33 Dom.HW 9 52 Pos 11 110 AGENT_2_COM 15 Rooms 2 34 OO/R 10 53 Zoning 9 111 REFERRAL 16 Br 2 35 FAM 12 54 Stv 10 112 OPNHOUSE_DT 17 Stry 2 36 Heat 10 55 Firepl 10 80 SqFeet 30 113 LISTING_DT 18 Lv/A(E 9 37 Fuel 9 56 Fan 10 81 Baths- 30 114 EXPIR_DATE 19 Color 11 38 Cost$( 8 57 W/D 11 82 FloorH 30 115 CLOSE_DATE Enter the LINE NUMBERS of the names to use for printing. ANY field with an size >10 will be limited to 10. Separate with commas, END or ESC to Exit. NUMBERS: 1,3,4,5,9,57_________________________________________________________ This screen may at first seem intimidating so lets examine it one step at a time. But first... one problem with printing is that the software prints the stored listing data in columns with one row per listing. Unfortunately, most printers are not wide enough to accommodate all of your search fields. We need a way to define each column you want to print without the data running off the end of the page. This is the purpose of this sub-sub selection. Note that the screen is divided into columns with line numbers followed by field names. For example, line 1 is the listing number, line 2 is the city, line 3 is the price, etc. There will exist a line number for all potential entries. A blank entry next to the line number is simply an indication of a spare field which was never defined. In order to specify which fields you want to print, simply enter the line numbers, separated by commas. In the example above we are defining a printout to contain lines 1,3,4,5,9,57. These lines correspond to listing number, price, address, broker, etc. Note that due to space limitations, only the first six characters of the field name are displayed and only the first twenty or so characters within the database field will actually be printed. This should be more than enough data to identify the field(s) of interest. Once the screen is completed, depress the 'End' key (or depress the 'Esc' key to exit unchanged). You may then select 'P' for "Print Listings" from the listing services sub-menu to initiate the print. (The latter function is more fully described further on in this manual.) Sub-sub selection 'E'-- Edit/Delete Search masks This function allows you to delete previously defined search masks (see the 'Search' section above) or reset the mask to display ALL data rather than only data which was shown since the last search. You are only required to enter you initials, pick the mask name and enter 'D' or 'R' to delete or reset respectively. Sub-sub selection 'C'-- Convert Listing File to ASCII If there was any one feature which we would describe as the most powerful addition to version 4.x over its predecessor versions 3.x it would be this one. This function will allow you to take your entire listing data base and convert it to a standard ASCII file which may then be imported into spreadsheet programs such as Quattro or Lotus, into statistical packages or into other database packages. The listing database file is maintained in a special binary format to allow for efficient searching and storage. Unfortunately you can never "see" (by using the DOS TYPE or PRINT command) the contents of binary files. This function will let you do so. You will be presented with the following screen: Enter ASCII filename: Enter Delimiter Character: Enter "Missing Data" character: Include Range Data? : Include Market Analysis Data : The first entry asks you to name the file which will contain the ASCII information. You must then define a 'Delimiter' which will appear between each field. The data is converted to a column format with each row being one listing record. Each column represents the order in which the data was created in the "Newscreen" program. (Hint: It is the same order as it appears by the line number in the "Assign Fields to Print" sub-sub function previously defined.) You generally need to define how each column will be separated. This will most likely be a requirement of the program which the converted file will be imported into. Typically you would enter a space or comma in this filed. If you use a comma, a comma would be placed between each field in each row of the ASCII file (e.g. listing_number,City,Price,etc.,etc...). The next entry defines a 'missing data' character. This character will be placed into each field of the ASCII file in which NO Data was present in the listing screen. For example if you left the 'City' blank it would be translated to this character upon conversion. This is important to maintain the column integrity of the converted ASCII file. Finally, you may specify if the "Range data" and/or the "Market Analysis" data should be included in the ASCII file. IMPORTANT: An ASCII file can take up considerable space on your disk drive. Be sure that you have at least three times the space available as reported by the DOS DIR command for the REALTY.DAT file. Sub-Selection 'P' - Print Listings When this function is activated you will be presented with the same search mask as under Add, Edit, Search of Delete. You may further limit the amount of data printed by entering your search mask here. The data will printed in columns as defined under sub-selection "Special Functions", sub-sub selection "Assign Listing Fields to Print". SELECTION 'F' -- FINANCIAL ANALYSIS This section is essentially a buyer qualification package to determine how much money may be financed based on PITI. (PITI stands for principal, interest taxes and insurance. It is the figure used by lending institutions to arrive at an acceptance figure for a loan). Select entry 'F' from the main menu to run this section. You should answer each question with a number entry. The arrow keys will move you around from entry to entry. The return key may also be used to move down as an alternative. If you wish to enter a zero for any entry, simply push the return key. As you move down the screen entering numbers, the computer will calculate figures leading up to the PITI value. After the PITI is calculated the computer calculated entries will be in yellow.) a ratio value will be calculated for both PITI/income and PITI + installment debts/income. These ratios are the primary factors used by banks to qualify you for a loan. For the individual home buyer, the first ratio (PITI/income) should be typically 25% or less. If you have a large down payment this number could go higher. If you use the 25% figure as a maximum, you will most likely be approved if all the other pertinent information on your loan application is OK. (i.e. Credit ratings, consideration for ALL installment debts, etc.,etc.,etc.) After all the values have been entered, you may then "play" by experimenting with different entries. (Every time you change an entry after the initial screen is filled, all the numbers will be automatically recalculated). A good example of this may be that the ratio figure initially may be high, say 26%, possibly blocking you from approval. You may find however that you can lower an installment debt by paying it off with your some of your down payment money. Assuming you still have enough money left for the banks minimum down payment and closing costs, you may find that the ratio will now have dropped to a lower value. Since you are using a lower down payment, you will find that your monthly payments will increase somewhat, but you may at this point be approved, where before you could not. When you are all done and want to return to the main menu, push the 'End' key located on the right side of the keyboard. You may push this key at anytime, even if you haven't finished all your data entry. IMPORTANT NOTE: The figures produced are only a GENERAL GUIDE as to how large a loan you may be approved for. Banks typically may take into account other factors and may even consider some things as liabilities which you may consider assets. The program will however give you a good idea as to what you may afford, or will be allowed to finance. Selection 'T' -- Typewriter Emulator Version 4.0 of RealQuik was released with an integral typewrite emulator which will allow to make your printer behave in a manner similar to a typewrite. You may set tabs, assign different printer ports, print in special fonts such as enlarged, bold, etc and much more. When you depress the 'T' key the following screen will appear: Princeton SuperType(tm), Copyright 1986,1990 ║══════════════════════║═══════════════════════║ ║F1 -- Bold ║F2 -- Enlarged ║ Esc -- quit to DOS ║F3 -- Double strk ║F4 -- Superscript ║ ^C -- Scroll commands ║F5 -- Subscript ║F6 -- Elite type ║ ^L - Change print port ║F7 -- Condensed type ║F8 -- Underline ║ ^S or Left Arrow -Move left ║F9 -- Alternate ║F10 -- 8 lines/inch ║ ^D or Right Arrow -Move right ╚══════════════════════╩═══════════════════════╝ You begin your typing here and push enter after each line _______________________________________________________________________________ T T T 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789 10| 20| 30| 40| 50| 60| 70| 80 Insert OFF At line-2 At column-1 Port- LPT1 Paperend alert- OFF HOW TO USE THE TYPEWRITER EMULATOR (SuperType): When the SuperType program is running, you will see on the top left a list of function keys and their corresponding attributes. For example F1 selects bold face type, F2 enlarged type, etc. On the top right you will see the type of printer for which SuperType is installed as well as one line which says that if you push the Esc key you will end SuperType and return to the main REALTY menu, and another line which says "^C -- Scroll Commands". The up arrow( '^' ) means in this context to hold down the Control (Ctrl) key located on the left of your keyboard and then push the 'C' key. This will cause the next three lines of commands to scroll upwards. These commands appear as a help feature to allow you to control and use the editing functions of SuperType. We will describe these keys in detail later on. On the bottom line of the screen, you will see on the far left the status of the INSERT ON/OFF command. The INSERT feature is normally OFF but may be turned ON by pushing the 'Ins' key on the right side of the keyboard. When INSERT is ON, characters will be inserted in front of the cursor, making all characters to the right of the cursor move right. When INSERT is OFF, any characters to the right of the cursor will be erased as new characters are typed. The next field on the bottom line is the line number you have typed. Each time you push the return key, the line number counter will increment by one. Following the line counter is the Column counter. The column counter will increment by one each time the cursor moves to the right and will decrement by one each time the cursor moves to the left. The column counter is meant to refer to the actual printed column on your printer. For this reason if you change your margins, the column counter will still refer to the absolute column position. For example if the left margin is moved to start at column ten, the lowest the column counter will go is to ten, it will not reset to one. The next two fields allow you to select which printer port you will send printed output and whether or not you want your paperend alert to sound if the paper runs out. ( If you are single sheet feeding a printer, you will often want to disable the paperend alert signal to allow you to print to the end of the page.) We will discuss these two features in detail later. NOTE: If you are running on a network, SuperType may not be able to advise you of printer errors. The lines above the bottom line are reference lines to use in counting columns, setting tabs, etc. EDITING AND CONTROL COMMANDS. Princeton SuperType allows full editing of the typed line prior to printing the line and control over printer attributes and certain other hardware features, such as port selection, paperend detection, etc. The editing commands are ^A, ^G, ^Y, ^D, ^F, ^H, ^S and Tab. Their functions are as follows: ^A -- Move the cursor to the beginning of the line. ^F -- Move the cursor to the end of the typed line. ^D -- Move the cursor one character to the right. (Or right arrow key). ^S -- Move the cursor one character to the left. (Or left arrow key). ^G -- Delete one character to the right. ^H -- Delete one character to the left (or backspace key) ^Y -- Delete the entire line. Operates no matter where the cursor is and returns the cursor to the left margin. Tab - Move to the next Tab stop. (More on setting tabs later) Does not erase characters. SETTING AND RELEASING TABS In order to set tab stops, move the cursor with the space bar to the position you would like to define as a tab point and enter a [T. You will see a capital 'T' appear below the cursor which will indicate to you that a tab has been set. You may set as many tabs as you want. Pushing the Tab key ( the double arrow key over the left shift key ) will cause the cursor to move to the tab stop. To release a tab stop move the cursor to the tab to be released,either with the space bar or the tab key, and type ^T again. This will release the tab. If you are running the memory resident version of SuperType, your tab positions will be remembered when you exit SuperType and return again later. SETTING LEFT AND RIGHT MARGINS To set new margins, type a ^B. A line will appear at the top of the screen telling you to move the cursor with the space bar to the new left margin and type an 'L'. After this a new line will appear asking you to continue moving the cursor to the new right margin and then push the letter 'R'. When you do this last step, you will see the margins reform themselves to the positions you selected. If at any time you want to cancel the margin setting command after you have selected it, simply push the 'Esc' key ONCE, this will restore the margins to their previous state. Your margin settings will be remembered when you exit and re-enter SuperType. SELECTING A DIFFERENT PRINTER PORT In many cases, you may be operating two printers, one connected to LPT1 and another connected to LPT2. Princeton SuperType(tm) lets you select either port. To change ports, simply type a ^L, you will see the port status field at the bottom line switch between LPT1 and LPT2. If you have redirected your printer with the DOS Mode command, the ports on SuperType will be redirected also. CONTROLLING PAPEREND ALERT Many printers will detect an end of paper condition and cease printing when this condition occurs. However most of the time the switch which detects this condition activates before the physical end of paper and is meant primarily for use on continuous feed paper. If you are using a single sheet feed, you will want to turn off the paper end alert on your printer. SuperType normally leaves this in the OFF condition; if you want to change, simply type ^P to toggle back and forth. Whenever SuperType is activated, this value will always start in the OFF state. USING PRINTER ATTRIBUTES Princeton SuperType (tm) allows you to utilize up to ten of your printers font attributes. These attributes are controlled by depressing function keys F1 thru F10. The selection menu for each function key appears in the upper left corner of the screen. If, for example, you wanted to print a line (or word or character) in enlarged typeface, you would depress function key F2. Two things will happen immediately. First, you will see the label for F2 in the corner of the screen switch background and foreground colors (reverse video.) Secondly, you will see a small carrot sign (" ^ ") appear under the cursor position where the attribute was toggled. The reverse video field over F2 acts as a reminder that the enlarged type attribute has been selected while the carrot tells you where in the line the attribute was turned on. Pushing F2 again will cause the video field to return to normal and another carrot to appear at the cursor position where the attribute was turned off. When you push the return key, the line will be typed and the print face change at each place you toggled an attribute. It is perfectly acceptable to turn on more than one attribute at a time, such as both bold face and enlarged, etc. You should be aware that certain "mixes" of fonts are not allowed. For example, you could not have on both superscript and subscript at the same time. SuperType takes care of this by automatically turning off a previously selected attribute if the latest selection is incompatible as a mixture. NOTE: Certain printers will turn off their attributes upon receipt of a carriage return. What this means to you is that even though the function key field is in reverse video mode, indicating that the attribute is ON, once the line is typed the printer will automatically switch the attribute OFF. Consult your printer manual for more details. ( This is not a feature of the IBM/EPSON printers. This printer and its compatibles will keep the attribute active until you switch it off. ) ENDING YOUR SESSION WITH SUPERTYPE When you're all done with SuperType, all you have to do is push the 'Esc' key; It's as simple as that. APPENDIX 'A' -- CREATING YOUR OWN LISTING SCREEN This section is available only to registered users. APPENDIX 'B' - Customizing the typewrite emulator for non-epson compatible printers: This section is available only to registered users. APPENDIX 'C' NETWORK OPERATION One common question frequently asked is "Why do I need the network version of RealQuik(tm)". In answer to that, you do NOT need the network version if you are not running on a network such as Novell or 10NET (These are just two of the many networks supported by the network version of RealQuik). If you are running on a network, you need to take advantage of certain special features which are essential to proper network operation and are only contained in the network version. A brief example will best explain. Suppose that two workstations on a network both access the same listing for editing. They both retrieve the data and display it on their respective CRT screens. It is very possible that they may make different changes to the record. The big question is who writes it out first? Does one station have priority over the other? Will the file become instantly corrupted when two users attempt to write the same record at the same time? Network software takes care of these issues by locking records and notifying users of changes, etc. Please call us if you have any questions regarding proper network operation. Table of Contents: The table of contents is not available in the shareware documentation. You will receive a complete manual when you register your copy. Thank you for your interest.