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(TM) SYSTEMS MANAGER DOCUMENTATION and TUTORIAL Copyright 1990, 1991 by MiCord. All rights are reserved. CONTENTS Page PREFACE ................................................... 1 ASP OMBUDSMAN STATEMENT .............................. 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................. 2 MESSAGE FROM MiCord .................................. 2 REGISTRATION ......................................... 2 WHAT TO EXPECT ....................................... 3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS .................................. 3 WARRANTY ............................................. 3 NEW FEATURES IN SYSTEMS MANAGER, VERSION 2.5 ......... 4 CONTENTS OF DISTRIBUTION DISK ........................ 4 PRODUCT SUPPORT ...................................... 4 GETTING STARTED: INSTALLATION ............................. 5 AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION ............................... 5 MANUAL INSTALLATION .................................. 6 FIRST TIME START: IDENTITY OF SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR ....... 8 PASSWORD CREATION SCREEN ............................. 9 PASSWORD SCREEN ...................................... 9 PURPOSE SCREEN ....................................... 9 CLIENT TRACKING SCREEN .............................. 10 APPLICATION TYPE TRACKING ........................... 10 TRACKING AND REPORTING .............................. 10 MENU SCREEN: START-UP .................................... 11 MANAGER'S SERVICES: CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD ................. 12 ADD A PASSWORD ...................................... 12 PURGE ALL PASSWORDS ................................. 13 PRINT REGISTRATION FORM ............................. 13 RECORD MANAGEMENT ................................... 13 CONFIGURATION ....................................... 14 MENU MANAGEMENT ..................................... 15 ADDING APPLICATIONS ............................ 15 EASY LOADING .............................. 15 ADVANCED LOADING .......................... 16 CHANGING INFORMATION ........................... 17 REMOVING AN APPLICATION ........................ 18 CHANGE ORDER OF MENU ITEMS ..................... 18 EXAMPLES OF USAGE ........................................ 19 MENU ONLY ........................................... 19 PASSWORDS ........................................... 19 SOFTWARE TYPE ....................................... 19 CLIENT TRACKING ..................................... 20 PURPOSE TRACKING .................................... 20 PREFACE 1 Systems Manager is a powerful integrated menu, tracking and reporting system that provides easy, fast access to your work while it collects important usage information. This data can be used for client billing, productivity decisions to save you time and money, justification of purchases of hardware and software, or for tax records. You select the configuration, including password protection, that is best for your needs. It has a highly effective uni-screen menu system from which you can start all your applications or run a series of complex DOS level instructions with a single, fast point-and-shoot action. This documentation explains how the program works and how to install it on your computer. It gives the understanding helpful in selecting the combination of features which is best for your intended use. Please read the section on examples of usage. It could help you save hundreds or even thousands of dollars. MiCord wants your evaluation of this product to be successful and to be as easy as possible. If any questions or concerns arise during this evaluation, please contact MiCord without hesitation. Product support is available to you during this evaluation. Information on how to contact MiCord is given in the section on product support. ASP OMBUDSMAN STATEMENT The following quoted statement is included as a requirement of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). * * N O T I C E * * "This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon MI 49442 or send a Compuserve message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536." * * * * * * * INTRODUCTION 2 MESSAGE FROM MiCord Welcome to Systems Manager and thank you for evaluating this MiCord product. Systems Manager is made available to you for evaluation through the concept of shareware. Shareware is a low cost method of distribution which allows you to fully evaluate a product before you pay for the right to use it. You have the right to fully evaluate the performance of this product for your intended application for a reasonable period of time. Product support is available to you from MiCord during this evaluation period to assist you. If you then decide you want to use this product, you need to register and pay a license fee to MiCord. You may also make complete and unaltered copies of this software for your own purposes or to share at no cost with others. MiCord would appreciate hearing your comments about this program and your evaluation of it even if you decide to not become a registered user. All suggestions, comments and requests are seriously considered and welcomed. This is our source for improvements. MiCord also does custom programming to meet certain specific requests. There is no risk or fee associated with a special request. Please contact MiCord for information on this service. Contact information is given in the section on product support. REGISTRATION If you decide you want to use this software, you need to license that use and register with MiCord. For your convenience, you may print a registration form from within the program. Instructions for doing this are given in the section on MANAGER'S SERVICES: PRINT REGISTRATION FORM. The license fee is $10.00 US per installed copy of the software and should be included with the completed registration form. Personal or company checks are acceptable. (Please contact MiCord for special site licensing arrangements if you represent a large corporation with many potentially installed copies.) Your registration will be acknowledged by return mail. You will continue to receive product support as needed. You will also receive a copy of the next update for evaluation with upgrade privileges when it becomes available. WHAT TO EXPECT 3 Systems Manager is a fully integrated menu and tracking system that is very easy to use. You can initiate any DOS command or application directly from the menu without having to remember a series of key strokes. Systems Manager offers several time tracking options. These include users by passwords, purpose for tax or business purposes, type of software for a variety of productivity reasons or purchasing decisions, and client identification for billing purposes and any combination of these, or none at all. Detailed or summary reports can be printed or displayed with usage totaled by feature. Many different configuration options are available to the user. Several of these options are only available to the systems administrator in cases of several users. Systems manager has a unique uni-screen menu system that will accept up to 60 entries on a single screen which means no hunting for what you want. Just point-and-shoot to initiate the application or command that you want. After the command or application is completed, the menu automatically returns to your screen. From this menu you can also access the many Manager Services such as tracking reports or configuration options as well as direct access to DOS. Full instructions to guide you are on every screen. You probably won't need the documentation. Its that simple. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Systems Manager will run on a IBM or fully compatible machine operating under DOS 2.1 or greater. It requires a hard disk. It uses under 150K of memory when loaded but terminates during any DOS command or application program so that maximum memory is always available for your use in applications. It does not stay resident and there is no reported interference with any Pop-up or TSR (Terminate-Stay-Resident) program. It assumes that a printer is attached for printing of reports. It supports any type of display operating in character mode. WARRANTY MiCord warrants its original copy of Systems Manager software to perform substantially as described on IBM or fully compatible computers. MiCord also warrants its original copy of this software to be free of any virus. MiCord disclaims all other warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and fitness for any purpose. MiCord assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from use of Systems Manager software. NEW FEATURES 4 * Smaller size and faster operation * Added support for extended keyboard cursor keys * Added option for date/time as US or international * Added option for client billing tracking * Added options to let users switch each tracking mode on/off creating 16 possible tracking configurations * Added special privileges for Systems Administrator * New configuration menus to ease customization * Added sorting option for main menu to facilitate customization * Instituted database format for all tracking information * Added sorting and totaling usage of database information for detailed and summary reports * Added user choice of which reports to display or print * Added training samples for menu loading * Added instructions for manual installation of Systems Manager * Expanded documentation CONTENTS OF DISTRIBUTION DISK Your distribution disk should contain the following files: SYSMGR.EXE The Systems Manager program SYSMGRIN.EXE The Systems Manager installation program SYSMGR.DOC This Systems Manager documentation file SYSMGR25.BAT Initial information PRODUCT SUPPORT You do not need to be a registered user to receive product support. MiCord wants you to be completely satisfied with the evaluation of the performance of this product. The most important time for product service is during this evaluation period. Therefore support is provided during your evaluation of this product as well as to registered users. MiCord believes that satisfied users do become registered users. In addition, MiCord welcomes your requests for specially prepared software uniquely suited to your intended use. Please contact MiCord by mail at the following address: MiCord, P.O. Box 1344, Midland, MI, 48640. Or, you may send mail to CompuServe address 70233,663. You may also be able to reach MiCord by phone on week nights between 7pm and 9pm eastern time zone on (517) 631-4367 (private residence). GETTING STARTED: INSTALLATION 5 The easiest way to get started is to use the installation program, SYSMGRIN.EXE, included on the distribution disk. All necessary instructions are provided on-screen. There are two cases where you should use the manual process. 1. If you want to install Systems Manager on a hard disk drive that is not the primary drive, (the primary drive contains the AUTOEXEC.BAT file), use the manual method. 2. If you want to make the necessary changes to the AUTOEXEC.BAT yourself, use the manual method. AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION Place a copy of the distribution disk in drive A:, then type A:SYSMGRIN and press Enter. Complete on-screen instructions will guide you through the installation. These instructions tell you what the installation is going to do before the program does it. It gives you a chance to Escape or terminate the installation before proceeding. This installation program will install Systems Manager on the hard disk which is the primary drive, i.e. used in booting. NOTE: if you are upgrading from a previous release of Systems Manager, you should print any records you want to save before installing the new version which uses a new database format. All of the Systems Manager files must be in a directory named \MGR or the program will not work properly. The installation program will create that directory if it doesn't already exist and copy the necessary files into that directory from the distribution disk. The installation program will also create a CONFIG.MGR file and a MENU.BAT file in that directory. The installation program will check for the AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the main directory of this hard disk drive. It will save the original as AUTOEXEC.BAK and construct a new AUTOEXEC.BAT with two modifications from the original. First, it will insert the \MGR directory in the PATH statement. Next, it will append the command MENU at the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If no AUTOEXEC.BAT file is present, the installation program will create one with the appropriate commands. The computer is then re-booted with the new information in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file telling the computer where to look for the files and the MENU command will initiate the Systems Manager program. As System Manager is operated, it will create other files and place all of them in the same \MGR directory. AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION (continued) 6 The installation does not attempt to load recognized programs into its menu for one simple reason. It is not possible to keep the information required to do this current. Thousands of programs are available and new versions are being released in a constant stream. Instead, Systems Manager was designed to let you easily add a new program or new update as soon as you receive it. MANUAL INSTALLATION 1. Select the hard disk drive on which you want to install the the Systems Manager program. (The drive designation will be shown as D: in these examples. You should replace D: with your choice.) Type D: and press Enter. 2. Make a directory called \MGR on this drive. Type MD\MGR and press Enter. 3. Change to this directory. Type CD\MGR and press Enter. 4. Copy all files from the Systems Manager distribution disk into this directory. Type COPY A:*.* and press Enter. 5. Create MENU.BAT in this directory which is D:\MGR as follows: Type COPY CON:MENU.BAT and press Enter Type ECHO OFF and press Enter Type CLS and press Enter Type D: and press Enter (Use the proper letter for D:) Type CD\MGR and press Enter Type SYSMGR and press Enter Type APPMGR and press Enter Press the F6 function key and then press Enter (You will see a message that says a file has been copied.) 6. Return from the D:\MGR directory. Type CD\ and press Enter. 7. Go to the primary hard disk drive which is usually C: (if it is not C: then substitute the correct drive letter for C:) Type C: and press Enter 8. Change to the root directory. Type CD\ and press Enter. 9. Look for existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Type TYPE AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter. (This will display the contents of the file if it exists else it will display the message "File not found".) MANUAL INSTALLATION (continued) 7 10. If you receive the message "File not found" then do step 11 else skip to step 12. 11. Create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file by doing the following: Type COPY CON:AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter Type ECHO OFF and press Enter Type CLS and press Enter Type PATH D:\MGR and press Enter (D: is drive from step 1) Type MENU and press Enter Press the F6 function key and then press Enter The installation is complete. In the future, the AUTOEXEC.BAT file will initiate Systems Manager automatically when the computer is started. For now, tell your computer about the new information in the PATH statement and initiate Systems Manager as follows: Type AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter 12. Modify existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You may use any 100% ASCII text editor to make these changes although the following instructions are specifically for the DOS line editor, EDLIN. Type EDLIN AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter Type L and press Enter (to list the contents) Type the number of the line that is the PATH statement and press Enter. Type the full PATH statement on the indicated line inserting D:\MGR; as the first item following PATH, e.g. PATH D:\MGR;C:\DOS;C:\WP and press Enter. If there is no PATH statement, then insert one as follows: Type 2I and press Enter. (This inserts a line before 2.) Type PATH D:\MGR on the indicated line and press Enter. Hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the Break key. Type L and press Enter to list AUTOEXEC.BAT with this change. (Do not be concerned if an * marks where changes were made.) Add the MENU command at the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. From the listing, note the number of the last line and add one to it, e.g. if the last number is 8, then use 9 in the next step. Type 9I and press Enter Type MENU on the indicated line and press Enter. Hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the Break key. Type L and press Enter to list the contents and check your work. MANUAL INSTALLATION (continued) 8 (A typical sample of an AUTOEXEC.BAT in EDLIN is shown below for comparison purposes.) If your work looks okey, then save it as follows: Type E and press Enter to end and save your work. You can fix your work by changing any line before saving it. (Consult your DOS reference manual in the EDLIN section for complete information on using the EDLIN commands.) Sample of an AUTOEXEC.BAT file in EDLIN: *L 1: ECHO OFF 2: CLS 3: PATH D:\MGR;C:\DOS;C:\UTILITY 4: PROMPT $P$G 5: MODE LPT1 6: MODE COM1:24,N,8,1 7: CLS 8: MENU * You are now done with the hard part! Now simply reboot the computer or type AUTOEXEC and press Enter so that the new information is known to the computer. At the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the MENU command will transfer control to the MENU.BAT file prepared earlier which in turn will initiate the Systems Manager program. FIRST TIME START: IDENTITY OF SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR When Systems Manager is started it looks for a file in its \MGR directory called ACCESS.MGR. If that file is not present, a password creation sequence is initiated. You will get this sequence on first time start-up since ACCESS.MGR has not yet been created. You are asked to identify yourself by initials or a short nickname and to then create a password for yourself. This information is then stored in ACCESS.MGR in a coded form. This person, the first to enter a password, becomes the systems administrator with special privileges for setting configuration choices, tracking features, reports, and for granting access to other users. You may elect to turn off the password feature in the configuration choices but the special privileges of the system administrator remain active. PASSWORD CREATION SCREEN 9 After an initial password has been entered, this screen will no longer appear unless you elect to add a password for a new user. There is no limit to the number of passwords that can be used. Passwords can be any combination of numbers or letters not longer than eight characters. There is no difference between upper and lower case letters. The program will not allow duplicate initials or passwords so that the tracking features can not become confused. If for any reason you forget your password and cannot gain access to Systems Manager, simply delete the ACCESS.MGR file in the \MGR directory. This will then cause the password creation sequence to initiate when Systems Manager is next started and you will be able to create a password. PASSWORD SCREEN The entered password is used to identify and track all usage by user. This feature is configured on when you receive the program. The systems administrator can configure this option off and then the password screen will not appear. If a wrong password is entered, a beep will sound and a note will be displayed alerting the attempted user to be more careful. After four incorrect attempts, the computer will assume that an unauthorized attempt is being made and will warn that only one additional chance remains to enter a correct password. If a wrong password is again entered, the computer will take a nap for two minutes. Lapsed time will be shown in the bottom instruction line. At the end of nap, the program will be re-set and a password may again be entered. While the computer naps, the keyboard is not active. This delay process will frustrate a casual intruder but not a determined intruder who will get past any protection scheme. PURPOSE SCREEN This option is configured on when you receive the program. This option offers a quick way to differentiate the computer usage into one of three categories. This option is primarily used by those that want to build a log of computer usage in a home environment in order to demonstrate business usage relative to usage for their employer of for personal use. A space is provided to enter text to describe to actual specific purpose. This is especially useful to help substantiate actual usage. This option can be configured off by the systems administrator and this screen will not appear. CLIENT TRACKING SCREEN 10 This option is configured on when you receive the program. This option is ideal for situations where work is done for clients or customers on an hourly basis. It provides a space in which you can enter a client identification number. All the time spent on the computer for this specific client will be recorded and tracked. There is no limit to the number of different clients that can be tracked. This option also can be configured off by the systems administrator and this screen will then not appear. APPLICATION TYPE TRACKING This option is also configured on when the program is received although no separate screen will appear to request information. This is because the type of application or software is noted when the menu is loaded and the information on type is obtained automatically. This information is especially useful in business operations in order to determine how the computer is being used and for what type of work. This provides sensible justification for the purchases of additional equipment, additional computers, or new software. The systems administrator can also configure this option off. TRACKING AND REPORTING Tracking is initiated from the point an application is initiated and continues until that specific application is finished. Time is recorded in hundredths of an hour. Any time less than one hundredth of an hour is counted as a full one-hundredth of an hour. Continuous use of up to 99.99 hours is provided for any one specific usage at one specific time. You would not be expected to ever see this limit. Every time there is a change in user, purpose, software type or client, this clock is restarted. This provides adequate time to allow an application to run unattended over a holiday weekend. Reports are constructed from an internal database. A log or sequential report is available as well a report sorted and totaled by the specific tracking feature. Thus, entries for one specific client interspersed during a month with entries for dozens of clients are automatically sorted, listed and totaled. Reports can be displayed on the screen or printed. The time and date of any printout is also reported for storage as permanent records. Records can only be obtained for tracking options that are configured on as controlled by the systems administrator. Provision is made for erasing or clearing the database. MENU SCREEN: START-UP 11 The menu initially will be loaded with three examples that will be used later. For these examples, all you have to do is to move the highlight bar to the item you want and then press the Enter key. The highlight bar can be moved using either the curser keys or pressing the number for the application. Go ahead, try moving the highlight bar. Press the down arrow key a few times. When the bar gets to the bottom of a column, it continues in a loop returning to the top. The same is true for lateral movement when more than one column is present. Keep in mind that it may be faster to continue around a loop than back all the way up a column. The third item is a real example. It is named "Dir A:". This represents the DOS command to display the directory of a disk in drive A:. Try it but first make sure a disk is in drive A:. Move the highlight bar to the third sample and press Enter. The contents of the directory of the disk in drive A: will be displayed on the screen. The screen will also display a message to press any key to continue. Go ahead and press a key. This will return you to the menu and will have logged the time spent examining the directory. Before the menu appears, you will be asked if you want to keep the same tracking information. If you press N for No, you will be returned to the opening screen. Press Y for Yes or Enter to return directly to the menu. Also note that the highlight bar is returned to its initial position ready for your next command. It is that simple. The menu can hold up to 60 entries in four columns of 15 items each, which are automatically centered each time a new column is initiated. A new column is automatically initiated when 15 items fill an existing column. Shortly, you will learn how to add items to the menu or to change the information for an item. For now, please direct your attention to the bottom of the screen. At the bottom of the screen, you will note a help bar with three different options. These options let you return to the starting screen, F5, or go to the manager's services, F7, or to got to DOS. These items will be discussed separately. F5 returns you to the starting screen. If the password option is configured on, this will be the password screen. This feature is used any time you will be away from your computer and you want to prevent unauthorized access to your work. It would also be used if you were initiating work for a different client or different purpose and you wanted to change the tracking information. MENU SCREEN: START-UP (continued) 12 F9 takes you directly to DOS. Systems Manager terminates during this operation so that maximum memory is available for your use. You can do any DOS operation in this state. When you are finished, type MENU (or menu) and press Enter and you will be returned to the menu. The time spent in DOS is also logged. Please do not turn off the computer without first returning to the menu. If you turn off the computer without first returning to the menu, the end of the work session will be counted as the start of the next time you turn your computer on. This means that all of the time the computer was off will be logged as if the computer was on and used for DOS. F7 takes you to the Manager's Services screen. This screen provides to you all the many ways to change or alter the configuration of Systems Manager, manage the menu information, change passwords or allow someone to add a password, and to manage the records. Press F7 and view this screen. Each of the options are discussed in the next section. Press Escape to return to the menu screen (note the instruction bar on the bottom of the screen) before turning the computer off. If you turn off the computer before you return to the menu screen, the end of this work session will be counted as the start of the next time you turn the computer on. This means that all of the time that the computer was off will be logged as if the computer was being used for Manager's activities. MANAGER'S SERVICES: CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD The F2 function key takes you to this sequence. A safety check is built in that requires you to correctly enter your current password for proper identity before you can enter a different password. This safety check prevents the office joker from changing your password if you happen to leave your machine running while you are away from it. Complete instructions are given on the screens to guide you through this operation. Generally, you should change your password periodically or any time you have reason to believe someone may have learned what it is. The program will not let you select a new password that is already in use by someone. MANAGER'S SERVICES: ADD A PASSWORD Only the systems manager can access this function which allows another operator to add a password. This is a security feature to prevent the office joker from adding a password while you are gone so that access can be obtained later without your knowledge. Once this operation is accessed by the systems administrator, the intended user should enter the MANAGER'S SERVICES: ADD A PASSWORD (continued) 13 identity name and the password. This sequence is exactly the same as the original password creation sequence except that this person will not have the system administrator privileges. Again, the program will not accept a duplicate password. MANAGER'S SERVICES: PURGE ALL PASSWORDS This feature allows you to remove all passwords and make a fresh start. The F7 feature is available to only the system administrator so that another user could not easily purge all passwords and then become the system administrator simply by being the first person to then enter a password. After the program purges all of the passwords, it immediately takes you to the proper screen to create a new password. This feature is included in the program to make it easy to transfer the program to a different user or group of users. MANAGER'S SERVICES: PRINT REGISTRATION FORM This feature, F8, was added to provide convenience to you in registering Systems Manager if you decide to use the program. The program will assume that you have a printer attached and that it is ready to print. Pressing this key will bring up a screen asking you to provide your full name, company name, address, etc. This information is then printed on your printer along with space to add comments. This form should then be returned to MiCord along with your registration fee. This feature is also limited to the systems administrator. MANAGER'S SERVICES: RECORD MANAGEMENT This feature is accessed by pressing F7 which brings up another menu with choices for displaying reports or printing reports just by pressing the key corresponding to your choice. It also provides a convenient way to purge the database of records when you are finished with the data. For example if you have printed out the information for client billing for the month, then you should purge the information from the database so that at the end of the next month only the fresh information is processed. It can take the computer a few seconds to sort through the information to prepare some of the reports. You may notice your hard disk in use during this time. The computer is writing information to the disk as it sorts it rather than keeping it in memory. Thus, the only practical limit to the size of the database or number of different clients or different entries is the size of available disk space required for sorting. This is a real MANAGER'S SERVICES: RECORD MANAGEMENT (continued) 14 benefit to the user. As a rough rule-of-thumb, 3K is required for a page and then triple that for sorting so that each full page of data might require 9K of disk space during sorting. Forty pages of data might require 360K of disk space (the same as a typical floppy disk) during sorting. This amount of space is available on virtually every hard disk. Thus, for all normal purposes there is no limit to the size of the database that can be processed. The program frees the disk space and returns it ready for normal usage as soon as it is finished with the reports. Also the program advises you if there is not enough disk space to complete the sorting process so that you can free some additional space. Access to this feature is limited to only the systems administrator. MANAGER'S SERVICES: CONFIGURATION Some of the configuration settings can be accessed only by the systems administrator such as the tracking options. Other options such as the display colors can be accessed by any user. Pressing F4 from the manager's services screen provides the complete configuration menu. The options are grouped under one of three headings. Changes in style include those options related to display colors and the date/time format. Pressing the number associated with the option makes the change immediately visible on the screen. There is a safety feature built into the program that prevents selecting the same color for the foreground as is selected for the background which would make all text disappear. While any changes you make are displayed on this screen, they must be saved, as noted at the bottom of the screen, for them to be retained by the program. You may wait until you have made all the changes before you save them. Changes for reports or tracking options can either be turned on or off by pressing the number of the key associated with the particular item. These changes must then be saved as indicated at the bottom of the screen for them to become part of the program. Since these four items can be turned on of off, a total of 16 tracking options exist. Changes to the title is an attractive feature that allows you to customize the program screens with any title of your choice. You could enter your company name, department name, or your own name, or any other description of your choice including leaving it blank. Again, you must save the new name as indicated at the bottom of the screen for it to become a part of the program. MANAGER'S SERVICES: CONFIGURATION (continued) 15 You may make any and all changes that you want before saving any of them. Any change that you make is displayed on this screen so that you can see just how it will appear. After you are satisfied with the appearance you can then press the letter S to save all of the changes at once. Saving the changes will automatically return the manager's services screen. At any time before saving the changes, you can press Esc for Escape and all changes will be ignored and the manager's services screen will appear. A later section deals with reasons for different tracking configurations. MANAGER'S SERVICES: MENU MANAGEMENT Selecting this option, F3, brings up a new screen that lets you make changes to the menu. You can add an item to the menu, change the information about an item, remove an item or change the order of the items in the menu. Each of these features are discussed in the few sections. MENU MANAGEMENT: ADDING APPLICATIONS You can easily add any application or DOS command to the menu. The menu will accept up to 60 entries in four columns of fifteen items each. The columns are automatically centered and formatted for you. As you add an item it will be appended to the end of the existing list. Using the sort feature described later, you can then arrange the items into any order you wish. You can even use this feature to write batch files (BAT files) that can then be executed directly from the menu. You can elect to use the Easy Loading format or you can use the Advanced Loading format. To write BAT files, you must use the Advanced Loading format. Each of these formats present complete instructions on the screen to guide you through the process. Each of these formats are discussed separately in the next two sections. MENU MANAGEMENT: EASY LOADING Questions will appear on the screen to guide you through this process when you elect to add an item to the menu. You will need to know certain information about the application you want to add. As an example we will assume that you have the word processing software called WordProf on your C: drive in a directory called \WP5 and that the command to start the program is WP. This is all you need to know. You will be asked a series of six questions to properly load the information for the menu. All information for commands or path statement will follow standard DOS rules and formats. MENU MANAGEMENT: EASY LOADING (continued) 16 The first question is for a name of this application as you would want it to appear on the menu. You could use any name you want that fits. A good choice in this example would be to type in WordProf and press Enter. Next, select one of the seven indicated purposes for this application and type the appropriate number and press Enter. In this case the number should be 1 for Word Processing. Next, press E for Easy Loading. Type the drive letter for this application, which would be C and press Enter. The next question asks you to enter the complete path for this application (C:\WP5). You only need to type the WP5 and press Enter since the C:\ is already filled in for you. The final question asks you for the command to start the application which is WP. You would type WP and press Enter. That is all there is to loading an application. The WordProf item is now loaded and ready to be used. If the entered information is wrong, a message will flash on the screen `Bad Command of File Name' when you start this application from the menu. You can then change to the correct information as described later. Now lets assume that you want to add a DOS command to the menu using the Easy Loading format. Suppose you want to add the command to display the directory of drive C: on the screen and your DOS files are in the C:\DOS directory. We will also use the standard DOS switch for pause, /P, so that the display will pause if the directory is too long to fit on one screen. Select the add application key from the manager's services menu. In response to the question for a name to appear on the menu, type Dir C: and press Enter. Of the seven choices for this type of application, select 7 for `all others' and press Enter. Press E for Easy Loading. Type C and press Enter for the drive where you DOS files reside. Complete the path to read C:\DOS and press Enter. For the command, type DIR C:/P and press Enter. This item has now been loaded. At the menu, highlight this item and press Enter anytime you want to display the contents of drive C:. MENU MANAGEMENT: ADVANCED LOADING The advanced loading format allows you to enter commands as if you were to write a DOS batch file. Ten command lines will be accepted. Standard DOS batch file format is used. The program automatically inserts ECHO OFF and CLS at the front of this file and appends the necessary commands at the end of the file to return to the menu screen. Pressing Enter on a blank line or after the tenth line automatically closes the file. Do not use the F6 key, ^Z, to close the file. MENU MANAGEMENT: ADVANCED LOADING (continued) 17 The same examples will be considered as given in the Easy Loading section. WordProf is a word processor located on the C: drive in the C:\WP5 directory and is started with the command WP. After entering the name WordProf for display on the menu and selecting number 1, Word Processing, for the type of software, select A for Advanced Loading. A command line appears. Type C:\WP5\WP and press Enter. The second blank line appears. Press Enter. The process is complete. If the PATH statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file includes C:\WP5 then you would only have needed to type WP and press Enter on first command line followed by an Enter on the next blank line. The second example was to display the directory of the C: drive with the DOS files located in the C:\DOS directory using the DOS switch /P for pause. After entering the name Dir C: for the menu display and selecting number 7, all others, for the type of application, select A for advanced loading. You could type C:\DOS\DIR C:/P as the command and press Enter. Press Enter on the next blank line. Since the directory command, DIR, is resident in the DOS portion of the operating system, you only needed to type DIR C:/P and press Enter followed by Enter on the next blank line. In the advanced Loading format, you can use any DOS command or BATCH file format to construct a sequence of commands that are initiated by the single menu entry. For example you could load a mouse driver followed by starting your word processor followed by unloading the mouse driver. If you need help in working with BATCH files, you should consult your DOS documentation since it is beyond the scope of this document. Existing BATCH files that you use for certain purposes can be added to the menu in the same way as adding an application. MENU MANAGEMENT: CHANGING INFORMATION Sample 1 and Sample 2 are included in the menu initially for practice in changing menu information. The process for changing information is the same as adding items to the menu. The same questions appear in the same order. The old information is displayed for you to view and either accept or change as long as you do not change the format of the information between Easy Loading and Advanced Loading. At the end of the process, you either save the new information or press Escape to return without any of the changes being saved. Complete instructions are given on the screens to guide you through the process. Just press the Backspace key anytime you want to clear incorrect information. MENU MANAGEMENT: CHANGING INFORMATION (continued) 18 Sample 1 is actually the command for displaying the directory of drive C: in the wide form. Select it for change by typing the number 1 and pressing Enter. The program tells you that you are going to change Sample 1 and asks you to confirm this intent. Confirm your intent. The title is then shown as Sample 1. Clear this title by pressing the backspace key, type a new title such as Dir C:/W and press Enter. Accept each of the remaining responses by pressing Enter as well as keeping the Easy Loading format. Save the new information by pressing S as indicated on the bottom of the screen. Sample 2 is actually the same as Sample 1 only this time we will change from one format to another for loading. Select this sample by typing the number 2 and pressing Enter. You are asked to confirm that you want to change the item Sample 2. Clear the old title by pressing the backspace key and input a new title for this command such as Dir C: (wide). Accept the type number 7. This time press A for advanced loading and note the blank command line. Type in the command Dir C:\/W and press Enter. Type PAUSE and press Enter. Press Enter on the next line to close the file. Press S to save the changes. That is all there is to it. There are now two items on the menu for displaying the directory of drive C. Either item will work the same as the other item even though they are in a different format. We will remove one of them in the next section. Most experienced users will actually prefer to use the Advanced Loading feature instead of the Easy Loading feature since it relates directly to the DOS command format. MENU MANAGEMENT: REMOVING AN APPLICATION The full menu is displayed from which you can make your selection. Select Sample 1 by typing the number 1 and pressing Enter. You must then confirm your intent. This completes the removal of the item Sample 1. The menu no longer includes this item and the total number of items has been decreased by one. MENU MANAGEMENT: CHANGE ORDER OF MENU ITEMS This process works by swapping any two items on the menu. Select the first item to swap and then select the second item which you wish to swap. You can make as many changes as you like to arrange the order of items exactly as you want. Then save your changes before leaving this screen. Complete instructions appear on the screen to guide you. EXAMPLES OF USAGE 19 Guidance from these examples could save hundreds or thousands of dollars in your operations. MENU ONLY There are many situations in office environments where it is important to get workers up and running with a few different applications in the least amount of time and effort and to keep it that way. The workers need not become proficient in DOS commands or have a deep understanding of how the computers operate. This is an ideal situation for the office manager or site computer manager to set up the Systems Manager in the menu only configuration. Here the applications such as word processing and charting would be added to the menu along with a few basic DOS operations such as displaying the contents of a disk directory and formatting new disks. Individual workers would select some of the basic style formats such as screen colors and date formats according to their preferences. The department name or the individuals name could be displayed as a special customized feature. This configuration minimizes the workers time and effort to get their application work done without a lot of hassle with DOS structures. PASSWORDS In order to keep the casual intruder from accessing work or the computer which could result in the loss of many hours of valuable data and information, the password option should be configured on. This also will build a record of who used the computer at what time and for how long. This feature is very useful in situations where several workers must share a computer. The records can clearly substantiate the need for purchasing additional computers for your office or department for productivity increases. Or, the records may show that there are large blocks of time in which the computer is not being used so that by proper scheduling the expensive decision to purchase an additional computer can be properly delayed. SOFTWARE TYPE Using computers can be fun! One of the rapidly growing problems today is the misuse of the computer through fascination. In several situations, productivity increases have reversed into productivity decreases because of inappropriate computer usage. We are not talking about the obvious such as using a computer to play games on company time. A far more subtle theft of highly skilled and expensive talent is frequently occurring. SOFTWARE TYPE (continued) 20 It is becoming increasing common in large corporations as well as in small companies to find very highly paid professionals and managers spending their time doing those tasks that should and can be done better and faster by a typist or secretary. These tasks can include using a word processor for typing memos, reports or letters and range to preparing graphics and charts for presentations. By tracking the type of software usage, records will be generated that will bring attention to this problem if it exists in your work environment and allow corrective action to be taken. This can be an especially useful feature when coupled with the password option so that records are developed of who uses the computer for what types of applications. This option can also help you make intelligent decisions about purchasing new upgrades of software or purchasing different programs of the same type of software. The general rule is that if a given type of software is being used frequently, it is important to have the best and latest capability for this type of software. If a given type of software is infrequently used and it does the job, it is better to not ride the new learning curve to be proficient at the latest and best - stay with what you have until it makes clear sense to change. CLIENT TRACKING Many organizations or individuals do work on computers for clients who are then billed at an hourly rate for the work. This can range from design engineering within corporations, to contract work for other organizations, from consulting operations to home typists. Where ever you need to track the time spent on a particular task for a particular client or customer, the client tracking option should be configured on. It is also useful to couple this with the password option so that there is a complete record of who did the work for whom. This can also be coupled with the type of application and different billing rates used depending on the type of work. PURPOSE TRACKING In many small or part time home businesses, it becomes necessary to build a log of the usage of the computer when it might be used for personal reasons as well as for business reasons. This option will automatically build that kind of record for you. In these kinds of cases, usually more than one person actually uses the computer so that it is useful to also include the password option. This then records the user as well as the time used for the different purposes.