Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir25/shopr401.zip/SHOPPER.HLP

Text File | 1994-01-15 | 15KB | 407 lines

.TOPIC:
Contents

     Screens & Functions
          File Menu
           Item Menu
                Clear Selections
                Select Items
                Review List
                Maintain Items
           Map Menu
                Maintain Map
                Re-Map Stores
           Options Menu
                Store Names
                Register
          Help Menu
      Reports & Listings
          Shopping List
          'Fridge' List
          Store Map
          Master List
     How To Use Shopper's Assistant
     Using Help

.TOPIC:
Screens & Functions

The main screen for Shopper has a hierarchical pull-down
menu.  From it you select all other actions.  Each of the
choices on the menu bar opens a list of from 2 to 4
secondary items.

Here is an outline form of the menus and items on them:

File
     Print
          Shopping List       F5
          Fridge List         F6
          Store Map
          Master List
     Exit                 Ctrl+X
Item
     Clear Selections         F3
     Select Items             F4
     Review List
     Maintain Items
Map
     Maintain Map
     Re-Map Stores
Options
     Store Names
     Register
          Enter Serial Number
          Print Registration Form
Help
     Contents                 F1
     Search
     Using Help
     About Shopper's Assistant

.TOPIC:
File Menu

The File menu contains only two choices, Print and Exit.  There
are no Open and Save commands as found in typical programs.  This
is because Shopper opens the files it needs automatically when it
begins and saves them when it terminates.

The Print choice gives a list of four different reports that
may be printed.  The first two, Shopping List and Fridge
List, are used each week and have shortcut keys available.

The Exit choice also has a shortcut key, Ctrl+X.   In any
case, Shopper saves your work before exiting.  In fact, the
only way you could possibly not save your work is to lose
power or reboot the computer in mid-session.

.TOPIC:
Clear Selections

The first choice on the Item Menu is Clear Selections.  This
is used each week to clear the previous choices and begin a
shopping cycle.  You will be asked to confirm that you
really want to clear the selections to prevent accidental
erasures. Because this is a frequently used option, it has
been assigned the F3 key as a shortcut.

(Notice the sequence of the shortcut keys.  After an initial
setup period, a normal session of using Shopper can be done
by using only the function key shortcuts.  F3 to clear the
list.  F4 to select the items to buy.  F5 to print the list.
F6 to print the "fridge" list  or worksheet for the next
cycle.)

.TOPIC:
Select Items

To select an item you want to buy, find it in the listing on
the right side.  This is a scrolling list (scroll bars will
appear when the list grows beyond 11 items).  Full
information for the highlighted item is shown on the left of
the form.  The store with the lowest price is automatically
selected.  You may override this choice if you wish.  To
keep an item from being suggested for a particular store,
leave the price at zero in that store.  Tab from the item
list to the Quantity box or click in the box with the mouse.
Enter the quantity to buy.  Tab again to the store
selection.  If you agree with the selected store, tab once
more, otherwise use the arrow keys or mouse to select the
store.  If you want to use a coupon for this item (the list
will be flagged to remind you to check for coupon specific
requirements and the coupon amount will be deducted from the
total), tab to the coupon box and enter the value of the
coupon.  Press or click OK to add the item to your list.

Items you have already selected will have a "#" beside them
in the list.  This is useful in several ways.  When
beginning a new week's list, it will remind you if you have
forgotten to clear last week's choices.  It also "keeps
your place" if you get interrupted while making your list.
Finally, it is a visual confirmation of the success of a
speed selection operation.

Speed selection!  If you want to buy one of an item, accept
the default store and have no coupon, you may speed select
by double-clicking the item in the item list box.  You may
also just press ENTER while the item is highlighted.

When all items have been selected, press or click the
Finished button to return to the main menu.

.TOPIC:
Review List

You may use the Review List option from the Item menu to
see the items you have selected and get a rough total for
each store as well as a grand total.  These totals do not
take coupons and taxes into account.  The Review List
operates like a normal scrolling list.  Use the Up and
Down arrows, Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys to
maneuver in it.  Press Enter, or Esc or click Finished
to return to the main menu.

.TOPIC:
Maintain Items

The final choice on the Item menu is to Maintain your items.
As in the item selection, begin by picking an item from the
list on the right.  Notice that the Change and Delete
buttons are not active until you select an item.  The edit
boxes will fill with the information for that item and you
may change it as needed.  When all edits have been made,
press or click Change to write the changes to the file.

To add an item, simply start entering the information and
then press or click Add.  The item will be added and the
screen will clear for the next operation.  Note that the
item category is a pull-down list.  Click on the arrow
to the right of the box to open the list.  Click on an
entry to select it and close the list.  With the keyboard,
use the Alt+Down to open the list, select an entry by
using the down arrow to highlight, then Alt+Down again
to close the list.

When all edits have been made, press or click Cancel to
return to the main menu.  You may also press Esc to close
this screen.

.TOPIC:
Maintain Map

The first choice on the Map menu is Maintain Map.

As with the item selection and item maintenance screens, you
begin by selecting a category from the list on the right.
Click on the entry and the data will appear in the edit
boxes.  Make changes as needed and click Change.  You must
press or click Change to write the changes back to the file.

To add a new category, enter the data and press or click
Add.  The record is added to the file and the screen clears
for the next operation.

Press or click Cancel to return to the main menu.

.TOPIC:
ReMap Stores

The Re-Map Stores option on the Map menu is discussed in
detail in the How to Use Shopper's Assistant section.

.TOPIC:
Store Names

The first choice on the Options menu is Store Names.  This
is normally used only during initial set up to enter the
names of the stores you shop in and the local sales tax
rates.  There is a separate tax rate for each store.  This
is handy for people who shop in two different tax juris-
dictions, perhaps across a county or state border.

Simply tab to each field and enter the appropriate
information. Press or click Done when all data is correct.

.TOPIC:
Register

The Register menu choice is used to insert your registration
serial number and get rid of that nasty reminder on the main
menu.  You will only use this option one time.  After your
serial number is validated and accepted, the choice is
dimmed on the menu and may not be selected.  You may also
fill out and print your registration form from this menu.

.TOPIC:
Help Menu

The Help menu offers the choices of examining the help file
table of contents, searching for help on a particular topic,
or getting information on using the help system itself.

About Shopper displays a small screen with the version and
copyright information.  Also included is my name and address
so you can reach me for comments, questions, etc. long after
you have misplaced all the documentation for the program!

.TOPIC:
Reports & Listings

There are four reports available from Shopper:  the Shopping
List(s), the "Fridge" list, the Store Map worksheet, and the
item Master List.

.TOPIC:
Shopping List

The shopping list shows all of the items you have selected
to buy.  At least one page is printed for each store in
which items were selected.  Each store list is sub-totaled,
tax is added, coupons deducted, and a grand total printed.

Items for which you indicated you will be using a coupon
have an asterisk printed by the item to remind you to check
the coupon for specific requirements, i.e. brand, size,
quantity, flavor, etc.

.TOPIC:
'Fridge' List

We call it the Fridge List because most folks take a magnet
and hang this on the side of the refrigerator to use as a
handy checklist during the week.  As soon as you realize you
will need something on your next trip to the grocery, check
it here.  The list contains only the item names and a box to
check.  It is presented in 3 columns to get the most items
in the least space. The list is in alphabetic sequence of
the item name.

.TOPIC:
Store Map

The third report is used as a worksheet to enter the store
layouts into the system so Shopper can sort your shopping
lists in order of the way you like to shop in each store.
The report shows each item category you identified, with a
column to note the relative location along your preferred
route through each store.  We suggest you use increments of
5 or 10 rather than a 1, 2, 3 sequence to make it easier to
shuffle things when the store moves stock around.

.TOPIC:
Master List

The master list shows the item name, desription, product
category, taxable status, and the price in each of the 5
stores.  It is used mostly to check your entry work for
errors.

.TOPIC:
How to Use Shopper's Assistant

The first step in using Shopper's Assistant is to use the
Options/Store Name function to enter the names and tax rates
for each of the stores you want the program to recognize.

The next step is to identify the categories of merchandise
in your stores.  Throughout this document we assume that the
program will be used for domestic grocery shopping, but
there is no reason it could not be used for other purposes.
Make a list of all the different kinds of products you find
in the store.  Be careful that you are neither too specific
nor too general in this process.  For example if dairy items
are found in two distinct areas in one or more of the stores
you shop, break them down.  For those stores where they are
all together, you can simply assign the same number to both
groups.

Once you have identified the categories of merchandise,
enter them in the Map Maitenace function.  Do not attempt to
put locations on them yet.  When they have all been entered,
print the Store Map.  Now visit each of the stores and take
a stroll through it in the order you normally shop.  Jot
down the order that you pass each category.  Hint:  Use
increments of 5 or 10 rather than 1 to make it easier to
adjust later for changes in store arrangement and the
inevitable errors and omissions.  When you have surveyed
each of the stores, Enter the locations into the Map using
the Map Maintenance once again.

Now start making the list of items you buy repeatedly.
Enter each item in the Item Maintenance.  When asked for
the product category, you may now select from the map you
have already entered.  It will pick up the correct location
in each store from the map.  You do not enter locations
directly in each item, just the category.

When the layout of a store changes, adjust the relative
location numbers for that store in the Map Maintenance
function, then select Re-Map Stores.  This command will fix
the locations in each item record quickly and without any
further manual intervention.  It will stop and ask you if it
cannot find a category, i.e. you have deleted an entire
category from the map.  Any items assigned to that category
will be presented and you may either pick a new category or
delete the item.

If you move an individual item from one category to another,
the locations are changed during that process and there is
no need to Re-Map.

So far you have done a lot of typing, but that is almost all
behind you.  This is the point where Shopper's Assistant
starts to make life easier for you.  Your stores are
identified, your categories are determined and your items
have been entered.  Now print a Fridge List and put it
somewhere handy.  It is so named because most folks stick
on the side of the refrigerator with a magnet.  Now, as you
think of items during the week that you will need to buy on
your next trip to the grocery, check them on the Fridge
List.  By Friday evening, you will have most of the work of
preparing your shopping list already done!

Just before you make that weekly trek to the grocery...
before you join the Saturday Safeway Stampede...sit down at
the computer with Fridge List in hand.

Start Shopper's Assistant and pick Item/Clear Selections
(F3).  Now pick Item/Select Items (F4).  The list box on
the right is in the same sequence as the Fridge List in
your hand.  Simply move through the list of items selecting
those you have checked.  Remember the Speed Select feature:
If you want to buy just one of an item, want to buy it at
the default (lowest price) store, and have no coupon, you
may speed select by double-clicking the item in the list or
by pressed ENTER while the item is highlighted.  If you wish
to check your work, pick Item/Review List to see the items
and quantities you have selected.  You can make changes from
the item select screen if needed.  If you accidentally
select an item you do not really want to buy, use the select
screen to change the quantity to zero.

When all is correct, pick File/Print/Shopping List (F5) to
print your list(s) to use in the store.  While you are at
it, hit F6 or pick File/Print/Fridge List to print a blank
worksheet for the next cycle of shopping.

.TOPIC:
Using Help

Selecting a Help link:
----------------------
With a mouse - click on phrases outlined by two triangles.
With the keyboard - Press TAB or Shift-TAB to select a link.
   Press ENTER to jump to that topic.

Scrolling the Help window:
--------------------------
With a mouse - click on the horizontal or vertical scroll
   bars.
With the keyboard - press the cursor navigation keys.

Closing the Help window:
------------------------
With a mouse - double click on the window's control box icon.
With the keyboard - press Ctrl-F4 or press ESCape.

Command Buttons:
----------------
Applications may use one or more of the following command
buttons.  Use a mouse to click a button or press the letter
mentioned below.

Contents - displays a table of contents for the application's
   Help.  Press C to select Contents.

Search -  opens a dialog box that lists all available Help
   topics.  Select a topic from the list box and press ENTER.
   Press S to select Search.

Back - jumps to the last Help topic viewed. Press B to select
    Back.

History - lists the last 20 Help topics viewed.  Jump to a
    topic by selecting from the list box and pressing ENTER.
    Press T to select History.