This program will compare one dataset (.REC file) to another, listing the differences, if any. Although it is designed to compare to compare files of identical structure, if the files contain field names that are common to both files, only those fields will be compared. Context sensitive help is provided for the following topics:
Command
Parameters
File
File
Output
Screen
Printer
File
Output
File
Dialog
Include
Deleted
Records
Use
Unique
Match
Fields
Scroll
OK
Button
Cancel
Button
Press <Esc> to put this help screen away.
File 1
Enter the name of the first file to be compared. Alternately, you may select the file name from the
file
dialog
File 2
Screen
Select this option to direct the output of the comparison to the screen. If more information is generated than will fit on the screen, you will be allowed to scroll through it using the scroll
bars. Output to the screen is limited to about 64,000 characters. If your files generate more than this number of differences, you probably don't want to see them on the screen anyway, and would select Printer or File to view them at your leisure.
Printer
Select this option to direct the output of the comparison to the default DOS printer.
File
Select this option to direct the output of the comparison to a file. If you select this option, you will be allowed to enter the name of the file in the output
name input line.
Output File Name
If you have selected output
to a file, you will be allowed to enter the name of the file in this input line. If the file doesn't exist, a new file will be created. If the file exists, you will be given the opportunity to cancel the comparison, append to the file, or overwrite the file. If you enter nothing in this field, output will be directed to DOS' standard output device.
Include Deleted Records
Select this check
box if deleted records are to be compared.
Use Unique IDs
If the records in the files to be compared are no in the same order, select this check
box to indicate that a field which contains a unique value for each record will be used to order the records before making the comparison. You will subsequently be allowed to select the fields to be used from the
match
fields dialog box.
Match Fields
Select a field which contains a unique value for each record to be used in the ordering of the records of the files to be compared.
OK Button
Once all options are entered, select the OK button with the mouse or tab key and press the <spacebar> or <Enter>. This button may be pressed in any context with the <Alt-K> key combination.
Cancel Button
To abandon program, select Cancel with the mouse or press <Esc>.
File Dialog Box
Select the file to be compared. The file you select must exist. This dialog box contains a list of files in the current directory. You may select a file to compare using any of the following methods: ?
Type the name of the file with its extension into the Name K
input line. Click on the Open button or press <Enter> to open the file.
Type the name of a file with global file name (wild card) "
characters into the Name input line. A list of files matching this
specification appears in the Files list box below. Using the
Tab and arrow keys highlight a file name in the list box or
select one with the mouse and click on the Open button or
press <Enter> to open the file.
You can see the contents of other disk directories by selecting {
the directory entries in the Files list box. Directory
entries are those entries ending with the backslash character (\).
To see the contents of another disk drive, type in the
complete file specification with drive specifier and wild cards
and click on the Open button or press <Enter>. You can then
select a file name from the Files list box as described above.
The input line contains a history list of previously entered file ;
specifications. Press the down arrow or click on the arrow
box to the right of the input line to view this list. Use
the arrow keys or the mouse to highlight a specification and
press <Enter> to move this specification into the input line. You
can then proceed to select a filename as described above.
Note that in all cases, double clicking with a mouse on a filename or file specification is the same as pressing <Enter> or selecting OK with the mouse. You can view the directory information of the selected file in the panel at the bottom of the dialog box. h
To exit the dialog box without opening the Epi Info file, press <Esc> or click on the
Cancel
Button
Check box
Select the check box by highlighting it and entering a space, or click on it with the mouse.
Radio Buttons
Select the desired radio button by clicking on it with a mouse, or using the arrow keys and pressing <Enter> or <Tab>.
Scroll Bars
If more items are available than will fit in a view, scroll bars are displayed. You may scroll through the view using the arrow keys, PgDn, PgUp, or mouse action on the scroll bars.
Output To
Select the desired destination for the results of the comparison using the Output to radio
buttons. The available options are:
Screen
Printer
File
Command Line Parameters
To launch VALIDATE from the DOS prompt use 2
VALIDATE <file 1> <file 2> [[key] [outname]]
Where <file 1> and <file 2> are the names of the EPI-Info files to be compared. [key] and [outname] are optional, but if outname is specified, key must be specified. key is the name of a variable that contains a unique value for each record and is used for matching records when the order is different between the two files. outname is the name of the output file, which can be PRN, LPT1, LPT2 or any valid DOS filename.
(.txt)