Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir28/marxform.zip/FORMS.DOC

Text File | 1994-11-17 | 18KB | 545 lines

7/2/93                                                                page 1

                        Bronco Machine Inc.
                        38411 apollo parkway
                        Willoughby, Ohio 44094

                         phone [phone]
                         fax   [phone]

                           Forms Program


               Michael L. Bronaka        1-216-951-5015





       ************ General Program Explaination ************




    Bronco Machine is a screw machine and CNC turning products job shop,
  we manufacture small to medium sized machined parts in quantities from
  1 to 10,000 pcs.
  Our quality assurance program requires that we fill out forms for each
  job. a router form, a three piece or (in process) inspection form,
  and a final inspection form.

  The "FORMS.MNU" is designed to create Inspection and router forms.
  data for each part is stored by part number in a seperate uniquely
  named part number file, an index file is used to keep track of all
  part number files and associates part numbers with it's unique
  file name.

  Screen mode is set to 50 line mode so your system must have the
  capability of running in that screen mode.

  I use an epson FX-80 compatible dot matrix printer, and an HP-4P laser
  printer, be sure that the printer is online and ready to go before
  attempting to print.

  The first time the program runs it will ask you to give it some
  information concerning the drive and directory where data files will
  be stored, then it will allow you to choose the floppy drive you will
  use to copy to and from for storage and transportation of data files.
  then it will ask which type of printer you will use to print the forms.
  Once this is completed a "FORMS.INI" file is created and if the
  data directory does not exist, it will be created for you, this is the
  directory where data files will be stored.















                                                                      page 2


       ************ Main menu selections ************



  1)  Create a new job file

  when you select (create new job file) from the main menu,
  you are asked to enter a part number from 1 to 19 characters in length.
  zero length part numbers, blank part numbers, and duplicate part numbers
  are  not allowed and will invoke an "invalid entry" error.

  part numbers cannot be changed once they are entered, although you can
  copy a part number file and save it under a different part number.
  (see "Copy an existing job file").

  you are then prompted to enter all other header information,
  it will accept any data including a blank entry (hitting return only),
  up to 19 characters. when the last field has been entered, the part
  number file will be created and the header data will be saved.

  the enter print specs screen will automatically come up and will be
  asking you to enter print specs, The print specs are the actual
  dimensions from the blueprint
  they are limited to 22 characters (21 char. after line 9),
  if you hit enter in response to the first print spec, the program will
  put a blank entry in each field, which can be edited later.
  enter the first print spec at this time,

  after the first print spec is entered you will be asked for a tolerance
  for that print spec, A tolerance selection box will apear, use the up and
  down arrow keys to highlight the tolerance you want and hit enter,
  a mouse can also be used.
  The last selection in the tolerance window is "other" when you select
  this, it will allow you to type in anything up to 13 characters.
  blank entries are also allowed.

  after the tolerance is entered another box will appear, and you can
  select from a list of measuring devices, use the up and down arrow keys
  to highlight the device you want and hit enter, a mouse can also be used.
  The last selection in the measuring device window is "other" when you
  select this, it will allow you to type in anything up to 18 characters.
  blank entries are also allowed.

  after entering the first print spec line, you will be given a selection
  box for adding and editing further print specs.

  when you have entered all your data, select save and exit, the file will
  be updated and saved.

  the next section is for router information, it is very similar to the
  print specs section. except you will be entering router data
  each operation can be from 1 to 61 characters long (60 after line 9),
  when finished entering router data, simply choose save and exit from the
  menu, the file will be updated and saved, then you will be returned to
  the main menu.









                                                                      page 3


        ************  Retrieving a file from disk  ************



  there are several places where you will need to retrieve a file from
  the disk, such as editing print specs or router, or when printing a file.
  you will be prompted to enter a part number (file) to retrieve, if you
  know the part number, you can type it in and hit enter, if the typed
  file name was not found on the disk, a selection box will come up on
  the screen and you can choose a part number file from the list. or if
  the part number is not known, just hit enter, and the same selection
  box appears.




  2) Copy an existing job file

  you will be asked to retrieve a file from disk. this will be the file
  to be copied from.
  once you have selected the file to be copied from, you will be asked
  to enter the new part number to save the file under, the new part
  number file will be created, and the old part number data stored in
  this file.
  if the part number file already exists, or if you enter a blank part
  number, you will get an "INVALID ENTRY" error.
  then you will be returned to the main menu.


  3) Print an existing job file


  from this selection you will again be asked to enter a part number,
  see "Retrieving a file from disk" for how to retrieve a file.
  once a part number file has been loaded, a print menu will appear,
  you can print any one form, or, all three forms, one after the other.
  selecting return to main menu, does just that.


  4) Edit a form header


   After loading a part number file, the current header information will
   be displayed on the screen. A menu box will appear in the lower left
   hand corner of the screen, selecting "Edit header data" from the menu
   will highlight the header data and allow you to select the line you
   want to edit.
   You can use the up and down arrow keys, or a mouse to move the cursor
   bar to the line you want to edit and hit enter, or click the left
   mouse button. the data in the line you selected will be put on an
   editing line at the bottom of the screen. for you to change as needed.
   Selecting the part number will cause a warning message to appear.
   when you are done hit enter, and the data for that line will be
   updated on the screen.










                                                                      page 4
   5) Edit print specs

   you will first retrieve a file from disk.
   The data will be displayed on the screen in 3 columns, print specs,
   tolerances, and measuring devices.
   a box will appear in the lower left hand corner of the screen, this
   is the main editing menu, from this menu you can choose to edit,
   insert, add, delete, exit w/o save or save and exit.

   5a) edit

   if you choose edit. the menu will close and another menu will appear.
   from this menu you can choose to edit print specs, tolerances, or
   measuring devices.
   choosing print specs will highlight the printspecs on the screen,
   and allow you to select a print spec to edit.
   choosing tolerances will highlight the tolerances,
   and choosing measuring devices will highlight the measuring devices.
   then you are prompted to select a line to edit.
   you can use the up and down arrow keys, or a mouse to move the cursor
   bar to the line you want to edit and hit enter, or click the left
   mouse button. the data in the line you selected will be put on an
   editing line at the bottom of the screen. for you to change as needed.
   when you are done hit enter, and the data for that line will be
   updated on the screen.

   5b) insert

   if you choose insert. you will again be asked to select a line.
   print specs will always be highlighted when choosing a line for
   inserting. put the cursor bar ON the line you want to insert into,
   and hit enter. you will be asked to enter a print spec to insert.
   after typing in the new print spec, the display will be updated
   with the new line inserted and the new print spec highlighted.
   then you will be asked for a tolerance and a measuring device.
   all the new data will be entered into the new line and the editing
   menu will return.

   5c) add

   if you choose add. you will simply be asked for the new line data
   and the new line will be added as the next line.

   5d) delete

   if you choose delete. you will be asked to select a line to delete.
   choose the line you want to delete from the list of print specs.
   as before you can use the up and down arrow keys or a mouse to
   select a line to delete. when you hit enter, the line will be
   deleted and the display will be updated.

   5e) exit w/o saving

   this selection returns you to the main menu without saving the file.

   5f) save & exit

   this selection updates the part number file and saves it to disk.
   then you will be returned to the Forms program main menu.






                                                                      page 5




   6) Edit a router form

   Editing a router is very similar to editing print specs. first you
   must retrieve a file to edit. the router data will be displayed,
   and a menu box will appear in the lower left hand corner of the
   screen.
   from this menu you can choose to edit, insert, add, delete, exit, or
   save and exit.

   6a) edit

   if you choose edit. you are prompted to select a line to edit.
   you can use the up and down arrow keys, or a mouse to move the cursor
   bar to the line you want to edit and hit enter, or click the left
   mouse button. the data in the line you selected will be put on an
   editing line at the bottom of the screen. for you to change as needed.
   when you are done hit enter, and the data for that line will be
   updated on the screen.

   6b) insert

   if you choose insert. you will again be asked to select a line.
   put the cursor bar ON the line you want to insert into,
   and hit enter. you will be asked to enter an operation to insert.
   after typing in the new operation, the display will be updated
   with the new line inserted.
   then the editing menu will return.

   6c) add

   if you choose add. you will simply be asked for the new line data
   and the new line will be added as the next line.

   6d) delete

   if you choose delete. you will be asked to select a line to delete.
   choose the line you want to delete from the list of operations.
   as before you can use the up and down arrow keys or a mouse to
   select a line to delete. when you hit enter, the line will be
   deleted and the display will be updated.

   6e) exit w/o saving

   this selection returns you to the main menu without saving the file.

   6f) save & exit

   this selection updates the part number file and saves it to disk.
   then you will be returned to the Forms program main menu.












                                                                      page 6




   7) Delete a part number file


   when you choose delete a part number file, you will first need to
   choose the file you want to delete from the disk.
   then you will be asked to confirm the delete by typing the word
   "DELETE" or "delete", lower or upper case letters will be accepted.
   after you hit return a box will display the file being deleted.
   if anything except "delete" is entered the file will not be deleted.


   8) Add .PRT files from floppy drive


   If you are running the forms program on two different computers
   and you want to update the part number files from one machine
   to the other. Put the disk containing the .PRT files in your
   floppy drive,  (The .PRT files must be in the directory [b:\parts]).
   Selecting "Add .PRT files from floppy" will copy in any new .PRT files
   and will append the "partnums.inx" file with the files that were added.
   If no .PRT files are found on the floppy or no new .PRT files are
   found on the floppy, you will see a message to that effect.


   9) Copy .PRT files to floppy drive

   This will copy all .PRT files in the partpath directory to your
   floppy drive, it will automatically make the proper directory on
   the floppy disk, the only requirement is that there must be enough
   free space on the floppy disk to fit all of the .PRT files.
   since the .prt files tend to average approx 630 bytes this shuold
   not be a problem for a while


   10) Exit forms program


   This selection from the main menu, will end the forms program
   and exit to dos.




















                                                                      page 7


       ******************** Updates ******************

  7/2/93

        First working copy of the forms program is being used to
        store some of our form data, I know it will need some
        improvements but basically it works.


  9/27/93

        Added "delete a part number" selection to the main menu,
        only the prtnums.inx file is modified, data files are
        not actually erased from the disk, file maintainance still
        needs to be done manually, but that's ok for now.
        The next logical improvement should be to make the initial
        data entry easier, or at least less painful, (I hate typing).

  9/29/93

        Rewrote initial input routines to look more like all the other
        screens and added some error checking.
        Added lots of error checking to edit routines,
        found difficulties in determining if input is correct or not
        i.e. check to see if a variable is a string or an integer.
        Marxmenu determines what type of data to store in it's variables,
        predicates to check for variable types are not included in
        Marxmenu.

  10/2/93

        Rewrote editing routines, I found that the only sure way to
        prevent input errors was to limit critical input to pickboxes
        and selection menus, for example, when asked for a line number
        to edit, say you want line "5", if you type "5/" by mistake,
        then tried to use that as an array position, Marxmenu would
        blow up in your face.
        but, by throwing up a pickbox, this forces the user to only pick
        what's available in the pickbox or menu, and allows the use of a
        mouse for everything except for entering the actual data.

  10/4/93

        I wrote a procedure to display the part number file list sorted
        alphabeticaly this will make it easier to find part numbers.
        when files are retrieved. the part number is now displayed in the
        upper left hand corner of the screen to avoid confusion.
        also rewrote the print menu routine to allow the use of a mouse
        to select what to print.
        deleting a file actually erases the data file from the disk now.
        the one thing I can think of that might need to be fixed is to
        limit the length of input strings such as part numbers etc, to keep
        them from overflowing on the screen or when printed.










                                                                    page 8




  10/6/93

        Changed the printspec entry routine to display and highlight the
        print specs and tolerances immediately after entering, this will
        help the operator keep better track of where they are.
        limited input length of print specs to avoid line overflow on
        display and printed forms.
        when editing, line to be edited now gets put on the editor line,
        either to change or accept.


  10/7/93

        Added a main menu selection for copying and renaming an existing
        file, this will greatly cut down on data entry time.
        limited header data input to 19 charcters per line to prevent
        screen and printer overflow.
        when asked to enter a part number in the "create a new part file"
        or in the "copy a part file" section, I added checking for a part
        number that already exists, this will avoid identical part numbers
        and obvious problems.
        changed "insert" routine of "edit print specs" to insert a blank
        line first, so you can see exactly where you are inserting.


  10/19/93

        Added (exit without saving) selection to the editor menu,
        just in case you realize that your editing the wrong file
        or some such nonsense.

  3/19/94

        Changed "Edit header data" routine to look more like the other
        editing sections. Added "Add .PRT files from flopdrive" to the
        main menu allowing easier update of files.

  4/18/94

        Added A main menu entry for backing up of .PRT files.
        both backup and restore of .prt files will check for existing files
        and will only copy non existing files, update of the .inx file is
        automatically handled by the routines.

  6/1/94
        changed the entry of a new part to allow editing after the first
        print spec and the first operation has been entered.













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