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an OBJECTS::NEXUS(tm) filer
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ { BooksNexus: book library records } (tm) ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ (C) Copyright MCMXCIV RCCO Research Associates ║
║ All Rights Reserved under International Conventions ║
║ ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
{ BooksNexus: book library records } Documentation
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ To read this documentation on-line most anywhere in the program, press │
│ the <Alt-M> key combination. │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
{ BooksNexus: book library records } is a simple-to-use, efficient record-
keeping system for individual, professional or institutional book collec-
tion records; the materials are presented and maintained in an attractive
visually-oriented environment.
Books are normally maintained in book number order, with sort command
options to arrange the collection in order of title or author or category.
The user may view the sample entries in either Form View or Table View
format -- editing, deleting or replacing them with actual records of the
user's own library. Additional records may be appended in any number
required. Edits or corrections are easy and quick to make in either Form
or Table View.
The information is presented to the user initially in Table View format,
very similar in appearance to that of a speadsheet; data items may be added
or edited in Form View format, via "hot-keys." Mouse support is provided
for scrolling through the data table; however, a mouse is not necessary to
utilize the program.
On-line documentation is available at the touch of a hot-key selection. A
pop-up calculator is also provided, via a hot-key choice.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 2
An automatic report facility provides attractive on-screen and printed
reports. A printer selection utility provides for a wide choice of availa-
ble printers.
The program is simple to use and offers intuitive features commonly found
in RCCO Research OBJECTS::NEXUS(tm) filer applications.
The unregistered copy is not in any way limited as to the usefulness,
capacity, or reporting facilities of the program. Registration will remove
the unregistered reminder notices and provide legal authorization for con-
tinued use of the program after a thirty-day trial period.
Introduction
────────────
After you have had some practice dealing with the data table concept in
{ BooksNexus: book library records }, you will find entry and maintenance
of this table quite familiar and simple. Simply view the included sample
entries to start, add your own, and delete or edit/overwrite the samples
later on.
The entries in this table are sorted in any of four ways; they are then
maintained in sort order no matter how you choose to enter them.
The field for Book Number entry is of the type that will accept either
numerical or alphabetic data. A numerical type entry will be maintained
in sort order as long as there are leading zero placeholders (ie, 001,
002, 003, etc.). The examples show an alphanumeric type sample entry
which is maintained in sorted order with an initial character followed by
numbers (ie, C001, C002, etc.). The alphanumeric format allows one to use
any combination of letters within the Book Number entry; for example,
different areas of interest may be grouped within the same table simply
by prefixing the number with a letter code. One might begin all computer-
related titles (as in the sample entries) with something like "C001" while
science fiction subjects may begin with "SF001" -- maintaining separation
between the two areas. The point here is that flexibility is provided for
creation of codes that will work best for the user's own library. The
codes may have the letter appended to the end of a number, as in "001C"
or "001SF." The Book Number cell may contain up to eight alphanumeric
characters. Further delineation within an area or library may be made
with the Category field (see the sample entries for ideas).
For the Author sort to be effectively maintained, the names should be
entered in the format,
Melville, Herman
That is, the last name is first to effect the alphabetical sort.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 3
Similarly, titles should be entered:
Andromeda Strain, The
The Comments field is of the type that will allow passages of up to 70
characters of comment text to be entered for any record.
The other cells in both Form and Table Views are limited in capacity to
that which is shown on the screen. Their function and content should be
intuitive and easy to use.
The View/Print Reports window offers the opportunity to preview on-screen
the appearance of the printed report. Again records may be sorted in any
of four ways, resulting in an attractive ASCII text report. Print output,
when selected, is sent to the default printer.
The report output includes the Cost column field as the far right entry on
the Preview and Printed report; at the end of the report the total of the
Cost column is summarized to give a picture of total investment in the
collection.
A Book Labels printing utility is included for the creation of personalized
1 x 3.5" labels showing informational detail and, with program registration,
the user's name.
Easy batch file idea
─────────────────────
You may wish to create a batch file for your batch directory:
┌───────────┐
│ BOOKS.BAT │
└───────────┘
@ECHO OFF
C: (or whatever drive you use)
CD \BOOKSNX
BOOKSNX
Please consult your DOS manual if you are unfamiliar with creating batch
files. The above batch file will make operation of { BooksNexus: book
library records } easier for you.
If you have not yet created your batch file and simply want to get right in-
to the program, change to the \BOOKSNX directory and type:
BOOKSNX<enter>
to begin the { BooksNexus: book library records } program.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 4
Moving around
──────────────
In general, the <Esc> key or <RightMouse> will either advance the program to
the next screen or back up to the previous level; exceptions are noted on
certain screens, but in general <Esc> or <RightMouse> are the exit keys.
<LeftMouse> is the same as the <Enter> key. Scroll with the mouse or arrow
keys up/down the table, menus, on-screen reports, and when reading this
reference material on-line.
When accessing data in 'Table View' (similar to a spreadsheet image), there
are some special key combinations called QuickJumps. QuickJumps allow you
to move around to the four corners of a table instantly, avoiding lengthy
scrolling with arrow keys or the mouse. The QuickJump keys are:
<Ctrl-PgDn> <Ctrl-PgUp> <Ctrl-End> and <Ctrl-Home>.
(Also, <Ctrl-RightArrow> and <Crtl-LeftArrow> may be used
for panning to the right and left.) Once you observe their function, you
will most likely always use them. Pressing <Esc> or <RightMouse> while in
Table View saves any changes that may have been made and advances you to the
next screen.
In Table View, a blinking cursor inside of a cell indicates that you are in
edit mode. To end edit mode of a cell and retain any changes, press <Enter>.
To discard current cell edits, press <Esc> while still in edit mode.
Although you may add and/or edit records (entries) in the Table View format,
two special hot-keys provide Form View editing and appending. <Alt-N> will
bring up a blank "form" containing entry cells for all the information in a
single new record, in easy-to-fill-out format. Similarly, the <Alt-E> key
combination will bring up a form view to Edit the item, or record, that you
have positioned the cursor on. Make your new entries or editing changes in
Form View, then press <F10> to Save or <Esc> to reject the changes. (You may
note that <Esc> reacts differently in Form View than it does in Table View;
in Table View, pressing <Esc> automatically saves any changes as it exits.)
Pressing the hot-key combination <Alt-K> in most areas of the program will
bring up the OBJECTS::NEXUS(tm) Pocket Calculator for quick math chores.
Press <Alt-M> (for "manual") to instantly access this help document.
The current date may entered in the "Date Acquired" field simply by pressing
a hot-key. In Table View, move to the cell requiring the date, press
<Enter>, release it, and then press <F5>. In Form View, move the highlight
to the date cell and simply press <F5>.
From Table View, pressing the hot-key <F6> calls up the special utility
called "Lockr." With this facility, you may "freeze" or lock a field of
your choice into place in the leftmost column. Then, as you pan to the
right and back, the Lockr field remains in constant view. Several edit
facilities normally available in Table View are accessible in Lockr.
Also available in Table View is the "Searchr" facility, called by pressing
the <F2> key. With Searchr, you may search character-type fields (Title,
Author, Book Number, Category, etc.) for a word or combinations of text.
For example, if you choose to search the Title field for "power" (or "POWER"
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 5
or "Power") you will find a result in the sample entries of one find, which
will be displayed in a special pop-up table showing the record containing
the search text. If you search the Author field for "smith" (or "SMITH" or
"Smith"), the sample entries will yield three finds. After the final match
is found, you are returned to the main Table View with the record highlight
on the last match found. If there are no matches to your text search, the
main Table View reappears.
Record deletions in Table View
───────────────────────────────
Please be aware that when you delete (with the <Del> key) a record (or "row,"
if you are used to spreadsheet terms), it is first "marked" for deletion
(you will see a caption, <Deleted> at the top of the screen). The actual
deletion does NOT OCCUR until you EXIT the table view screen. Also note that
the <Del> key is a "toggle;" that is, if you press <Del> a second time on a
record already marked for deletion you will "undelete" the record.
Any undeletes must be performed prior to exiting the table view screen. As
you exit, any records marked for deletion are permanently removed from the
table. Simply exercise caution when performing record deletes on the table,
which is, in essence, a permanent history table of library records and
any deleted records are irretrievably lost.
Pressing <Esc> or <RightMouse> saves any changes that may have been made and
exits the current screen. When you next again view the table, the records
you "marked" for deletion are gone.
Viewing/Reporting Selection
────────────────────────────
After viewing, adding or editing data records in the { BooksNexus: book
library records } table, you press <Esc> to exit the screen. You are then
presented a mini-menu offering options to View/Print a report, change
printers, or exit the program.
The report/listing is first shown on the screen in wide-access format; that
is, the report is wider than 80 characters and may be scrolled out to the
right in order to view all contained information. Simply use the arrow keys
or mouse. After viewing your data on the screen, you will be presented with
an option to print the report; wide reports are printed in compressed mode on
the default printer on printer port LPT1.
The report shown on the screen will have a resulting text file left in the
current directory; this text file, in standard ASCII format, has the ex-
tension .RPT as report identifier. The prefix part of the file name will
refer briefly to the report selection you had made; this file is overwrit-
ten each time you specify a new version of the report.
The main use of the resulting .RPT files is for users who have desktop
publishing programs and/or Microsoft Windows(tm) who would like to print out
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 6
their reports from { BooksNexus: book library records } with the unique
font and formatting capabilities contained in those programs. Simply read
or import the .RPT files as standard ASCII text files. For example, in
Microsoft Windows(tm) Notepad, you may simply open the file by specifying
the file name (ie, "BooksNX.RPT") and view/prepare your report as desired.
In Ventura Publisher(tm), Windows(tm) Write, or Microsoft Word for
Windows(tm), you would import the file as standard ASCII text and make
your printed presentations from within those programs. Refer to those
programs' documentation for information on formatting columnar text or
tables.
If you have no use whatsover for the resulting .RPT file left in your cur-
rent directory, you may safely delete it or leave it there, as desired.
It will recur each time you use the Viewing/Reporting facility, and an
existing .RPT file will be overwritten by any new update. You may also
retain a .RPT file by renaming the prefix part of the file name and storing
it in the directory or on diskette.
Label Writer
─────────────
On the utilities menu is a selection for creating informational/ownership
labels for the collection.
The Label Writer module is a simple utility allowing you to print up to six-
teen labels at one time based upon information you have entered into the main
records table. The labels print with the following layout and information:
3.5"
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ <Book_No> <Date_Acq> <Cost> │
│ <Book Title> │
1" │ From the Library of: │
│ <Registered user's name> │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
If the copy of the program is not yet registered, the line containing the
registered user's name will be blank with sufficient space remaining on the
label to write in by hand the owner's name. Upon registration, the name
entered as the registered user will appear on the fourth line of the
labels.
Labels are printed in compressed print mode. You may wish to manually select
letter-quality mode on your printer before printing labels.
The Label Writer is set up for standard 1" x 3.5" labels, such as the widely
available Avery #4145 adhesive pin-feed printer labels. (Laser and ink jet
printer owners may have to improvise a label carrier to hold a vertical strip
of such labels.) Labels may also be "printed to" (displayed on) the screen.
In the Label Writer module itself, you are presented with empty BOOK_NO
cells, one at a time up to sixteen in number. You may type directly into
the cell the ID number desired, or better yet, press <Enter> in the empty
cell and choose entries from the pop-up PickList.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 7
After you have chosen and then confirmed with the <Enter> key one or more
entries (16 maximum) for labels you wish to print, simply press <Esc> in the
next empty cell to move on to the actual printing prompt screen. You will
then have an election to print to the <P>rinter, send to the <S>creen, or
<Q>uit. Make your selection by pressing the appropriate letter key ("P" "S"
or "Q").
If you choose <P>rinter, you will see a prompt asking if the printer is ready
and loaded with 1 x 3.5 labels. Pressing "Y" begins the printing of your
labels. There will be up to four printed lines on each label, provided you
properly entered the information for each entry in the main records table.
The left print margin is 7 characters in compressed mode.
If you choose to "print" to the Screen, you will see the selections shown in
label format on the screen.
Choosing the <Q>uit option will leave the Label Writer utility.
Printer Support
────────────────
There is printer support for a variety of printers; select a compatible
printer from the "Select a Different Printer" item on the Utilities Menu to
replace the default printer. If your exact brand and model of printer is not
listed, there should be at least one selection that is a compatible emulation
for your printer; check your own printer's manual for emulation guidelines.
You may wish to manually select letter-quality print style on the printer
itself.
If you elect to use the selection for "Generic Printer", please note that
print size codes will not be sent to your printer. You should then select
manually on the printer itself the compressed mode option for the printing
of reports and labels.
Technical Matters
──────────────────
{ BooksNexus: book library records }(tm) will run on IBM-compatible
computers with 512k of memory. All display modes are supported; although
the video was designed on and primarily intended for VGA display, the
program was simultaneously tested on, and modified as needed for, monochrome
displays as well as laptop B/W displays in order that contrasts and prompts
be present and visible to all possible users. Special features that are
VGA-only are compensated for in the other displays, with no adverse effect
on program execution.
{ BooksNexus: book library records }(tm) must be installed on a hard drive.
Do not attempt to install to, or run the program on, a floppy drive.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 8
DOS 3.1 or higher is required. Mouse support is provided, but a mouse is
not required for use of the program.
A disk cache utility used on your system will provide great benefit to
running { BooksNexus: book library records }(tm), resulting in marked
improvement in speed and efficiency throughout the program.
{ BooksNexus: book library records }(tm) will use expanded memory if it is
available on the system, even if it is only present in a small amount. The
presence of expanded memory, particularly on a 386 or greater computer,
significantly enhances the performance and efficiency of this software.
A variety of printers is supported via a selection on the Utilities Menu.
Popular printers and emulations are provided to the best of our knowledge;
if there is difficulty with any of the printer choice settings, kindly send
us a note regarding this and any possible corrections/additions you may have
found, if any. Laser printer support is included. The printer must be
connected to LPT1 or you must use a DOS utility (we suggest something like
PC Magazine's LPTPORT.COM) that will direct LPT1 calls to an alternate
address.
It is possible (but unlikely) that index files (*.IX) can, at some point,
become corrupted and you see an error message referring to index files. This
would likely only occur if you had been working in the program and those
files were being updated when there was a power outage (or an equivalent
occurrence). Simply change to the directory where this occurred, and at the
DOS prompt, type:
DEL *.IX
to delete all the index files; the next time you run the program, the index
files will be rebuilt. Do not take the backup .IX files you may have stored
on your daily backup diskettes; they may or may not match the data tables if
the program was performing updating when the corruption occurred.
If you have data tables (*.DB) that become unusable for any reason, copy them
from your daily backup diskettes. Delete any .IX index files as detailed
above and allow the program to rebuild them (the process is very fast and
usually imperceptible to the user). Also, please be aware that data tables
(.DB) can appear to be corrupted to some users, but usually the problem is
with indexes (.IX) that no longer match or are not current with the assoc-
iated .DB table. Try deleting the .IX files as described above before
deciding the .DB tables are bad.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 9
Registration Information
─────────────────────────
{ BooksNexus: book library records } is licensed and supplied as is, with-
out any warranty. To the extent permitted under applicable law, RCCO
Research Associates disclaims all warranties, either expressed or implied,
with respect to this software program, its quality, performance, merchanta-
bility, or fitness for any particular purpose.
In particular, this software program is not guaranteed to prevent or detect
damage to your data or programs. In no event shall RCCO Research Associates
be liable for any claims for lost profits or any damage, including, but not
limited to, special, incidental, consequential or other damage (including,
without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interrup-
tion, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of
the use of or inability to use this RCCO Research Associates product, even if
RCCO Research Associates has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or conse-
quential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
In no case shall RCCO Research Associates's liability exceed the license fees
paid for the right to use the licensed version of the software. The license
agreement and warranty shall be construed, interpreted and governed by the
laws of the state of Tennessee.
This software program, { BooksNexus: book library records }(tm), is
protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all
applicable International Copyright Conventions. Makers and/or users of
illegal or unauthorized copies of the registered version are subject to
prosecution under these laws.
The names { BooksNexus: book library records }(tm) and OBJECTS::NEXUS(tm)
are trademarks of RCCO Research Associates.
The registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at
any one time.
You are granted a limited trial period of 30 days to determine whether
or not you wish to register your copy of this software. Registration will
eliminate the unregistered reminder notices and grant the user authorized
continued use of the program. After the trial period, if you wish to
continue using this program you may mail a registration fee of U.S. $15.00
+ $1.00 handling ($2.00 handling non-U.S.) to RCCO Research and receive
authorized registration codes for validating your software to registered
status. (After receiving your registration, simply use the Register.exe
program which should be found with the copy you now have). Check or money
order only, please. Tennessee clients please include 8.5% sales tax.
Please indicate program name and version number on your order; you may use
the Order.frm file provided in this package or simply send a note or letter
with your name, address and remittance. Your comments on our programs are
welcomed.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 10
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Please consider how unusally low the registration price is for a full, │
│ legal, registered copy of software you may use for many years. │
│ │
│ If one uses the program beyond the liberal trial period, or attempts │
│ to continue using it without purchasing a registered copy, it must be │
│ considered unauthorized use of proprietary authorship and material. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ *Please* indicate the program name *and* version number on your order; we │
│ *must* have this information in order to send the proper validation codes │
│ for the copy of the software you now have. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Register.exe
─────────────
The separate executable file called Register.exe supplied with this package
is usable only when you have obtained a valid serial number for this program
directly from RCCO Research. This particular version of Register.exe works
*only* with the current version of *this* software program. The Register.exe
supplied herewith will not work with other RCCO Research programs; other RCCO
Research programs will have their own proprietary versions of Register.exe.
When you receive your serial number information with your registration,
simply change to the directory in which this software is installed and
type:
REGISTER<enter>
Carefully follow the prompts and enter the supplied information, as well as
your name (and optional company name) exactly as shown on your registration
invoice received from RCCO Research. If you enter erroneous numerical infor-
mation into Register.exe, there will be no harm done; simply allow the
Register.exe program to reset itself to the default parameters and run it
again.
Please note, for the benefit of our registered users, that the registration
codes purchased will work with all *minor* update versions of this program.
For example, if your current copy of this program is v1.0, your registration
codes will work with any update containing the *major* version number "1"
(the number before the decimal point); ie, 1.2, 1.5, 1.75, etc. In this
manner, your updates, if any, are at no further cost to you other than the
purchase of an update disk you see in a shareware disk catalog or the down-
load from your favorite BBS. Simply use a backup copy of your own main
records table (.DB; delete the index (.IX) file(s) first) with the update
release and use your 1.x codes to initialize the updated version of the
program with Register.exe.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 11
Any *major* version (the number before the decimal point; ie, 2.x etc.)
change, if any, will be offered to registered users directly by RCCO Research
at significant discount (usually about 50%) from the then current cost of
registration. Please note that we do not plan or foresee frequent major
version changes for this particular program.
Additional Information
───────────────────────
If you have any comments regarding the program { BooksNexus } after (or
with) registration, please send them in writing to:
RCCO Research Associates
P. O. Box 196
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
Please include your phone (day & evening) and fax (if any) numbers as well
as your mailing address on ALL written communications. Please indicate the
serial number from your copy of the program as well as your CustID number.
Q. I see the file Order.frm [order form] in my \BOOKSNX directory. How may
I print it out on my printer?
A. To print the registration order form, make sure your printer is on and
ready with at least 2 sheets of paper, change to the \BOOKSNX directory
and at the DOS prompt, type exactly the following:
COPY ORDER.FRM PRN<enter>
Q. How do I insert a new row anywhere within the Table View?
A. In a data table such as found in this program, records (rows) are not
inserted as they might be in a spreadsheet-type program. Rather, new
items are appended to the end of the data table (usually with the <Alt-N>
key combination). The built-in sort mechanisms then effect the proper
on-screen relevant position with the particular sort you may have select-
ed. A similar facility is enabled for printed and on-screen reports.
Q. Sometimes I add an entry to the main records table by QuickJumping to the
bottom of the table and pressing <DownArrow> to provide a new, blank row.
After filling in the information for the different cells, I think the new
record should appear in its proper place in normal sort order. Why does
it stay at the bottom? (It is in the correct place after leaving the
table and then returning at a later time.)
A. Although we suggest using <Alt-N> (Form View) to add a new item, you may
add one in Table View as the question describes. However, in Table View,
additions in this manner will require a screen "refresh" to show the new
entry in its proper position. To refresh a Table View screen after you
finish your new entry, try pressing <PgUp> once or twice to rewrite the
screen; the new record should appear in its proper relative position.
BooksNx.doc { BooksNexus } Documentation Page 12
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
{ BooksNexus: book library records }(tm)
(for DOS)
an OBJECTS::NEXUS(tm) filer
(C) Copyright MCMXCIV RCCO Research Associates
All Rights Reserved under International Conventions
Product of U.S.A.
RCCO Research Associates
Post Office Box 196
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
37738
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Please consult your favorite shareware source for the availability of current
DOS and Windows versions of programs in the RCCO Research OBJECTS::NEXUS(tm)
series, as well as that of our bestselling flagship program:
{ MONEY & BANKS }(tm), Personal Banking Manager (for DOS).