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THE THINKER 3.0 by Alan C. Elliott TexaSoft P.O. Box 1169 Cedar Hill, Texas 75104 (214)-291-2115 June, 1988 (C)Copyright 1983, 1987, 1988 Alan C. Elliott All Rights Reserved No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this publication, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information herein. The THINKER program is a copyrighted program that allows users, under certain conditions, to copy and share the program with others. Never call it a "public domain" program. You are not allowed to make photocopies of the manual. Persons who use THE THINKER are obliged to become officially licensed users by registering. This provides you with several advantages. You receive information about new releases, bugs, updates and problems. You also get a copy of the latest version of the program and manual on disk. If you use THE THINKER, you should print the ORDER form on disk, and become a registered user. THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION TO THE THINKER VERSION 3.0 THE THINKER is a simple to use spreadsheet program. It allows you to enter numbers and text on the computer screen, and define mathematical relationships between the numbers. Once these relationships are defined, you may change some numbers, and the program will automatically recalculate the related numbers. THE THINKER is very similar in command structure to the popular 1-2-3 spreadsheet program, but at a much smaller cost. THE THINKER also requires less computer memory than more expensive programs. THE THINKER can be used for financial modeling, budget calculations, scientific calculations, and more. THE THINKER is the right answer for small to moderate size spreadsheet applications models, and is an ideal tool for training people in the use of spreadsheets. If you know how to use THE THINKER, you know how to use 1-2-3. Summary of Features and Requirements REQUIREMENTS THE THINKER requires an IBM Personal Computer or compatible with 128K or more of memory and DOS. Any monitor and printer may be used. 1 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ FEATURES Size of worksheet - 26 columns lettered A to Z - 125 rows numbered 1 to 125. Can import data from "PRN" type ASCII files. Data can be transferred from dBASE III "DBF" files and from "DIF", data interchange files (ie Visicalc, 1-2-3, and others). Supports color, although not required. Maximum number of cells that can be defined at one time is 1000. Calculations are performed in natural sequence. That is, a calculation does not take place until all previous cells which related to that cell have also been calculated. All files to be accessed must be in the same sub-directory. PREPARING TO USE THE THINKER Files required to use THE THINKER are as follows THINK.EXE - This is the main THE THINKER program TUTIL.EXE - Thinker utilities THINK.HLP - This contains help screen information ORDER - Order file to became a registered user Optional files include: THINK.INI - An initialization file you create *.TKR - Several example THE THINKER applications README - Gives latest details of the program USE ON FLOPPY DISKETTE SYSTEM To setup THE THINKER for use on a floppy diskette system, first format a floppy diskette with the "/S" option. Consult your DOS manual under the FORMAT command. Next copy the files *.EXE, THINK.HLP, and all files with an ".TKR" extension to the newly formatted diskette. Set up the initialization files as indicated in the Appendix (optional) usually specifying disk "A" or "B" as the storage diskette. 2 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ USE ON HARD DISK SYSTEM To use THE THINKER on a hard disk: Program resides in a sub-directory. . . Create a subdirectory (we recommend named THINK) by entering the following commands: C>CD\ C>MD \THINK C>CD \THINK -Copy *.EXE, THINK.HLP, ORDER, and all ".TKR" files to this subdirectory. This can be done by placing the distribution (original) diskette in drive A, and entering the command: C>COPY A:*.* Also, see the section on how to set up initialization files. To begin the THE THINKER program (here from disk C), enter C>THINK TRADEMARKS Here is a list of products & owners mentioned in the manual: o IBM PC PC-DOS, International Business Machines Corporation o 1-2-3, Lotus 1-2-3, Lotus Development Corp. 3 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ CONTENTS SECTION 1. Overview....................................5 How To Start and End Program................6 If Errors Occur.............................6 SECTION 2. Fundamental Concepts........................7 What is a Spreadsheet.......................7 Arithmetic Operators and Functions.........10 How Commands are Accessed..................14 Learning to use THE THINKER................17 Text and Numbers...........................18 Function Commands..........................20 SECTION 3. Getting Acquainted.........................20 Change of Format...........................23 Natural Sequence Calculations..............24 Output to Printer or File..................25 Suspend Calculations.......................27 Move and Copy..............................29 Erase......................................31 Insert and Delete..........................31 How to..Answers to Common Questions........32 APPENDIX I Error Conditions...........................38 APPENDIX II Technical Considerations...................39 APPENDIX III Utilities program..........................40 Set up initialization file.................40 Transfer data from dBASE, DIF files........40 Order Information..........................42 4 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ SECTION ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE THINKER OVERVIEW THE THINKER is an electronic spreadsheet which allows you to create tables of text and numeric relations. Once such a table is designed, changing one or more numbers in the table causes all related numbers to be recalculated before your eyes. Each table consists of 26 columns and 125 rows of cells. Each cell is initially 9 characters wide. THE THINKER is designed to be simple and straightforward to use, similar in function to the popular 1-2-3 spreadsheet program. This manual consists of step-by-step instructions, and a variety of examples to get you started. Many of the examples may be used immediately for your household or business needs. CAPABILITIES THE THINKER may be used to design applications from simple household budgets to complex mathematical and scientific models. Basic arithmetic relations are available as well as scientific, mathematical, financial and statistical functions. KEEP BACKUPS We recommend that you keep the original THE THINKER diskette in a safe place, as a backup. Keep backups of all files you create to avoid accidental loss of valuable information. 5 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ INITIALIZATION FILE Default conditions specifying the storage disk for program files are set in a file named THINK.INI. This procedure is described in APPENDIX III. It is not necessary for you to set up this file to operate THE THINKER. HOW TO START Assuming the THE THINKER program is in the A disk drive, (program may also be installed on the hard disk) the command to begin THE THINKER is: A>THINK HOW TO STOP Once THE THINKER is in operation, you may stop the program by pressing the "/" key, then pressing "Q", and finally responding to the prompt: No Yes by pressing the "Y" key. IF ERRORS OCCUR If errors occur, an error message will appear on the screen. Usually, the program will recover. Appendix I explains the error messages, and gives more details. 6 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ SECTION TWO FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS DESCRIPTION OF THE TABLE THE THINKER is an electronic spreadsheet. It allows you to create tables of text and numeric relationships, which enables you to analyze budgets, loans, cost estimates, etc. on the computer screen. After relationships have been established, changing one or more numbers will cause all related numbers to be recalculated automatically. This gives you the power to quickly answer questions about "What if a certain number were different?" Several definitions need to be established to understand the instructions in this manual. WHAT IS A SPREADSHEET? The word spreadsheet comes from business terminology. When budgets are calculated, accounting work performed, or inventories kept, numbers are often written on specialized sheets of paper pre-printed with columns and lines. These forms make it easy to line up columns of numbers, and to add them together. In computer terms, a spreadsheet is like a blank sheet of paper with columns and rows. Each intersection of a column and row is called a "cell". The computer may be instructed to add up columns or rows of the numbers in these cells. If a number in a particular column or row is changed, the computer automatically updates the calculations. 7 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ columns A B C D ------------------------------------------ rows 1 | cell | | | | ------------------------------------------ 2 | | | | | ------------------------------------------ 3 | | | | | ---------##########----------------------- 4 | # "B4" # | | ---------##########----------------------- 5 | | | | | ------------------------------------------ Each "cell" has a name. At the intersection of column B and row 4 is the cell "B4". Names will be used to define particular mathematical computations. We may want to reference one cell or a range of cells. A single cell has a name such as B4, and a range of cells is designated with a beginning cell, a dot (.) and an ending cell, such as A1.A5 or B1.D1. The range A1.A5 refers to a vertical group of cells: A B C D ##########-------------------------------- 1 # # | | | #--------#-------------------------------- 2 # # | | | #--------#-------------------------------- 3 # # | | | #--------#-------------------------------- 4 # # | | | #--------#-------------------------------- 5 # # | | | ##########-------------------------------- 8 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ The range B1.D1 refers to a horizontal block of cells: A B C D ---------############################----- 1 | # | | # ---------############################----- 2 | | | | | ------------------------------------------ 3 | | | | | ------------------------------------------ 4 | | | | | ------------------------------------------ 5 | | | | | ------------------------------------------ The range A1.D4 refers to a rectangular block of cells with the upper left corner being A1 and the lower right corner being D4: A B C D #####################################----- 1 # | | | # #-----------------------------------#----- 2 # | | | # #-----------------------------------#----- 3 # | | | # #-----------------------------------#----- 4 # | | | # #####################################----- 5 | | | | | ------------------------------------------ STRUCTURE The structure of a table is the text and arithmetic relations which determine the function and appearance of the table. This is also often called a "model" or "template". 9 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ The Table Status:ENTER A B C D ... etc ... Z 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: : etc : 125: / - Command F1-Help F2-Edit F5-GOTO F9-Recalc In THE THINKER, columns are lettered from A to Z and rows are numbered from 1 to 125. Each cell is referenced by a Column Row designation. The upper left cell is A1, to its right is B1, etc. Only a portion of the table is displayed at any time, a window into the entire spreadsheet. ARITHMETIC OPERATORS AND FUNCTIONS a SUPPORTED Numeric expressions are entered into the table to describe how you want items to be added up, multiplied, divided, etc. All standard mathematical functions are supported. The numeric relationships you desire are entered into a spreadsheet cell using the supported operators and functions. We will learn by example how this is done. 10 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ MATHEMATICAL OPERATORS OPERATOR EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2 EXAMPLE 3 ---------------------- --------- --------- --------- + : plus +A1+B4 4+3 +A1+3 - : minus +A1-B4 4-3 4-B4 * : multiplication +A1*B4 4*3 +A1*3 / : division +A1/B4 4/3 4/B4 ^ : exponentiation +A1^B4 4^3 +A1^3 Note:In Examples 3, when an expression begins with a cell name, we must precede the name with a plus (+) sign. In addition to these arithmetic operators, a series of mathematical, financial, statistical, and special functions are supported. SUMMARY OF AVAILABLE FUNCTIONS NOTE:Some arguments may be ranges such as A1.B3, or numbers. When a range or a list of arguments may be used, LIST is given in the function description. If the function takes only a single argument "arg" will be designated. 11 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS ---------------------- @ABS(arg) - absolute value @ACOS(arg) - arc cosine @ASIN(arg) - arc sine @ATAN(arg) - 2 quadrant arc tangent @ATAN2(arg1,arg2)- 4 quadrant arc tangent for arg2/arg1, the angle in radians whose tangent is arg1/arg2) @COS(arg) - cosine @EXP(arg) - exponential @INT(arg) - integer part @LN(arg) - log base e @LOG(arg) - log base 10 @MOD(x,y) - x modulo y @PI - pi = 3.141592653589794 @RAND - random number between 0 and 1 (uniform) @ROUND(x,n)- round a number to n decimal places @SIN(arg) - sine @SQRT(arg) - square root @TAN(arg) - tangent STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS --------------------- @AVG(list) - average of items in list @COUNT(list) - counts number of items in list @MAX(list) - maximum of values in list @MIN(list) - minimum of values in list @SEM(list) - standard error of the mean from list @SS(list) - sum of squares from list @STD(list) - standard deviation from list @SUM(list) - sum of numbers in list @VAR(list) - variance of numbers in list 12 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ FINANCIAL FUNCTIONS ------------------- @FV(pmt,int,term) - FUTURE VALUE OF AN ANNUITY pmt = payment made each period int = interest per period term = number of periods @IRR(guess,list) - INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN guess = initial guess (usually 0 to 1.) list = cash flows @NPV(x,list) - NET PRESENT VALUE x = per period interest rate list = cash flows @PMT(prn,int,term) - MORTGAGE PAYMENT PER PERIOD prn = beginning principle int = per period interest rate term = how many payments to be made @PV(pmt,int,term) - PRESENT VALUE OF AN ORDINARY ANNUITY pmt = payment per period int = interest per period term = number of periods SPECIAL FUNCTIONS ----------------- @ERR - designates a value of ERR (error). A cell with value ERR will cause subsequent functions to return a value of ERR. @DEC(x,n) - causes the number associated with the cell to print out the number x to n decimal places. HOW TO USE FUNCTIONS Functions are used in mathematical expressions. For example, you want to sum the numbers in the "A" column from row 10 to row 20. The expression you would enter into the table would be: 13 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ @SUM(A10.A20) Functions return a number, so a function expression may be used just like a number. For example, the above function calculation may the part of a bigger expression: ((@SUM(A10.A20))/@LOG(A1))/100 Notice that parentheses may be used in expressions to specify the order calculations will take place in an expression. Without parentheses, the precedence is: Highest:Expressions within parentheses () Next :Evaluate function :Mathematical operators ^ * and / Lowest :Mathematical operators + and - HOW COMMANDS ARE ACCESSED THE THINKER is a command-menu oriented program. A command tells the program to perform some task. All commands are invoked by first typing the slash "/" character. A menu will then be presented: Worksheet Range Copy Move File Print Quit Status To choose one of these options, press the first letter of the option, or move the selection marker by pressing a right or left arrow key, then press ENTER when the desired options is highlighted. Another menu, or a question may then appear on the screen. In this manual, command sequences will be written with a slash followed by one or more letters designating the menu commands. An examples should be /WGF meaning Worksheet, Global, Format. COMMANDS ON PRIMARY MENU -WORKSHEET - options having to do with the entire worksheet (Global, Insert, Delete, Column-Width, and Erase) 14 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ -RANGE - Erase a range of cells -COPY and MOVE - Copy or move a range of cells -FILE - Save Retrieve or Import a file, or list files on disk -PRINT - Print a worksheet to a file or to the printer. When this command is selected, you will be asked to specify output to Printer or File. If you choose File, you will be asked for the name of the output file. -QUIT - End the program -STATUS - Display amount of memory, number of cells used and remaining. COMMANDS ON WORKSHEET MENU -GLOBAL - Set global column-width, or choose manual or automatic calculation -INSERT - Insert blank columns or rows -DELETE - Delete column or rows -COLUMN-WIDTH - Set or Reset column width of a specific column -ERASE - Erase the entire worksheet Examples: Set global column width command:/WGC (Worksheet, Global, Column-Width) Insert blank columns command:/WIC (Worksheet, Insert, Column) Set specific column width command:/WCS/ (Worksheet, Column-width, Set) Erase the entire worksheet:/WE 15 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ IMPORTANT COMMENT:If you are in the middle of a command sequence, and decide to cancel, press the Esc key. This will usually take you back to the previous command, or to the "ENTER" status. If the program is expecting an answer, and Esc does not cancel the command, usually entering a blank answer will cancel the command. COMMANDS ON PRINT MENU The PRINT MENU appears after the command /WPP or /WPF (print to printer or file). -RANGE - Select range of worksheet to print. You must specify a rectangular portion of the spreadsheet (ie A1.E50) -LINE - Cause the printer to advance one line. -PAGE - Cause the printer to go to the top of the page. -CLEAR - Clear the print selections. -ALIGN - Align the paper. After selecting this command, you need to physically set the printer at the top of the form. The program will now set all of its counters to assume that you are at TOF. -GO - Begin output to the printer, or to a file. -OPTIONS - This selection brings up the PRINT OPTIONS MENU, where you may choose margin settings, page length, set codes for printer, header, footer, and Quit. Standard settings are: Left Margin:0 Top Margin:2 Right Margin:76 Bottom Margin:2 Page Length:66 Printer codes:NONE Header:Blank Footer:Blank Choosing the Quit option from this menu returns you to the main PRINT MENU. -QUIT - Quit the print procedure, returns to ENTER status. 16 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ LEARNING TO USE THE THINKER After preparing the diskette in a manner described earlier in these instructions, you may begin THE THINKER with the command: A>THINK The title screen will appear. Press any key to continue and you are in the spreadsheet. Find the arrow keys on the numeric pad to the right of the keyboard. Notice that by pressing the down arrow key, the cursor (a horizontal white bar) moves down a column, and by pressing the right arrow key the cursor moves to the right one cell. If this does not happen, you may be in numeric mode. Press the "Num Lock" key once to put the keypad into cursor mode. Pressing the "Home" key moves the cursor to the upper left corner, to cell "A1". Pressing the "End" key moves the cursor horizontally to the last cell on the screen. THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER Notice the word ENTER in the upper right corner of the screen. This tells you that THE THINKER is ready for you to begin entry. After the entry of text or numbers, the upper right designation will be "WAIT". During this time, text is being stored, or calculations are being performed. You must wait for the "ENTER" designation to resume entering text. If an illegal entry was made, the program puts you into "EDIT" mode, and allows you to correct the mistake. CORRECTING ENTRIES During the "ENTER" mode, you may use the backspace key 17 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ (located just above the Enter key), to backup and make corrections. If you use an arrow key on the cursor keypad, this will end the entry, and move you in the direction you indicated with the keystroke. During an "EDIT", you MAY use the right and left arrow keys, as well as the Home key to move around in the entry, and make corrections. You are automatically in "Insert" mode during an edit, so you can move the cursor to a position within the text of the entry, and insert new characters. The "Del" key may be used to delete characters. To cancel an Entry or Edit, press the "Esc" key. To end the procedure normally, press the "Enter" key. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEXT AND NUMBERS A NUMERIC EXPRESSION In THE THINKER a NUMBER (or numeric expression) is an entry which begins with a numeric digit (ie 0,1,2,etc), or one of the following characters:(, +, -, $ or @. Any entry beginning with a letter, such as E1+2 is not recognized as a numeric expression. However, the entry +E1+2 is recognized as a numeric expression. TEXT If an entry is not a numeric expression, it is assumed to be text. Text is automatically left justified in the cell. However, placing a double quote in front of an entry forces the text to be right justified in the cell. Prefixing the text with a caret "^" forces the text to be centered in the cell. If text is wider than the cell width, the result is always left justification. Using a back slash "\" as the first character makes text repeat itself within the width of the cell. To force an entry to be considered textual that may otherwise look like a number, prefix the entry with a single quote (') or one of the other text formatting prefixes. Thus, the entry "'120" would be seen as text. 18 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ SUMMARY OF TEXTUAL PREFIXES PREFIX TO TEXT RESULT ----------------- -------------------------- ' Left justification - force text " Right justification ^ Centered Text \ Repeated Text PgUp AND PgDn These keys, located on the numeric pad, allow you to move the table up or down 20 rows at a time. HORIZONTAL MOVE When the cursor is in the far right field, pressing the right arrow key will cause the table to move in such a way to display more columns to the right (until the limit is reached). Likewise, moving the cursor to the left, and pressing the left arrow key will cause the table to move horizontally to the right. VERTICAL MOVE Pressing the up or down arrow keys to the edge of the display will force the table to move up or down one row at a time. 19 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ Function Commands F1 - HELP - Pressing the F1 key displays the The Thinker help menu. From here, you can review on the screen much of what is in the manual. F2 - EDIT - pressing this key allows you to enter EDIT mode, and edit the contents of a cell. F5 - GOTO - This is an express route to any cell. Press F5, then enter the name of the cell you wish to be at (ie N40). The table will redisplay with the cursor in that location. F9 - When in manual recalculation mode, numbers are not updated automatically. Pressing the F9 key forces calculations to take place. SECTION 3 A GETTING ACQUAINTED TUTORIAL In this section we will put THE THINKER through its paces, and see what it can do. As mentioned earlier, THE THINKER is started by issuing the command THINK at the "A>" DOS prompt. (or "C>" when using a hard disk) A>THINK If this does not work properly, please consult the instructions at the first of the manual. PUTTING THE THINKER THROUGH ITS PACES Once the THE THINKER screen has appeared, move the cursor around on the screen with the arrow keys located on the number pad to the right of the keyboard. Moving the cursor to the extreme right will cause the portion of the table in 20 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ view to move to the right (until the limit of the table is reached). Similarly, the up and down arrows keys, as well as the PgUp and PgDn keys on the numeric pad may be used to move the table up and down. EXPRESSO The Home key places the cursor in cell A1, and the End key places the cursor in the last cell of a particular row, as displayed on the screen. Pressing the F5 (GOTO) key allows you to move anywhere in the table. Press F5, then enter N50. The table will redisplay with the cell N50 as the upper left. Press the "Home" key, and you are back at A1. RELATIONS AND TEXT Let's enter a simple example to learn how to use THE THINKER. First, make sure you have a cleared table (this may be done by entering the sequence /WE). Let's say you want to know how much (proportionally) an item (such as a stock) has increased in value over the past year. You know the value last year, and the value this year. Place the cursor in A1, and enter "Last Year's Value" (not the quotes). In A2 enter "This Year's Value". In A3 enter the text "Net change", and in A4 enter "Proportion Change". The formula for proportion change is This Year's Value - Last Year's Value -------------------------------------- Last Year's Value Assuming that last year's Value for the stock was $100, enter the number 100 in cell C1 by moving the cursor to cell C1, and typing 100. This year's Value is $125, so enter the number 125 in cell C2. To calculate Net Change in cell C3, we enter the relation +C2-C1 in cell C3. The plus MUST be entered before the cell name C2 to tell THE THINKER that this is a numeric expression we are entering. The number 25 will appear in cell C3. To calculate proportion change in cell C4, we enter the relation +C3/C1, and 0.25 will appear. 21 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ HERE IS HOW THE TABLE SHOULD LOOK A B C 1: Last Year's Value 100.00 2: This Year's Value 125.00 3: Net Change 25.00 4: Proportion Change 0.25 CHANGING VALUES If we change the value of Last Year's Value or This Year's Value, the Net Change and Proportion Change will automatically be recalculated. For instance, change the This Year's Value to 200, by moving the cursor to the C2 position, entering 200, and pressing ENTER. Observe the changes in Net Change and Proportion Change. EDITING AN ENTRY To see percentages rather than proportions, we can edit the relation in cell C4 by moving the cursor to cell C4, and pressing the F2 (EDIT) key. The old expression appears: +C3/C1 We want the new expression to be +(C3/C1)*100. To do this, press the Home key. This places the cursor on the "+". Move the cursor one space to the right, and press the "(" key (don't forget to shift). This inserts a "(" between the + and the C. Now move the cursor to the end of the expression with the right arrow key and type ")*100" (without quotes, of course), to make the new expression look like this: +(C3/C1)*100 Now press the Enter key, and the table will reflect the change. Change the text in cell A4 from "Proportion Change" to "Percent Change", to match our change in the numeric expression. 22 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ HERE IS HOW THE TABLE SHOULD LOOK A B C 1: Last Year's Value 100.00 2: This Year's Value 200.00 3: Net Change 100.00 4: Percent Change 100.00 Change Last Year's Value to 30 and This Year's Value to 45, and the table will look like this: A B C 1: Last Year's Value 30.00 2: This Year's Value 45.00 3: Net Change 15.00 4: Percent Change 50.00 CHANGE OF FORMAT a Formats may be chosen, using the command sequence /WGF. (Worksheet, Global, Format). You will be asked how many decimal places to use, from 0 to 15. The preset default for all numbers is 2 decimal places. Using the table you have just created, experiment with the different available formats. You may set a format for an individual cell with the @DEC() function. 23 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ CALCULATIONS TAKE PLACE IN NATURAL SEQUENCE The The Thinker program calculates all numeric expressions in a natural sequence. That is, an expression is not calculated until all cells which that expression depends on, has already been calculated. It is possible to create circular relations, where natural sequencing cannot take place. If this occurs, THE THINKER will display an error message at the top of the screen. CHECKBOOK BALANCING ACT An example THE THINKER table on your diskette is named BALANCE. To get it, use the sequence /FR, then enter the name of the table "BALANCE" (no quotes). This table can be used to balance your checkbook. It requires that you enter your bank statement amount, outstanding checks and fees, and outstanding deposits and interest. From this, it gives you the amount which should appear in your checkbook. Checkbook Account Reconciliation Form Enter Outstanding Checks Enter Outstanding Deposits Enter Balance and fees: (credits) here: from statement Reference Amount Reference Amount here $ 716.41 CK100 23.34 Dep 11/2 230.33 CK101 125.00 Dep 11/4 1200.00 ----RESULTS------ CK102 12.54 Balance in CK103 432.00 Checkbook should be = $ 1553.86 Total Outstanding Checks and fees are = $ 592.88 Total Outstanding Deps. and Int. are = $ 1430.33 24 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ LOOKING WITHIN THE TABLE Notice that input of outstanding checks and deposits are in columns B and E respectively. These columns are totaled using the @SUM() function. Move the cursor to cells H14 and H18 to see these expressions. The checkbook balance should be Previous Balance-Debt+Credits (+H5-H14+H18), which appears under the RESULTS sign. A total of outstanding Debts and Credits are also given under the RESULTS sign. For your personal use, you can enter your numbers over the sample numbers already entered. (Or use the command sequence /R to erase the range of numbers from B6.B125 and E6.E125.) CAN YOU DO IT? As an exercise to learn about how to create a THE THINKER table, enter the previous table from scratch starting with a blank table. In fact, all of the examples in this manual have been created to use a variety of THE THINKER' capabilities. Understanding how the examples were created will help you design tables for your own needs. OUTPUT TO PRINTER OR TO A FILE Using the command sequence /P, you may print a table to a printer or to a file. When you press /P, you will be given the sub-menu Printer File Choose Print to print to a line printer, or File to output a picture of the table to disk. If you choose File, you will be asked to give the name of an output file. (The extension ".PRN" is automatically affixed). The Print sub-menu is: Range Line Page Clear Align Go Quit Options Range allows you to choose the range of the cells to print. For example "A1.N60". This designates the upper left and bottom right corner of the rectangular portion of the table to print. 25 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ Line advances the printer one line. Page advances the printer to top of form. Align allows you to set the paper at the top of the form. Go begins printing (or outputting to the file) Quit ends the print procedure. Options brings up the sub-sub-menu for designating header, footer, margins, page length, and printer code settings: Header Footer Margins Setup Page-Length Quit Once settings of range, margins, etc. are made for a particular table, these are remembered by the program, and need not be reset again unless a change is desired. If the width of the table is too wide for the printer, it is printed in parts. The width of the printer is established in the "Option" menu. If the table is printed to a file, you may merged it into a word processor file or other programs which will read standard ASCII files (such as TexaSoft's VersaText Word Processing System). TWO WAYS TO SAVE A TABLE Please note that when a table is saved using the /FS command the STRUCTURE of the table is saved, not a picture of what appears on the screen. The /PF command (print to a file) WILL create a file containing a picture of the table. 26 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ SUSPEND CALCULATIONS The /WGRM command sequence (Worksheet, Global, Recalculation, Manual) selects manual rather than automatic calculation for the table. When a number of changes are to be made in the numeric entries in a table, this command will permit faster turnaround between "WAIT" and "ENTER". Pressing the F9 key will cause all calculations to take place. MORTGAGE EXAMPLE A table which figures the amount of periodic payments on an amortized loan is on disk. To display this table on the screen, press the command /FR, and specify the table MORTGAGE. The following table will be displayed. A B C D E 1 : LOAN ANALYSIS FOR AN AMORTIZED LOAN 2 : 3 :Description Amounts 4 :================================= 5 :Enter amount of loan 65000.00 6 :Enter interest rate per year 12.75 7 :Enter number of payments per year 12.00 8 :Enter number of years 30.00 9 :Enter number of payments (N) made 0 10 :--------------------------------------------- 11 :Total number of payments 360 12 :Amount of payment 706.35 13 :Number of payments remaining 360 14 :Payoff bal after 0.00th pmt. 65000.00 15 :Total amount paid to date 0.00 16 :Principal paid to date 0.00 17 :Interest paid to date 0.00 The table as it now appears shows the monthly payment 27 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ required to payoff a $65000 loan in 30 years. It also shows the total principal and interest paid. Note that all of the rows above the single dotted line allow an entry on your part so that you can obtain all of the information below the line for a variety of loan amounts, interest rates, length of loan, etc. To see this, change the loan above from monthly payments (12 payments a year) to quarterly payments (4 payments per year) by changing the number in cell D7 (number of payments per year) from 12 to 4. ENTER YOUR "FAVORITE" LOAN Use this table to enter your favorite loan amount. Recall that you should only change numbers ABOVE the dashed line. Changing values below that line will destroy the relationships set up to perform these calculations. Of course, if you do this by mistake, you may always get the table again. Changing items within the program does not change the original file on disk (unless you save those changes). This table is based on the @PMT() function, which calculates the payment amount for a loan, given the amount of the loan, the interest rate per period, and the number of payments. Find how this formula is used in the cell giving the amount of payment by moving the cursor to that cell, and observing its contents. 28 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ BUDGET EXAMPLE The next example explained is named BUDGET. This table is a simple example of how you could plan a budget using The Thinker. Get this example using the command sequence /FR and entering the name BUDGET. The following screen will be displayed: BUDGET EXAMPLE in $1000 Revenues Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total ------------------------------------------------------------ Sales 134 154 166 175 629 Interest 12 14 16 18 60 Total 146 168 182 193 689 Expenses ------------------------------------------------------------ Rent 44 44 46 46 180 Utilities 5 5 5 5 20 Salaries 88 90 92 94 364 Travel 3 6 3 6 18 Misc 12 14 16 17 59 Total 152 159 162 168 641 ------------------------------------------------------------ Profit -6 9 20 25 48 This is an example of a four quarter budget with totals. The bottom line gives the difference between revenues and expenses. All of the totals in column F were performed with the @SUM() function. Totals in row 8 were simply adding two numbers (ie +B6+B7). The profit figures come from subtracting the numbers in row 8 from the numbers in row 17 (ie +B8-B17). THE MOVE AND COPY COMMANDS The MOVE and COPY command are among the most powerful commands in THE THINKER. The Move command allows you to move blocks of cells to different locations within the spreadsheet, maintaining the same mathematical relations. The copy command duplicates a block of cells, also retaining 29 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ the mathematical relations. This presents somewhat of a problem for the program. When a copy or move is accomplished, the program may not know if you want the relations to stay relative to the the original locations of the numbers they referred to, or if the relationship should be absolute. For example, the following table has numbers in the A column and calculations in the B column: A B 1.00 +A1/2 2.00 +A2/2 3.00 +A3/2 Suppose you copy columns A and B to column C and D. Do we want the calculations to remain +A1/2, +A2/2, +A3/2? Probably not. The program assumes that you want the new relations to be "+C1/2", etc., and it makes those changes during the copy (or move). However, you can force a reference to retain its ABSOLUTE meaning by placing a dollar sign in front of the Column or Row designator. For example, to force the column designation to stay the same we would write the expression "+$A1/2", and to keep the row specification the same, we would write "+A$1/2". The expression "$A$1/2" would keep them both the same. The Move command may ignore the $ settings when they don't make sense. If moves or copies force relations "off the table", the resulting formula may produce the "ERR" designation within a cell. HOW TO MOVE OR COPY COPY:Select the Copy command with the sequence /C. You will be prompted to enter the range for the copy, and the destination. In the above example, the ranges for the copy from and to would be: Enter range to copy FROM:A1.B3 Enter range to copy TO:C1 30 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ Notice that you indicate the "Copy TO:" as the upper left corner of the to location. MOVE:Operates the same as COPY, but the original range indicated in the the Move command is erased, and placed in the "TO" location. REPEATED COPIES Multiple copies of lines or columns, or individual cells may be made. To do this, indicate a range in the "to" designation. For example, enter a row range (B1.B3) as the "FROM" designation, and a column range for the "TO:" designation: Enter range to copy from:B1.B3 Enter range to copy to:C1.E1 The result would be (showing the expressions rather than the calculated values): A B C D E 1.00 +A1/2 +B1/2 +C1/2 +D1/2 2.00 +A2/2 +B2/2 +C2/2 +D2/2 3.00 +A3/2 +B3/2 +C3/2 +D3/2 ERASING PORTIONS OF THE TABLE To erase a portion of the table, choose the command sequence /R (Range). You will be prompted: Enter range to erase: Enter the range of the table to erase, such as A1.F5. ERASE THE ENTIRE TABLE To erase the entire table, enter the command sequence /WE (Worksheet, Erase). 31 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ INSERTING AND DELETING ROWS AND COLUMNS As you are creating a worksheet, you often want to move parts of your work around. Besides the COPY and MOVE command, you may also Insert and Delete entire rows and columns at a time. Here is a summary of the command sequences required: Insert Rows :/WIR Insert Columns:/WIC Delete Rows :/WDR Delete Columns:/WDC You will be prompted to enter the range of the delete or insert. For example, to insert 3 blank rows between rows 5 and 6, enter the range A6.A8. This causes rows 6 to 8 to be blank, and all items on rows 6 and below to be moved down 3 rows. Mathematical expressions in effected cells are adjusted the same way as with the Copy and Move commands. HOW TO... A SECTION TO HELP ANSWER COMMON QUESTIONS GET HELP While in the ENTER status, press the F1 function key. This will display a menu of help items. Choose the item you wish to review, or you may exit the help menu, and return to the table. 32 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ STOP THE PROGRAM With the program in the "ENTER" mode, use the command sequence /QY (Command, Quit, Yes) CHANGE THE WAY NUMBERS ARE PRINTED There are two ways. 1. To globally change the number of digits in the decimal portion of the number, enter the command sequence /WGF, then enter the number of decimal digits desired, from 0 to 15. 2. To cause a single number to be displayed to a certain number of digits, use the function @DEC(#), where # is the expression for the number to be displayed. For example, @DEC(13.451,2) would be displayed as 13.45 ERASE THE ENTIRE WORKSHEET Use the command sequence /WE (Worksheet Erase) ERASE A PORTION OF THE WORKSHEET Use the command sequence /R. You will then be asked to specify the range of the cells to erase, enter the cell in the upper left corner of the rectangle to erase, and the lower right corner. For example "A1.E8" (don't use quotes). FIND OUT HOW MUCH SPACE YOU HAVE LEFT Use the command sequence /S. This will display how much memory is left, as well as how many cells are still available for use. 33 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ PRINT TO THE PRINTER Use the command sequence /PP (command, Print, Printer) You must then specify the range to print, and any other settings you desire, such as margins, headers, etc. Once you are satisfied with what you want to print, press "G" for GO, and the printing will begin. If your printer is not on line, an error may result. PRINT TO A FILE Use the command sequence /PF (command, Print, Printer). You will be asked the name of the file in which to place the output. The extension ".PRN" will be added to the file name, unless you specify a different extension. You must specify the range to print, and any other settings you desire, such as margins, headers, etc. Once you are satisfied with what you want to print, press "G" for GO, and the printing will begin. If your printer is not on line, an error may result. CREATE A FILE TO MERGE INTO A WORD PROCESSOR Same as PRINT TO A FILE, above. IMPORT INFORMATION FROM ANOTHER PROGRAM Import may be done in two ways, for text or for numbers and text. NOTE:Import files are expected to have a ".PRN" extension. If the file has no extension, place a period at the end of the file name (ie MYFILE.). 1. Import text only:A file must exist which contains standard ASCII text characters. Move the cursor to the position where you wish the data to appear, and enter the command /FI (file Import). Choose "TEXT" as the type of import, and enter the name of the file. Each line of the file will be entered as a label, beginning at the spot where the cursor is located, and going down one line in the spreadsheet for each line of text imported. 34 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ 2. Import numbers and text:A file must exist which contains standard ASCII text and numbers. Move the cursor to the position where you wish the data to appear, and enter the command /FI (file Import). Choose "Numbers" as the type of import, and enter the name of the file. Each line of the import file will be read, and numbers or text will be placed in cells on each line of the spreadsheet. Blanks or commas delimit each cell, so that labels which contain blanks or commas must be in quotes. For example, the import line 23.33 This line will be placed in three cells, but the import line 23.33 "This line" will be placed in two cells. COPY AND MOVE SINGLE COPY OR MOVE: Copy makes a duplicate copy of a range of cells, and move places a copy of the original cells in a new location, removing them from the old location. Choose either the command /C or /M, enter the rectangle to be copied or moved, and then enter the upper left corner of the place where you want the copy to appear. NOTE:The COPY and MOVE command use a buffer file on the disk. Therefore, you must NOT have the disk write protected with a tab, otherwise an error will result. Also, if there is not enough space on disk for the buffer file, and error will result. 35 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ MULTIPLE COPIES You may make multiple copies of a cell or range of cells. To do this, enter the /C command, then specify the range to copy. This range must be a single cell (ie A1.A1) or a vertical or horizontal group of cells one cell wide or one cell tall such as "A1.A22" or "A1.F1". Specify a range of cells for the copy to range which is counter to the range of the COPY FROM range. For example, the copy from range "A1.A20" is a vertical range. To make multiple copies, specify of COPY TO range that is horizontal, such as "B5.F5". FIND OUT WHAT FILES ARE ON DISK Use the command sequence /FL. You will then have the option to enter "T" to get all "TKR" files or "A" to get a list of all files. Once you have a list of files, you may enter a file name to RETRIEVE, or press enter to return to the ENTER status. EDIT AN EXISTING ENTRY IN A CELL Place your cursor on the cell you wish to edit, and press the F2 function key. The current entry will be displayed. You may now edit that entry. The Home key will move the cursor to the beginning of the entry, and you may use the right and left arrow keys to move within the text of the entry, adding or deleting characters as you wish. SUSPEND CALCULATIONS You may wish to suspend calculations, which often allows you faster entry of numbers. To do this, enter the command sequence /WGRM (Worksheet Global, Recalculations, Manual). Then, whenever you wish a calculation to take place, simply press the F9 key. GOTO A PARTICULAR SPOT IN THE TABLE While in ENTER status, press the F5 function key. Then enter the upper left cell at which you wish to have the table displayed. 36 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ ENTER EXTENDED ASCII CHARACTERS There are about 100 characters in the IBM extended ASCII character set, numbering from 128 to 255. These characters may be used in LABELS. To cause one of these characters to appear on the screen, hold the ALT key down, and enter the ASCII code for the number on the NUMERIC PAD. Then let up on the ALT key, and the character should appear. NOTE:if your printer does not support these characters, you will get spurious characters printed on output. Example, the ASCII character number 225 is ß, the greek character "beta". These characters are in a table in the appendix of the BASIC manual. TRANSFER INFORMATION FROM OTHER PROGRAMS The TUTIL program allows you to transfer information from other programs to The Thinker. This can be directly, or by creating a PRN file which can be used to import information. dBASE III ---> Thinker Use the TUTIL program to translate the DBF file to a TKR file, or a PRN file. Notice that all variables and numbers will be copied from the DBF file. If you want to transfer a subset of your dBASE file, create a subset database within dBASE first. Also, you may want to sort the information in dBASE first. If there are too many columns or rows to be read into the Thinker, the data set will be truncated. 1-2-3 ---> Thinker Use the 1-2-3 Translate facility to create a DBF file or a DIF file. Then use TUTIL to create a TKR file or a PRN import file. ANY program that can create a DBF, DIF file or PRN type file can have its data transferred into The Thinker. 37 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ APPENDICES APPENDIX I IF ERRORS OCCUR When an error is encountered, the following type of notice will appear at the bottom of the screen. Error Number 61 Reference 1000 This indicates that the program has encountered a barrier to execution. Many times the program will recover. If the program does not recover, please make a note of the error number and reference. The meaning of the error codes may be found in the IBM Personal Computer BASIC manual, appendix A. For instance, code 61 indicates that the diskette on which a file is to be stored is full. Most errors such as this may be corrected by simple action on your part. If a puzzling error occurs, please make a note of the number and reference, and contact TexaSoft,Inc. by mail. The following is an abbreviated list of error codes. COMMON ERRORS 24- Device Timeout (Printer is off) 25- Device Fault (Printer has malfunctioned) 27- Out of Paper 61- Disk full (diskette has used all available space) 67- Too many files (diskette contains maximum number of files) 70- Disk Write Protected 71- Disk Not Ready (Is the drive door closed?) 72- Disk Media Error (Your diskette may be bad) 38 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ It is possible to define impossible mathematical relations such as 10/0, which may cause an "overflow" or "underflow" error. If recovery is not possible, you may press CTRL-Break to end the program, or CTRL-Alt-Del to reboot. APPENDIX II TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS EXTENSIONS TO NAMES When a table is saved without a filename extension, the extension ".TKR" is attached. Also, when a table is retrieved, the filename extension ".TKR" is assumed when none is given. A name may be given an extension such as "TABLE.EXT", and it will be saved and retrieved as such. BUFFER FILES FOR MOVE AND COPY The Thinker creates a buffer file during a copy or move command. It uses file space on the default drive disk. If there is not enough space for the copy or move, an error will result. DEFAULT DISK FOR EXAMPLES IMPORTANT NOTE:The exercises in the manual assume that the example applications are on the same disk drive as the program. If you have set up B as the default storage drive, to access the example THINK files, you will need to prefix the filenames with an "A:" if you are using a floppy based system. (See appendix III for initialization) 39 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ APPENDIX III THE TUTIL THINKER UTILITY PROGRAM The TUTIL program allows you to set up the default settings for The Thinker, and to transfer data from dBASE III and DIF files for use in The Thinker or other programs. SETTING UP THE INITIALIZATION FILE The file THINK.INI may be created, which will tell which default disk to use for storage. Once a default diskette is defined, all saves and gets will automatically assume that the table to get or save is on the default diskette. Thus, if the default disk is B, you may get the table "TABLE" instead of having to request "B:TABLE". This may be overridden at any time by use of the disk specification such as "A:TABLE". You may NOT use subdirectory file names such as "\CALC\BUDGET.TKR". To create this file, begin the TUTIL Thinker Utilities program with the command A>TUTIL Choose the initialization procedure. You will then be asked to choose the default disk drive, and the colors for text and highlighting. If you are using a monochrome monitor, you will generally pick color 1 ro text, and color 2 for highlighting. TRANSFERRING DATA FROM OTHER PROGRAMS Using the TUTIL program, you may transfer data from dBASE and DIF files to The Thinker. This is accomplished in two ways. 40 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ 1. Create THINKER TKR files. 2. Create PRN import files. dBASE III creates files with ".DBF" extensions. Other programs also can create DBF files, such as 1-2-3. Another common way to transfer files is with the DIF or Data Interchange Format file, created by programs such as VisiCalc, 1-2-3 and others. To move this data to The Thinker, the DBF or DIF file must be on the default subdirectory (hard disk). Begin the TUTIL program with the command A>TUTIL Choose the desired transformation 1. Create a TKR file 2. Create a PRN Import file 3. Create a TXT ASCII file 1. A TKR file is a file which is directly readable into The Thinker. 2. A PRN file is a file prepared for import into The Thinker. (It could also be imported into 1-2-3 and other programs as well). This file should be imported in the NUMBERS mode. Choose the command "/FIN", and give name of PRN file. 3. A TXT ASCII file is a standard text file which can be read into a word processor, or other programs. This transfer facility has many uses beyond The Thinker. It allows you to move between different modes of data files, for compatibility between a wide variety of programs. 41 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ APPENDIX IV - ORDER INFORMATION FOR THE THINKER -----THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT----- TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT The THINKER program is a copyrighted program that allows users, under certain conditions, to copy and share the program with others. Never call it a "public domain" program. You are not allowed to make photocopies of the manual. Persons who use THE THINKER are obliged to become officially licensed users by registering. This provides you with several advantages. You receive information about new releases, bugs, updates and problems. You also get a copy of the latest version of the program and manual on disk. THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN DISTRIBUTING THE THINKER DISKS: 1. You must not alter any of the files, and you must include all files on disks. 2. You must inform the person that you share the program with that it is a copyrighted program, and they if they use it, they should register. 3. You may not charge more than the cost of distributing the disks ($6 per disk). Thanks for your cooperation. 42 THE THINKER 3.0 ___________________________________________________________ ORDER BLANK FOR THE THINKER THE THINKER complete package registration, diskettes ($25) x ________= $____________ KWIKSTAT statistical analysis program, registration, diskettes ($35) x ________= $____________ Add $4 P&H or $8 if PO, COD or RUSH or $____________ add $15 if overseas. TOTAL ENCLOSED $ ============ Specify ____5 1/4 inch diskette ___ 3.5 inch diskette Check one _____ Check or M.O. _____ MC ____ VISA ------------------------------------------------------------ IF CREDIT CARD:Name on card_______________________________ Card Number is:____________________________Exp Date_______ Authorized Signature:_____________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------- Mail order to:____________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________ City:___________________ St_______ ZIP ___________________ Phone ( )______________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------- Please mail to:TexaSoft, P.O. Box 1169, Cedar Hill, Texas 75104. Thanks. MAIL TODAY! 43