Club Amiga de Montreal - CAM/CAM_CD_1.iso/files/554b.lha/DataEasy_v1.3/DataEasy.help

Text File | 1991-09-09 | 11KB | 233 lines

INTRODUCTION

The DataEasy data base program is very easy to use, featuring a menu
driven, point and click user interface.

A data base is a collection of similar information about a group of
things.  A very useful example is a phone book.  Having the data base
on the computer adds a lot of capability.  The data base can be sorted
by zip code, for instance.  Mailing labels can be printed.  Form
letters, such as Christmas letters, can also be printed.  The data
base can be searched for specific information, such as for everyone
who lives in New Hampshire.  If you have a modem, DataEasy will even
dial the number for you.

A sample data base on this disk includes a few companies who deal in
Amiga software and hardware.

A data base consists of records.  Each record has the information
about one person, or company, or other entity.  Each record consists of
fields of data.  The fields may be such things as first name, last
name, phone number, or a note about the person.  Each record appears
on the screen one at a time.

DEFINITION

A data base must have a definition file.  This file tells the program where
the fields will be placed on the screen during data display, entry,  or
modification.  It contains a name and maximum length for each field, and
indicates the order in which the data is stored in the data file.

The first step in making a new data base is to create the definition file.
DataEasy makes this step easy.  After selecting "Make a new data base", you
simply position the cursor to a convenient location and enter the field
name and then indicate the length with dashes, such as:

  First Name: ----------     Last Name: ---------------

The colon and one space are required to separate the name and dashes.

When you finish, press F10.  DataEasy will check your definition for errors
before writing the definition to a disk file.  Be careful when defining
your data base.  If you find that you need to change the definition,
DataEasy has a function to do just that.  Fields can be renamed, moved
around and the length changed, fields can be deleted, and new fields
added.

DATA FILES

Data Files can be stored in two ways: sequential files of quoted ASCII
strings or random access files.

The sequential files take up less disk room.  Saving a changed record
is slow because the entire file must be rewritten.  Finds and Sorts
are faster because the entire file is in memory.  Additional records
are written directly to the file.  Sequential data bases must fit
entirely in memory.

The random access files take up more disk room because each field of a
data base record must occupy the maximum space allowed by the definition
file.  A changed record can be written directly to the correct area on
the disk without writing the entire file again.  Changes to a random
access data base file are made immediately.  Random access data bases
can be much larger than can be stored in memory, since a record is
only read into memory when needed.

All other files used by DataEasy are ASCII files.  You should always make
backup copies of your files, preferably onto a different disk!  It can be
done with DataEasy by selecting the menu item "Write the data to a file".

DATA ENTRY

Data is entered into the data base by selecting the Add menu item from the
main menu screen.  A blank data entry form will appear.  Simply type the
data into the appropriate fields.  The backspace, delete, and left and
right cursor keys may be used to edit the data.  The return key and the up
and down cursor keys will select a different field.  The cursor may be
positioned at a particular location by clicking the mouse at the desired
place.

The F9 key will clear a field, either by pressing it or by clicking in the
F9 box at the bottom of the screen.  The F9 key will also clear any entry
requested by DataEasy.

An abbreviation will be expanded once you move the cursor to another field.

ON-SCREEN MENUS

DataEasy is designed to be very easy to use.  Most actions take place from
menus where the options can be selected by typing the first character of
the chosen option, or by simply clicking the left mouse button with the
pointer in the chosen box.

Typing is usually required when a file name is requested.  The cursor keys
may be used to edit file names.  You may also click at the desired character
position.  Just hit the RETURN key when you are finished.  F9 will clear the
field.

Depressing the ESC key will cause an exit from any menu or request.

MOUSE MENUS

A few actions and options are set by selecting a top line menu with the
right mouse button.  Use the Abort selection carefully.  It will stop
the DataEasy program immediately and return control to the CLI or
WorkBench.   The Stop menu item is for interrupting the Find, Sort,
and Print routines, which may be rather long for large data bases.

The Screen Print menu item simply prints a copy of the screen to your
printer.

The Memory menu item reports the amount of free memory available.  If
a data base has been read, then the maximum number of records which
can be handled is also reported.  Until the data base definition is
read, DataEasy does not know how much ram will be required by each
record.  All memory is not used in order not to crash the Amiga!  For
ASCII files, the maximum number of files is set to 200 records more
than the length of the file as read.

If the Speech option is selected, then DataEasy uses the Amiga's voice
to speak the words which appear on the screen.

NEW DATA BASE

Select the first screen option Make to create a new data base.  DataEasy
has a simple screen editor to set up the definition file.  Just place the
cursor at the desired position either with the cursor keys or by clicking the
mouse with the pointer at the desired location.  Then type in the field name
followed by a colon, a space, and the number of dashes that indicate the
maximum length of the field.

The data base definition can be changed by DataEasy after it has been
written to disk.  It is an ASCII file, however, and could also be changed
by using a word processor to modify the definition file and the data file
in a consistent manner.  Each line in the definition file consists of four
elements.  These are the screen line number, screen column number, field
name, and maximum field length.

PRINTING

Obtaining a printout of data is easy with DataEasy.  A single record
can easily be printed by simply selecting the mouse menu Print Screen.

For multiple records, a print format file is used to select the
arrangement of data during printing.  A default print format file is
created when a file is not found.  This format file can be modified
by clicking on the OTHER command menu item "Edit the print format".
An active print format line begins with a dash, whereas remark lines
may begin with any other character.

For active format lines, data from the database is selected by enclosing the
appropriate field name in grave accents.  Characters not enclosed in grave
accents will be printed just as they are.  There are some special "words"
which may also be used.  First, using `date` will result in the date as
taken from the Amiga's clock to printed.  Second, `txx` will result in the
print head tabbing over to position xx on the print line.  Third, `sxx`
will result in the printing of xx spaces.  Third, `fFILE-NAME` will
result in the inclusion of the file "FILE-NAME" in the printout.  The keyword
`WAIT` or just `W` will wait for a key press or mouse click before continuing.
The keyword `#` will print the number of the record.  Finally, `page` will
cause a form feed character to be printed.

Standard mailing labels have 6 lines.  Therefore, a mail label print format
file should have 6 active lines.

FIND

DataEasy is set up to find data in the database.  The search parameters are
entered on a blank data entry sheet.  The mouse menu contains four options
for finding data.  The default option is to find the contents entered as a
search parameter at any location in the field.  For instance, a find is
scored if the database entry for a specified field contains the find field
at any position.  That is to say, searching for SMIT would find SMITH,
SMITHSON, JACK SMITH, and SMITTY.  The search is case insensitive.  All
comparisons are non-numeric.

If more than one find field is entered, then a record is found only if both
fields are present in a database record.  This is an AND function.  The OR
function can be implemented by first finding all records with the first
field critiera, then adding to the found list (on the next FIND) all records
found by searching for records with the second field criteria.

If all the fields are left blank, then every record will be found!

From the pull-down mouse menu, you could specify finding exact matches,
greater than or equal matches, and less than or equal matches instead of
the default find contents.

The found records can be browsed or printed by selecting the Found sub-menu
item for that action.

SORT

The data can be sorted by any field.  Sorting on a name field will
result in an alphabetical list.

A sort of an ASCII file will be done only in memory, whereas a sort of
a random access file will be done on disk, and will take much longer.

ABBREVIATIONS

The use of abbreviations can make the task of data entry much faster
and easier.  Up to 128 abbreviations can be entered.  Each
abbreviation is defined for one field.  The expansion may occupy every
field.  For example, if "W" is used for an abbreviation in the field
city, it could be expanded to mean "Winchester" for city, "TN" for
state, "37321" for zip code, and "372-" for phone, with the rest of
the phone number to be filled in by the user.

CALLING

If the data base definition contains a field named PHONE (case does not
matter), then the browse menu will contain the option CALL.  If this
option is selected, then a modem will be sent the command ATDT followed
by the PHONE field contents, for automatic dialing.  Any response from
the modem will appear on screen.  ESC or F10 hangs up the modem and
permits a conversation to continue.  This feature works well when the
phone and the modem are connected in parallel.

The default modem option is taken from preferences.  You may select a
different baud rate from the mouse menu without changing preferences.

SOURCE CODE

DataEasy is written in AmigaBASIC and compiled by the Absoft AC/Basic
Compiler.  It is about 3600 lines long.

The source code is available for the low price of $12.00 in
United States of America currency from:

   Bytes and Bullets
   Route 3, Box 3532
   Manchester, TN 37355