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PC-SIG Diskette Library (Disk #1413)
[PCjs Machine "ibm5170"]
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Information about “RECORDS & TAPES DATABASE”
RECORDS & TAPES organizes and catalogs all your records and tapes.
Ideal for anyone with large collections, this database can store up to
400 albums on a single disk and up to 32,000 on a hard disk. It lets
you search for a particular album or cut by title, artist, music style,
or other categories of your choice, and print lists of your entire
collection sorted alphabetically or by category. It can even print
individual "library cards" for each album, designed to fit in a
rolodex file.
You can display the database in several modes, two of which are hide and
dim. In the hide mode, only those records meeting the search criteria
are displayed. In the dim mode, the selected records are shown on the
screen in bright characters, while all others appear in dim characters.
FILE1413.TXT
Disk No: 1413
Program Title: RECORDS & TAPES version 1.00
PC-SIG version 1
RECORDS & TAPES will organize and catalog all your records and tapes.
Ideal for anyone with large collections, this database can store up to
400 albums on a single diskette or up to 32,000 on a hard disk. It
allows you to search for a particular album or cut by title, artist,
music style, or other categories of your choice, and print out lists of
your entire collection sorted alphabetically or by categories. It can
even print individual "library cards" for each album designed to fit in
a rolodex file.
The database can be displayed in one of several modes, either HIDE or
DIM. In the Hide mode, only those records meeting the search criteria
are displayed. In the Dim mode, the selected records are shown on the
screen in bright characters, while all others appear in dim characters.
Synopsis: Organizes and catalogs your records and tapes.
Usage: Records and Tapes Collection/Database/Cataloging.
Special Requirements: Printer.
How to Start: Type GO (press enter).
Suggested Registration: $25.00
File Descriptions:
SETUP COM Executable file to specify system environment.
START COM Executable file to initialize database and start program.
RNT COM Executable file RECORDS & TAPES program.
RNT 000 Program overlay files.
RNT 001 Program overlay files.
RNT 002 Program overlay files.
SETUP COL System environment SETUP file.
SETUP COM System environment SETUP file.
SETUP DAT System environment SETUP data file.
ALBUMS REC RECORDS & TAPES database file.
SONGS REC RECORDS & TAPES database file.
ARTIST LST RECORDS & TAPES database file.
LABEL LST RECORDS & TAPES database file.
SORT LST RECORDS & TAPES database file.
README DOC Instructions for using RECORDS & TAPES.
PC-SIG
1030D E Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale CA 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1989 PC-SIG, Inc.
GO.TXT
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ <<<< Disk No 1413 RECORDS & TAPES DATABASE >>>> ║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ To start the program, type RNT (press enter) ║
║ ║
║ To look at the documentation on your screen, type VIEW (press enter) ║
║ ║
║ To copy the documentation to your printer, type MANUAL (press enter) ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
README.DOC
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: TITLE.DOC
Page: 1 RECORDS & TAPES DATABASE
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RECORDS & TAPES DATABASE
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USER DOCUMENTATION
July 9, 1988
Christopher J. Noyes
191 Dean Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 625-2262
(C) 1987 by Christopher J. Noyes
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: LICENSE.DOC
Page: 2 USER'S LICENSE AND USER SUPPORT INFORMATION
191 Dean Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
July 8, 1988
Dear User;
This Program and the accompanying files are Shareware.
If you like it and find it useful, register it and pay
me $25. This will get you user support and the next version
which I come out with free. If you find it useful, please
register it, it is the only way that software developers
like myself can keep going. We need new software, supplies
and keep our computers up-to-date, and that takes money.
If you don't register it you won't get more than minimal
support if you have problems.
You may, and please feel free to copy this ARC file
as much as you want. Copy it for your friends, put it on
your favorite BBS.
To register you can find a registration form in the
back of this manual.
I am interested in hearing your feedback. If you have
any questions or comments, or have any problems with this
software, you can reach me at (718) 625-2262. Currently
you can reach me at this number until 1:00 pm or after
9:30 pm or thereabouts on weekdays, or almost anytime
both weekends and holidays. If I am not there, leave a
message on the machine and I will return your call as
soon as I can. You can also write me at the above address.
I can also be reached on the following NYC area BBS's:
Moondogs, PSCI, Northern Valley Systems, & Csig.
This software is (C) 1987 by Christopher J. Noyes.
Thanks,
Christopher J. Noyes
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: ABOUTRNT.DOC
Page: 3 ABOUT THE RECORDS & TAPES DATABASE
ABOUT RECORDS & TAPES:
"Records & Tapes" is a powerful data-base system
for cataloging records and tapes. This program is ideal
for the record and tape collector that has many records
and loses track of their collection. This program is
capable of giving information on an individual record or
if desired on the individual songs on each record. The
system is capable of handling up to 400 records with up
to 1200 song entries on a single diskette system, or up
to 1000 records with 6000 songs on a dual diskette
system with 256k memory, and up to 2000 records with up
to 7000 songs on a dual diskette system with 640k memory.
On a system with 640k memory and a hard disk, the system
can manage up to 5500 records with up to 32000 song
entries. This is only an estimate.
The program is easy to use and requires no knowledge
of data-base programming or management, and is simple
enough to be used by a child.
Records & Tapes provides capabilities for sorting
records by up to 5 fields for display or printing.
Also provided is a complete easy to use search function
that allows for display or printing of only the records
you wish to look at, a boon for a person with a large
collection. Information entrered for search can also be
saved to disk for future use and recalled at any time.
Records & Tapes provides several easy-to-use means
of accessing data in it's data-base system. When New
entries or changes are made to the system, the program
keeps track of all changed records and any one of up
to 16 can be accessed without going through the whole
data-base. Entries that have already been entered into
the system can be accessed through a screen that allows
access to all of the data in the system. The program
contains a means of searching for a record title in the
system, while selecting a record, which can find any and
all matches of any, (up to 20 characters) entries.
Records & Tapes provides capabilities to print out
listings of either the whole data base or any selected
part of it. The system provides several different
printout formats including rolodex cards. Any of the
printouts can be sorted by any of up to 5 different
fields.
The program will work with any IBM-PC, XT, or AT
or compatible with 256k memory or more, and at least one
floppy disk drive. The system supports hard disk drives,
and the user can set it up to use any subdirectory that
the user wishes. The system can be setup to support most
printers, either CGA (color monitor in text mode), MDA
(monochrome monitor), or EGA (enhanced Color monitor in
text mode) type displays. The program provides a fast
direct video for true IBM-compatibles and a more
compatible video routine for other systems.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: STARTRNT.DOC
Page: 4 SETTING UP AND STARTING RNT
SETTING UP RECORDS & TAPES:
This supplied with an easy to use program Called
SETUP. It is menu driven and provides specific help.
To Start it enter SETUP<ENTER>. From there you
you can select your topic you wish to customize
entering the number of your choice and pressing
<ENTER>. You can press the <F1> key for help at
almost any time. When you are finished customizing
your setup save the file to disk using that option
and quit. Your setup will now be ready for when you
want to use RNT. SETUP also allows you to select the
proper video driver as noted below in "Starting
Records & Tapes:".
You can also change the setup by editing a file
called SETUP.DAT, which you can find on the disk. This
is the data that corresponds to each line of this file:
Line Data
1. Next Album Record Number
2. Next Song Record Number
3. Y or N for IBM Compatible Video
4. Text Color
5. Backgrounnd Color
6. Bright Color
7. Enhanced Color
8. Error Color
9. Main Drive and Directory
10. Data Drive and Directory
11. Printer Command for Bold
12. Printer Command for Cancel Bold
13. Printer Setup String for Reports
14. Lines per Page for Report
15. Rolodex Printer String
16. Default Sort Field for Startup
This file can be edited with standard ascii text
editor. Note that the printer strings have commands which
use control characters and the escape character (#27).
Note that the printer strings are setup for the IBM
printer or equivalent. These will work with most
printers that emulate the IBM printers such as the
Epson printers.
If you are using a color monitor (either CGA or EGA)
you should use the color setup file SETUP.COL. To use
that file do the following. Rename the SETUP.DAT file
SETUP.BAK, and rename the SETUP.COL file SETUP.DAT.
If you are new or uncomfortable with dos do the following.
On the command line type RENAME SETUP.DAT SETUP.BAK<RET>.
Then type RENAME SETUP.COL SETUP.DAT<RET>.
PREPARING FOR STARTUP:
Before using RNT you should backup your disk.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: STARTRNT.DOC
Page: 5 SETTING UP AND STARTING RNT
copy the files starting with RNT.* and the file
setup.dat to a directory or drive for the programs.
This is known as the "Main Drive". This is the drive
or directory that you will start RNT from. Copy the
files *.REC, and files *.LST to a directory or
drive for the data itself. This will be known as
the "Data Drive". Note that these two drives or
directories can be the same but can also be different
if you want it that way.
RNT is supplied with a startup program START.COM.
START has two uses. First when you are still playing
with the supplied database, start plugs in the correct
directory and disk data into the SETUP.DAT file which
must be in the current directory when RNT is started.
Its other use is to create initialized datafiles
for starting your own database. These will be created
in the directory that you designate as the "Data Drive".
To use START, Just enter START on the command line.
Note that the file SETUP.DAT must be in the current
directory. First you will be asked for the Main Drive
and directory. Enter the correct drive and path and
press return. Then you will be prompted for the
Data Drive and directory. Enter the correct drive and
path and press return. You will then be asked if you
want to initialize data files. If you want to play
with the existing database that I have supplied so you
can learn the capabilities of RNT answer N and press
the return. If you are now comfortable with RNT and
are ready to create your own database, enter Y and
press the return. Start will then either then create
the data files and write a new setup file, or just
write a new setup file.
STARTING RECORDS & TAPES:
Records & Tapes is started by typing RNT on the
command line at the dos prompt. Note that the programs
and the file SETUP.DAT must be in the current directory.
The files ALBUMS.REC and SONGS.REC and files LABEL.LST,
ARTIST.LST, and the file SORT.LST can be in a second
directory, as referred to as the "data drive and
directory".
There are several options that can be used by
entering codes on the command line when you type RNT.
Note that most of these functions can be selected
from within the program.
If your computer does not use a standard IBM MDA,
Hercules, CGA, or EGA graphic adapter, enter V=N on the
command Line. This need only be entered the first time
you use Records & Tapes. If you change video adapters
you can change that setting by typing V=Y, so you can
use the direct video option. The V=Y option is used by
the program unless you tell it otherwise is much faster
than the screen printing routines otherwise provided.
If the computer's current video mode is not compatible
with Records & Tapes own video driver then Records &
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: STARTRNT.DOC
Page: 6 SETTING UP AND STARTING RNT
Tapes will default to V=N.
You can also select the Field that the screen will
be sorted in when the program starts up. The program
sorts the data on the Name of the album unless you tell
it otherwise. Note that you can change this setting from
inside the program, and this will be saved when the
program ends. To change the Sort field enter S=2 to sort
based on the composer, S=3 for the artist S=4 for the
recording company, and S=5 for the type of music. This
data that you start the program with will also be saved
when the program ends.
When you use the full search function, unless you
change this, only selected records will be shown on the
screen. You can change this so that all records on file
will be shown, and the selected records will be
highlighted on the screen in bright color. To Use this
option, Type DIM following the program name or after the
other options. The program always starts up in HIDE
mode, which only shows selected records. This option can
also be changed from inside the program from the utility
function menu.
BASIC INFORMATION ON RECORDS & TAPES:
When you are using Records & Tapes, there are
several things and information that will apply
throughout the program. You can get help in many
functions by pressing the F1 key. The program will
prompt you to press any key to continue, so you
can see the rest of the information on that topic
and return to the program. You can press the ESC key
at any time to escape or back out of from any function.
You should only end the program by using the quit
function, unless the program locks up (which should not
happen), or all the new entries will not be saved, and
the record selecting functions will not reflect what is
on the disk.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: EDITING.DOC
Page: 7 ENTERING, EDITING AND ACCESSING INFORATION
EDITING SCREENS:
Records & Tapes operates with several input/edit
screens which are easy to use. You can use the cursor
keys (left, right, end, and home) to move the cursor.
If you exceed the width of that field, the program will
beep, and not allow you to go any further. You can
enter characters, (note that they will always be in
caps, no matter how you enter them. You can also delete
characters with the backspace key and the delete key.
If you need to insert characters, press the insert
key. Note that INSERT is displayed at the bottom right
of the screen and you can insert text wherever you wish,
any excess will be trimmed off the right. If you press
the insert key again the INSERT display is erased from
the screen. You can move from one field to the next one
by pressing the tab key or the return or enter key.
You can move to the previous field by pressing the tab
key while holding down the shift key. If you are editing
entries and wish to skip to the bottom of the screen
press the F2 key.
When you are entering information, take care to be
consistant. When you enter an artist, label, or composer,
these are stored in a list. Each time you use that
person again, the program will use just the number of
that person in its datafiles, and the names will be
saved only once, saving space and increasing efficiency.
Note that the entries HARRISON, GEO., G. HARRISON, an
GEORGE HARRISON are probably the same person, but will
result in three names being saved in the list, and not
one, reducing operating efficency and will make it
harder to locate and sort all of george harrison's work
together into one group. If only one person is being
considered, it is a minor problem, but as your database
grows, it will become a bigger problem. The report
printing function has a function where it can print you
lists of how information is saved in its system for
reference.
USING THE INPUT MODE (CHOICE 1):
The input mode allows you to input new information
into the database. This function allows you to enter
many different types of information. If you do not know
an answer and do not find that field useful, either
enter (NO or NONE) or skip it entirely. If you skip
a field, you will find that it has been filled with
a single `*' mark. Do not delete that mark, unless you
wish to enter an entry, as it will be replaced with
another `*' mark. Once you get to the bottom of the
screen, you will be asked how you want to proceed.
You can edit this entry, or you can enter the specific
songs on this album or tape. You can also choose to go
to the menu. Note that if you use the ESC key at this
time, that your information will not be stored. If you
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: EDITING.DOC
Page: 8 ENTERING, EDITING AND ACCESSING INFORATION
enter G, the information will be saved for future use,
and you will return to the menu.
If You enter E, you will go to the top of the screen
so you can make changes. If you entered S, the screen
will clear and a new screen will be displayed. This
screen allows you to input specific information about
each song on the album. The display at the bottom allows
you to see all the songs currently on that album, and
you can select from those to edit. You can use the same
keys as you used before, plus an additional one. You can
use the F3 key to copy information from the Album
information that you entered previously. Suppose that
you are entering an album where all the songs were
written by one person or group and were all performed by
one person and group, you can enter all that information
on the song entry by pressing the F3 key in each field.
When you get to the bottom of that screen, you can
select to edit that song, enter more songs, and if this
is not the first song that you have entered, edit songs
that are already entered. To enter more just enter M,
and the process will start over. Note that the song that
you just entered was displayed at the bottom of the
screen. To Edit your current song enter E. To edit other
songs that you have entered, press O. If you entered E,
you will go to the top of that screen to edit. If you
entered O, the cursor will go to the first song display
line. Use the cursor key to select the song you wish to
edit. When you get to the bottom of the screen, keep
pressing the cursor down and songs will keep scrolling
down. To select any song press the return or enter key.
When you reach the bottom of the song display, you
can return to the menu. if you use the G option, the
songs will be saved to disk, just as you left them. If
you use the ESC key they will not be saved to disk.
If you use the ESC key in the song screen you will
return to the album screen, if you use the G option, the
album will be saved, but the songs won't. If you use the
G option from the song screen, the songs will be saved.
You can switch back and forth freely between the song
and album screens.
USING THE NEW ALBUM EDIT MODE (CHOICE 2):
When you input or edit an album, each album and
songs are saved in memory. Note that they are written to
the disk when you press the G key in the input and edit
modes. Records & Tapes saves 16 albums in memory, from
the last startup. If you do more than 16 albums, it will
start over and use the reuse the oldest slot. You will
see a display of the albums stored in memory. Use the
cursor keys (up and down) to select an album. When you
have found the appropriate album, press the return or
enter key.
You will then see the input screen. This time
it says ``EDIT NEW RECORD FUNCTION''. You can use the
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: EDITING.DOC
Page: 9 ENTERING, EDITING AND ACCESSING INFORATION
screen to make changes to albums that you have just
entered. This operates like in the first mode. At the
bottom of the screen, you will see the prompt, this time
only a little different. If you have entered songs on
that album, you will be asked if you wish to edit songs.
If you did not enter any songs you will be asked again
if you wish to enter songs. This operates a lot like it
did before with one exception. When you get to the song
screen, you will be asked to select a song. If you wish
to enter a song, you will need to find the next open
slot and select that slot by pressing the return key.
Remember that if you use the ESC key to get out, your
results will not be saved. Note that if you use the
G option on either menu, all information will be saved.
USING THE EXISTING ALBUM MODE (CHOICE 3):
This mode allows you to edit any album that is
stored on the disk. You will see a listing of all the
records that are on the disk. If a search has been
executed previously, you will only see the information
that was valid for that search. You can use the cursor
keys to scroll through the information. You can also use
the page up and page down keys to scroll through a page
at a time.
If you have changed the sort field from its default
of the album title, and you have added or edited
information, or if you have just changed the sort field,
you will see a prompt on the screen asking you if you
wish to sort. If you choose not to do the sort, several
things will be true. One if you have changed the sort,
the list will not be resorted till you answer yes to
this question. Two, you will not have access to the
information that you have just entered or edited.
If you answer Y, there will be a slight delay and the
list will be sorted into proper order.
If you have a lot of information stored in the
system, you can scan through it with the scan function.
Press the F5 key. You will be asked for the text to
search for. Enter part or all of the album name that
you wish to search for, and the cursor will stop at the
titles that match your input. If you enter just two
letters, you will be able to find all the ones that have
those two letters as the first letters in the name. This
function only looks for the leftmost characters in the
names and continues when a non-match situation is found
and stops when the length of the input line has been
exhausted and a match is found. Once you have found the
first match, you can find others by pressing the F6 key.
You have by now noticed the two letters at the
bottom right of the screen. Those give the direction
that the search is done in. It will normally say DN for
down. You can change that by pressing the F4 key. A new
direction will printed when you press that key. You can
now scan up the listing when you reach the bottom. Press
the return key when you have found the record of interest
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: EDITING.DOC
Page: 10 ENTERING, EDITING AND ACCESSING INFORATION
and it will be displayed ready to edit.
The editing function of this section functions
exactly like the previous one.
VIEWING THE DATABASE (CHOICE 4):
This function operates much like the previous one,
with one exception. With this mode, you cannot make any
changes to information, and second, you don't have to
move through the fields with the return or tab key.
With this mode, you select the record you wish as
displayed before, and it is shown in the input screen,
at this point, you will see a message at the bottom of
the screen. If you wish to see the songs press S, and
you will proceed, if there are no songs you will not
proceed. The song screen operates much like before, as
far as selecting records.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: SEARCH.DOC
Page: 11 SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION
SEARCHING DATABASE (CHOICE 5):
Records & Tapes has complete search capabilities.
Records & Tapes has the capability to search for data
in six different fields. The program has full boolean
search functions. You can search for data that is equal
to, not equal to, less than, more than, less than or
equal to, or more than and equal to whatever data you
wish to enter. You can create compound search parameters
by combining different search parameters with boolean OR
and AND operators. You can also use one level of paren-
theses to force proper evaluation. Records & Tapes also
has the capability to save to disk, and load from disk
search parameters that you use frequently.
When you enter the search function, you will be
asked if you want to clear the search fields. Records &
Tapes allocates one byte per album for a search field.
This field is used to determine whether to print out the
album on the screen or to the printer. The search
function marks these fields when it searches for data.
This field allows you to see only selected albums or
highlight those albums. When the program starts, these
fields are set so all albums are shown. If you had
earlier done a search and had wanted to do another
unrelated search, you would answer Y. If you had done
an earlier search and wanted to narrow the results a
little, or you were just starting, you would answer N,
and the search function would combine the results of the
search with the search fields.
The first field that you see is the first or open
parenthesis field. If you don't wish to use the paren-
theses, just hit the tab or return key, and they will be
ignored. If you wish to use them enter `('. If the paren-
theses are shown in dim, or blank, they are not active.
If they are shown bright, they are active.
Next you would enter the field number that you wish
to use. Then you would enter the operator you wish to
use. You can use < for less, > for more, = for equal, <>
for not equal, <= or =< for less or equal, and >= or =>
for more or equal. Now the data field is resized to fit
the width of the appropriate data. You then enter the
data and continue. Next you see the closing parenthesis.
Continue as you had earlier with the open parenthesis,
only in this case use `)' if you want the data to be in
parentheses (see further for how to use parentheses).
Now you will have to enter a connector. If you are
entering only one search parameter, you should enter
END, otheriwse you will get an error saying NO END
FOUND!! If you wish to combine several different search
parameters enter either OR or AND. If you use OR, the
album will be shown if the first OR the second search
field are true. If you use AND, the album will be shown
if the first AND the second search fields are true.
Now if you wish to edit that search, enter E, and
you will go back to the start again. If you wish to
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: SEARCH.DOC
Page: 12 SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION
enter more search parameters, enter M. If you wish to
edit other search parameters that you had already
entered, enter O, then select the search parameter as
you had with the song selector. and press the return key
to select the search. Now if you are ready to do the
search, press C, and the search process will start.
When the search process is actually started, several
errors may crop up. If you did not enter an END, you
will get an error. If you did not include a close
parenthesis for every open parenthesis etc., you will
get an error. Also if you attempt to use two open
parenthesis without an intervening close parenthesis,
you will get an error. If you get an error, you will be
returned to the editor to fix the error. Once the search
is complete, you will be asked if you wish to save your
search to disk. If you wish to save your search entries
to disk, enter Y, and you will be prompted for a file
name. If you got to this by mistake, you can press the
ESC key to get out. If you don't wish to save, press N
or the ESC key.
Now you can view the database, and now only the
albums that were true for the search will be shown. If
you have changed the display mode to DIM, you will see
the selected albums shown bright and the rest dim.
USING PARENTHESES:
Parentheses are used to force the program to test
the search parameters in parentheses before the rest of
the parameters. Here are some examples on how to use
parentheses.
A. ( year > 1950 AND year < 1960 ) OR
( type = R OR type = D ) END.
B. ( type = D OR type = R OR type = P ) AND
( year > 1950 AND year < 1980 ) END.
A Would show all albums that had years between 1950
or 1960 or were type R (Rock) or type D (Dance).
B would show all albums that were type D (Dance),
type R (Rock), or type P (Pop) and were done between
1950 and 1980.
If you did not use the parentheses in the first
case, it would show all albums that were type D (Dance),
or were type R (Rock) and and were done between 1950 and
1960, showing those of type D outside of the 1950 - 1960
range.
If you did not use the parentheses in the second
case, it would show all type D (Dance), all type
R (Rock), and all type P (Pop) that was done between
1950 and 1960.
Note that searches are examined in sequential order,
with those in parentheses being examined before the end
result.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: SEARCH.DOC
Page: 13 SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION
USING EXISTING SEARCH INFORMATION (CHOICE 6):
Records & Tapes has the ability to save and load
search information from disk. It is also able to edit
and reuse existing search information. This choice
operates a lot like the prior one with a few exceptions.
First when you enter it, you will be asked if you want
to load search files from disk. If you do, press Y, if
you do not, press N. If you chose to load search fields
from disk, you will be asked for a file name to load
from, and it will be loaded. If you have made a mistake,
by choosing Y, press the ESC key. The second difference
is that it starts you off with the search selector
screen. First you select a search to edit and continue
from there. If you just want to reuse other search
information, select any search press the F2 key then
press C.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: PRINTING.DOC
Page: 14 PRINTING REPORTS AND ROLODEX CARDS
PRINTING REPORTS AND ROLODEX CARDS:
(CHOICE 7):
Records & Tapes has convenient, powerful reporting
capabilties. Records & Tapes can print lists of record
companies on file, artists and composers on file,
rolodex cards, and reports. Reports can be sorted on any
of five different fields. If the Search function is used
before printing a report, only selected records will be
printed. Records & Tapes can print several different
types of reports, with different amounts of information.
Records & Tapes provides 3 different report forms.
The first prints only the information that you see on
the screen when you are selecting existing records. The
second form prints all the information that you see on
the album screen, plus the number of songs on file. The
third form prints all the information that the previous
one does plus prints all the information in the songs.
The Report printing functions require a printer
capable of 132 characters per line, either via a wide
carriage or by a compressed print mode. The rolodex
printing function requires a printer that can handle
rolodex cards.
Records & Tapes uses a programmable string that is
printed out every time a report is printed, and a
separate programmable string is used for printing of
rolodex cards. The program also has a string for
enabling bold, enhanced, or underlined print, and a
separate string to cancel it. It also breaks pages
automatically, based on a programmable variable number
of lines per page. All this information is accessed
through SETUP.DAT via the setup program.
You can abort the any printout at any time by
pressing and holding down the ESC key.
SHORT REPORT (CHOICE 1):
The short report format prints all the information
that you will see on the main album selecting screen.
A title bar is printed at the top of each page of the
report with the date and sort field, and page number.
LONG REPORT (CHOICE 2):
The long report format prints out all the infor-
mation that you will see on the album screen, and the
number of songs on file. A title bar is printed at the
top of each page of the report like the above.
FULL REPORT (CHOICE 3):
The full report format prints out all the
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: PRINTING.DOC
Page: 15 PRINTING REPORTS AND ROLODEX CARDS
information that the above report does, but prints out
all of the songs. Each album prints out and on each one
with songs, a title bar is printed above all the songs.
ROLODEX CARDS (CHOICE 4):
The rolodex format prints out all the information
that the album screen does. The information is printed
for standard rolodex cards. The rolodex control string
controls spacing so all the lines will print on each
card, and a page length command sets the page length to
be 1 rolodex card. You will need to do a test to
determine the exact placement of the cards in your
printer.
PRINT LISTS (CHOICE 5):
The list printing function allows you to see which
artists and labels are currently in your database. You
can use these lists to keep you entries consistent.
CHANGE SORT FIELD (CHOICE 6):
This function allows you to change the sort field
curently in use, that the reports are printed using. The
database is sorted first on the sort field, and second
alphabetically within the records where the sort field
is the same.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: UTILITY.DOC
Page: 16 UTILITY FUNCTIONS
UTILITIES FUNCTIONS (CHOICE 8):
This option allows several functions that will be of
use to you when you are working with Records & Tapes.
As with any of the Records & Tapes functions, you can
exit or get out by pressing the ESC key.
CLEAR SEARCH FIELDS (CHOICE 1):
This choice allows you to clear the fields that the
search function uses to select albums to show. This will
allow you to use go back to seeing your entire database
after doing a search on it.
CHANGE SORT FIELD (CHOICE 2):
Choice 2 allows you to select a different sort
field. The sort field determines how the information
that prints out and is displayed for selection on the
screen is sorted. The information is sorted first based
on the sort field, and second alphabetically based on
the title of the song, where the sort field is the same
in a group of two or more albums. This information is
saved to disk when the program ends so it will be reused
the next time the program starts.
DELETE ALBUM (CHOICE 3):
This function allows you to delete an album record
that you do not want on file anymore. This is useful to
delete records that you no longer have, or entered by
mistake. To use this, select the album and press the
return key. Next the record number will be displayed and
you will be asked if you want to delete it. Make note of
the record number, so if you decide afterwards that you
didn't want to delete that record, and you will use that
number to recover the album. If you want to delete that
record, press Y and the return key. If you don't want to
delete that album, press N and the return key, or the
ESC key.
DELETE SONG (CHOICE 4):
You can use this function to delete a song on an
album that you do not want on file any more. This is
useful if you entered a song by mistake. Note if you
delete a song by mistake, you cannot recover it. To
use this function select the album involved, press
the return key, now you will see the songs. select the
song involved, press the return key. You will be asked
if you want to delete that song. If you wish to delete
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: UTILITY.DOC
Page: 17 UTILITY FUNCTIONS
that song press Y and the return key. If you don't wish
to delete that song press N and the return key, or the
ESC key.
CHANGE DISPLAY MODE (CHOICE 5):
This choice allows you to change the mode that the
program uses to display information on the main album
selecting menus. The normal mode is hide, where only
albums that are selected are shown and others which the
search function doesn't select are not shown. When the
program starts up all albums are selected. Also after
you have used the Clear Search fields (Choice 1)
function, all albums will be shown. The other mode that
you can select is dim mode where all records are shown,
but selected records are shown in bright. To use this
function, press Y and return at the prompt, if you do
not want to change the mode, press N and return or the
ESC key. Note this information is not saved and the
program always starts up in hide mode, unless you
use the DIM option on the command line.
SAVE DATA TO DISK (CHOICE 6):
Use this choice as basically a protective measure.
This function will save all changes to disk as though
you had selected quit, but does not end the program. You
should use this function after you enter a few albums,
so you do not lose you data if the computer breaks down,
or the something happens to interupt the power.
RECOVER ALBUM RECORDS (CHOICE 7):
If you accidentally delete an album, you can re-
cover that album record using this function. To use this
function, you need the record number that that data is
stored at. If an album or song is deleted, it is not
erased, just the references to it are eliminated. This
function, restores the references. To use this, enter
the record number that you made note of when you deleted
the record, and press the return key. If you enter data
that is not legal (non-number or negative number) you
will get an error message.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: ERROR.DOC
Page: 18 ERROR HANDLING
HANDLING ERRORS:
Records & Tapes is designed to prevent many kinds of
errors, but there are several different kinds of errors
that may occur. If you get an error that says either
RUNTIME ERROR #... OR I/O RUNTIME ERROR#..., make note
of the error numbers and call us immediately, there is
something wrong with the program. Any other error that
you will get, you should be able to resolve.
In any case when you get an error, it will be
flagged to your attention in a bright blinking color,
and your computer will beep. Read the message, and press
any key. The program will return to the menu. At this
point you should quit and resolve the problem. If you
get any further errors, the program will abort all-
together. If there are errors at startup, the program
will not start at all. If the SETUP.DAT file is not
available, the program will end with a I/O error 01.
when you stop the program, you will see an error message.
If you saw the error message at the bottom of the screen
you can ignore this message.
Here are some of the errors that you might get, and
what causes them and how to resolve them.
OVERLAY FILE NOT FOUND. Records & Tapes relies on 3
files on your disk for additional programs. These are
RNT.000, RNT.001, and RNT.002. These are required on the
disk or startup directory, also known as the main or
first directory.
OUT OF MEMORY ERROR. You do not have enough memory to
use Records & Tapes, or you have attempted to move a
database created on a larger machine to a smaller one,
and you have too many albums. You could resolve it by
getting more memory, or by unloading a resident program,
if you have any loaded.
FILE NOT FOUND. The files SETUP.DAT, ARTIST.LST,
LABEL.LST, AND SORT.LST must be on the disk or the
startup directory, also known as the main or first
directory. Also files ALBUMS.REC and SONGS.REC must be
on the disk, or in the second or data directory. Also
if you were loading a search file into memory, you
possibly used the wrong file name.
DIRECTORY IS FULL. This is possibly what the case is.
Sometimes this error is caused by using an illegal e
file nameto save search information to. Otherwise use
another disk.
DISK IS FULL OR DISK WRITE ERROR. This is probably a
full disk, or a problem with your disk drive. This might
also be a problem with a disk.
TOO MANY OPEN FILES. This is not likely to happen, but
if it does, increase the files line in your config.sys
file.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: ERROR.DOC
Page: 19 ERROR HANDLING
NOT ENOUGH MEMORY LEFT. You have reached the capacity of
your computer system. If you wish to add more, you will
need more ram memory, or unload a resident program.
Sat. Jul. 09, 1988 16:12 File: REGISTER.DOC
Page: 20 REGISTRATION FORM
REGISTERING RECORDS & TAPES:
To register this program fill out the below form and
send it with $25.00 in check or money order to:
Christopher J. Noyes
191 Dean Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
You may obtain the Turbo Pascal 3.0 source code for this
program for an additional $50.
--------------------------------------------------------------
RECORDS & TAPES DATABASE REGISTRATION:
Name:_______________________________________________________
Address:____________________________________________________
City:_______________________State:_________Zip:_____________
Work Phone: (___) ___-______Home Phone: (____) _____-_______
I Got This Program From:____________________________________
Comments:___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
______ Enclosed is $25 for Registration. Send me upgrade
when it's ready.
______ Enclosed is $25 for Registration and $50 for Source.
Please send me my source code immediately and send
my upgrade when it's compete.
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #1413
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
ALBUMS REC 6000 1-20-88 12:12p
ARTIST LST 4240 5-02-87 9:46p
FILE1413 TXT 1985 6-01-89 9:37a
GO BAT 38 4-24-89 4:39p
GO TXT 694 6-01-89 9:51a
LABEL LST 1065 4-29-87 12:07p
MANUAL BAT 147 6-01-89 9:54a
PAGE COM 325 1-06-87 4:21p
README DOC 51466 7-09-88 4:23p
RNT 000 5888 1-20-88 12:06p
RNT 001 5376 1-20-88 12:06p
RNT 002 29952 1-20-88 12:07p
RNT COM 38386 1-20-88 12:07p
SETUP COL 72 1-01-80 1:35a
SETUP COM 29143 7-11-88 11:29a
SETUP DAT 72 7-09-88 3:53p
SONGS REC 9900 1-20-88 12:12p
SORT LST 3692 1-20-88 12:14p
START COM 13710 1-03-88 2:35p
VIEW BAT 42 6-01-89 9:53a
20 file(s) 202193 bytes
107520 bytes free