CRDFIL.DOC ---------- Copyright 1987 Tony B. Anderson All Rights Reserved A Cardfile program for the Model 100/102 and Tandy 200. Program creates custom-prompted screens and data files in response to prompted input which resemble "card files". A "card" consists of a screen-full of data. Files can be displayed completely, "card after card", or selectively with a "Search" mode. Data can be added to existing files in the same prompted mode, or by simply entering it in the proper form in the data file. The program, CRDFIL.BAS, which becomes CRDFIL.BA in your computer, is written in BASIC, and operates interchangeably in the Model 100, 102 and Tandy 200. Data files created by the program can be moved from machine to machine without problems, except that files created on the 200 which utilize more than 8 lines for display, will not display properly on the Model 100/102 screen due to the differences in display capability. The program is developed as a sort-of "universal" card file program, which will create datafiles with almost any specification you need, input and display data according to the specs saved with each file. You can thus have one program and several data files, all of which can be displayed in a uniform format, using the single program approach. Operation: ---------- The opening program menu gives the choice of Creating a new file, Displaying "cards" from an existing file, or adding new data to an existing file. The existing file must be in RAM as the program only supports RAM files. Files could be on disk, assuming the use of a DOS which can append to existing files, and the minor changes to the file opening statements that are required for the particular disk/DOS available. All file access is sequential which is also commonly used for disk access. Program functions can usually be selected with a single keystroke, and in those cases, an indication is given in the prompt what characters will be accepted. In the case of the opening menu, the program will accept a C, D, or A for Create, Display, or Add. The program will also accept E for "End" or M for "Menu". F8 will provide "Menu" which will be acted upon to return you to the main computer menu. Input can be either upper or lower case. In most cases, you will be moved through the program with "Help Screens" that tell you where you are, what is coming up next, what options you have, and what sort of input is expected from prompts. Create Mode: To create a new file, type the letter C at the opening menu. You will then be asked for a filename which is to be created to hold the data, and the number of entries (prompts) which will be associated with the card, and therefore the ultimate screen display. You can create as many entries (prompts) as you wish, but keep in mind the size of the screen on your machine, and how much data it can display. You can use more than 8 entries on the 100/102 screen, or more than 16 on the Tandy 200 by putting more than one entry on a single line on the final screen display. The program will allow you to position your prompts on the screen, and the position data is also saved to the data file. Once you have specified the number of entries for your "card", you will be prompted for the entry title, or "prompt" that will be printed during the input mode and also on the final card display. You can type as long a prompt as you want, but keep in mind that long prompts use up display space on the screen. "Name" is more sensible for a prompt than "Name of Applicant". After you have given the entry prompt, you will be asked to specify the screen location where you will want the prompt printed. First indicate the line that the prompt is to appear on, from 1 to 16, and second, indicate the column on the line where you want the prompt to start, from 1 to 40. These numbers are manipulated to yield a PRINT@ position for the prompt. You can specify more than one prompt per line, assuming there is sufficient space for the prompt and the data you will be entering. If you want to have blank lines on your screen display "card", it is not necessary to create a blank entry in the data file. Since each prompt is stored with it's print position, blank lines are simply unspecified print locations. i.e. specifying first entry on line 1, and second entry on line 3 will automatically leave a blank line between 1 and 3. Automatic word wrap will allow you to enter data which wraps from one line to the next. If you expect to have a long entry, leave space on the following line or lines for the data display. Remember your "card" is geared to screen display. The program does no error checking on entry length or screen display positions. It is possible to have prompts overwrite displayed data if you do not watch your available space. Output (Display) will look the same as input. The program will go through a loop, allowing you to enter similar data for each prompt you have planned for. After all prompts have been entered, you will be given a chance to review your prompts as they will appear on the screen display during output mode. After looking at the screen display, and pressing the ENTER key, you will be given an opportunity to fix any incorrect entries. You can change the prompts, or their location; but not the total number of prompts which you specified at the beginning. Once you are satisfied with the prompts, their locations and the final screen display, the data will be saved to your data file for future reference, and you will then be in the data input mode. Each prompt will be displayed on the screen in it's proper location, and you can type in the data that goes with the prompt at that location. Each prompt is brought up in turn, and placed in the proper location on the screen. When you have answered all the prompts, your "card" will be completely filled out, and you will see how it looks. After the final entry, ENTER will take you to a "Is the data correct" prompt. A "Y" will write the data to the file, and go back for another. A "N" will delete that data and let you start fresh on that card. Typing END at any input prompt will terminate input mode and return you to the program's opening menu. Add Mode: To add new data to an existing file, select the Add mode at the opening menu. (Type the letter A) You will be asked for the name of the file you wish to add data to, and the program will abort if the file is not resident in RAM. If it is located, the file will be opened, and the record of prompts will be retrieved for use in the "Add" mode. These will be the same prompts that were originally used with the data already in the file. You will then proceed to the "Input mode" where you are prompted for data input, just as you were when creating the original file. Each "card-full of data" will be displayed for correctness, and you can change incorrect data by re-doing the entire card. If the data is correct, it will be appended to the end of the file. Typing END at any input prompt will return you to the opening menu. Whenever END is used to exit a program mode, you can type it in three convenient forms; END, End, or end. Display Mode: Selecting Display Mode at the opening menu (type D), will give you a further option, displaying the entire card file, a "card" at a time; or displaying only selected cards via a "Search Mode", where any card with a word match to your specified input will be displayed on the screen. Specifying "1984" for example will show you all cards where "1984" appears in any of the data fields on the card, one at a time. Data File Structure: The data file is constructed of your keyboard input, and is straight-forward. The first line tells how many entries make up each "card". The following two- times the number of entries give the actual entry prompts, and the PRINT@ location for screen display. Ten entries would have 20 lines; two per entry. Following this initialization group, the rest of the file contains the card data, one line per entry. If you have specified 10 entries per card, each data group will consist of ten lines. There is no physical indication in the file where each data group starts or ends so be careful if you do any manual editing in the data file. Applications: Card files, receipts, phone lists, record/tape files, or any data that lends itself to storage on identical 3x5 type cards. Want a hard copy of your card file? Simply press the PRINT button on your computer when the data you want is displaying on your screen.