________________________________________________________________

T R A C K E R
release 1.1


Tropical Cyclone Mapping and Database System Software
for IBM and compatible computers. Requires EGA display.

by
Theodore P. Froberg
PO Box 1224, Largo, FL, 34649
_____________________________________________


Copyright (C) 1989 by Theodore P. Froberg

_____________________________________________


All Rights Reserved.


















IBM is a Registered Trademark of
International Business Machines Corp.




TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION TABLE OF CONTENTS



TABLE OF CONTENTS


I WARANTY AND REGISTRATION

Warranty, System Requirements and Licensing Agreement..... i
Registration and ordering................................. ii
Advantages to registering................................. iii


II INSTALLATION

Types of files that make up Tracker....................... 1
Paths and directories..................................... 2
The SETUP program......................................... 3
A Quick Tour of Tracker................................... 5


III MENU FUNCTIONS

Loading Tracker........................................... 7
The screen................................................ 7
The function menu......................................... 7
The Spreadsheet...................................... 9
The Mapping Functions................................ 13
Years.......................................... 14
Storms......................................... 15
Sound.......................................... 16
Storm Matching Functions............................. 16
Match.......................................... 16
Track.......................................... 16
Class.......................................... 16
Chron.......................................... 16
Since.......................................... 17
File Functions....................................... 19
Color, saving and loading...................... 20
Advisories, displaying......................... 21
Maps, loading.................................. 22
Quit........................................... 22


IV DATABASE QUERY COMMANDS

FIND TEXT command.................................... 23
FIND MONTH command................................... 23
FIND CLASS command................................... 24
FIND NEXT command.................................... 24


V Glossary of Tropical Cyclone terms......................... 25

VI Quick reference............................................ 27

























P A R T I

W A R R A N T Y A N D R E G I S T R A T I O N
______________________________________________________________________





































TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION WARRANTY AND REGISTRATION











WARRANTY INFORMATION


TRACKER is distributed "AS IS". The author makes no warranty
either express nor implied nor does the author assume any
responsibility whatsoever for any damages that may occur in any
form in connection with the use of this software.





SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS


This software requires an IBM or compatible PC, XT, 80286 class
or 80386 class computer with 256K RAM, a hard drive, an EGA
compatible display and DOS 2.1 or more recent.

An 8087, 80287 or 80387 Math co-processor is recommended, but
not necessary to run this software.




LICENSING AGREEMENT


Thank you for choosing to evaluate this software product. Every
effort has been made to assure that the program operates without
error.

This software is NOT offered without fee. The fee is deferred
for a reasonable and limited time for evaluation purposes only.
Should the user continue to use this software after a period of
thirty days from the time the user first receives a copy, the
author is entitled to receive a registration fee of thirty five
dollars U.S. currency in the form of a check or money order made
payable to the author.










i




________________________REGISTRATION and ORDER FORM______________________

remit check or money order to:
Theodore P. Froberg P O Box 1224 Largo, Florida USA 34649
_________________________________________________________________________


please type or print legibly

NAME: _________________________________________________________________

COMPANY:_________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS:_________________________________________________________________

CITY: ______________________________ STATE OR PROVINCE:_______________

COUNTRY:____________________________________________ ZIP:_______________

PHONE: (______) _______ - __________ BUS. (______) _______ - __________




___DESCRIPTION_____________________ _QUANTITY_ _EACH_ __TOTAL__

TRACKER REGISTRATION .................. ______ x $35.00 = $_________
includes Tracker, Mapper programs,
37 year database and documentation
(a 4 disk set) plus registration.

101 YEAR STORM DATABASE ............... ______ x $10.00 = $_________
includes 101 years of tropical
cyclone data dating back to 1886.


TOTAL ........................................................ $_________




Check this box to receive, free, the program RADAR:
see ADVANTAGES TO REGISTERING TRACKER



COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE APPRECIATED: _______________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________



ii

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION WARRANTY AND REGISTRATION




ADVANTAGES TO REGISTERING TRACKER


Should you decide to register, you will receive a complimentary
copy of MAPPER.


Mapper is a program that lets you design your own maps for
tracking storms. With Mapper, you can easily create an
almost unlimited number of dynamic views of the earth's
surface. Mapper plots your maps in high resolution EGA and
saves them in map definition files. Later, when you want to
plot storm data using Tracker, you simply tell Tracker which
map file to use and Tracker will overlay the storm on your
map.

Choose between Mercator, Azimuthal and a realistic 3D
perspective projection. With perspective 3D, you can rotate
the globe to any angle and view it from an altitude of up to
32,000 miles in space With all three projections you can
zoom in on any portion of the globe for close-up maps, or
back away for a view of the entire earth.

Several example map files are provided with Tracker. These
map files are not usable, but give you an idea of the
enormous flexibility in creating your own tracking maps.

Mapper is as easy to learn and use as Tracker. In fact,
once you've learned Tracker, you'll already know the basics
of Mapper. Mapper can also be "command-line driven". This
means that, in the command to start the program, you can
give Mapper all the instructions it needs to plot and save
any map. Mapper will perform your commands automatically as
soon as it loads. You can even tell Mapper to exit back to
DOS when it's done.



The 1886 database offers almost three times the number of
storms. 101 years of data, 845 storms, each with positions
every six hours.

No installation is necessary to use the 1886 storm data. Simply
copy the files onto your hard disk; Tracker will recognize the
larger database.


For those who subscribe to on-line information services, such as
WeatherBank in Salt Lake City, a program called RADAR is offered
free to registered users of Tracker. RADAR can plot national
radar summary data.






iii

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION WARRANTY AND REGISTRATION




ADVANTAGES TO REGISTERING TRACKER
continued



Gathered from WeatherBank with the RADAR/L command, and
saved in a log file by your communications program, the
ascii numeric data is converted into a special file
format automatically, then graphically displayed on any
map you create with MAPPER.

RADAR can "loop" through two data files, so you can see
the dynamics of motion in individual storm clusters.

Precipitation intensity levels can be masked for viewing
the more intense storms and color schemes can be
modified manually by the user.

RADAR was designed with five color schemes so that other
data types might be displayed.

The program is command line driven with options for
color scheme, map file and running time. Command line
operation means that "batch processing" can update the
radar data automatically and continuously 24 hours a
day.




Registration also means, of course, that you will receive notice
of any and all updates and additions to the program.

Should you decide NOT to register, I will still welcome your
comments, reactions and suggestions. Thank you in advance for
your support. Your honesty is very much appreciated.






Kindest Regards,

Ted











iv




















P A R T I I

I N S T A L L A T I O N
_________________________________________________________________





































TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION




TYPES OF FILES THAT MAKE UP TRACKER


The following diagram illustrates the files that together make
up this software. Double lines indicate programs while single
lines indicate their supporting data files. The program MAPPER
and its two geographic data files are included in the diagram.




.--------------.
| .--------------. .===================.
| | *.GEO | || SETUP.EXE ||
| | geographic | || configuration ||
`-| data files | || program ||
`--------------' `==================='
| |
V |
.===================. .---------------. |
|| || | TRACKER.CFG | |
.-->|| MAPPER.EXE ||<----| configuration |<----------'
| || || | ascii file |
| `===================' `---------------'
| | | |
| | V |
| | .---------------. | .---------------.
| | | .---------------. | | *.NHC |
| | | | .---------------. | .------| NHC Advisory |
| | | | | *.MAP | | | | ascii file |
| | `-| | map defini- |--. | | `---------------'
| | `-| tion files | | | |
| V `---------------' | | |
| .---------------. | | | .---------------.
| | .---------------. | | | .---------------. |
`-------| | .---------------. | | | .---------------. | |
| | | *.PAL | | | | | *.CYC | | |
`-| | color defini- |<--. | | | .-->|storm database| |-'
`-| tion files | | | | | | | files |-'
`---------------' | | | | | `---------------'
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | V V V | |
| .=======================. |
| || || |
`---->|| TRACKER.EXE ||<----'
|| ||
`======================='



Note that arrows indicate information flow in the direction of
the arrowheads between programs and data files.




- 1 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION




PATHS AND DIRECTORIES


The following diagram illustrates a good directory structure
under which to run Tracker.

The diagram shows a directory called \TRACKER off the root with
four subdirectories, \COLORS, \ADVISORY, \STORMS and \MAPS
which contain the data files Tracker will use.

In its archived form, Tracker will only work with all files
clumped into one directory. This is because Tracker's
configuration file, TRACKER.CFG, is still empty. The SETUP.EXE
program configures Tracker to recognize other paths as defaults
for the four type of data files that Tracker uses (*.PAL, *.NHC,
*.CYC, *.MAP).

.
.
.

|
C: ROOT DIRECTORY |
|-------------------|
|
|
| \TRACKER
|-------------------.
| contents: |
| TRACKER.EXE |
| TRACKER.CFG | \COLORS
| SETUP.EXE |------------------
| MAPPER.EXE | contents: *.PAL
| DATA-PTS.GEO |
| DATA-IND.GEO |
| |
. | \ADVISORY
. |------------------
. | contents: *.NHC
other |
directories |
|
| \STORMS
|------------------
| contents: *.CYC
|
|
|
| \MAPS
`------------------
contents: *.MAP




- 2 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION




THE SETUP PROGRAM


Setup allows you to allocate files of the same type to their own
separate subdirectories. Although this is unnecessary (Tracker
will run perfectly well with all files piled into one
directory), separating the file types in this way seems to be a
good "housekeeping" practice.

Setup also allows you to tell Tracker what "default" map file,
color file and advisory file to look for when it loads. Setup
writes this information in a "configuration" file called
TRACKER.CFG. Tracker reads the configuration file each time it
is invoked from DOS to find out where, on your hard disk, to
look for the files it needs.

To run Setup from the DOS C> prompt, type SETUP and press the
return (enter) key. If a configuration file already exists, its
contents will be displayed as a menu of four choices with a
highlight bar highlighting the first item. If the configuration
file does not yet exist Setup will open a new file and display
blank lines as the four menu choices, again with a highlight bar
on the first blank line.

Select a menu item by moving the highlight bar to that item with
the CURSOR-UP and CURSOR-DOWN keys (some refer to these keys as
the Up arrow and the Down arrow) then press the return key.

Of the four menu items, three consist of entering BOTH a
DIRECTORY PATH and a default FILE NAME. These three items
include the path and file names for MAPS, ADVISORIES and
COLORS. The fourth, the STORM files, consists of only the
path. The names of the storm data files can not, and should
not, be changed or Tracker will not run.

If the item you are changing is not currently blank, then the
item will be displayed below the menu. You may then edit this
information just as you would with most word processing
programs, utilizing the Left and Right cursor keys, the Insert
and Delete keys, the Backspace key, the Home key and the End
key. To leave the item unchanged, simply press the Return key
or the Escape key. If the item was originally blank, then you
may simply type in the entry below the menu.

Setup validates all entries to make sure that they comply with
DOS rules for naming files and directories. Invalid characters
will not be accepted. Setup also makes sure that file name
extensions are consistent with their corresponding file types.
If a path name or file name is entered that has not yet been
created, Setup will caution you to this fact by telling you that
the missing file or path was not found.




- 3 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION




THE SETUP PROGRAM
continued


When you are satisfied with your entries, press the Escape key
to exit the program. If you have made changes, Setup will ask
you to confirm overwriting the existing configuration file. To
confirm, press Y. To deny the changes and exit to DOS, press
N. To deny the changes and return to the program, press the
Escape key.

Setup writes the configuration file in its own directory. When
Tracker loads, it too looks in its own directory for the
configuration file. If no configuration file can be found,
Tracker returns to DOS.

For this reason it is important that SETUP.EXE reside in the
same directory as TRACKER.EXE.





































- 4 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION




A QUICK TOUR OF TRACKER


Tracker is a complete Tropical Cyclone Database and Mapping
system. Tracker plots cyclone data on maps that you create with
MAPPER, a special mapping program written just for Tracker that
is available free when you register. In it's pre-registered
form, Tracker comes with one usable map - a mercator projection -
and several sample maps which can be displayed, but not used to
plot storms.

Tracker will plot all of the storm positions automatically or
allow you to step through them, forward and backward, one at a
time, with the cursor keys. A special "repeat" mode animates
the storm's progress continuously until the Escape key is
pressed. Tracker color codes the storm's intensity at each
position with a color scheme of your choosing and sound effects
can be toggled on to act as an "audible index" to the storm's
intensity. The higher the tonal pitch, the more intense the
storm.


Tracker's spreadsheet mode allows you to enter, edit and delete,
or just browse the actual plotting data very easily and
intuitively. Up to twenty track positions can be viewed at
once. To edit a value, simply move the cursor to the
appropriate cell and enter the number.

Tracker knows the normal range of each value. This helps to
ensure accurate data entry. To add data, simply press the "+"
key and a new blank line will be added to the end of the storm.
You can also Insert and Delete positions as you choose.



A special "Match" feature of Tracker allows you to compare the
current storm with up to 20 of the "most similar" historic
storms from the data base and overlay their tracks on the map.

"Most similar" can be redefined by simply adjusting the
"weights" of three search criteria: Track, Classification and
Chronology. The weight of each criterion can be adjusted from 0
to 100 giving you the ability to fine-tune the search to clearly
show Mother Nature's tendencies under different climatic
conditions.

Tracker comes with data for all the tropical, subtropical and
extratropical cyclones that have occurred in the Atlantic basin
from 1950 through 1986 (well over 300 storms!) with positions
every 6 hours (well over 10,000 positions!) so there is plenty
of history to be explored.




- 5 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION




A QUICK TOUR OF TRACKER
continued


To effortlessly retrieve all this data, Tracker uses a "compound
indexing" method of data storage. Compound indexing means that
you can rapidly browse through the data by storm, by year or by
decade simply by tapping the appropriate cursor key.



The "FIND" commands allow you to search the historical database
for specific storms. "Find Text" searches storm names for a
text string, "Find Month" searches for storms occurring in
specific months (tropical cyclones have occurred in every month
but April), and "Find Class" searches for storms of certain
classification such as category 5 Hurricanes. The find feature
begins searching from the current storm and stops when a match
is found. A special "Find Next" key allows you to repeat the
last search without having to retype the search string.



Printing storm records is easy too. Just press Ctrl-PrtSc
(control-printscreen) to toggle the printer on and off.



No matter where you are in the database, you can always plot the
current storm by simply pressing the return (enter) key. When
the map gets full, simply press the Escape key to refresh the
screen with a new blank tracking map.

Of course, if you get tired of one map, you can easily load a
new map. To load a new map, you move the pointer to the map
file name and press return. You can type in the name of the new
map or press the backspace key. The backspace key retrieves the
names of all maps (files with .MAP extension) and allows you to
cursor through the names until you find the one you want. Then,
simply press return and Tracker will load the new map. Loading
a new color scheme works in the same manner.



I'm confident that you'll find Tracker very easy to use.
Tracker's point-and-choose method is very straight forward and
the option you're looking for is never more than a few cursor
keys away.







- 6 -




















P A R T I I I

M E N U F U N C T I O N S
_________________________________________________________________





































TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




LOADING TRACKER

To load Tracker from the DOS prompt C> type TRACKER and press
the return key. Tracker displays a copyright notice, then reads
the contents of the configuration file. If no configuration
file exists in the same directory, then Tracker will exit back
to DOS with the message "can't find default configuration file
... run SETUP program first."

Tracker will first display a copyright notice, then switch to
graphics mode to load the default map file. If the default map
file cannot be found, Tracker will display the message "can't
find default map file." If this message should appear, Tracker
will not be able to plot storm data. Any attempt to do so will
result in an "error 5 - 0" message meaning that Tracker has
insufficient data with which to work. If this case should
occur, you must manually load the map (loading maps is mentioned
elsewhere in this documentation) or exit to DOS and rerun the
SETUP program.


THE SCREEN

Tracker's main screen is divided into four sections. The most
prominent section is the rectangular map which is used for
plotting storms and takes up 80% of the screen. The second
section is the menu of functions located to the right of the
map. Just above these two sections is a text line which
displays information from the storm database.

The fourth section consists of three text lines below the map.
Tracker uses this section to communicate with the user, asking
for file names, confirmations, etc. This section is also used
for the display of advisory files and error messages. See
illustration next page.


THE FUNCTION MENU

On the right side of the screen lies the function menu. There
are a total of fourteen functions available and these functions
are grouped into four areas separated by lines. A pointer shows
what function is currently active. Tracker's menu is easily
navigable by simply moving the pointer to the desired function
using the PgUp and PgDn keys. When the pointer reaches either
the top or bottom of the menu it will "loop around" to the other
end.

At each stop on the menu, several other cursor keys become
active. Each function on the menu has its own unique set of
active keys. With several functions only the RETURN key is
active while other functions activate two or more cursor keys.



- 7 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




> Below is a crude ASCII representation of Tracker's EGA
screen. Tracker's main screen shows the map with the
function menu to the right. Shown here is a hypothetical
storm, Danielle, whose coordinates and wind speed are
displayed at the top along with several other key data.
Below the map, Tracker is scrolling through an advisory
on the storm's progress:

___________________________________________________________________________

6 1 DANIELLE 8/25/1992 1200hrs 16.6N Lat 47.5W Lon 74mph 988mb P
.------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| _ __/_< . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Spreadsheet |
| _ /.> _/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|---------------|
| /^\ _/ . (_/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Year 1992 |
|/,--,~--_ / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| 1 DANIELLE < |
| / /^\ \ (_, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Sound: ON |
| (_) ^/~ |~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|---------------|
| / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Match 5 |
| \\) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Track 100 |
| > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Class 100 |
| /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Chron 100 |
| ____ ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Since 1950 |
| _/~~\>. .l \. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|---------------|
|/. . . . . \_) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Colors: 0 |
|> . . . . .___. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| Load |
||. . .__ ./^-._~--._ . .___. . . . . . . . . . . . . . /| Advisory |
| \___| ). . . ~~)__\ _\ \__ . . . . . . . . . . . .( | MERCATOR.MA |
| / . . . . . . .(/~\.-._). . . . . . . . . . . . )| Quit: No |
|__ (__. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O O O O . ./ |---------------|
| .\_ ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / | H<-|->E<-'+ |
`------------------------------------------------------------------------'
... HURRICANE DANIELLE HEADS FOR THE LEEWARD ISLANDS ...
LATEST RECONNAISSANCE REPORTS DANIELLE HAS BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED AND
SATELLITE IMAGERY CONFIRMS THE STORM HAS REACHED HURRICANE STRENGTH
___________________________________________________________________________




THE FUNCTION MENU
continued

Among them, the CURSOR-LEFT and CURSOR-RIGHT keys, either by
themselves or as a Ctrl-LEFT and Ctrl-RIGHT combination, the
CURSOR-UP, the CURSOR-DOWN and the HOME and END keys. The
active keys serve to make selections or to change the values of
function parameters.

The RETURN key is active on all but one of Tracker's functions
(Color) and serves to invoke that function. In each of the four
areas of the function menu the RETURN key has a different
meaning. Let's take a look at each of the four areas.




- 8 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




THE SPREADSHEET



SPREADSHEET FUNCTION:

Tracker's spreadsheet is the means by which you enter,
delete and manipulate the raw data which Tracker uses to
plot storms. It is called a "spreadsheet" because its
operation resembles that class of software application
popular among accounting and business professionals.

To access the spreadsheet, simply move the pointer to
"SpreadSheet" and press the return key. Tracker will
switch screens and display the current storm's data in a
row and column format as follows:


| FRANCES 13 Records
___|RecType__Class__Month___Day___Year___Hour__N.Lat__W.Lon___Winds__Press_
1|[ 0 ] D 11 18 1986 1800 22.8 62.8 34 1009
2| 0 D 11 19 1986 0 23.5 62.9 34 1008
3| 0 T 11 19 1986 600 23.9 62.9 40 1007
4| 0 T 11 19 1986 1200 24.4 62.8 46 1006
5| 0 T 11 19 1986 1800 24.8 62.7 57 1004
6| 0 T 11 20 1986 0 25.8 62.1 63 1002
7| 0 1 11 20 1986 600 27.0 61.0 77 1001
8| 0 1 11 20 1986 1200 27.8 59.6 86 1000
9| 0 1 11 20 1986 1800 28.5 58.7 86 1000
10| 0 1 11 21 1986 0 29.1 58.2 80 1001
11| 0 1 11 21 1986 600 29.7 58.0 74 1002
12| 0 T 11 21 1986 1200 30.4 57.9 63 1003
13| 0 T 11 21 1986 1800 31.1 57.9 51 1005
14|
15|
16|
17|
18|
19|
20|



The "cursor", a pair of brackets, will surround the
upper left "cell" (shown in the illustration above).
Any entry or change is always performed on the cursored
cell. The CURSOR- LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN keys move
the cursor to respective adjacent cells. The HOME and
END keys move the cursor to the upper left and lower
right corners of the page respectively.

Note in the illustration above that there is room for 20
rows of data even though Frances, the last storm in the




- 9 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




SPREADSHEET FUNCTION
continued


database, contains only 13 records (rows) of data. Some
storms contain more than 20 records and therefore fill
multiple pages. In such cases, Tracker will
automatically page to the next 20 records if the CURSOR-
DOWN key is pressed while the cursor is positioned on
the last row, or to the previous 20 records if the
CURSOR-UP key is pressed while the cursor is positioned
on the first row.

If the cursor is positioned on a row other than the
first or last in a page, the PGUP and PGDN keys will
instantly move the cursor to a different page.

To edit the storm name, press CTRL-PGUP. To enter or
change data, simply type it in. Some columns require
more than one keystroke to enter data. The column
"Year", for example, requires that you press four keys
in order to enter the entire year. Other columns
require the touch of only one key such as the column
"Class". In columns requiring only one key, the value
is entered as soon as you press the appropriate key. In
columns requiring more than one keystroke, it is
necessary to terminate the entry either with a RETURN or
by moving the cursor to another cell.

You can always tell if a value has been entered by the
color of the screen's text. When the first key is
pressed on a column requiring a multi-key entry, the
text will change color. This means that Tracker is
waiting for more keystrokes and has not yet entered the
value into that cell. During this time you can change
your mind, by pressing the Escape key and Tracker will
abort the entry and display the cell's original data.

Tracker limits the range of values that can be entered
in each column to those considered "legal" or
"reasonable". In other words, if you tried to enter the
value zero into a cell under the heading "Month",
Tracker would not respond to the entry because it knows
that there is no "zero" month. Likewise, if you tried
to enter the value "13", Tracker would allow the "1" to
be entered, but not the "3".

For each row of the spreadsheet, all ten columns of data
comprise one storm position. This means all the values
found on one row correspond to the same moment in time.
Tracker uses all ten data values to plot a single
position on the map.



- 10 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




THE SPREADSHEET
continued


To add new positions (new rows) at the end of the
spreadsheet, simply press the plus key (+). Tracker
will display a new row at the end of the data and fill
in the values with zeros. You can then enter the data
for the new position as described above.

To insert a position somewhere other than the last row,
move the cursor to the position which now occupies the
row of the new position, then press the INSERT key
(Ins). Tracker will shift the cursored row and all
subsequent rows down one position and the cursored row
will then be filled with zeros.

To delete a position, move the cursor to that row and
press the DELETE key (Del). Tracker will ask for
confirmation on all deletions. To confirm the deletion,
press "Y", to deny the deletion, press "N".

Most of the column headings are pretty much self
explanatory. "Month", "Day", "Year" and "Hour" refer to
the time at which the data for a position were
recorded. "N.Lat" and "W.Lon" refer to the storm's
Latitude and Longitude coordinates on the map. "Winds"
indicates the wind speed in miles per hour and "Press"
refers to the storms barometric pressure if it was
known.

"Class" refers to the storm's classification at the
selected position. There are nine separate categories
of class, each represented by a single character code.

E Extratropical
5 category 5 Hurricane
4 category 4 Hurricane
3 category 3 Hurricane
2 category 2 Hurricane
1 category 1 Hurricane
T Tropical Storm
D Tropical Depression
S Subtropical storm

for explanation of these classifications, see
the glossary at the end of this documentation

Tracker uses these codes to determine the color of the
plotted position on the map.





- 11 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




THE SPREADSHEET
continued


"RecType" is probably the least obvious of the ten data
items in a position. "RecType" stands for "Record
Type". A "record" in database terminology is the
equivalent to a "row" in our spreadsheet. Data for each
storm position is contained in "rows" on the
spreadsheet, and in "records" in the database file.
Other than the terminology, there is no difference.

The record type tells Tracker how to plot the data in
the record. If you were to examine the data for every
storm in the database, you would find nothing but zeros
under the column "RecType". Zero is actually one of
four possible record type values; "0", "1", "2" and "9".

Tracker allows only types 0, 1 and 2 to be entered by
the user through the spreadsheet. It reserves type 9
for deleted records and assigns the value itself when a
deletion is confirmed. Tracker never displays type 9
records in the spreadsheet and writes over them in the
database file when new information is added.

To Tracker, the only difference between types 0, 1 and 2
is the symbol it uses for each when plotting a position
on the map. Type 0 is plotted with a circle filled with
a color corresponding to the storm's classification as
explained above. Type 1 is plotted as an unfilled
circle using the same storm classification color scheme
as type 0. Type 2 is plotted the same as type 0 except
that the size of the circle is halved.

The meaning of these three record types is left to the
user. The author suggests using one of the other types
to represent a storms "predicted path". The NHC issues
statements labeled "...FOR INTRAGOVERNMENTAL USE
ONLY...". Found on services such as WeatherBank, these
statements contain data for a storm's path up to 72
hours in advance as predicted by the NHC's computer
models. Type 1 records, therefore, could represent the
predicted path of the storm over the next 72 hours and
would be plotted on the map as an unfilled circle.

A suggestion for type 2 records might be landfall
probability estimates for selected coastal locations.

To leave the spreadsheet mode, press the Escape key.
Tracker will ask for confirmation to enter the new storm





- 12 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




THE SPREADSHEET
continued


information into the database file. Reply with a "Y" to
confirm, or a "N" to deny.



STORM MAPPING FUNCTIONS:

Below the spreadsheet function lie three storm mapping
functions. YEAR, STORM and SOUND allow you to examine
the data graphically in a number of ways. We'll examine
each of these in a moment. First let's look at the keys
which are active on all three of these functions.

Six active PLOTTING KEYS cause Tracker to plot at least
one position on the map:

CURSOR-UP Causes the NEXT POSITION, if
there is one, to be plotted or
highlighted on the map.

CURSOR-DOWN Causes the PRIOR POSITION, if
there is one, to be plotted or
highlighted on the map.

HOME Causes the FIRST POSITION to be
plotted or highlighted on the
map.

END Causes the LAST POSITION to be
plotted or highlighted on the
map.

RETURN Causes all REMAINING POSITIONS,
if there are any, to be plotted
or highlighted on the map

CTRL-HOME Causes Tracker to CONTINUOUSLY
LOOP, highlighting all positions
until the ESCAPE key is pressed.


Besides the plotting keys, the storm mapping functions
activate several storm-selection keys to allow you to
browse through the data, selecting, adding and deleting.







- 13 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




MAPPING FUNCTIONS
continued


Let's now look at each individual mapping function.


YEAR:
Tracker's database covers a span of 37 years beginning
with the year 1950 and ending with the year 1986. (1986
is the last year on tape file at the National Climatic
Data Center in Ashville, NC, from which Tracker's data
derives.)

1950 was the first year to see "named storms". Up until
that time, major hurricanes were remembered with labels
such as "The Keys Storm of '35" or "The Galveston Storm
of 1900"

For three years names were taken from the phonetic
alphabet; ABEL, BAKER, CHARLIE ... etc. Beginning in
1953, feminine names were assigned. On May 25th 1953,
ALICE became the first storm to receive a feminine name.

The CURSOR-LEFT and CURSOR-RIGHT will scroll through the years
one by one. CTRL-RIGHT and CTRL-LEFT will increment and
decrement, respectively, the year by a value of 10. An attempt
to scroll pass either end of the file causes Tracker to loop
around to the other end.

As you skip through each year, Tracker will display the name of
the First Storm of that year on the STORM line below. Above the
map, Tracker displays the total number of storms in the year
displayed.

To ADD a year to the database, press the PLUS key (+) while the
pointer is pointing to any year. Tracker will add the next
sequential year to the end of database, take you immediately to
the new year and display the message "no storms" on the STORM
line below.

To DELETE a year from the database requires a little more work.
You must first delete all the storms in the year before Tracker
will allow the deletion of the year itself. When Tracker
displays the message "no storms" on the STORM line, the year can
be deleted by pressing the DELETE key (Del).






- 14 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




MAPPING FUNCTIONS
continued


STORM:

The STORM function displays the names of the storms
which occur in the year displayed. With the pointer on
the STORM line, you can scroll through these names, one
by one, using the CURSOR-LEFT and CURSOR-RIGHT keys.
Tracker displays both the storm's name and its highest
classification reached. Above the map, Tracker displays
the number of records in the file plus its beginning and
ending dates.

To add a new storm to the last year, press the PLUS key
while the pointer is resting on this line. Tracker will
prompt you for the name of the storm and then take you
to the spreadsheet to enter at least one position of
data. If you have more data, you can enter more
positions while in the spreadsheet mode. When at least
one position is entered, you may exit the spreadsheet in
the usual way with the ESCAPE key.

To delete a storm from the current year requires that
there be only one record (position) in the spreadsheet
for the storm. Therefore, you must first enter the
spreadsheet mode and delete all but one position
(Tracker won't allow all positions to be deleted).

When there is only one position remaining, exit the
spreadsheet mode with the ESCAPE key, saving the changes
made. Then move the pointer to the name of the storm
and press the DELETE key. Tracker will ask for a
confirmation before deleting the storm.



SOUND:

The sound function toggles the audible "intensity tone"
on and off. When sound is turned ON, Tracker will sound
a short tone at each position it plots. The tone
frequency will correspond to the strength of the storm
at that position. The higher the intensity, the higher
the pitch. Sound is an audible index to the storm's
strength as color is a visual.








- 15 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




STORM MATCHING FUNCTIONS



STORM MATCHING FUNCTIONS:

Tracker has five functions that match the current storm
with up to twenty of the most similar storms in the
database. The term "most similar" can be redefined by
adjusting the "weight" given to each of three criteria:
Track, Classification and Chronology.

There are a total of five ACTIVE KEYS for these five
functions:

CURSOR-LEFT decrements the value by one.
Available on all five functions.

CURSOR-RIGHT increments the value by one.
Available on all five functions.

CTRL-LEFT decrements the value by ten.
Available on all functions but
MATCH.

CTRL-RIGHT increments the value by ten.
Available on all functions but
MATCH.

RETURN. Initiates the match search.
Available on all five functions.


The five storm matching functions are:

MATCH The limit to the number of historic
storms which Tracker should find as most
similar. Value ranges from 1 to 20.

TRACK The weight Tracker should place on the
track criteria when evaluating a storms
similarity. Value ranges from 0 to 100.

CLASS The weight Tracker should place on the
classification criteria when evaluating
a storms similarity. Value ranges from
0 to 100

CHRON The weight Tracker should place on the
chronology criteria when evaluating a
storms similarity. Values range from 0
to 100.



- 16 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




STORM MATCHING FUNCTIONS
continued


SINCE The year at which Tracker should begin
its search. Value ranges from 1950 to
the last year in the database.


To understand how the weights affect a search for
similar storms, let's assume we were tracking a
relatively young storm with a total of ten positions.

It is late July and the storm is in the eastern
Caribbean Sea heading west. The first six positions
show the storm as a depression, class "D", and the last
four positions show it as a tropical storm, class "T".

We now want to find, say, five storms from the database
that are the most similar to this storm to see what
tendencies there might be. In other words, we want to
know if storms in the eastern Caribbean in late July
tend to stray Northward and travel up the Atlantic
coast, whether they steer into the Gulf of Mexico and
threaten the Gulf states or whether they continue in a
straight line and strike Central America.

Since we want to find five storms, we can immediately
set the value of MATCH to 5. Using the PGUP or PGDN
key, we move the pointer to "Match", then use the CURSOR-
LEFT or CURSOR-RIGHT key to adjust the value to 5. We
also would like an all-inclusive search, going all the
way back to the first year in the database. Thus, we'll
move the pointer down to "Since" and set the value to
1950.

To set the values of the three weight criteria, we'll
first have to do a little thinking. We're certainly
interested in finding storms originating in the eastern
Caribbean heading west. It doesn't make much sense to
consider storms originating, say, in the Gulf of
Mexico. Therefore, TRACK seems to be the most important
criteria. So, we'll leave the weight of TRACK set at
its highest value, 100.

We know that the origins of tropical cyclone tracks vary
from month to month during the hurricane season. In the
early part of the season tropical cyclones tend to
develop over the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean.
As the season progresses, storms are more often spawned
in the Atlantic from tropical waves coming off the
African coast.



- 17 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




STORM MATCHING FUNCTIONS
continued


To take this into account, we'll want to set the CHRON
weight fairly high. If we push the weight too high,
however, we'll lose some of the relative importance we
placed on the storm's track and we may end up finding
storms which occurred on the exact date as our current
storm, far out into the Atlantic. So, we'll give
CHRON's weight a value of 60. By this, we're telling
Tracker that CHRONOLOGY is 60% as important as TRACK.

The final criteria to consider is CLASS, the storm's
classification at each of its ten positions we've
tracked so far. If we were to give this weight a high
value, we'd be telling Tracker to look for storms which,
in their first ten positions, match precisely the
current storm in their classification at each position
(or as close to it as can be found).

CLASS is really a measure of the storms growth pattern.
If the storm had become a fierce hurricane within the
first 10 positions, it might say something of the local
weather patterns and sea temperatures surrounding the
general area of the storm. We might, therefore,
conclude that an historic storm with a similar growth
pattern in this location might have been fed by similar
atmospheric conditions and give the weight of CLASS a
fairly high value in order to "duplicate" conditions.

Such is not the case, though, in the example we've
chosen. So, following the same logic we used in setting
the CHRON weight, we'll give CLASS a value of 30.

We're now ready to do the match. We press the RETURN
key and away we go. Tracker counts up the storms it
looks at just below the map. This search may take a few
minutes, depending on the speed of your computer and
also on the number of positions (in our example, 10)
Tracker has to consider.

When done searching, Tracker plots the matched storms'
tracks on the map as lines, color coding them with the
same scheme used for the current storm. Below the map
is displayed the position data.

You can try the match function on any storm from the
database. Select a recent storm, then plot five or ten
positions using the CURSOR-UP key.





- 18 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




STORM MATCHING FUNCTIONS
continued


Next, move the pointer to the match functions and select
values for all five. Initiate the match search by
pressing RETURN. After Tracker has plotted the matched
storms, return to the mapping functions and finish
plotting the current storm by pressing the RETURN key to
see how close the match storms came to predicting the
current storms path. You may want to clear the map and
repeat the process using different weights for TRACK,
CLASS and CHRON.



FILE FUNCTIONS:

The file functions relate to three types of files;

COLOR FILES
disk functions: read and write

ADVISORY FILES
disk functions: read only

MAP FILES
disk functions: read only


(refer to the file diagram on page 1)


The RETURN key, in each case, initiates the disk
operation involved (read or write). Tracker always
displays the name of the file below the map for you to
edit if you choose. While in this edit mode, you may
use several editing keys such as the BACKSPACE, the
CURSOR-LEFT and CURSOR-RIGHT keys, the INSERT and DELETE
keys and the HOME and END keys.

A special feature worth mentioning here is the use of
the BACKSPACE key. When a file name is displayed below
the map, before any other key is touched, the BACKSPACE
may be pressed to bring up a scrolling menu of all the
files of the type requested. You can then cursor
through the file names using the CURSOR-LEFT and CURSOR-
RIGHT keys and select one by pressing the RETURN key.

If you are saving a color file (color files are the only
files which can be saved) and choose an existing name,
Tracker will ask for confirmation.



- 19 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




FILE FUNCTIONS
continued

Diagram showing the four function areas of the function menu.


-----------------------. ------------------------------------------------
| SpreadSheet | SPREADSHEET FUNCTION to enter and edit data.
|---------------| ----------------------------------------------
| Year 1992 | current year MAPPING FUNCTIONS
| 1 DANIELLE < | current storm to plot the current
| Sound: ON | sound toggle storm on the map.
|---------------| ----------------------------------------------
| Match 5 | number of matches MATCH FUNCTIONS
| Track 100 | track weight to find similar
| Class 100 | class weight storms in the
| Chron 100 | chronology weight database.
| Since 1950 | start year of search
|---------------| ----------------------------------------------
| Colors: 0 | color selections FILE FUNCTIONS
| Load | Save/Load toggle for access to color
| Advisory | display advisory advisory and map
| MERCATOR.MA | load a new map files.
| Quit: No | return to DOS (toggle)
|---------------| ----------------------------------------------
| H<-|->E<-'+ | display of active keys
-----------------------' ------------------------------------------------




COLOR FILE FUNCTION

The color file function is really two functions in one.
Divided among two lines, the first line lets you select,
from among a palette of 64 EGA colors, the colors to use
for sixteen attributes of the screen.

The second line lets you save your scheme to a color
file, or load a color file from disk.

The RETURN key is only active on line two, the Save/Load
toggle. On line two, the CURSOR-LEFT and CURSOR-RIGHT
keys toggle between SAVING a file and LOADING a file.
The RETURN key prompts you for a file name and performs
the actual disk operation.

On line one of the color function, four cursor keys are
active, LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN. Use the CURSOR-UP key
or CURSOR-DOWN key to select the desired attribute to
change. As you scroll through the attributes, each will
blink momentarily so that you may tell which attribute
will be changed,




- 20 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




FILE FUNCTIONS
continued


An attribute, in this sense, is simply a group of lines or
text on the screen which shares the same color.

Attributes:
1 background
2 map coastlines
3 map lowlighted grid points
4 map highlighted grid points
5 Subtropical Storm positions
6 Tropical Depression positions
7 Tropical Storm positions
8 Hurricane category 1 positions
9 Hurricane category 2 positions
10 Hurricane category 3 positions
11 Hurricane category 4 positions
12 Hurricane category 5 positions
13 Extratropical Storm positions
14 screen frame lines
15 screen text
16 storm position highlight

For each attribute, the CURSOR-LEFT and CURSOR-RIGHT keys
will scroll through all 64 colors of the EGA spectrum.



ADVISORY FILE FUNCTION

The National Hurricane Center issues advisories on tropical
cyclones every six hours with intermediate advisories three
hours later. These advisories can be heard on weather radios
on several frequencies across the country. The Hurricane
Center uploads the advisories to the National Weather Service
headquarters in Washington, DC. From there, the file is
downloaded to branch offices.

These files are available in ASCII format from on-line
weather services where they can be captured by modem to a log
file. Tracker will display theses files on the bottom three
lines of the main screen.

With the pointer on the "Advisory" line, the RETURN key will
activate the function. The file name must be specified while
in the SETUP program.







- 21 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION MENU FUNCTIONS




FILE FUNCTIONS
continued


While the file is scrolling on the bottom three lines,
you can increase or decrease the scroll speed by using
the CURSOR-RIGHT and CURSOR-LEFT keys respectively.
When Tracker reaches the end of the file, it will pause
for a few seconds, then repeat the file.

The ESCAPE key will de-activate the scroll and return
you to the function menu.



MAP FILE FUNCTION

The map file function allows you to load a different map
on which to plot storms. The program MAPPER (free upon
registration) lets you create an almost unlimited number
of different views of the earth. Mapper has three kinds
of map projections that can be read and used by
Tracker. Tracker can plot on any map produced using
Mapper.

With the pointer pointing to the name of the map file,
press RETURN and Tracker will display the name of the
map file below the map allowing you to edit the file
name if you desire. Type in a new name or press the
BACKSPACE key to scroll through a list of map file
names. Press the RETURN key to load the map file.

The ESCAPE key can be used at ANY TIME to clear and
redraw the map. The pointer need not be pointing to the
map function.

A default usable mercator projection is provided with
with Tracker along with several sample maps on which
Tracker cannot plot. The sample map files lack the
necessary coordinate data that Tracker needs in which to
properly overlay the storm information.



QUIT FUNCTION

To return to DOS, move the pointer to "Quit: No" and
use the CURSOR-LEFT or CURSOR-RIGHT key to toggle the
"No" to "Yes". Press the RETURN key to leave Tracker.
If you decide not to leave Tracker, you need not toggle
the "Yes" back to "No". Tracker will do this
automatically when you PGUP or PGDN to another function.



- 22 -





















P A R T I V

D A T A B A S E Q U E R Y C O M M A N D S
______________________________________________________________________





































TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION DATABASE QUERY COMMANDS




DATABASE QUERY COMMANDS


Tracker has three pre-programmed database "query" commands which
can find specific storms in the storm data file by three
criteria. The ALT key in combination with another key will
invoke a query.

FIND TEXT ALT-T

The FIND TEXT query is invoked with an ALT-T combination
keystroke. By "combination keystroke", we mean that you
must hold down the key marked "Alt" and tap the T key
quickly, then release the Alt key.

When the FIND TEXT query is invoked, Tracker will prompt
for some text, then search the database file for a storm
whose name contains that text. The text does not need
to be the entire name of the storm. Tracker will search
for any text embedded within the name. For example,
finding the text "LA" would produce the names: "BEULAH",
"BLANCH", "CARLA", "CLARA", "CLAUDETTE", "ELAINE",
"ELLA", "GLADYS", "LAURIE" and "KLAUS" not necessarily
in that order.

Tracker begins all queries with the NEXT sequential
storm in the file. To do an all inclusive search, then,
you must set the YEAR to 1950.

If PRINT has been toggled with CTRL-PrtSc, Tracker will
send data records for each storm it finds to the
printer.



FIND MONTH ALT-M

The FIND MONTH query acts like the text query but
instead of searching names for text, Tracker searches
the starting month of the storm for a match. Tracker
will first prompt you for a number between 1 and 12
inclusive as the month for which to search.

Though the official hurricane season runs from June
through November, tropical cyclones have been recorded
in every month but April. So, for example, if you
wanted to find a February storm, press the ALT-M
combination key, enter the value 2, and press RETURN.







- 23 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION DATABASE QUERY COMMANDS




DATABASE QUERY COMMANDS
continued

FIND CLASS ALT-C

The FIND CLASS query will find a storm whose highest
classification matches the one-character classification
code that you are prompted to type in. For example, to
find the first category 5 hurricane in the database, set
the Year to 1950, press ALT-C, enter a 5, then press
RETURN.

See the section on using the Spreadsheet function for a
list of class codes.



FIND NEXT ALT-Z

FIND NEXT simply repeats the last query starting at the
next storm in the file. This eliminates the need to
enter the same search criteria more than once.

As an example, suppose you wanted a printout of all
class 5 storms in the database. First, you would set
the Year to 1950. Next, press Ctrl-PrtSc, if necessary,
to toggle the printer ON. Third, press ALT-C, enter 5
and press RETURN. After Tracker finds the first class 5
storm, you can simply repeat the query from the point at
which Tracker stopped by pressing the ALT-Z combination
key. When the end of the database is reached, you would
have a printout of data on all category 5 hurricanes
since 1950.






















- 24 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION GLOSSARY




GLOSSARY OF TERMS


CYCLONE Any closed circulation system, in which winds rotate
counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and
clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

TROPICAL CYCLONE A low pressure system of large scale, not
associated with a frontal system, that develops over
tropical or subtropical seas which shows definite
organized circulation

SUBTROPICAL CYCLONE A low pressure, sometimes cold core system
of large scale, developing over subtropical waters
exhibiting definite organized circulation.

EXTRATROPICAL The transformation of a tropical cyclone from a
warm core to a cold core system. This process usually
occurs toward the pole from the tropical easterlies.
Extratropical cyclones have no wind speed criteria and
maximum sustained winds may exceed hurricane force.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION A warm core tropical cyclone in which the
maximum sustained surface winds are less than 39 miles
per hour.

TROPICAL STORM A warm core tropical cyclone in which the
maximum sustained surface winds are equal to or greater
than 39 miles per hour and less than 74 miles per hour.
When a storm reaches this stage it is named.

HURRICANE A warm core tropical cyclone in which the maximum
sustained surface wind is greater than or equal to 74
miles per hour. Hurricanes are classified according to
the Saffir-Simpson scale. This system of five
"categories" measures the destructive potential due to
storm surge and wind speed. Hurricanes are categorized
as follows:

Category 1: Wind speeds of from 74 to 95 miles per hour
with storm surge of up to 5 feet. Minimal
damage can be expected.

Category 2: Wind speeds of from 96 to 110 miles per
hour with storm surge up to 8 feet. Moderate
damage can be expected.

Category 3: Wind speeds of from 111 to 130 miles per
hour with storm surge up to 12 feet. Extensive
damage can be expected.





- 25 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION GLOSSARY




GLOSSARY OF TERMS
continued

Category 4: Wind speeds of from 131 to 155 miles per
hour with storm surge up to 18 feet. Extreme
damage can be expected.

Category 5: Wind speeds greater than 155 miles per hour
with storm surge over 18 feet. Catastrophic
damage can be expected.



POSITION A plot on the tracking map where the storm was
located and where data were recorded at a specified
hour. "Position" can also refer to the data,
collectively, that were recorded on the storm at that
hour.





































- 26 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE




GENERAL OPERATION
_________________________________________________________________



PGUP Moves the pointer to the previous function on
the function menu.



PGDN Moves the pointer to the next function on the
function menu



CURSOR KEYS LEFT, RIGHT, CTRL-LEFT and CTRL-RIGHT serve to
change the values displayed on some function
menu lines (e.g. the year, the name of the
storm, etc).

In the MAPPING area, the UP, DOWN, HOME and END
cursor keys are used to plot single storm
positions. CTRL-HOME puts storm plotting in a
continuous mode.

In the COLOR function, the UP and DOWN cursor
keys are used for attribute selection while the
LEFT and RIGHT cursor keys are used for COLOR
selection for each attribute.



RETURN Invokes the operation of the function AREA. For
example, pressing RETURN while the pointer is in
the MAPPING area (Year, Storm, Sound) causes the
current storm to be plotted on the map in its
entirety.

Pressing RETURN while the pointer is in the
STORM MATCHING area causes the the storm
matching function to be initiated.



ESCAPE Clears and redraws the map.

When entering data, such as file names, ESCAPE
aborts the entry and returns to the function
menu.






- 27 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE




SPREADSHEET FUNCTION
_________________________________________________________________

RETURN invokes the spreadsheet.

while in the spreadsheet mode:
CTRL-PGUP Completes an entry, if any, and
allows editing of the storm name

CURSOR-DOWN Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor down one cell
or to the next page if pressed
from the last line on the page.

CURSOR-UP Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor up one cell or
to the previous page if pressed
from the first line on the page.

CURSOR-LEFT Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor left one cell.

CURSOR-RIGHT Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor right one cell.

PGDN Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor to the next
page of data.

PGUP Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor to the previous
page of data.

HOME Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor to the upper
left cell on the page.

END Completes an entry, if any, and
moves the cursor to the lower
right cell on the page.

RETURN Completes an entry, if any.

ESCAPE Leaves the spreadsheet mode.
Prompts for confirmation in
saving changes.

entering data:
BACKSPACE Erases the last character
entered.
DELETE Same as BACKSPACE.
RETURN Completes an entry. Does not
move the cursor.


- 28 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE




STORM MAPPING FUNCTIONS
_________________________________________________________________

YEAR
year selection:
CURSOR-LEFT Previous Year
CURSOR-RIGHT Next Year
CTRL-LEFT Decrements Year by 10
CTRL-RIGHT Increments Year by 10
plotting storms:
CURSOR-UP Plots the next position
CURSOR-DOWN Plots the previous position
HOME Plots the first position
END Plots the last position
RETURN Plots all remaining positions
CTRL-HOME Cycles through positions
continuously until ESCAPE is
pressed
ESCAPE Clears and redraws the map.


STORM
storm selection:
CURSOR-LEFT Previous Storm
CURSOR-RIGHT Next Storm
plotting storms:
CURSOR-UP Plots the next position
CURSOR-DOWN Plots the previous position
HOME Plots the first position
END Plots the last position
RETURN Plots all remaining positions
CTRL-HOME Repeats Plot continuously until
ESCAPE is pressed
ESCAPE Clears and redraws the map.


SOUND
sound toggle:
CURSOR-LEFT Toggles sound either on or off
CURSOR-RIGHT Toggles sound either on or off
plotting storms:
CURSOR-UP Plots the next position
CURSOR-DOWN Plots the previous position
HOME Plots the first position
END Plots the last position
RETURN Plots all remaining positions
CTRL-HOME Repeats Plot continuously until
ESCAPE is pressed
ESCAPE Clears and redraws the map.






- 29 -

TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE




STORM MATCHING FUNCTIONS
_________________________________________________________________


MATCH:

CURSOR-LEFT decrements number of matches by one.
CURSOR-RIGHT increments number of matches by one.
RETURN invokes the MATCH function.


TRACK weight

CURSOR-LEFT decrements the TRACK weight by one.
CURSOR-RIGHT increments the TRACK weight by one.
CTRL-LEFT decrements the TRACK weight by ten.
CTRL-RIGHT increments the TRACK weight by ten.
RETURN invokes the MATCH function.


CLASS weight

CURSOR-LEFT decrements the CLASS weight by one.
CURSOR-RIGHT increments the CLASS weight by one.
CTRL-LEFT decrements the CLASS weight by ten.
CTRL-RIGHT increments the CLASS weight by ten.
RETURN invokes the MATCH function.


CHRON weight

CURSOR-LEFT decrements the CHRON weight by one.
CURSOR-RIGHT increments the CHRON weight by one.
CTRL-LEFT decrements the CHRON weight by ten.
CTRL-RIGHT increments the CHRON weight by ten.
RETURN invokes the MATCH function.


SINCE year

CURSOR-LEFT decrements the START YEAR by one.
CURSOR-RIGHT increments the START YEAR by one.
CTRL-LEFT decrements the START YEAR by ten.
CTRL-RIGHT increments the START YEAR by ten.
RETURN invokes the MATCH function.










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TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE




FILE FUNCTIONS
_________________________________________________________________


COLOR

changing colors:
CURSOR-LEFT assigns previous color to
attribute.
CURSOR-RIGHT assigns next color to attribute.
CURSOR-DOWN selects previous attribute.
CURSOR-UP selects next attribute.

Load/Save color file:
CURSOR-LEFT toggles between "Load" and
"Save".
CURSOR-RIGHT toggles between "Load" and
"Save".
RETURN Loads or Saves a color file.
Prompts for file name.



ADVISORY

RETURN invokes the DISPLAY ADVISORY function.



MAP
RETURN Loads .MAP file. Prompts for file name.



QUIT
CURSOR-LEFT Toggles Confirmation to "Y" or "N".
CURSOR-RIGHT Toggles Confirmation to "Y" or "N".
RETURN Returns to DOS if Confirmed

















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TRACKER 1.1 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE




DATABASE QUERY COMMANDS
_________________________________________________________________



FIND TEXT ALT-T Prompts for TextString then searches
database for TextString in storm name
beginning with next sequential storm.



FIND MONTH ALT-M Prompts for MonthNumber then searches
database for MonthNumber in first
position beginning with next sequential
storm.



FIND CLASS ALT-C Prompts for Highest ClassCode then
searches database for ClassCode in storm
beginning with next sequential storm.



FIND NEXT ALT-Z Repeats the previous FIND command
beginning with the next sequential storm.



PRINTER CTRL-PrtSc Toggles printer ON or OFF. A
"P" appears in upper right of
screen when printer is ON.























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