CONTENTS OF THIS READ.ME FILE:
---------------------------------------------
* HOW SHAREWARE WORKS
* DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS
* INSTALLING PC-FILE
* PRINTING A COPY OF THE MANUAL
* NOTES AND UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES
* CORRECTIONS TO THE MANUAL
* ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS (ASP)
* SHAREWARE COPYING OUTSIDE OF THE USA


+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Welcome to the Shareware revolution. This remarkable method of software |
| distribution was co-pioneered in 1982 by Jim Button and Andrew Fluegelman. |
| It has become a major force in the software industry, helping to reduce |
| software prices and eliminate copy protection schemes. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

HERE'S HOW SHAREWARE WORKS:

You are encouraged to copy the PC-File diskettes and share them freely with
others. You have the luxury of trying out the complete programs, at your own
pace and in the comfort of your own home or workplace. This is not a crippled
or demo copy, but the complete working version of the program.

After you have used PC-File for a reasonable evaluation period (not to exceed
90 days) you must either stop using it or buy a licensed copy from ButtonWare
or from an authorized dealer. We invite you to purchase PC-File for a
substantial discount from any of the following retail outlets:

CompuAdd (800)666-1872 Babbages (see local store)
Egghead (800)EGG-HEAD Electronics Boutique (see local store)
PC-Connection (800)243-8088 Software, Etc. (see local store)
Soft Warehouse (800)451-7638 Walden Software (see local store)

Or you can buy directly from ButtonWare for $129.95 + $5 shipping
ButtonWare (800)J-BUTTON (800)528-8866

The above prices are subject to change.


Why pay at all?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
* You receive the most CURRENT copy of the program
* You receive the printed manual (typeset and bound, over 400 pages)
* Access to the on-line ButtonWare Bulletin Board
* Notification of updates and new products
* Inexpensive updates (typically 1/3 the retail price)
* Periodic special price offers (for our registered users only)
* Your input and ideas help shape future products
* A sense of pride and ownership, by having honestly participated
in the Shareware revolution
* The satisfaction of helping to keep software prices down, by supporting
a distribution method which doesn't depend on expensive advertising
campaigns

So please dive in and enjoy the fun of legally sharing good software with
your friends and associates. The following restrictions are designed to
protect the community of Shareware users and to prevent others from taking
unfair advantage of the trust, hard work, and good will of Shareware authors.
Exceptions to these conditions must be received in writing from ButtonWare.

+-----------------------------+
| DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS |
+-----------------------------+

1. Disk vendors (those who sell Shareware disks for a profit) must follow
the procedure outlined in the "VENDOR.DOC" file.
2. You may not charge more than $3 per diskette.
3. The files and programs on the disks may not be modified or deleted.
4. The programs cannot be sold as part of some other more inclusive package.
5. The programs cannot be rented or leased to others.
6. When distributed via a telecommunications link, all ButtonWare programs
(and documentation files) must be transferred in a library or archive
format. This means that all the files on each ButtonWare disk must be
combined into one file - one file for each ButtonWare disk.
7. If you're copying the disks for distribution to students in a classroom,
you must provide them with the following written notice:

+----------------------------------------------------+
| These diskettes are distributed to you through the |
| courtesy of (your school or instructor name) and |
| Jim Button. No royalty nor registration fee has |
| been paid for the programs, which are for your use |
| and evaluation as a student. |
| |
| If you wish to receive the printed manual and |
| announcements of updates and improvements, you |
| must first become a "registered user." You do |
| that by purchasing each program you plan to use - |
| from an authorized dealer or directly from |
| ButtonWare: |
| Jim Button |
| P.O. Box 96058 |
| Bellevue, WA 98009 |
| |
| You may also purchase by calling the toll-free |
| ButtonWare order line: 1-800-JBUTTON. |
+----------------------------------------------------+

8. Shareware distribution is permitted only in the United States, Canada,
The British Isles, and Australasia. Please see the section below entitled:
SHAREWARE COPYING OUTSIDE OF THE USA.

9. The Multi-user version is not Shareware. It may not be copied and shared
with others.


+----------------------+
| INSTALLING PC-File |
+----------------------+

NOTE: This copy of PC-File requires DOS 3.0 or later. It is not compatible
with most versions of DOS 2.x. If DOS 2.x compatibility is important to
you, please contact ButtonWare to see if a DOS 2.x compatible version is
available.

PC-File requires a hard disk or two 3-1/2" disk drives. To install the
programs, put the PC-File program disk into your A: disk drive and type

A:INSTALL

INSTALL creates a subdirectory on your hard disk and copies the necessary
programs and files into that subdirectory. You'll need about 1 mb of
available disk space to INSTALL PC-File.


+----------------------------------------+
| PRINTING A COPY OF THE USER'S MANUAL |
+----------------------------------------+

If you did not purchase PC-File (complete with printed manual) directly
from ButtonWare or from an authorized dealer, then you are evaluating the
program.

We have tried to provide you with everything necessary to evaluate PC-File.
The program uses clear, informative menus. Help screens are always available.
Also, the file "CARD" can be printed to create a quick reference card with a
summary of the program commands.

This is sufficient for most people to evaluate the program. However, some
people prefer to have a complete copy of the printed manual.

A complete copy of the printed manual for PC-File is available on floppy
disk to help you with your evaluation. It's almost 500 pages long so you'll
need a lot of time, patience, and paper to print it out. Because of space
limitations, we have had to omit the tutorial section from the disk manual.
This was not done to cripple the manual in any way. It was a required step
because even when compressed, the full manual would not fit on a standard
5-1/4" floppy disk.

The manual on disk has been mailed to most of the major computer clubs, user
groups, shareware disk dealers and bulletin board operators. You can obtain
the manual on disk from one of these groups. Just ask for PC-File disk number
3, or the PC-File manual on disk.

To keep costs down, disk 3 is not included with purchased copies of PC-File
and cannot be bought directly from ButtonWare. Purchased copies include a
complete printed User's Manual, typeset and bound.



+---------------------------------+
| NOTES AND UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES |
+---------------------------------+

There are some other text files on your disk worth looking at:

CARD - a reference card (summary of commands)
CHANGES - detailed account of differences between this and
previous versions of PC-File
PRODUCTS - Short review of ButtonWare products, and an order form
RESPONSE - A user feedback survey. Very important to us.


After the manual was sent to press, we added a few very useful features
to PC-File. These features are documented below.

** In PC-File, (Alt)X is a toggle which forces PC-File to use the current
index. Normally, PC-File switches to the index which allows the search
to be performed as fast as possible. (Alt)X can be used to prevent
PC-File from switching to the best index.

** We have included a utility program called SETU which can be used to
change the next unique value. To run SETU, at a DOS prompt, type:

SETU

The SETU program asks you to provide the name of the database and the
new unique value. You can also include the database filespec and the
new unique value on the command line when you start SETU. For example:

SETU C:\DATA\CLIENTS 1001

would change the unique value to 1001 in the database called CLIENTS on
the C drive in the \DATA directory.




+-----------------------------------------+
| ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO THE MANUAL |
+-----------------------------------------+

Page 63, add the following line below the line with (Alt)V:
(Alt)X force PC-File to use current index

Page 95, third paragraph should read:
For each data entry screen, you are allowed a maximum of 21 display
rows.

Page 115, add the following sentence to the third paragraph:
(PgUp) and (PgDn) can be used to move from one entry screen to
another.

Page 121, fifth paragraph, second sentence should read:
You can switch to the sort sequence index using (Alt)I.

Page 136, fourth line from bottom should read:
[SUBCMD*] (* is missing in manual)

Page 171, last line should read:
... (see Chart L).

Page 224, last paragraph should read:
The indexes are automatically built at the end of the import
process. (The second sentence should be deleted.)

Page 227, database option in third paragraph should read:
- Database (.HDB, .DBF, .DBT, .NDS)

Page 231, add the following sentence to the sixth paragraph:
You can also run the SETU program to change the next unique
value. (SETU is described above in the READ.ME file)

Page 238, sixth example should read:
(QTY*PRICE).2*A

Page 265, fourth option (Rename an existing index) should be deleted.

Page 266, AT() function should read:
AT(char str1,char str2)

Page 270, section 36.4 should be deleted.

Page 342, eighth line should read:
(date2(@DAY#,mdy) - date1(@DAY#,mdy))

Page 345, second line should read:
/PHPORT,COMx

------------------------------------------------------------------------------



_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER


Jim Button is a founding member of the Association of Shareware Professionals
(ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If
you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by
contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can
help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide
technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at
P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve message via easyplex to
ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.



+----------------------------------------+
| SHAREWARE COPYING OUTSIDE OF THE USA |
+----------------------------------------+

1. Shareware distribution of ButtonWare programs is permitted only in the
United States, Canada, England, and Australasia (the "shareable Area").

2. For information on distribution of ButtonWare software in countries
outside the shareable Area please contact your local distributor.

3. Jim Button, residing at Bellevue, State of Washington, U.S.A. and
ButtonWare, Inc., State of Washington, U.S.A., hold the copyrights
for the following products:

PC-File III PC-Type PC-Stylist Baker's Dozen
PC-File/R PC-Type+ PC-Tickle PC-Tickle
PC-File+ PC-Type II PC-Calc PC-Calc+
PC-File:dB PC-File XD

4. On October 5th, 1987, we issued a statement that the aforementioned
ButtonWare products may not be copied and shared outside the shareable
Area. Furthermore, we stated that these ButtonWare products may no longer
be advertised and sold as Shareware, Freeware, Public Domain or
User-Supported Software outside the shareable Area.

5. Outside the shareable Area, ButtonWare software may not be downloaded from
Public Libraries or Bulletin Boards, or copied from CD-ROM or CD-WORM
disks onto other media, including, but not limited to, diskettes, hard
disks, magnetic tapes or optical disks, for the intentional or
unintentional purposes of sales or distribution, whether or not for
financial gain. The issue of a sale or distribution whatsoever cannot be
bypassed by claiming that only consulting time or the costs of a diskette
or labor has been charged.

6. Any exportation from the shareable Area without authorization from the
author is a violation of Copyright laws.

7. Violation of the above-mentioned is grounds for legal action by
ButtonWare, Inc. for violation of Copyrights.

8. By using the aforementioned software, you agree to the statements above.



We acknowledge the significant technical contribution of the Apex Database
Library (A product of Apex Software Corporation) in the creation of this
product. We highly recommend the APEX library to all programmers needing to
access files that use the dBASE format.