Technical Information:

Equipment needed: IBM-PC (128K)
Floppy or hard disk
Color or Monocrome monitor
Printer

Configuration: Printer Port (LST1:)
(If necessary to print to another port, use
the MODE command to redirect printer output.)

Files contained on this disk:
ASSETS.EXE - The main program to execute
ASSETS.HLP - The help data file
ASSETS.DOC - The usage manual
ASSETS.DAT - The main data database file
ASSETS.X01 - The key index file
ASSETS.X02 - The type index file
ASSETS.X03 - The location index file
ASSETS.X04 - The user-defined field index file
ASREPORT.EXE - The report writer program
ASINDEX.EXE - The reindexer program




ROKMAR HOME/OFFICE ASSETS INVENTORY SYSTEM













INDEX

Copyright Notice ............ 1
What Is It For? ............. 2
Set Up ...................... 3
Field Editing ............... 4
Program Usage ............... 5
How To Use It ............... 7
Field Descriptions .......... 8
Interfacing ................. 9
Error Recovery .............. 11



COPYRIGHT NOTICE Page 1

This software product is the copyrighted property of RokMar
Computer Systems, and the usual shareware limited agreement
applies:

1. No fee may be charged for the retail sale of this product
other than a reasonable copy and distribution charge.

2. This product may only be distributed in its original and
complete form, including documentation and copyright notice.

3. This product may not be distributed, whole or in any part as
a section or part of any commercial product without written
permission of ROKMAR COMPUTER SYSTEMS.


DISCLAIMER

RokMar Computer Systems will not be liable for any damages or
claims related in any way to the use of this product and
disclaims all warranties or implied warranties by the
distributor.

Other than these minor trivialities, feel free to copy and give
out as many copies of this product as you wish. Place an
archived version on any BBS.

Should you receive any use from this program, please contribute
$10, or if you wish to receive an updated version of this program
with bug fixes and possible enhancements, and notices to future
updates, send $15 to:

Robert O Keith, Jr.
29660 Dixon St.
Hayward, Ca. 94544

Anything you might send, $, suggestions, problems will be greatly
appreciated and will prompt me to produce many more products for
the home and office. The registration fee will also entitle you
to a list of other available products. Remember, you did not have
to bother to program this for yourself...

Have fun, and remember... Press F1 for Help!




WHAT IS IT FOR? Page 2

Now that I have my own Home/Office Assets Inventory DataBase
system, what do I do with it? What good is it?

Most people may or may not think they have much money laying
around the house or office. In any case, most will be surprised
at how much has been collected over the months and years. In
most cases, much of this money sits around mostly unnoticed.
People who have used this product have been shocked to find out
how much money was tied up in household/office assets, in what
areas this money was concentrated, and in what type of
merchandise they had. In case of fire, theft, etc., the
insurance company wants an itemized list of each piece of
merchandise, the model numbers, the serial numbers, the location
the article was kept, the purchase/replacement cost, etc. This
bit of information can be difficult to piece together with any
amount of accuracy, especially in the midst of emotional strife.
If this information was gathered together in advance manually,
what a maintenance chore this could be: new items are bought,
sold, thrown away, lost, etc., every month.
This information is also useful for management decisions:
adequate security, fire protection, adequate insurance coverage,
or even how much money is invested by merchandise type, at
certain locations, etc. The Home/Office Assets Inventory
DataBase will retain this information on a dynamic medium, where
at the press of a button the information can be listed, sorted
and summed up by type, location, etc. This product will also
print a list, ready to mail off to the insurance company or store
offsite at any time.

The Home/Office Assets Inventory DataBase Contains:
- Pull Down Menu System, very simple to use.
- Pop Up windows including help windows so that you don't
become lost inside the integrated programs.
- Full Feature Search/Inquiry screens, to browse your data by
key words.
- Index Reports for your own information, (where, how much, of
what, etc.)
- Full Detailed Reports for safe storage and to mail off to
the insurance companies.
- Data Entry Input form printable on your own printer at any
time.

Can you use this?



SET UP Page 3

INSTALLING UP THIS SYSTEM ON YOUR COMPUTER.

Make a copy of this disk for your own backup at once!

An installation program is not included; they are more
complicated than simply copying the files to your hard disk, and
most of them cause more trouble than help anyway.


Installation on any Floppy Disk Drive:
Simply copy the original disk and use the copy as the
program/data disk. One disk and drive is all that is required for
use. These files may also be copied to a bootable floppy disk.

Hard Drive:
Create a directory (\ASSETS, \HOMEINV, \OFFINVEN, etc.),
anything you wish and copy the contents of this disk into the
directory. Remember, only rookies copy all of the software
including DOS to the root directory.

Example: C>COPY A:*.* A:\ASSETS

The executable program file of this system is ASSETS.EXE, so to
run, move to the drive and directory where the programs are
installed and type:

ASSETS

Example:

One floppy drive: A>ASSETS
Hard Disk:C>CD \ASSETS
C>ASSETS



The pull down menu will come up on your screen. If you have
never used this type of menu, Press F1 for Help. Press F1
anywhere inside this system, and a help screen will appear.



FIELD EDITING Page 4

Using the data entry fields.

The data entry screens and the inquiry screens have one or
many entry fields. The data in each of these fields may be
edited after some value has been entered. The type of edits
available for each field include, inserting characters inside
data already edited, deleting characters, etc. This scheme is
similar to word processors, spread sheets, etc. Following is a
detailed list of each function and the key to be used for each.

Key Function
____ __________________________________________________________

Ins This will toggle into or out of the insert mode. The
cursor will be a block character when inside the insert
mode. When inside the insert mode, any data above and to
the right of the cursor will be moved over and the data
typed will be shoved inside, inserted.

Del The Delete Key: The character above the cursor will be
deleted and the data to the right will be moved over to
fill the space created by the character deleted.

BS The Back-Space Key: The cursor will be moved to the left;
any data above the cursor will be deleted; the data to the
right will be moved to the left.

--> The right arrow key: The cursor will be moved one
character to the right, no data will be affected.

<-- The left arrow key: The cursor will be moved one character
to the left, no data will be affected.

Up The up arrow key: The cursor will jump up to the previous
data entry field.

Down The down arrow key: The cursor will jump down to the next
data entry field.

Return The return/entry key: The cursor will jump down to the
next data entry field.

Esc The escape key: This will exit the mode of the program
without doing any updates to the database.



PROGRAM USAGE Page 5

A Walk through of the system.

This section will be listed in sections in the order of
initial usage. Any semi-experienced user can breeze over this
section quickly and not work through the exercises, but keep in
mind the overall program flow and the uses of each function.

1. (RPTFORM) Print an input form. This is the last option on
the menu. Once this is printed, you may print as many as you wish
or make photocopies of the printed version. With this version
you can manually take inventory, listing the pertinent data on
the sheets, then use the sheets as data entry forms to sit at the
computer and enter the data. The first field on the sheet is the
key field. This can be any value you wish, but it must be unique.
Numbering the items is usually the simplest way to choose a
unique key, but the add function will accept any unique string of
characters.

2. (ADD) Enter the data. This is the first option on the menu.
Simply transcribe the data directly from the input sheets into
the add function. Press F1 if any field is confusing, a pop up
help window will appear. A full description of each field is
described in a later chapter.

3. (UPDATE) If you make any entry mistakes, use the third menu
option. These functions will allow data entry record
modifications or to delete the entire record. Again, Press F1
for guidance.

4. (INQUIRY) At any time, you may wish to search through the
data for a particular item, to do this, use the forth menu
function.
This is the most complicated screen, but don't worry, it
does no updates so you can not hurt anything by pressing the
wrong button. The three inquiry screens work basically the same
but work against different keys, TYPE, LOCATION and the USER-
DEFINED key. Specific key info is at the upper left of the
screen. A quick run through:
- Enter the screen via the menu.
- Enter the key value desired.
This may be the whole key, the first few characters of
this key, or to begin at the beginning, leave the field
blank. Then press F2 to begin the search.
- Continue to press F2 to search from the last record on
the screen...
- Or, Enter a different search key value...
- Or, Press F7 to scroll backwards; F8 to scroll forward.
- The up/down arrow keys will move the high-lighted line
upward or downward.
- Press the F3 key, and the high-lighted record will be
shown in detail inside another window in the middle of the
screen.


PROGRAM USAGE (cont.) Page 6

5. (RPT INDX) These reports are for your use as management
information. Simply selecting the menu option desired and
pressing return will cause the report to begin printing, so
have the printer on and ready.

6. (RPT FULL) These reports are detailed reports sorted by the
menu option chosen. They are for your permanent off-site
storage and to be sent to insurance agencies, etc.




HOW TO USE IT Page 7

Anyone who has been through a fire, burglary, or any of
numerous disasters, and have had to try to list everything they
own, how much the items were worth, and prove it, (Serial
numbers?) all this in the midst of an emotionally trying time,
wishing they had been better prepared. Insurance companies
usually request an updated listing of inventories every six
months. Pictures should also be included with this list. An even
better solution is a video tape recording of the articles, time
and date stamped. The entire room can be panned across catching
everything in the room.
Don't forget articles left inside closets or behind/under
furniture.
Anything one might forget to take a snapshot of usually
shows up in a video tape, somewhere in the background. Remember
to get a shot of the camera. Of course, pictures are not enough,
serial numbers, costs, etc. are still required. You should
also keep your own version of this file, but include photocopies
of receipts, and store this off-site in a safe location.

How many think to keep backups of software offsite? This
system will tell you how important that might be.

Hints/Reminders:
- Include items often forgotten in this list:
Expensive Clothing Articles Landscaping Purchases
Books Telephones
Computer Software Lighting Fixtures
Customized Curtains The Hot Water Heater
Kitchen Appliances and Utensils Tap Water Filters
Children's Articles Outside Articles

- Search through the closets, garages, in the automobiles,
off-site storage, cellars, etc., places not frequently
visited.
- Items that may be lended to someone else at the time
inventory is taken.
- Include important papers which may become lost or destroyed.



FIELD DESCRIPTIONS Page 8


Field Description Size Cobol Pic
----------------- --------------------------- ------ ---------
ASSET_KEY A unique key 5 X(5)

DESC The Description of the 25 X(25)
article of value.

TYPE The Type code. A category 8 X(8)
for the article, ie., tools,
equipment, etc.

LOCATION_STORED The Location Code where the 8 X(85)
article is stored, ie.,
garage, offsite, xa-01-01,
etc.

USER_DEFINED A User-Defined code for any 8 X(8)
special purpose requirement,
ie., persons name, sub-
breakdowns of Type or
Location, anything you wish.

DATE_PURCHASED The date the article was 6 X(6)
purchased. (MMDDYY)

PURCHASE_COST The purchase cost or value 7 9(5)v99
of the article. (characters)

PURCHASED_FROM Description of where the 25 X(25)
article was purchased from.

APPRAISAL The appraisal value, if 9 9(5)V99
applicable.

MODEL_NUMBER The article model number. 10 X(10)

SERIAL_NUMBER The article serial number. 20 X(20)

COMMENT1 First line of Comments. 50 X(50)

COMMENT2 Second line of Comments. 50 X(50)



INTERFACING Page 9

This feature is for the advanced computerist, and is not
required to use this package as it was intended. If, though, you
are interested or have a special requirement, such as including a
portion of this data in a financial statement, or using a
spreadsheet for more elaborate calculations on the data, or even
want to extract the data maintained here and upload it into
another database, you will want to read this section completely.

This database application package contains a very useful
report writer/data extractor. This can be used to create your
own reports, specify any subset of fields to extract, browse the
data very quickly, extract data into an ASCII file uploadable to
any word processor, spreadsheet, database package, report writer,
etc. This feature does not work under the menu system, so you
will have to be at the operating system prompt to use these
commands.

The command name is ASREPORT.

The following descriptions will use the A> prompt. Don't be
confused if you are using a different disk drive and see
something else.

For a demonstration, type:
A>ASREPORT ASSETS

The entire list of records will scroll across your screen.
This is interesting if used as a browse of the data. Now try:

A>ASREPORT ASSETS ASSET_TYPE DESC

Notice that only the data fields you selected, and in the
order you selected appear. Interesting? The format of this
command is:

A>ASREPORT ASSETS [file-element1 file-element2 ...]

The file elements are those listed in the previous chapter
and must be spelled exactly. If the file elements are not used,
all elements will be extracted. If listed on the screen, the
right most elements will be truncated. Now lets print something:

A>ASREPORT ASSETS TYPE DESC LOCATION_STORED PURCHASE_COST > PRN

Another way to do this would be:

A>ASREPORT ASSETS TYPE DESC LOCATION_STORED PURCHASE_COST > MYFILE
A>COPY MYFILE PRN

The first method extracts the data and redirects the I/O to
the printing device. The second method extracts the data and
redirects the I/O into a file of your own choosing.


INTERFACING (cont.) Page 10

Why extract the data into another file?
This is one of the nicer features of this system. This file
can be imported into any spreadsheet, (Lotus 123, etc.),
database, or word processing program. The data may be used by
the spreadsheet program to be reformatted, sorted in other ways,
or used for more elaborate calculations. The database may use
this data to be uploaded into other databases or report the data
in other formats. The data may be included into a word processor
for use inside a financial report, or for any other special
purpose.



ERROR RECOVERY Page 11

The error messages displayed in the error window at the
bottom, or inside other windows at various locations should be
obvious, ie., RECORD NOT FOUND, etc. There is one killer: INDEX
CORRUPTED.

The index corrupted message means that the database has been
corrupted, and the whole system is hung up. Nothing will work.
All is not lost.

To recover from this, a special program was developed called
ASINDEX.

To recover, type:

Floppy system:
A>ASINDEX ASSETS

Hard Disk:
C>ASINDEX ASSETS

A corrupted database happens when inside the system and the
power is lost, if there is a disk error, etc. It is not a normal
condition and should not happen frequently.

REMEMBER TO BACKUP YOUR DATA REGULARLY!!!

The database routines used in this system will put the disk
drive through its paces. Occasionally, a machine will return a
"index corrupted" message when using any of the functions which
access data. This could mean that the disk drive is slightly out
of alignment, even though most of other programs may work. If
this is the case, reindexing and running the system on another
machine may be necessary.