DOCUMENTATION FOR
                          dBASE SHOPPER

                               by 
                          Bob Stephens

DATE: 
  March, 1986
SUMMARY:
  dBase Shopper is designed to help ease the pain of grocery shopping.  
It allows:
	o Easy selection of items to purchase from a list.
        o Print out of purchase selections by grocery aisle.
        o Comment and coupon fields for notes and reminders of savings.
        o Up to 26 different stores to work with.
        o Easy changes to database.

NOTICE:
  This software is fully copyrighted.  However it may be copied freely 
and distributed to anyone for non-profit purposes.

CREDITS:
  The idea for dBase Shopper comes directly from a series of programs 
released into the Public Domain by 

                      Dom Bastello
                      10 Floral Dr. E.
                      Plainview, N.Y. 11803

  While I did not use a line of his code, the basic concepts belong to
Dom.  I merely was challenged to make the idea "user-friendly" enough 
for my wife to use.

FILES NEEDED:
  
  MAINMENU.CMD        start running the program with this one.

  PURCHASE.CMD        \
  REPORT.CMD           \
  ADDITEM.CMD           \
  ADDSTORE.CMD           \  these make everything happen  
  CHANGE.CMD             /
  CLEAR.CMD             /
  GETGRO.CMD           /
  REMSTORE.CMD        / 

  GBASE.DBF           the basic grocery list lifted from Dom.
  STORES.DBF          the list of stores you create
  STANDARD.FRM        the standard report form
  GRAPHICS.MEM        the memory file for graphics attributes and such
                      (see INSTALL below)
  any number of files like:
  GROCERYA.DBF
  ITEMA.NDX
  AISLEA.NDX
 
  you may also have
  INSTALL.CMD          which sets up the graphics memory variables


OPERATION:
  dBase Shopper is completely menu driven and self explanatory.  There is
no requirement to use any dBase commands or any command not shown on the
screen.
  If the program seems to stop as though it is waiting for something, it
probably is.  Go ahead and enter the response to the question or any key
to get it moving again.  In other words, when in doubt, press something.
You probably won't hurt anything.


GETTING STARTED:

  The first thing that should be done with dBase Shopper is set up a store
and try it out.  From the main menu, select "changes" and follow the
prompts to name a store.
  You will want to input the aisle numbers as you use the program.  dBase
Shopper is designed to make a few changes each time you use it.  If you
want to have a marathon aisle naming session, dBase's BROWSE or EDIT commands
may be better.


HOW IT WORKS:

  Each store has a database file with the name "GROCERY_".  Two index files
exist for each store: "ITEM_" and "AISLE_".  The program will properly
add or delete stores and their associated files.  
  The basic list of items in the store comes from the file GBASE.DBF.  This
may certainly be changed to suit your taste if you feel can use the dBase 
commands®  Wheî addinç á store¬ thå prograí wilì prompô foò anotheò filå tï 
copù thå listó from if GBASE cannot be found.
  As the user marks items for purchase, he/she is given the opportunity to
add COMMENTS or COUPON information.  Also, this information can be changed
later with the change option.  
  When the purchase selections are completed, the REPORT option allows 
reporting (either to screen or printer) of either the purchased items or
all items in either alphabetical order or by aisle.  


INSTALLING THE GRAPHICS:

  dBase Shopper is distributed with a rather "plain" set of graphics
characters.  These are the default graphics that will work on any machine.
The graphics characters dress up the program's screens.
  The naming convention for graphics memory files is simple.  The filename
is always GRAPHICS and the extent is a three letter abbreviation of the
computer type.  For example, GRAPHICS.EPS contains the memory variables
to produce graphics on my Epson QX-10's screens.  Hopefully, you can find
one that works for your machine.  If not, you can run INSTALL and produce
your own.
  You will need a lot of technical information about your computer to
properly install the graphics.  All prompts for codes in INSTALL require
ASCII code responses in DECIMAL.  (For example, ESC is 27.)  You will also
need to know how your machine produces graphic characters and what your
graphic character set looks like.
  WARNING:  The program spits back a "naked" CHR(XXX) of whatever you put
in, even if it is a control code that zaps your screen or worse.  Be careful
and be warned.

  NOTE: The file MAINMENU.EPS is for Epson QX-10's (or QX-16's) running
CP/M B2.25 or 2.26 or 2.27.  It gets the date automatically from the Epson's
internal clock.  Of course, you must delete or rename the existing CMD file
and rename this one MAINMENU.CMD

  Further note:  I have a simple little command file on my dBase disk that
I have named IT.CMD.  It contains two major lines:
    SET DEFAULT TO B
    DO MAINMENU
I have renamed DBASE.COM to DO.COM so that when my wife wants to run this 
program, all she has to do is put the right disks in the right slots and
type "do it" at the A> prompt.  All of my other dBase applications also
have a file called MAINMENU so IT works with everything.


CONTACT:

  The sysop would not mind if you left notes for me on 
                        Poor Man's RCPM
                        (817) 283-9167

or write
                        Bob Stephens
                        1411 Rambler
                        Arlington, TX 76014

   I might add that the best contact you can make in this life is the 
Lord Jesus Christ.  I know that from the Bible (1 Peter 3:18) and from 
personal experience.  I would be happy to share both with you if you 
are interested.