                                    MOONBASE 64

                                    INSTRUCTIONS


     Moonbase is a database program written by Don Messerli [70346,1011].  It has been donated to the public domain by the author.  It can be copied but not sold.

     The files created with Moonbase reside on disk as seq files.  The complete data file resides in memory while you work on it.  Advantages are its speed in sorting, searching, and loading.  Disadvantage is data files cannot be too big.  The maximum is about 24K.

     Moonbase was written in BASIC and compiled with BASIC 64 by Abacus Software.  I will supply the BASIC program for the cost of a disk and postage.  Request it via E-mail.

     To start Moonbase just load and run like a BASIC program.  The menu choices run across the bottom of the screen and can be chosen with the cursor keys.  The key definitions are:

     cursor up/down     -- move cursor left

     cursor left/right  -- move cursor right

     up or left arrow   -- choose EXIT or QUIT

     F1                 -- change border color

     F3                 -- change screen color

     F5                 -- change text color

     RETURN             -- choose highlighted menu item


     Once the desired menu item is highlighted, pressing RETURN will choose that item.  The arrow keys are a shortcut to choosing EXIT in any sub-menu or QUIT in the main menu. (You don't have to press RETURN)  Each choice in the main menu will get you to s sub-menu.  All the commands will be explained below.

DISK MENU

     LOAD - load in a previously saved data file.

     SAVE - save data file currently in memory.  The name can have a maximum of 12 characters because Moonbase saves the file with the prefix "MB] ".  This prefix should not be specified by the user when saving or loading.

     DIR - display directory of a disk to the screen.  15 directory entries are displayed with the prompt "MORE...".  Press any key to continue.

     COMMAND - send a DOS command to the disk drive.  A handy table is displayed.  To check the disk status, just press RETURN at the ">" prompt.  The prompt for a disk command does not allow full editing. If you make a typing mistake, pressing the delete key will give you a fresh prompt.

     EXIT - I'll only explain this one once.  Choosing this will get you back to the main menu.  Remember the shortcut.


CREATE MENU

     DEFINE - define a new data file.  You will be prompted about all the information needed to create a data file.

     REVIEW - review the structure of the data file currently in memory.


CHANGE MENU

     ADD    - add a record to the data file in memory.

     SEARCH & REPLACE - search a field in all records for a given string and replace it with another.


VIEW MENU

     The view mode lets you scan through the data file in memory.  The first record of the data file is displayed at first.

     NEXT - see the next record.

     LAST - see the previous record.

     FIND - specify a string to be matched.  Only one field can be searched through at a time.  To get a given record for modifying, you should use the up arrow.  Choosing next will re-display the first record if there aren't any more matches.

     GOTO - see any record by record number.

     DELETE - deletes the displayed record.  The records will be out of order.  This is because the deleted record is replaced with the last record.

     MODIFY - change the displayed record.


SORT MENU

     REGULAR - sort the records (alphabetically or numerically) by any field.

     SUBFIELD - sort by a secondary field within the main sort field. (i.e. main sort field = last name, subfield = first name)


PRINT MENU

     While you are working within the PRINT menu, the type of printer you are using is diplayed at the bottom of the screen.  The default is 80 column/ standard printer.  This really only has to be changed if you wish to print in greater than 80 columns.

     REPORT - print a report you have defined using the FORMAT option. You can also load in a previously defined format with this option.

     FORMAT - define a format for your report.  Reports are columnar and all options are fairly clear.  Formats can be saved for later use.  If you don't wish to save the format, erase the default filename before pressing RETURN.  Report formats are save with a "MR] " prefix.  You can also view a loaded format with this option.

     QUICK - get a quick printout of your data file.

     SETUP - tell Moonbase what type of printer you are using.  If you get the message to turn the printer off and back on to reset it, you can ignore it unless you were in a mode of more than 80 columns.  I hope to support more printers in the future, just send me the codes to change number of columns.

PRINT OPTIONS MENU

     This menu comes up whenever you are ready to print.  It lets you control which records will be printed.

     ALL - print all records in memory.

     SELECT - print a record chosen by record number.

     FIND - similar to FIND option in the VIEW menu.  It lets you match strings to search for records with common items.



     Moonbase does a lot of checking to make sure you don't try to do something that you shouldn't (i.e. loading in a data file while there is another in memory...it gives you the option to save first).  I hope this program is useful to you.  I spent quite a bit of time giving it a pro look.  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or criticisms, send the via EasyPlex (E-mail) to:

             Don Messerli [70346,1011]

