My Little Realm Enterprises - Records of the Realm v/3.0 - Shareware Version ____________________________________________________________________ Important ____________________________________________________________________ Records of the Realm is protected by copyright. It is not freeware, and it is not in the public domain. This is the Shareware (evaluation) version of My Little Realm's Records of the Realm. It is a full-featured, fully functional program. You are welcome to try it on your computer to ensure that it functions on your system as it should, and that it meets your individual needs. If after 30 days you decide to keep using Records of the Realm, you must pay for the program. To print an order form, press <$> in the Options Window or print the text file REGISTER.TXT. My Little Realm Enterprises stands behind all of its products with a 30-day money back guarantee. Bonus! Get one MLR stand-alone program free with every order. Read DESCRIBE.TXT for details. This offer expires 12/31/94. Thank you for trying Records of the Realm and Shareware! ____________________________________________________________________ My Little Realm Enterprises - Records of the Realm - Contents General Information......................................1 Introduction........................................1 Document Screen.....................................1 Overview.................................................1 Interface...........................................1 Quickeys............................................1 Extended Processing Options.........................2 Getting Started..........................................2 Program Information......................................3 The Options Window.......................................3 Option # 1, Adding Records...............................3 Field Definitions...................................3 Standard Record Fields.........................3 Item......................................3 For.......................................3 Location..................................4 Memo......................................4 Credit Card Record Fields......................4 Card Name.................................5 Card Number...............................5 Card Issuer...............................5 Address...................................5 City......................................5 State.....................................5 Zip.......................................5 Phone.....................................5 That Rainy Day Job.......................................6 Option # 2, Changing a Record............................6 Option # 3, Deleting a Record............................6 Option # 4, Viewing a Record.............................6 Option # 5, Printing Records.............................7 Option # 6, Lost Credit Cards............................7 Using Records of the Realm...............................7 Flotsam and Jetsam..................................8 A Place for Everything..............................9 Extended Processing Options..............................9 <\> Change the Document Quickeys....................9 <+> View All Records................................9 <|> Change Credit Card Names.......................10 <#> Switch Between Color and B/W Modes.............10 Display EPO Command Set........................10 Records of the Realm Page 1 ____________________________________________________________________ General Information ____________________________________________________________________ Introduction Documents Screen The records of the realm are __________________________ the memory records that remember | | when you can't. This program's | A Marriage License | major purpose is to record the | B Birth Certificate | location of those documents deemed | C Death Certificate | invaluable to the realm, but it | D Divorce | can also help alleviate the worry | E Adoption | should you discover that your | F Military | credit cards have been lost or | G Personal Data | stolen. The types of documents | H Will | typically catalogued are reflected | I Citizenship | in the list of Document categories | J Contract | found in the sample Viewing Window | K Life Insurance | to the right. | L Loan | | M Car Information | All of the Document types (except | N Home Information | Q, Credit Card) may be changed by | O Social Security | using the Change Quickeys EPO, <\>. | P Mortgage File | Refer to the section entitled | Q Credit Card | Extended Processing Options for |__________________________| more details. ____________________________________________________________________ Overview Interface. Records of the Realm's screen consists of three windows: a Working Window, a Viewing Window, and an Options Window. If you are using a color monitor the Viewing Window is always green, the Working Window red and the Options Window blue. You select processes (like adding, updating, or deleting records) in the Options Window. In general, you create records in the Working Window, and you view your Document types in the Viewing Window. ---------------------------- Quickeys. The Quickey list in Records of the Realm consists of the Document and Recording categories families typically use, such as wills, insurance, birth certificates, etc. Any and all can be changed by using the Change Quickeys EPO. Just press <\>, the backslash key, in the Options Window to effect the necessary changes. ---------------------------- Records of the Realm Page 2 Extended Processing Options. Several processing tasks, called extended processing options or EPO's, are not listed in the Options Windows, because they are functions that only occasionally need to be performed. EPO's are used to "extend" a program's power and functionality. One EPO you should be aware of initially is the Change Quickeys function which allows you to add special savings instruments to your Quickey list. You invoke it by pressing the backslash in the Options Window. To find out what EPO commands are employed by Records of the Realm, enter (the question mark) in the Options Window. See "Extended Processing Options", page 9, for a full description. ____________________________________________________________________ Getting Started The very first thing to do with Records of the Realm is make the program uniquely yours. To do that, you'll need to make some changes in the Quickey Document categories in the Viewing Window. The Change Quickeys function is invoked with the backslash key, <\>, entered in the Options Window. Once you've entered the general classifications of documents you want Records of the Realm to remember, create the actual records by pressing <1> in the Options Window. Tell Records which document type you're creating a record for, and then fill in the rest of the fields as best you can. See "Using Records of the Realm" on page 7 for more details. You can also find several examples in the Fields Definition section beginning on page 3. Hint: Be sure you log the important documents that are infrequently needed, like your school age children's medical records. You should also record documents like life insurance policies, house titles, condo or rental contracts, important warranties (on your cars, furnace, water heater), marriage licenses, divorce papers, and even jury duty notices. Don't forget to enter your credit card data. In the event of loss or theft, Records of the Realm prints the phone numbers of the issuing companies, letters to those companies notifying them of the loss/theft, and labels for the envelopes. All you have to do is sign the letters and mail them. See "Lost Credit Cards" on page 7 for more information. Please understand, Records of the Realm can't help you remember if you don't tell it what it needs to know. Make it a family event some rainy day, and collect all of those important papers, notices, documents, what have you, and log them ... and THEN forget all about them. Records of the Realm Page 3 ____________________________________________________________________ Program Information ____________________________________________________________________ The Options Window. _____________________________________________ | | | 1 Add 4 View | | 2 Change 5 Print Choice __ | | 3 Delete 6 Lost! | |_____________________________________________| The EPO's for Records of the Realm are defined on page 9. ____________________ Option # 1, Adding Records. Creating records requires four pieces of information for all but the credit card entries (Quickey Q in the Viewing Window). If you tell Records of the Realm to make a credit card record, it displays the extra fields necessary to create one in the lower half of the Working Window. ~ Field Definitions ~ =================== ===================== Standard Record Fields =================== ===================== The following fields are found on all records. - Item field (20, required). Type in the Document Quickey and press . If you wish to enter your own document category manually you should keep it short (and mnemonic). If you're creating a credit card Document record (Quickey Q), be sure you have the necessary information to complete the record. See the Credit Card Record Fields section immediately following the Memo field definition below. Remember: You can change the Quickeys to suit your own needs by using the <\> (backslash) EPO described near the end of this document. Note: You cannot change the Q Quickey, Credit Cards. ____________________ - For field (35, optional). Use this field to indicate to whom the record belongs (i.e., in whose name it is). If it's a birth certificate, for example, put Records of the Realm Page 4 the person's name here; if it's a credit card, the person whose name appears on the card; and so on. Other memory records that are useful to keep are items that should last a long time but frequently don't for one reason or another. If you buy a new car battery, create a record with Quickey M, Car Information. In the For field, enter the car that received the new battery. In the Location field, enter the store or garage that sold you the battery, and in the Memo field, put the purchase and expiration dates. This procedure is quite beneficial for all sorts of costly items, like appliances, replacement parts for cars, or anything that has a lengthy warranty. ____________________ - Location field (35, optional). Use this field to identify the location of the document or who has possession of said document. Read the section entitled "Using the Records of the Realm" on page 7. ____________________ - Memo field (35, optional). Use this field to note contract expiration dates, loan interest rates and other pertinent information. ================= ===================== Credit Card Record Fields ================= ===================== If you are entering a credit card record, Records of the Realm displays the credit card portion of the Working Window and asks for the following: Card Name Card Number Card Issuer Address (of card issuer) City, State and Zip (of card issuer) Phone Number (of card issuer) These fields are defined below. You will quickly discover that finding this information is not so easy as it might first appear because card issuers don't always put the necessary information on the Agreements they send you. If you cannot find the information you need on the Agreements statements, look at the Billing statements. They sometimes carry it. In the case of local stores, you might be better off getting the addresses and phone numbers from the phone book. But make a point of finding it and entering it. Records of the Realm Page 5 - Card Name field (single character entry, required). This is another Quickey field. Records of the Realm displays your Credit Card Quickeys in the Viewing Window when it's time to fill in this field. Simply enter the Quickey of the credit card you want. Obtaining Credit Card Names. You cannot manually enter a credit card name here. These credit card names are taken from the Credit Card program's Quickey file. Hence, you must run Charging (the Credit Card program) before you can complete the records for credit cards in Records of the Realm. ____________________ - Card Number field (20, optional). Records of the Realm uses this number in the letter it generates when you run the LOST! function, 6 in the Options Window, declaring your credit cards lost or stolen. ____________________ -- The next six entries pertain to the credit card issuer. -- - Card Issuer field (30, optional). This is the name of the company that extends you credit ... not necessarily the company that offered the card. As examples: Ford Motor Company offers Visa, but the card is actually made available by the Associates National Bank of Delaware. Sears offers the Discover Card, but credit is actually extended by the Greenwood Trust Company, also of Delaware. Check your Cardmember Agreement Statements to find the name of the bank/company that is actually extending the credit. ____________________ - Address field (30, optional). ____________________ - City field (15, optional). ____________________ - State field (15, optional). ____________________ - Zip Code field (12, optional). ____________________ - Phone Number field (10, optional). You should enter the area code, just to be safe, but if you want to skip the area code, press when the cursor is in the first position of this field. ____________________ Records of the Realm Page 6 That Rainy Day Job. All of the optional fields in the credit card section of this function must be filled in if Records of the Realm is to do a proper job for you. Creating records like these was called a "rainy day job" in the Getting Started section of this document. Now you'll find out why. But it's better to do this work on a rainy day when you have a little leisure time than after you've actually lost your credit cards and are hard pressed to remember everything you have to do for legal notification. ____________________________________________________________________ Option # 2, Changing a Record. Enter the Document category under which the record you want to change is stored. Records of the Realm takes you to the first in that category and asks if that is the one you want to change. If it isn't, press , and Records of the Realm takes you to the next record. You can also use the directional keys (the left and right arrow keys) to peruse that Document category. When you find the record you need to change, press or . Records of the Realm displays a list of the fields you can change in the Viewing Window. You may not change the Document type. If the record is not a credit card record, those fields pertaining specifically to credit card records are not displayed. Select the hotkey of the field you want to change and Records of the Realm puts the cursor in that field and awaits your corrections. If you change your mind and decide you don't want to change that category after all, press and Records of the Realm restores that field's old value. ____________________________________________________________________ Option # 3, Deleting a Record. Enter the Document category of the record you want to delete. Records of the Realm asks if the displayed record is the one you want to delete. If it isn't, press until you find the correct record, and then press . Like the Change function, you can also use the directional keys to find the record in question. After you've found the record you want to delete, press or . Records of the Realm asks you to verify the record it is about to delete. Please ensure that it is the correct one. If it is, press again. (You cannot press for in response to the second query.) ____________________________________________________________________ Option # 4, Viewing a Record. Tell Records of the Realm which Document category you wish to view, and it displays the records in the chosen category to you one at a time. Use the directional keys to view the Document category. Records of the Realm Page 7 If you want to view all of the records in your file without regard to Document categories use the <+> EPO described on page 9. ____________________________________________________________________ Option # 5, Printing Records. This option prints a comprehensive listing of all your records. If, during the execution of the Print function, you decide you do not want to print out the entire listing, press . ____________________________________________________________________ Option # 6, Lost Credit Cards. Doing double duty, Records of the Realm also serves your credit card needs in the event of loss or theft. If you've set up your records properly, Records of the Realm will print: 1) the list of phone numbers that you have to call to issue a loss/theft notice, 2) the letters necessary to legally notify all of your card issuers of the loss or theft, and, 3) the mailing labels you'll need to send those letters off promptly. Records of the Realm asks for your name, address, and phone number so that it can complete the letters to your credit card issuers. You should not leave any of the data fields blank. You can advance and retreat through the fields using the up and down arrow keys. Note: Once you enter your name and address you do not have to enter that information again, unless you leave Records of the Realm. That is to say, if you find, after entering your personal data, that you need to make changes to several of your credit card records, you can safely leave the Lost! function, make your changes, and return to the Lost! function to find your personal data intact. You can abort this function at any time by pressing . If you have not yet created a credit card Quickey list or if you haven't created any credit card records, you will not able to choose the LOST! option. Read about the <|> EPO, Changing Credit Card Names, on page 10. [Note: Records of the Realm comes with a default credit card name Quickey list.] ____________________________________________________________________ Using Records of the Realm Each member of the realm should have a file folder kept in a filing cabinet marked "Personal File" with his or her name under that title. Into these files go all of the personal documents relating to the individual named on the folder ... for instance, that Records of the Realm Page 8 person's medical records, life insurance policies, birth certificate, and, social security papers. Then for each document put into these files, you should enter a record in Records of the Realm logging the document's existence and whereabouts. For example, to enter a new daughter's birth certificate into the records file, bring up Records of the Realm. In the Options Window you would press 1 to enter a new record. Records of the Realm would put you in the Working Window and wait for the Document Quickey of the item to be entered. In this instance, you would enter B, Birth Certificate. The next field entry is "For:", into which you would type your new daughter's name. After that comes the entry for the location of the document which in this case might be something like "in her Personal File". The last entry is Memo which gives you an extra 35 spaces to add any additional details such as "original in safe deposit box". Many of your realm's documents won't be kept in your personal files. Titles, contracts, mortgage papers, and so on, should be kept in your safe deposit box. (The original copy of a will should not be kept in a safe deposit box, however, since it is locked upon your demise, but rather with your executor or lawyer. You should keep a copy of your will in your safe deposit box or at home for easy reference.) In the case of copies of any document, make a note of the whereabouts of the original document as well as the copy. You might find it advantageous to record your warranties in Records of the Realm, too. Your file will require frequent updating, however, since most warranties are only good for 60 or 90 days, and the necessary adding and deleting of records can quickly grow tedious. The best compromise might be to record only the extended warranties you obtain on your major purchases. Warning: If you are considering purchasing an extended warranty, Consumer Reports' article entitled "Who Needs An Extended Warranty?" dated January 1991 should be required reading. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Flotsam and Jetsam. Some of the "where can I put these?" records are best kept under general categories. For example, keeping tabs of your auto insurance records is important, but so is the oil change you're supposed to give your car every three or four months. List those records as well under "Car Information", along with warranty data on the new muffler, battery, etc. Tip: When creating your personal set of Document categories, don't get too specific. Try to keep the categories general. Records of the Realm Page 9 Note: If you haven't yet made a "Warranty" file folder, it would be a good idea to start one now and keep it in your filing cabinet. Put all of your long term warranty statements in it. To keep it up to date, browse through it once a year and discard the expired warranties. Don't forget to delete those old records from your Records of the Realm file as well. (This is another of those rainy day chores.) Keep a record of your jury duty sessions, too, under the Personal category. Some states do not require you to pull jury duty if you've already performed your civic obligation within the past year or two. Keep the official notice in your personal file. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A Place for Everything. Once you've set up the records of your realm, don't just use them when you need to find something. Use them when it comes time to return that something to its proper place and you can't recall where to put it. That way you'll be able to find it ... again and again and again. ____________________________________________________________________ Extended Processing Options EPO Definition <\> Change the Records of the Realm-supplied Document categories. Records of the Realm asks you which category you want to change. It then places your cursor under the old category in the Viewing Window and awaits your new entry. If you press the wrong Quickey, press while the cursor is in the Viewing Window and the old Document category is restored, even if you've typed something else in the field. To end the Change Quickey function press when Records of the Realm asks which Quickey you want to change. Category names can be up to seventeen characters long. Note: You cannot modify or delete the last Quickey, Credit Cards. - - - - - - - - - <+> View all records in the Records of the Realm file. This allows you to see all of the records regardless of the Document type. You browse through the file by using the directional keys. Records of the Realm Page 10 This EPO is handy should you discover you cannot recall how you spelled a Document category you manually entered on the Item line. Remember, keep it short, simple and memorable! - - - - - - - - - <|> Create or change your credit card names. This EPO is used to enter the names of your credit cards in the event you do not have My Little Realm's Charging program to create the list for you. See Warning below. Records displays your present credit card file, if it exists, and asks: Change which credit card Quickey? _ Enter the Quickey of the name you want to change. Records of the Realm puts your cursor under the existing name, if there is one, and lets you make the necessary changes. If you inadvertently press the wrong Quickey, press and Records reinstates the old name. Credit card names can be up to 19 letters in length. WARNING! If you already have MLR's Charging program, you must not use this EPO or any other text editor to modify your credit card name file. If you use MLR's Charging program, Records of the Realm automatically uses its Quickey file. As a matter of fact, if you have MLR's Charging program, Records tells you to use Charging to modify your credit card Quickey file. Serious damage will result to your credit card data file if you do not. - - - - - - - - - <#> Switch between color and B/W modes. - - - - - - - - - Display Records of the Realm's EPO symbols and their definitions. ____________________________________________________________________ + The End + ____________________________________________________________________ (c) Copyright 1991 - 1994 John L. Salisbury