Copyright: (c) 1993,1994 by Michael Dvorkin


Help on BusinessCards

Introduction

What is BusinessCards?

What is new in Version v2.00?

Menu Commands

File Menu

Edit Menu

View Menu

Format Menu

Options Menu

Help Menu

General information

Registration policy

How to register BusinessCards?

About shareware

Credits...


What is BusinessCards?

BusinessCards for Windows is a free form database program, useful for keeping track of any type of textual information. You can use BusinessCards to organise and manage any vital information, such as names, addresses, and phone numbers. Moreover, you may use BusinessCards to store random data, such as video or CD titles, short articles, descriptions of collection items, etc.

With BusinessCards you decide how to present and organize information: there are no predefined forms or record layouts. You may enter and store your data the way, that is most useful for you. Using BusinessCards Attachments feature, you also can easlily keep track of any number of external files,  associated with specific card. For example, you can just clip all your contracts or invoices to card with your clients address.

BusinessCards is easy to use software. It has friendly and convenient notebook-like user interface. I expect you will be amazed by how fast you can learn to use it effectively.

BusinessCards is compact - there are no requirements for megabytes of free disk space or extra memory. So if you are busy business traveller, you will be able to keep both program and data files on diskette and use them at clients site. Since BusinessCards  directly reads and writes Windows Cardfile files, there should be minimum problems, converting your existing address or price database.

Specifically, with BusinessCards you can:

•	Represent any unstructured textual data in a usual business card form.

•	Scan your data quickly using easy to follow book-like interface and work with each card individually by selecting it.

•	Access the most often used commands by clicking on appropriate toolbar button.

•	View the table of contents for quick and easy navigating through entire BusinessCards file.

•	Control the way your information is displayed by taking advantage of the fonts, colors and alignment styles available.

•	Find exactly the information you require by using powerful Searching feature.

For experienced Windows users, BusinessCards for Windows also offers advanced features such as:

•	Attachment feature, which allows to associate specific business card with any number of external files.

•	Launching external applications from inside BusinessCards, passing a file name associated with a business card.

•	Transferring data between the BusinessCards format and Windows Cardfile file format.

•	Configurable toolbar, which allows you to assign any menu command to any toolbar button.

•	User preferences feature, which enables to set up various user options and save them for the next BusinessCards session.


What is new in Version v2.01?

What is new in Version v2.00?

BusinessCards version v2.00 has more than 10 new features, along with enhancements and improvements of the previous version. Most of the new features and enhancements have been inspired by users reports and their suggestions. Below is a list of major new features, implemented in new version v2.00:

•	New File/Sort command, which allows to rearrange business cards alphabetically within a file;

•	New @ tab, which may be used to store cards with non-alphabetical data or data which begins with digits;

•	New status bar at the bottom of notebook, which displays messages shows length of card contents, total number of attachments and editing mode for current card;

•	New scrollable card style in Options/Preferences dialog, which allows to have cards with vertical scroll bar used to scroll through card contents;

•	BusinessCards now directly imports and export files with comma delimited (CSV) record format, supported by most databases;

•	Drag and drop capability using right mouse button lets you rearrange cards easily within a page;

•	BusinessCards now accepts file name as command line parameter -- the file is opened automatically on program startup;

•	The length of card contents has been increased to 512 bytes.

•	Number and size of cards on a single page are configurable. Now you may choose between 3 small cards (as in v1.00), 2 medium or 1 large card per page;

•	Now you can navigate more easily through file contents, flipping non-empty pages and automatically skipping blank ones;

•	BusinessCards now saves last used directory in all Open/Save operations instead of starting each time from Windows directory.

The latest version v2.01 is the maintenance release, which fixes some minor bugs, reported by early users of v2.00.


File Menu Commands

New

Open

Save

Save As

Print

Printer Setup

Sort

Exit


Edit Menu Commands

Undo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Clear

Select All

Attachments


View Menu Commands

Contents

Prior Page

Next Page

First Page

Last Page

Goto

Search


Format Menu Commands

Regular

Bold

Italic

Left

Right

Center

Font

Color


Options Menu Commands

Toolbar

Preferences

Information

Save Settings on Exit


Help Menu Commands

Index

Using Help

About...


New Command

Opens a new empty BusinessCards file. When you choose New, you can save changes to the document you have been working on.

Shortcut key: Ctrl N


Open command

Opens an existing BusinessCards, Windows Cardfile or comma delimited (CSV) file. By default, BusinessCards files have .BCR extension, Cardfile files - .CRD extension and comma delimited files -- .CSV extension. When opening non-native BusinessCards file it is converted automatically to .BCR format.

When you choose Open, you can save changes to the document you have been working on.

Shortcut key: Ctrl O

Tip: If you have one frequently used data file, you may wish to provide its name on command line. In this case it is opened automatically by BusinessCards.


Save Command

Saves changes to the BusinessCards file you have been working on. By default files are saved as BusinessCards documents with .BCR extension. To save a file in Cardfile or comma delimited format, use Save As command. When you choose Save, the document remains open so you can continue working on it.

Shortcut key: Ctrl S


Save As Command

Saves current file in either BusinessCards (.BCR extension), Cardfile (.CRD) or comma delimited (.CSV) format. You can name a new file or save an existing file under a new name. The original file remains unchanged. When you choose Save As, the current file remains open so you can continue working on it.


Print Command

Prints a copy of the current BusinessCards file. You can specify how many copies to print and whether they are collated, which pages to print, and the printing quality. You can also choose to print to a file instead of to a printer.

Shortcut key: Ctrl P


Printer Setup Command

Selects a printer and sets printing options. The available options depend on the type of printer selected.


Exit Command

Closes the file you have been working on and quits BusinessCards. You can save the file before quitting. Current BusinessCards settings (i.e. toolbar configuration, user preferences, etc.) are saved if Save Settings On Exit option in Options Menu has been checked.

Shortcut key: Alt F4


Undo Command

Undoes your last editing or formatting action, including cut and paste actions. If an action cannot be undone, Undo appears dimmed on the Edit menu.

Shortcut key: Alt Backspace


Cut Command

Deletes text from a card and places it onto the Clipboard, replacing the previous Clipboard contents.

Shortcut key: Shift Delete


Copy Command

Copies text from a card onto the Clipboard, leaving the original intact and replacing the previous Clipboard contents.

Shortcut key: Ctrl Insert


Paste Command

Pastes a copy of the Clipboard contents at the insertion point or replaces selected text in a card.

Shortcut key: Shift Insert


Clear Command

Deletes selected text from a card, but does not place the text onto the Clipboard. Use Clear when you want to delete text from the current business card but you have text on the Clipboard that you want to keep.

Shortcut key: Ctrl Delete


Select All Command

Selects all the text in a card at once. You can copy the selected text onto the Clipboard, delete it, or perform other editing actions.

Shortcut key: Ctrl Enter


Attachments Command

This command allows you to attach one or more external files to the current business card. Attachments are indicated with the little clip over the card. You also may launch applications, associated with attached files from within BusinessCards.

Shortcut key: F4

Tip: If you already have card attachments, you can access them even faster by clicking on the clip in upper right corner of the card.


Sort Command

Sort Command (new in v2.01)

Sorts BusinessCards in alphabetical order. The cards are automatically rearranged and stored in proper places inside the notebook. The contents of cards remain unchanged. You can enter cards just one after another and then Sort them to arrange alphabetically.


Contents Command

Shows the table of contents in the right side of the cardbook. Table entries consist of card's identifier (i.e. first two words of card contents) and card's page number. If there are any attachments for a given card, their number appears after the cards ID. When scrolling through or pointing to the table of contents, the appropriate pages are automatically flipped on the left side of the cardbook.

To return from the table back to cards view just repeat the Contents command.

Shortcut key: F2


Prior Page Command

Shows the previous page of a cardbook. If you are working with the first page (A-1), then Prior Page switches you to the last page of a cardbook (@-15). You can carry out the same function by simply clicking left mouse button on the left page of a cardbook.

Shortcut key: PageUp

Tip: To skip empty pages and move only through the filled ones (i.e. pages with at least one non-empty card), just hold Shift key down while pressing PageUp or clicking on the left page.


Next Page Command

Shows the next page unless you do not stay on a last book page. If you are working with the last page (@-15), then Next Page switches you to the first page of a cardbook (A-1). You can carry out the same function by simply clicking left mouse button on the right page of a cardbook.

Shortcut key: PageDown

Tip: To skip empty pages and move only through the filled ones (i.e. pages with at least one non-empty card), just hold Shift key down while pressing PageDown or clicking on the right page.


First Page Command

Shows the first page of the cardbook.

Shortcut key: Ctrl Home


Last Page Command

Shows the last page of the cardbook.

Shortcut key: Ctrl End


Goto Command

Moves to a specific page in the current BusinessCards file. To specify the page you should enter page letter and number in GoTo dialog box and click OK button.


Search Command

Searches for text in the current BusinessCards file. You can match letters' case in the search. If target string is found, you can turn to appropriate page to locate the card.

Shortcut key: F3


Regular Command

Changes current font style to regular. This style may be used together with italic font style. The change affects all business cards.

Shortcut key: Ctrl R


Bold Command

Changes current font style to bold. This style may be used together with italic font style. The change affects all business cards.

Shortcut key: Ctrl B


Italic Command

Changes current font style to italic. This style may be used together with bold or regular styles. The change affects all business cards.

Shortcut key: Ctrl I


Left Command

Changes card's text alignment to left, so that cursor moves from left to right during text entry. The change affects text appearance in all business cards.


Right Command

Changes card's text alignment to right, so that cursor moves from right to left during text entry. The change affects text appearance in all business cards.


Center Command

Centers card's text, so that text appears centred inside a card. The change affects text appearance in all business cards.

Shortcut key: Ctrl C


Font Command

You can use the Fonts command to change font styles and sizes of business cards. The change affects text appearance in all business cards. The current font style and size are overwritten by the new styles and sizes you select.

Making a selection in one area of the dialog box does not affect the other areas. For example, if you change the font style but not the size, the current size remains, but font style in cards is overwritten.

Shortcut key: Ctrl F


Color Command

This command lets you change background color of business cards. You may select desired color from a palette of standard colors, or design your own custom color. The change affects all business cards.


Toolbar Command

This command lets you configure the toolbar according to your needs. In the appearing Configure Toolbar dialog box you see all possible toolbar buttons along with description of their functions.

To assign a new button select it in the dialog box and then just click on desired spot inside the toolbar. To save settings push Close button. To cancel settings press Cancel button. To reset the toolbar configuration to its previous state press Reset button. Current toolbar configuration is saved for the next session depending on Save Settings on Exit.

Shortcut key: F7


Preferences Command

This command lets you define user preferences. In the appearing Preferences dialog box they are as follows:

Show page turns	controls, whether pages turns are shown on screen.
3D controls	controls, whether dialog box controls have three dimensional look. CTL3D.DLL dynamic link library is required to turn this option on.
Exploding dialogs	controls, whether "exploding" effect appears when a dialog box pops up.
Scrollable cards	controls, whether cards contain vertical scroll bar, allowing to scroll contents of the card (new in version v2.01).
Number of cards per page	you may choose between 3 small, 2 medium or 1 large business card per page (new in version v2.01).
Index as card number	if turned on, when exporting BusinessCards file to Cardfile file format card's index is written as a card's number.
Index as card id	if turned on, when exporting the BusinessCards data to Cardfile file format each card's index is written as first two words of a card.
No index	if turned on, when exporting the BusinessCards data to Cardfile file format no indices are written.
Create backup	controls, whether backup files should be created before saving the current file. Backup file extensions are .BC~ for BusinessCards, .CR~ for Cardfile or .CS~ for comma delimited file format.
Store index	if turned on, when importing data from Cardfile indices are not stored with a cards text.
Skip header record	when importing comma delimited files, this option lets you skip the first record, which usually contains field names.

Shortcut key: F8


Information Command

This command displays the information about current BusinessCards file and Windows system resources. Specifically, you get the following information:

1. Full file specification of the current file.

2. Database version number.

3. Date and time of last saving.

4. Total number of cards in the file.

5. Total number of card attachments in the file.

The Windows system information includes the following data:

1. CPU model of your computer and current Windows mode.

2. Total of free available memory.

3. Percentage of free system, user and graphics resources.

Shortcut key: F9


Save Settings on Exit Command

When this option is turned on the user preferences data is saved in BCARDS.INI file for the next BusinessCards session. Upon start-up BusinessCards searches this file for configuration data. Specifically, the following information is saved:

1. Current preferences dialog box settings.

2. Current toolbar configuration.

3. Save Settings on Exit flag value.

Please note, that current font and color information are not saved in BCARDS.INI file. Instead, such data is saved on per-database basis, i.e. each database file contains information about its font and color settings.


Index on Help topics

Help Index Command

This command displays index of topics, available in BusinessCards Help. To choose a specific topic just click on its title.

Shortcut key: F1


Using Help

Using Help Command

This command provides the information on using Windows Help.


About BusinessCards

About Command

This command lets you view the information about current version and the author of BusinessCards. If you have registered version of the program, the appearing About dialog box also shows you the registration information (owner's name, company and registration date).


Registering BusinessCards

Registration policy

This software is a fully operational program. I have made it this way so that you can have a real look at it, and then decide whether BusinessCards fit your needs or not. You are encouraged to use, copy, and distribute it as freely as you wish. But if you do find it useful, the author asks that you please register your copy. There are 2 levels of registration - basic and premium. For the basic fee of $19.95 you will receive your personal serial number and:

1.	The initial registration reminder dialog box which appears at the beginning of the program is removed when you install your registered copy. Also, your name will appear in Help/About dialog box and word UNREGISTERED will be removed from programs title bar.

2.	By registering, you are assured of receiving the most up-to-date and full-featured product possible. All minor version upgrades are free for registered users and major versions will be offered with significant discount. When you register, you will be placed on mailing list to receive notices of new major revisions when they become available.

3.	Registered users will receive free technical support over the phone or email for their version of BusinessCards. Internet mail is checked on a daily basis, and in most cases all questions will be responded to within 24 hours. The AmericaOnline and CompuServe accounts are also checked on a fairly regular basis. For registered users bug fixes are also free.

For the premium fee of $24.95 you will get all above plus:

1.	Original diskette with most up to date version of BusinessCards for Windows software.

2.	Updated and enhanced version of USA high-tech companies database (file USAFIRMS.BCR) plus other sample databases.

3.	FREE BONUS! The original diskette will contain BrainCubes game for Windows ($10 registration fee) free!

To become a registered owner of BusinessCards for Windows please read How to register BusinessCards? in this help and/or instructions in accompanying README.TXT and ORDER.TXT files.


Distribution Policy

How to register BusinessCards?

There are many ways to register both basic and premium levels of BusinessCards software. (see Registration policy for basic and premium benefits and fees).

Money Order, Checks or Cash

Please send your Money Order, Check or Cash to:

Michael Dvorkin

1111 Bayhill Drive, #180

San Bruno, CA 94066

USA

For non-cash overseas orders I can accept personal checks in major hard currencies. This covers most of Western Europe, Japan and Australia. For the rest of the world non-cash orders must be accompanied by an International Money Order or a check in US Funds, drawn on an American banking Institution.

Credit Card Orders

You can order with MasterCard, Visa, American express or Discover credit card from Public Software Library (PsL) by calling:

Toll-free: 1-800-2424-PSL

Phone:	(713)524-6394

Fax: 	(713)524-6398

CompuServe: 71355,470

Internet: 71355.470@compuserve.com

Please mention the product number 11305. You can also mail credit card orders to PsL at P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705 USA. Please note, that the above numbers are for oreders only. Any questions about status of the shipment, registration options, distribution possibilities, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc. must be directed to me, program author, Michael Dvorkin.

CompuServe

GO SWREG

Product number: 2483

Product title: BusinessCards for Windows v2.0

CompuServe provides on-line registration. Electronic orders may be placed with CompuServe Information Services and billed directly to your CompuServe statements for your convenience. Just GO SWREG and request BusinessCards registration. SWREG is provided as basic service, so there is no additional charge for using it.

I have tried to list as many options as possible at present time for your convenience. Register whatever means is most convenient to you. If none of above is convenient for you to register BusinessCards, please feel free to contact me for a viable solution. We can arrange for some special methods of registrations anyway.


Shareware

About shareware

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you do not use the product, you don't pay for it.

The program author, Michael Dvorkin, is a 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 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.


Credits

Credits...

BusinessCards Version v2.01

Copyright © 1993,1994 by Michael Dvorkin

Dedicated to my lovely Diana

My special thanks to Bok Nan Lo (author of Visual Calendar Planner) and Vladimir Sukonnik for beta testing the BusinessCards and useful suggestions. I also would like to say thanks to all registered users and those people who made this release possible.

All users feedback is welcomed. Version v2.01 is released largely because users have spoken up, and I have added features and made changes that have been requested. Please send any suggestions, comments, bug reports or just greetings to the following addresses (I'll try to send a reply to everyone!):

Michael Dvorkin

1111 Bayhill Drive, #180

San Bruno, CA 94066 USA

Phone: (415)588-6215

Fax: (415)588-6149

Internet: totus!mike@uunet.uu.net (will be valid until June 1994)

AmericaOnline: MiD  (i.e. mid@aol.com from Internet)

CompuServe: 73773, 2527