Index1

Budget Planner for Windows v3.0

Click on a topic below for help:

Adding records to a budget database

Browsing detail items in a video report

Browsing records in a budget database

Budget database entry window

Changing records in a budget database

Clearing the contents of a budget database record form

Deleting records from a budget database

Detail report

Entering information into a budget database record form

Menu

Print Current List button - detail report

Print Entire Report button - detail report

Printing a budget database record form

Recalculating changes made on a budget database form

Save As button on budget database entry window

Search options dialog box

Sorting records in a budget database


Menu

The Main Menu contains three groups: File, Reports, and Help.

The File menu group contains three items: New, Open, and Exit.

New

This menu item allows you to create a new, empty budget database file.

Clicking this item opens a file box allowing you to select the directory

and the filename for your database.  All budget databases must end with

a .BDB extension.

Open

This menu item allows you to access a budget database you have already

created.  A file box allows you to search drives, directories, and files

for your budget database.  Only files with a .BDB extension are displayed.

Exit

Clicking this menu item ends the Budget Planner for Windows program and

returns you to Windows.

The Reports menu group contains one item: Detail Report.

Detail Report

The Detail Report is a video report that displays information about

the entries in a budget database.  It also has two print options.

The Help menu group contains two items: Help Topics and About BPW.

Help Topics

This menu item opens the online help file and displays the topics list.

About BPW

This menu item displays the author's title/version/credit dialog box.

An additional Author's Msg button is available to view a few comments

from the author.


Detail Report

The Detail Report is actually two reporting options - a video report and a

print report combined into one dialog box.  Both display the Date, Budget

Description, and Budget Amount of all the records of the selected budget

database file.

Browsing the detail report

 Displays the first window of the video report

 Displays the previous window of the video report (if there is one)

 Displays the next window of the video report (if there is one)

 Displays the last window of the video report (if there is one)

Print Current List button

Prints the video report with the currently displayed information.

Print Entire Report button

Prints a report of all the records in the budget database file.

Exit button

Closes the video report dialog box and returns you to the main menu window.


Budget Database Entry Window

Entering information into a budget database record form

When you first enter the budget database form window, the current date

is placed in the Date field and the cursor is placed in the Budget

Description field.  Enter a description and press Enter or Tab.  Enter

the budget amount (the amount of money alloted for your expense items)

in the Budget Amount field and press Enter or Tab.

The cursor is placed in the item field above the item list.  This is

the procedure for entering multiple expense items and amounts:

   1. Enter the expense item in the Item field and press Enter or Tab.

   2. Enter the expense amount in the Amount field and press Enter or Tab.

   3. The Enter More Items button is selected.  Click the button or press

       Enter.  This adds the expense item and amount to the expense item

       and amount lists and calculates the Total Items, Total Amount,

       Difference, and Percentage fields.  The upper expense Item and

       Amount fields are cleared and the cursor is placed in the Item field,

       ready for another expense entry.  You may enter 15 expense items and

       amounts into their respective lists.

   4. When you are finished entering expense items and amounts, press Tab

       from the Enter More Items button.  This places the cursor in the Notes

       field.  Entry in the Notes field is optional.

The Notes field is just that - a place to "jot down" notes or comments for

future reference.

Adding records

After all entries have been entered in the budget database form, click the Add

button to add the record to the budget database file.  After the record has

been added to the file, all the fields of the budget database form are cleared

(except for the Date field, in which the current date is placed) and the cursor

is placed in the Description field.

Changing records

Locate the record to be modified using the browse buttons located at the lower

center of the budget database form window.  Type your changes in the necessary

fields -- you may also edit entries in the expense Item and Amount lists -- and

click the Change button.  A message will be displayed informing you the record

was modified.

Deleting records

Locate the record to be deleted using the browse buttons located at the lower

center of the budget database form window.  Click the Delete button.  A

confirmation dialog box appears asking if you want to delete the selected

record.  Click the Yes button to delete the record or click the No button to

abort the delete process.  If the record is deleted, the database is "packed"

to maintain the most efficient file size and a message is displayed informing

you the record was deleted.

Sorting records

Click the Sort button to open the sort options dialog box.

Browsing records

 Displays the first record in the file (if there is one)

 Displays the previous record in the file (if there is one)

 Opens the search options dialog box

 Displays the next record in the file (if there is one)

 Displays the last record in the file (if there is one)

Recalculating changes made on a budget database form

After making changes to a budget database record, click the Recalc button to

recalculate the Total Items, Total Amount, Difference, and Percentage.

Print button

Prints a budget database record form.

Save As button

Saves a budget database under a different name/path.

Clear button

Blanks all the fields in the budget database form and places the cursor in the

Description field.

Help button

Displays this help topic.

Exit button

Closes the budget database form window, saves all changes to the file (if there

were any), and closes the database file.


Search options dialog box

Database Search Options

This is the search options dialog box:

Search by Date

Enter the date to search for in MM-DD-YYYY (example: 01-01-1996) and click the

Continue button to start the search.  If your entry does not match any dates

in the file a message will be displayed stating the record was not found.

Click the Cancel button to abort the date search process.

Search by Description

Enter the first five letters of the description to search for (example: Budge)

and click the Continue button to start the search.  If your entry does not match

any descriptions in the file a message will be displayed stating the record was

not found.  Click the Cancel button to abort the description search process.

Search by Budget Amount

Enter the budget amount to search for (example $650.34) and click the Continue

button to start the search.  If your entry does not match any budget amount in

the file a message will be displayed stating the record was not found.  Click

the Cancel button to abort the date search process.

Cancel

Aborts the database search process.


Sort Options

Database Sort Options

This is the database sort dialog box:

Add

Places the sort option highlighted in the Options list into the Sort List and

removes it from the Options list.

Remove

Places the sort option highlighted in the Sort List into the Options list and

removes it from the Sort List.

Reset

Returns the Options list and the Sort List to their default state.

Exit

If one or more items are placed into the Sort list, the budget database file

will be sorted in the order of those options.  If no options are placed in

the Sort List, no file sort occurs.