MPLUS UPDATE HISTORY 1.0 - Initial release May 1994 1.1 - Corrected problem with scrolling in Browse Corrected error in label printing Minor internal and cosmetic adjustments 1.2 - Added DOS 6.x compatibility 1.3 - Added ability to delete both records during Compare 1.4 - Improved indexing Improved duplicate checking Added phone log 1.5 - Longer phone dialing prefixes Improved filename error trapping Added header label option 2.0 - Added printer codes for form letters Added printer codes for labels Added ability to save multiple label formats First screen is now list of files instead of menu Increased size of email field Added Phone 4 field Improved password protection Added some support for dates beyond 1999 Minor cosmetic changes 2.1 - Improved duplicate checking Compare Two Lists is much faster now Improved support for dates beyond 1999 Minor internal changes 2.2 - Improved indexing Corrections to label processing functions 2.3 - User can now change names of phone numbers Corrected copying records to newly-created list Corrected saved filters STARTUP: M-Plus will start by showing you the names of your existing mailing lists, if any, and the option to create a new list. Select the list you want by using the up and down arrow keys to highlight its name, and then press . If you don't want to select a list at this time, you can bypass this choice by pressing or choosing "None of the Above". This is explained in further detail under "A. Select a Mailing List". Once you've made your selection, you'll see the Main Menu. PRINT LABELS: This will print the labels. You'll be asked how many sets of labels you want, and may choose as many as 99. You'll also be asked if you want to put the file name and description on the first label (as a way of identifying the label set). LOAD SAVED LABEL FORMAT: If you have already saved some label formats (as described on page 19), you can now recall one for use with your current labels. If any formats have been saved, a list will be displayed on screen. Use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the name of the format you want to use, and press . If you want to delete the highlighted format, press the key. After recalling a label format, you still have the option of changing it and saving it again, or you can simply use it as-is. INCLUDE PRINTER COMMANDS IN LABELS: You have the choice of assigning printer commands to one or more lines of the label if you like. This requires some understanding of how your printer works. Printer commands allow you to change the appearance of a label by using different fonts, italics, boldfacing, etc. If you want to do this, you will need to understand the information provided in your printer manual, which should list the commands. Your printer manual may refer to an "escape sequence" or "escape code" or "escape character", which may also be abbreviated as "ESC" or "EC"; or it may be referred to "CHR$(27)", "27" or "027". All of these mean essentially the same thing, which is that a special character is used to tell the printer that this is a command rather than text to be printed. For your M-Plus labels, you will indicate this escape code by using these two characters at the beginning of your printer code: "^[". For example, if your printer manual lists the command as CHR$(27)+"E", you would enter it this way: ^[E Some commands require more than one escape code. For example, if your manual lists the command as CHR$(27)+"E"+CHR$(27)+"S", you would enter it this way: ^[E^[S. This would also be the method used to enter two commands on the same line. If you choose to use printer commands, you will have the choice of entering a command for the start of the print job, and a command for the end of the print job. It is not required that you enter either of these two commands, but they may useful. A single command at the start of the job may be all you need to set the font you want for your labels. You may need a command at the end of the job to return the printer to its default settings. If you like, you can also enter a different printer command for each line of the label. The entry screen reminds you of the contents of each line as you enter your printer commands. You can enter as many or as few as you like. Note that any examples shown here probably will not work for your printer. Each type of printer has its own set of commands. You must read and understand the commands for your particular printer. There are many different kinds of printers on the market, and we cannot answer questions about them. If you don't understand which commands to use, you will need to study the manual that came with your printer, or seek help from the retailer or manufacturer. SAVE LABEL FORMAT: You'll be asked if you want to save your label format. If you answer yes, you'll enter a name for the format, following the usual rules for DOS filenames. Label format files are saved with the extension MPL. PRINTER COMMANDS IN FORM LETTER: Each command (or group of commands) must be entered on a line by itself. It will affect all the text that comes after it, until you enter another command changing it. The commands themselves will not be printed. A sample form letter might look something like this: This text is displayed in the printer's default font. ^[(s1S This text is displayed in italics. ^[(s0S This text is in the default font again. Note that you will not see the special fonts on screen. They are dependent upon your printer. Also note that the examples shown here probably will not work for your printer. Each type of printer has its own set of commands. You must read and understand the commands for your particular printer. There are many different kinds of printers on the market, and we cannot answer questions about them. If you don't understand which commands to use, you will need to study the manual that came with your printer, or seek help from the retailer or manufacturer. Note new email address: 74774.403@compuserve.com For support and product information on CompuServe, GO RKWEST Visit our WWW home page at http://execpc.com/~rkwest/ ~~~END OF UPDATE.TXT