CONTENTS An OVERVIEW of the program ................................ 2 INSTALLATION .............................................. 3 What DATA is STORED by the program ........................ 3 How to use Home Finder - THE MENUS ........................ 6 The MAIN menu - Selecting a Database ...................... 6 The TASK menu - The Primary Functions ..................... 7 The UPDATE menu - Changing the stored records ............ 7 ADDING Records ............................................ 7 EDITING Existing Records .................................. 8 DELETING Records .......................................... 9 RESTORING Deleted Records ................................. 9 TRANSFERRING Records between Databases .................... 9 PACKING the Databases ..................................... 9 The LOCATE Menu ........................................... 10 FINDING Records by REQUIREMENT ............................ 10 SEARCHING for Records by ADDRESS .......................... 10 LOCATING Records by Entry/Deletion Date ................... 11 The VIEW Menu ............................................. 11 The PRINT Menu ............................................ 12 ROUTINE USAGE ............................................. 12 HARDWARE Requirements ..................................... 13 The SETUP Program - Configuring to suit your computer ..... 14 Video Mode ................................................ 14 CHANGING the VARIABLE FIELDS .............................. 15 PRINTER DRIVER - Setup for your printer ................... 15 The DATA CHECK variables .................................. 16 Changing up the District Help Screen ...................... 16 OVERVIEW Home Finder is a purpose written computer database program for Real Estate Agents and Property Consultants, and the data to be stored is dedicated to this purpose; however some of the data fields can be re-configured using the setup program. The program sets up 3 databases, one each for properties currently offered for sale, properties currently offered for rent and properties which have been let and which are to be re-called at an appropriate date. Each database can contain up to 250 (20,000 in the registered version) entries, and because selection data is kept in memory, can be searched quickly for properties which meet a customer's requirements (If the exact requirements cannot be found a search will be made for properties which almost suit the requirements). Similarly a search for properties which contain a certain word or phrase in their address can be made quickly and effortlessly. After making a search all matching entries can be displayed on screen and printed out if required. The strength of the program is its extremely friendly user interface. All the tasks carried out by the program are controlled by the user either by moving a marker around on a menu list, or by pressing a single key in response to a question asked by the computer. In the case of menu selections a message describing the current function appears on screen as the marker is moved from choice to choice. If an incorrect key is pressed the computer will respond with an appropriate error message and the user can re-try. All critical activities such as the deletion of a record from the database require double confirmations to proceed, before being carried out. Help Screens to assist in various aspects of the operations appear either automatically or as requested by the user as appropriate. Data entry and the editing of existing entries are checked to ensure that sensible and legal (user set) values are being entered. Reports are printed in 5 formats: full reports, medium reports and short reports for internal use, and a long and medium type report for issuing to clients. In addition a choice of draft or letter quality printing (subject to printer ability) is available. The program can be configured to a particular printer using the setup program. Printing is spooled from disk allowing the user to continue using Home Finder. INSTALLATION Computers with a Hard Disk: Place the diskette in drive A: and type HFINST this will cause the following actions to take place: A directory called \HOMEFIND will be created on drive C: All the files on the diskette will be copied to the new directory; a program called HFMAKE will be run which will create 3 test databases to assist your evaluation of the program; Computers without a Hard Disk: Copy all the files except the manuals onto a new disk, then use the new disk and type HFMAKE, to make 3 databases on it; All Computers: if you are using a computer with a monochrome adaptor you must use the configuration program by typing HFSETUP to reset the video mode; it is suggested that you do not alter any of the other setup settings at this stage. Home Finder can then started by typing HF at the appropriate DOS prompt. WHAT IS STORED ? Most of the fields to store the information are fixed, and dedicated to the nature of a real-estate program. However 6 fields can be altered using the setup program. Each entry stores the following information: The date the entry was entered or deleted, this is obtained automatically from the computer clock; The type of the property, House, Condominium, Apartment, Town House or Row House, input the initial letters; The number of stories, enter a number between 1 and 5; The Address of the property stored as 2 lines. The first line which normally contains the flat number and/or building name will not appear on the client's printouts. This is to prevent customers by-passing your agency, and approaching the property owners directly; A two line description of the accommodation; The District Code of the property, this is a 2 digit numeric code which you set yourself in order to enable searches for properties by district; Whenever it has to be entered a list of codes and districts created by the setup program will be displayed; For records in the Rental or Sales Database the date that the property will become available; If it is unknown enter U for the first part of the date, and the computer will enter a date of Unknown; Otherwise fill in the date in European or American format as previously selected with the setup program and without typing the / between the digits; For records in the Re-call Database, the month 1 to 12 and year (88,89,90....) to re-call the record; The Floor area in square feet or square meters as previously selected with the setup program; A short description of the view; eg. City, Sea, Mountain; A maximum length of 10 letters is allowed; The monthly rent or sale price as appropriate; Input is any numeric value within the permissible limits previously set with the setup program; The management fees and the property taxes; These 2 fields may be redefined by the setup program to store other financial or numeric data; Input is any numeric value within the permissible limits set with the setup program, or if unknown input a U; The number of bedrooms. Enter a value between 1 and 7; The the approximate age of the property in years; Input is any number between 0 (for new) and 100, or a U if the age is unknown; Whether there is a swimming pool, or garden and if so whether it is private or communal; Input is Y or N for Yes or No, if yes then input P or C for Private or Communal; Enter C if the status of the facility is unknown; Whether there is a balcony, a children's playground, tennis or racket ball facilities; The last 2 fields can be redefined to some other Yes/No requirement by using the setup program; Input a Y or an N as appropriate; Whether there is car parking, and if so the number of spaces; Input is Y or N for Yes or No; If you answer yes, input the number of covered and uncovered parking spaces as a number between 0 and 5, or U for unknown; Whether the property is air-conditioned or not and if so whether centrally or by separate units; Input is as usual Y or N. If you answer yes input C for central U for unknown or the actual number of separate air-conditioning units; Whether the property has central heating and if so what kind of fuel is used; Input is as usual Y or N followed by the first letter of the fuel type; Whether the property is furnished, unfurnished or serviced; Input F, U, or S as appropriate; Details of the commission and the lease; Both these 26 character text fields can be redefined for other uses by using the setup program. Only the Lease field will be printed on client's printouts. Up to 12 lines of remarks, any lines beginning with an * will not appear on client's printouts. USING HOME FINDER Travelling Around the Menus There are 6 menus : The MAIN menu; selects which records to work with. The TASK menu; selects one of the menus below. The UPDATE menu; makes changes to the stored data. The LOCATE menu; locates specific records by address, type or entry date. The VIEW menu; allows viewing of records, and optional printing The PRINT menu; allows printing of records. Other than the main menu which appears when the program starts, all the other menus are selected from the task menu. Selections are made by positioning the highlight over the required selection on the menu bar with the cursor keys and pressing the Enter key, which is also known as the Return key. A message describing the current selection's function is displayed under the menu bar. The menu bar is moved by using the left and right arrow keys. (Cursor keys) If the bar is at the left hand end of the menu and the left arrow is pressed it will move to the right hand end. Similarly when it is on the extreme right it will move to the left hand end if the right arrow is pressed. A menu that you have just left can be returned to by selecting the Return option on the menu you just selected. THE MAIN MENU As with a physical card system you must first open the box of cards you wish to search. The main menu which appears on switch on (and whenever else you want it) "opens" the Rental, Sales or Re-calls database or quits the program. You should always quit the program in this way rather than simply turning off the computer. After choosing which database to work with, the choice will appear in the left hand section of the lower status bar. You must return to this menu whenever you wish to change databases. THE TASK MENU After choosing the database the Task Menu will be displayed. Here you may choose from the primary tasks of updating the records, finding specific records and printing or viewing records. Further menus as chosen will then appear, you will return to this menu whenever you want to begin another primary task. Alternatively you may choose to Return to the main menu to change Databases. THE UPDATE MENU The Update menu has 6 choices: Edit; to edit the information on an existing record. Add; to add a new record to the database. Delete; to remove a record from the database. Restore; to restore a deleted record to the database. Transfer; to transfer records between databases. Pack; to increase disk space by packing the current database. When any of these options are selected you will immediately be asked to confirm your intention by pressing Enter, pressing any other key will return you to the Update Menu. Add A blank input screen will appear, with the record number of the new record. You will proceed through the input screen filling in the particulars. The program will move from field to field automatically when you finish an entry by completely filling a field with data, or for partially filled fields when you press Enter. If the entry is invalid you will be prompted with a helpful error message to re-enter the data until it is acceptable. The text fields such as address and view will accept any form of input or can be left blank. For details of valid input to the other fields see under WHAT CAN BE STORED. After filling the first input screen, you will be asked to press Enter to confirm that no changes are to be made. If you are not satisfied press another key, and then you may re-edit your entries. (See next menu "Edit" for details). Alternatively you may press Escape to abandon the input at this stage. After confirming that the first input screen is satisfactory a second blank screen will appear for you to fill in, and the process is completed in the same way as it is with the first screen. The remarks field deserves a special explanation. With all of the other fields entry is made using the normal typewriter keys, and the only other keys which have any effect are the backspace key to erase mistakes and the Enter key to enter the data. With the comments field a far greater set of editing commands is available: Home will move the cursor to the beginning of a line. End will move the cursor to the end of a line. Pg Up (page up) will move the cursor to line 1. Pg Dn (page down) will move the cursor to line 12. Left arrow & right arrow move the cursor to the left & right. Up arrow & down arrow move the cursor up and down. Del deletes the character under the cursor & re-justifies the text to suit. Backspace deletes the character to the left of the cursor without re-justifying the text. Enter will move to the start of the next line. When the remarks have been entered to your satisfaction press the Esc (Escape key), if you wish to make no remarks press this key as soon as the field is entered. Remember any remark line starting with a * will not appear on the client's printout. When the second input screen is completed to your satisfaction you will be asked to confirm that you wish to save the record. Pressing Enter will save the record, other keys will return you to the Update menu without saving the entry. After saving, you will be asked if you wish to enter another record press Enter to do so, or another key to return to the Update menu. Edit Editing an existing record is a very similar process to adding a new one. The principle differences are: You must enter the number of the record to be edited. The input screens appear filled in with the current data for the chosen record. You do not have to enter information into every field. Move the cursor to the fields you wish to alter by pressing any key except Enter, press Enter on any fields which you want to edit. For reference the old entry will appear under the new entry as data is being entered. Delete After confirming your intention to continue, you will be asked for the number of the record to be deleted. The chosen record will appear on the screen, and you will be asked to confirm its deletion by pressing Enter. Upon confirmation the record will be deleted, and you will be asked if you wish to delete another. The reply is as usual by pressing Enter or any other key. Restore Deleted records are not actually deleted from the database until you pack the database. When a record is deleted all that actually happens is that a flag is set to tell the program to ignore these entries when making searches (except when looking for deleted records). Consequently the Restore option allows you to re-activate a deleted record in the same way as deleting a record. Transfer The mechanics of the transferring option are similar to those of the delete option. However please note that transfers are only possible between the Rental and Recall databases (in both directions). In addition you will be prompted for the available date for transfers to the rentals database, or re-call date for transfers to the recall database. Pack Deleted records do increase search time and take up valuable disk space. From time to time when you are sure that you will never want to restore currently deleted records you should pack the data base to permanently remove the records from the disk. As with the other options packing only occurs on the currently selected database and ample opportunity will be given for you to back out if you decide not to proceed. However once packing has begun you must allow it to complete, otherwise your disk files may be corrupted - it is suggested that a disk back up be carried out prior to packing. THE LOCATE MENU The Locate menu has 5 options: By Type; to find records which meet certain requirements. By Address; to search for records by their address. By Date; to search for records by entry or deletion date. View; to enter the view menu after locating records. Print; to enter the print menu after locating records. By Type This option has 2 variations, it is used to find records in the rental and sales databases which meet certain requirements or it can be used to search the re-call database for records to be re-called up to and including a specified date. Dealing with the first option: After confirmation of intent an input screen will appear in which information is entered in a similar manner to when records are being edited. You will be asked to confirm whether you wish to retain the current search parameters which you have entered previously or return to the default values. This saves you the work of re-entering all your conditions if there has been only a slight change in your requirements since a previous search. Up to 3 districts may be specified, if all 3 are set to zero all districts will be searched. Up to 3 dwelling types can be entered, if all are left blank all types will be searched. You may enter all your other requirements in terms of maximum rent, minimum number of bedrooms, the facilities required etc. and edit if necessary, eventually confirming your acceptance (press F1 to F10 for help). After a further confirmation to proceed with the search, a search for matching records will be made. There are 3 possible results. Matching records are found, records which almost match are found, (in either of these cases you are advised to proceed to print or view them) or no matching records are found. In the last case you will be asked whether you wish to edit your requirements or leave the procedure. In the case of the re-call database the procedure is similar, but simpler in that only the re-call date can be entered. By Address This option is used to search for records which have a certain name in their addresses. For example you might want to find all properties in Maple Street or in Paramount Towers. After the usual confirmations an input screen appears. If you are only interested in a particular district, you may enter up to 3 district codes to specify which districts to look in. If the district codes are all set to zero then all the districts will be searched (which will take longer); Data entry is similar to the record editing procedure, and upon completion you are asked to confirm the search is to be made. The computer will then search and tell you how many matching records were found. By Date This option is used to identify all records which were entered between the set dates, or which were deleted/transferred between set dates. Use is self explanatory and similar to the options above. Print & View These options can be entered from the find menu to allow you to conveniently proceed to these menus after completing a search. THE VIEW MENU The view menu allows you to view the records on the screen, it has 2 main options Numbered or Selected. Choose selected after carrying out a find or search operation. You may then scan through the chosen records by using the up and down arrow keys. Choose Numbered if you want to see a specific record. You will be prompted for the number and the record will appear on screen. You may then scan through the records one at a time by using the cursor keys. It is not possible to view all the information on a record simultaneously, pressing any function key (F1 to F10) will switch between the primary and secondary information stored for each record. Press the Escape key to return to the menu. Any record on screen can be printed by pressing P, but printing will not start until viewing is complete. The remaining options Style and Quality set the printout type and the printing quality to either draft or Near Letter Quality. These options should be set before commanding any printing. The current settings are visible in the middle of the lower status bar. THE PRINT MENU This menu is similar to the view menu with an additional choice of Cancel, which will stop any printing which is in progress. After selecting Cancel you should turn off your printer, and re-align the paper. The operational difference between the Print and View menus is that when viewing, printing is optional and carried out on request by pressing P on each individual record. However when printing from the Print menu all selected records are printed automatically without having to press P. If your search has just found 1000 records, printing Selected from the Print menu will attempt to print them all so beware. Press the Escape key to abort such an unwelcome occurrence. ROUTINE USAGE Once the initial data has been entered into the system you can begin using Home finder for your Residential property management system. On a typical day you would add any new properties which come to your attention into the Rentals or Sales databases as appropriate. Any properties which have been sold would be deleted from the Sales database. Any properties which have been let would be transferred to the Re-calls database. Lists of the additions and deletions can be conveniently made with the Locate by Date option and the Short printing style. On enquiry from clients printouts of properties which meet their requirements would be produced by locating suitable records and printing them out. Internal printouts would be produced at will for the information of your sales team. Once a month you would search the Re-calls database for properties which are soon to come to the end of their tenancy, and print them out. Enquiries would then be made as to whether the current tenancies are to be renewed in which case you would edit the re-call date, or whether the properties are to be re-let; in which case you would transfer the property to the Rentals database. From time to time or when forced to do so you should pack the databases. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Computer - IBM XT or AT compatible with at least 256 Kb of RAM installed. The minimum memory of 256 Kb will allow your largest database to contain 4000 records, as installed memory is increased to the maximum of 640 Kb up to 20,000 records can be handled. The computer should have a hard disk drive ( C:) preferably of at least 20 Mb. capacity. The total number of records in all 3 databases is limited by disk size to about 2,000 per Mb. of disk space. Monitor - A monochrome or color monitor with a color card (CGA or VGA) or a monochrome monitor with an IBM monochrome card can be used. The program is configured to use your particular monitor with the Setup program. Printer - The printer should be an 80 or 130 column printer with tractor feed; Epson compatible preferred. Printer effects are set by using the setup program described later in this manual. Operating System - IBM PC DOS or MS DOS version 2.0 or higher. THE SETUP PROGRAM Home Finder comes ready configured to run on a computer with a monochrome monitor using a CGA card, printer codes (which allow your printer to underlined or print enlarged characters etc) are set to typical Epson type codes and the maximum and minimum values for data checking are set to reasonable values. District Codes on the automatic help screen are set to "Not Used" or to some local Hong Kong place names. If using a moochrome card IT IS ESSENTIAL that you re-configure to suit your display monitor, and save any change before the program's first use. otherwise Home Finder will not be displayed properly on your screen monitor. The configuration program is started by issuing the following command sequence : C: to ensure you are using hard disk drive C: cd \homefind to select the correct sub-directory. HFCONFIG to start the program. Using the Configuration program is similar to the editing procedures used in the main program, the highlight is moved from field to field by pressing any key except Enter. If Enter is pressed the parameter can be edited using the normal typewriter keys and backspace to erase. The new entry is complete when the field is full or Enter is pressed. Before Home Finder is used for real data you should think carefully about how you wish to configure Home Finder for your needs. Complications may arise if you have to make changes after a significant amount of data has been entered. For example if you alter the district code of one of your districts you would have to edit every record in that district to the new code. Changing the tennis field to store information on badminton would involve reviewing every record in accordance with the change. Reducing the maximum rent might invalidate data already stored. etc etc. - SO THINK ABOUT IT FIRST !! Video Mode The first decision to be made when running HFCONFIG is the video mode. The program will not continue until you make a valid reply of 1, 2 or 3. If you change the mode you will be warned that you must save the change when given the opportunity, or the new video mode will not be stored. Some computers have display adaptors which driven by hybrid cards which appear to work correctly with mode 2 (CGA with mono screen), but the district and help find screens do not appear when they are supposed to, try re-configuring to mode 1 (mono). Variable Fields This section allows you to rename the 6 variable fields: The 2 re-configurable numeric fields can be re-labeled and output as numbers, or as money preceded by your chosen money sign. Entering a Y in the money option will cause the figure to be interpreted as money. You can also set text to follow them on the printout such as per year per week etc. The 2 yes/no fields can be re-labeled and the text to appear under facilities if the field = Y can be input; for example 'Games Room' 'a games room'. Finally the 2 text fields can be re-labeled to your requirements, but remember that only the first field (labeled Lease as default) will appear on client printouts. Printer Driver The printer driver section, allows you to control the appearance of your printouts by setting the printer codes for underlined characters, enlarged characters, near letter quality etc. Many printer codes appear as strange characters such as funny faces and cannot be entered directly from the keyboard. These characters can be entered by holding down the key marked Alt on the keyboard and then using the Numeric keys (usually situated on the right hand side) to key in the ASCII value of the character, releasing the Alt key will then cause the character to appear. For example to enter ASCII code 1 which appears as a face; hold down the Alt key press 1 on the numeric key pad (ensure you are not using the other numeric key on the top of the key board) releasing the Alt key will cause this character to appear. Code 27 which is essential to most Epson printer codes can by input by pressing the Escape key. A list of Printer codes and their ASCII values will be contained in your printer manual. However it should be noted that Pin Writer and Wheel Writer type printers cannot perform Enlarged Character or sub-script character printing. Blank the appropriate codes if using these printers. Additionally this section allows you to input the message that appears below your company name on the client printouts, the currency symbol to be used ($, FF, DM, ECU etc), whether areas are to measured in meters or feet and the number of lines per page for both kinds of report. (6 lines / inch (25.4mm)). The standard length for 11 inch paper is 66 and for A4, 70 lines. If the area units are changed your file data can be automatically adjusted when you save the changes. However conversion will not be successful if you have already input mixed units into your data. Data Check Parameters This section deals with the maximum and minimum values to check data input against. Setting these values is a balance between making sure incorrect data cannot be entered on the one hand, and ensuring an adequate range for your needs on the other. If the maximum sale price or rental value are changed and you save the changes, the existing record data for price index can be adjusted automatically. However reducing these values will cause all records over the new maximums to carry the maximum index value. This might cause selection by price or rent to be less precise. Finally you may choose between the European (day/month/year) or American (month/day/year) date systems. Saving the changes At this point you have the choice of saving or abandoning all the changes that you have made so far before continuing on to assign new names to the 28 district codes. If you have changed any of the critical factors : Date system, Area units, Maximum Rent or Maximum Sale Price. You will be asked if you wish your existing data to be converted to suit. The normal reply of Y for Yes will cause your existing data to be converted to your new format. For example if the date format is to be changed from European to American then all records will be changed as follows 29/06/88 will become 06/29/88. Conversion will take several minutes. Setting The District Names The final section allows you to give names to the 28 districts which appear on the help screen. After which you may choose to save your changes or not. If you save the changes a new help screen will be created in accordance with your allocated district names. This has no effect on the district codes of any data that you may have already stored. Consequently you should decide on the districts to be used before entering data, and try not to make changes other than the addition of new districts when necessary. If you increase or decrease the number of areas in use you should reset the maximum value for the maximum number of districts variable using the Data Check Variables section of the setup program. Next time you run Home Finder its operation will reflect any changes you have made.