------- PSA Cards 2.2 for Windows ------ DESCRIPTION PSA Cards is an easy to use address program. It looks like a card file and it works like a card file. Just click on a divider tab or card to open or close it. PSA Cards is also an OLE 2.0 container application. This means that you can link or imbed objects (pictures, maps, documents, sound and video clips) created in other programs in your Cards entries. PSA Cards features: * Print Rolodex cards, envelopes, mailing labels, and address booklets * Dial phone numbers * Reminders for birthdays, anniversaries, or appointments * Merge two PSA Cards files, keeping latest modifications * Import data from an ASCII file or Microsoft CardFile * Export names and addresses to a file or the clipboard for use in a word processing program * Create groups of entries for organizing various types of lists. These lists can be used to address Christmas cards, invitations, and to export addresses for mail merge in a word processor. * No inherent limits on the number of entries or lengths of fields other than those imposed by Windows itself. * On-line, context sensitive help * 3-D controls * Written in C++ * Windows 3.1 and Windows NT versions available NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES The Object Linking and Embedding (OLE 2.0), Address Booklet printing, and refinements in the on-line help are version 2.2 enhancements. The PSA Cards file type was changed from .crd to .car because Microsoft CardFile already used .crd. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS - FROM A FLOPPY DISK Run the Install program (a:\install.exe) from the Program Manager (Run... in the File menu) and follow instructions. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS - FROM A DOWNLOADED PSACARDS.EXE FILE 1. Create a directory for the program on your hard drive and copy the self extracting file (psacards.exe) to it. 2. Extract the program and help files by running psacards.exe in DOS or in a DOS window. This will make 17 files in the program directory. Eleven of these are OLE 2.0 libraries from Microsoft. These files will be installed in your windows\system directory. The other five files are the PSA Cards 2.2 files: cards.exe, cards.hlp, readme.txt, convert.exe, and cardfile.msc. If you wish, psacards.exe can now be deleted from your hard drive. However, it would be a good idea to back it up to a floppy disk before deleting it. 3. Run the installation program, install.exe, from the Program Manager (Run... in the File menu) and follow instructions. INSTALL.EXE -- MORE DETAILED INFORMATION The installation program will copy the PSA Cards files to whatever directory you choose. The installation directory can be the same as directory for the downloaded file, psacards.exe. After copying the Cards files to the installation directory, the install program will create a program group and program items in the Program Manager. There will be program items for PSA Cards, Cards Help, and this readme.txt file. The OLE 2.0 dynamic libraries are supplied by Microsoft for installation in systems running 16 bit versions of Windows. That is, Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11 (Windows for Workgroups). The 32 bit versions of Windows (Windows NT 3.5 and Windows 95) come with full OLE 2.0 support. If you are running a 32 bit version of Windows, you should download or order the 32 bit version of PSA Cards. In order to install the OLE libraries, the install program checks to make sure that an existing version of a library is not in use. If one is, a message box is displayed asking the user to shut down all possible applications and then try to continue the installation. If this doesn't fix the problem, try shutting down and restarting Windows. Then restart the installation. If you already have the OLE 2.0 libraries, the install program will compare library versions and will not overwrite a newer library version with an older one. The OLE 2.0 files are: COMPOBJ.DLL MFCOLEUI.DLL OLE2.DLL OLE2.REG OLE2CONV.DLL OLE2DISP.DLL OLE2NLS.DLL OLEPROX.DLL STDOLE.TLB STORAGE.DLL TYPELIB.DLL The OLE 2.0 libraries must be registered with the REGEDIT.EXE program. REGEDIT.EXE is part of Windows. REGEDIT.EXE is run automatically by the installation program. If you are running Windows 3.1, you must have the SHARE command in your autoexec.bat file. The SHARE settings /L: and /F: must be at least /L:500 and /F:5100. This sets up range locking used by OLE 2.0 compound files. The install program checks for the SHARE command. More often than not, the install program from some other OLE 2.0 aware application will have already added SHARE to your autoexec.bat. If you do get a SHARE message you will need to edit your autoexec.bat file and add the line: SHARE /L:500 /F:5100 after the PATH command but before the WIN command. Use an ASCII text editor such as Notepad or SysEdit to change your c:\autoexec.bat file. If you are working in DOS you can also use the DOS editor, EDIT. I could have written the install program to do this automatically, but I dislike (and distrust) install programs that alter my autoexec.bat and config.sys files. If you are running MS-DOS 4.01, the SHARE statement must be in your CONFIG.SYS file and the command is: INSTALL=C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE /L:500 /F:5100 Of course, if your DOS directory is not C:\DOS, the correct path to your DOS directory must be supplied. IMPORTANT PRECAUTION -- Anytime that you change your autoexec.bat (or config.sys) file you should make a backup copy of it first. Just copy it to another file such as autoexec.sav. Then if there is some mishap with your autoexec.bat file you can restore it. Your computer needs the autoexec.bat and config.sys files in order to boot. When you change your autoexec.bat file, you need to reboot your computer before the changes will take effect. If you are running Windows 3.11 (Windows for Workgroups) you do not need (and should not use) SHARE. Range locking is a built-in part of Windows 3.11. Finally, if you have set your TEMP entry in your autoexec.bat to point to removable media, you should change it back to point to a local hard drive. The install program does NOT check TEMP entry. After running PSA Cards and saving your first data file, you can set up the PSA Cards program item to read the same file each time it is executed. Use the Program manager "Properties" command to put the data file name after the program name (cards.exe). Be sure to leave a blank between the program name and the file name. Putting the file name after the program name will cause the data file to be opened automatically when PSA Cards is executed from its program icon. REGISTRATION To become a registered PSA Cards user, and to receive notification of new releases of PSA Cards, send $25.00 to: William L. Rogers PSA Software 1319 Silk Oak Drive Fort Collins, CO 80525-5597 Colorado redidents please add 3% sales tax. Fort Collins, Colorado residents please add 6% sales.tax. Registered users enable me continue to improve PSA Cards and implement your suggestions. The income also pays for the computer and software I use to do this. If you use PSA Cards on a regular basis and find it useful, please register. I don't like programs that nag you to send some money (nag-ware) and don't want to put something like that in PSA Cards unless I have to. I'd rather spend the time making PSA Cards a better program. DISCLAIMER Although PSA Cards has been carefully written and tested, no claim is made as to its reliability and freedom from bugs. This software is provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind. In no event shall PSA Software be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the use or inability to use PSA Cards. INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONVERTING MICROSOFT CARDFILE FILES Importing data from a program like Microsoft CardFile poses a problem. PSA Cards has specific data fields for each type of information that it stores. That is, it makes a distinction between say a street address and a phone number. CardFile does not. There are only two fields in CardFile -- the index line and text. CardFile data can be converted to input for PSA Cards' ASCII import function if the information on each card is in a consistent order and the file contains no imbedded objects (remove all OLE stuff). There is a grubby little DOS application in this package called convert.exe. Convert reads a CardFile file and attempts to find the appropriate places for field delimiters in the card and writes an output file for the import function in PSA Cards: CardFile file -> Convert.exe -> PSA Cards ASCII import Convert uses the following rules to insert field delimiters. * Newlines (carriage return, line feed) are replaced by a delimiter. * Multiple newlines only generate one delimiter. * A comma followed by a blank is replaced by a delimiter. This can be turned off (option c-). * If comma-blank is being replaced by a delimiter, the index line will always generate two fields. The second field may be empty. * A single blank after a letter followed by five digits will be replaced by a delimiter. This is assumed to be the ZIP code. This can also be turned off (option z-). Convert writes a field definition record as the first line of the output file. It assumes that the delimiter is ! and that the fields are in the following order: !lname1 fname1 street city state zip phone1 comment If your CardFile has a different order or different fields, the first line of the output file will have to be edited. Use the DOS editor, or Notepad. Be sure to use "No conversion" if you must use Write. You may also have to fix up individual records if your input file is not consistent enough or you encounter situations not handled properly by the above rules. You can also edit individual cards once they have been imported to PSA Cards. See the on-line help for PSA Cards for more details about the file import function in PSA Cards. Convert has been tested with files written by the CardFile in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT. I can only assume that the same program is used in Windows 3.1. There is an example CardFile file included. It is called cardfile.msc. If you turn on Convert output to the screen (/s+) you can pipe your output to "more". To see how Convert works, type the following command in DOS or a DOS window while in the PSA Cards directory: >convert /s+ cardfile.msc imptcard.adr | more Then run PSA Cards from Windows and use the "Import..." command (File menu) to read imptcard.adr. KNOWN PROBLEMS * The Equation Editor for Microsoft Word does not always work properly with OLE 2.0 container applications. Do not use it with PSA Cards 2.2. If you do, you may crash Windows and have to reboot your computer. Word itself and its other associated OLE servers work OK. * The Help buttons in the OLE dialog boxes for Change Icon and the OLE File Browser do not do anything. * Context sensitive help for the Object command in the OLE menu does not link to the correct help topic. These bugs are related to OLE 2.0 components supplied by Microsoft. I will attempt to resolve them for the next release of PSA Cards. BUG REPORTS AND FEEDBACK Please send bug reports, and suggestions for new features to CompuServe User ID 72064,1437 or US mail to me at the above registration address. I can't fix bugs or add new features if I don't know about them, so let me hear from you. If you send me an idea for a new feature that I have not thought of, and I use it, I will send you a free update to PSA Cards when the next release ships. I don't log on to CompuServe on a regular basis, so please be patient if I don't get back to your E-mail right away. I hope that you find PSA Cards useful. Bill Rogers