RELEASE NOTES FOR F.I.N.D. DEMO VERSION These release notes are for the demo version of F.I.N.D., the Florida Information Network Database, created by John L. Adams & Company, Inc. and Ibex Research, Inc. F.I.N.D. is a database search utility to be used in conjunction with database information gathered and compiled by Florida Funding Publications, a subsidiary of John L. Adams & Company, Inc. It is a one-of-a-kind program designed especially for Florida grantseekers. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS F.I.N.D. is designed to run on AT-class, DOS-based machines, i.e. IBM PC/AT-type machines. Obviously the faster your machine, the more quickly it will run. It has been tested on AT machines from 286-10 mhz machines through 486-33 mhz machines, and should run on any version of MS-DOS or PC-DOS from version 3.1 through 5.0. F.I.N.D. has been tested using the following displays: Color VGA, Monochrome VGA, EGA, CGA, and Hercules Monochrome. INSTALLATION To install the F.I.N.D. demo version, switch to the subdirectory where the FIND files are located and type "INSTALL". Follow the installation menus on the screen. The installation will take several minutes. After the programs have been copied and uncompressed onto your hard disk, you will be asked if you want to read the READ.ME file; following this, you will be asked if you want to print the READ.ME file. Follow the instructions on the screen based on what you want to do with these files. *** Special Note: If the program locks during searches, place the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or just type it at the command line: SET CLIPPER=//E:0 GETTING STARTED After the installation is complete, change to the directory in which you have loaded F.I.N.D. Once you are in the correct directory, you need only to type "FINDDEMO" (which is the file name to be run) and then press the enter key. The demo version of F.I.N.D. will then begin. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS Choosing a Database: The first screen give you the choice of which database to access. Use the cursor to highlight the foundation, state or federal database and press enter. Select Search Type: The second screen (for all three databases) offers a choice between a quick text search of a single item in a database, or of a more comprehensive search. Many times you will want to look for a single item (for instance, foundations located in Miami). The quick text search would be best for this. If you are searching for foundations that are based in Miami OR have an officer named SMITH, you would pick the comprehensive search capability, not the quick text search capability. Conduct Quick Search: Using the previous example, you would move the cursor to CITY and press enter. Then type MIAMI and press enter. F.I.N.D. will search the database for foundations with the word MIAMI in the city. Remember: This could be Miami Beach, Miami Springs, etc. A Comprehensive Search: If you wish to search on more than one variable, you should choose the comprehensive search function. F.I.N.D. gives you both OR and AND searching capability. "OR" and "AND" Searches: If you are searching for foundations that are based in Miami OR have an officer named SMITH, you would first pick the comprehensive search capability, not the quick text search capability. The next menu screen lets you pick out the type of foundation (or program). You may move the cursors to the choice and then press the enter key to select it. The enter key will turn the picks on or off. To complete our example, you need to pick the option "GO TO THE NEXT MENU" at The bottom of the menu. The next screen has the comprehensive text searching capability. Using the enter key, or the cursor keys, move to the CITY entry blank and type in the word MIAMI. Then, move down to the OFFICER field and enter the word SMITH. At this point you are ready to search on these two entries. If you press: F2 You will be saying, "Find all of the foundations that are either in Miami, OR have an officer named SMITH." This is an "OR" search. F3 You will be saying, "Find all of the foundations that not only are based in Miami, but also have an officer named SMITH." This is an "AND" search. The AND search can be a very powerful tool, as you will discover. Escape Key: The "escape" key is used throughout the program to back up through the menus. If you press escape from the first screen, you will be asked if you want to leave the program. Entering a "Y" will exit F.I.N.D. Entering a "N" will keep you at the main menu. Help: Throughout F.I.N.D., help is available on most of the screens by pressing the "F1" key. The help screens not only explain the function of the screen or command, they also provide helpful hints for users unfamiliar to the program. Browsing & Printing: After the search is complete, you will be taken to the BROWSE AND PRINT menu. The exception is when no records are found; then you will be returned to the screen from where the search was made. At the BROWSE AND PRINT menu, you have the choice to go out and look at the foundations (programs) that the search has found, or to print records with your printer. Records must be marked for printing, or nothing will be printed. Quick Browse & Printing: The quick browse displays only the basic data of the records found; i.e. the foundation name and the city. You can use the cursor keys and the page-up and page-down keys to traverse these found records. To mark records for printing, press the P key (either upper or lower-case, it doesn't matter). Pressing the P key again will unmark a marked record. If you want to mark all of the records for printing, press ALT-P. This will mark all of the records. Escape will take you back to the BROWSE AND PRINT menu. If you wish to print, move the cursor to highlight PRINT and press enter. Extended Browse: From the BROWSE AND PRINT menu, select this feature. You will have displayed the entire record for viewing; due to the large amount of data, it is displayed in two pages. In this mode, you also have the option to mark and unmark records for printing. Following is a summary of the control keys available to you in the EXTENDED BROWSE mode. ENTER Walk down through each page of a record DOWN ARROW Same as enter UP ARROW Walk up through records 1 at a time, showing first page only PAGE UP Same as UP ARROW PAGE DOWN Walk down through records 1 at a time, showing first page only "P" KEY Mark/Unmark record for printing ALT-P Mark all records for printing CTRL-P Unmark all records for printing ESC Return to previous screen HOME Moves to first record found in database END Moves to last record found in database ALT-G View data on Grant Recipients Printing: This is very straightforward. Follow the menus and the screen instructions. You can press ESCAPE and abort printing in the middle of a printout. This is useful when you are six records into the printing of a large number of found records when you discover you have done the wrong search. You have two printing options. The first option is QUICK PRINT which is a one line listing of the foundations or programs identified in the search. This is a printout of the QUICK BROWSE screen. The second option EXTENDED PRINT prints out a one-page detailed report for each program. This is a printout of the EXTENDED BROWSE screens. There are no printer drivers set up (yet) for this program, so all the printing is done in standard ASCII text format. Make sure that your printer is on; the program will check for this. To order F.I.N.D.: If you would like to order F.I.N.D., or need technical assistance, you can contact us at: John L. Adams & Company, Inc. Publications Department 9350 South Dixie Highway, Suite 1560 Miami, FL 33156 305/670-2203 305/670-2208 (facsimile) ardvk@aol.com (e-mail)