S3AFUEL V1.4 ------------ Author: Al Richey Contact details: F A Richey 6001 Natick Court Burke, VA 22015 USA E-Mail : alanrichey@msn.com CompuServe : 100023,543 WWW : http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/alanrichey Overview of Program ------------------- This program allows you to keep track of the fuel consumption of up to 10 vehicles. The most recent 12 entries are displayed in the main screen, and a long-term history file is maintained, which can be viewed with a second screen. Much of the program is configurable, including the units used (miles/kms, galls/litres etc), which can be set for any combination. Both the Main and History screens can be printed, and the History details can be exported in a format suitable for using in the built-in Sheet application. Installing the Program ---------------------- 1. Put S3AFUEL4.APP in your \APP\ directory. 2. If you want to use the on-line Help file (highly recommended), put the S3AFUEL4.HLP file into an \APP\S3AFUEL\ directory. 3. Install the program as normal using (PSION-I). Using the Program ----------------- Highlight 'Fuel' under the Icon, and press . Now go into the program, filling in the configuration details as required. The vehicle name might be the type, and the number the registration plate details, but this is up to you. Note that both the Name and the number can be changed later. The 'nag' screen can be removed by registering the program, which will also allow you the full 10 vehicles and more than 10 entries. The unregistered version allows you just 1 vehicle, and 10 entries, to see the capabilities of the program. Working through the Menu commands will show you the capabilities of the program. The Vehicle menu allows you to add and subtract vehicles, rename the vehicle and switch the screen display between vehicles (provided you have registered). The Edit menu allows you to Enter, Update and Delete entries, (Note that the , & keys have the same effect) and an 'Edit Memo' feature, similar to that used in the Agenda, so that you can also keep track of servicing details, insurance numbers etc. The Config menu allows you to to specify the date format, how many decimal places you want each column to display, whether you wish to display litres or gallons, and miles or kilometres, what you want as the fuel consumption units, and switch between font types. Under the Special menu there is an option to delete the history file, which will be explained later, the print routine to keep a hard copy of the details, the registration entry, an option to change font sizes, and the exit option. The Diamond menu accesses the History display and, finally, there is a 'Help' screen which simply repeats some of the information in this file. To demonstrate the program, assume you have just filled the fuel tank (to make the fuel consumption logical, you should always start from the same baseline, and a full tank is probably the best). Enter the details using or . Input the cost (amount paid), and then the value field depending on your selection of method, i.e. number of gallons (litres) or the price/gallon (litre). For the first entry, the distance figure must be the reading off the odometer, subsequent entries can either be the total mileage, taken directly from the odometer, or the elapsed mileage, depending on the selection. The Remarks field is a free field which you can use for anything. The first entry will display, although obviously no fuel consumption will be shown. When the second entry is input the fuel consumption will be calculated. At this stage, the 'Spot' and 'Average' figures will be exactly the same, as there is only one entry to work on. Later entries will allow the running 'Average' to be calculated from up to the last 12 entries. You can now Update or an entry, or delete a line or . Add another line with some different values and you should see that the Spot and Average values are now calculated. Although the entries will nearly always be entered in chronological order, if you do forget, then you can still input an entry later, and it will be automatically sorted into date order. Now select or press the Diamond key to see the History display. This will show the Spot consumption both in text and graphically. The main program holds only the full details of the last 12 entries, (only 9 of which can be viewed in the larger font), but the history file can go on for ever. The average fuel consumption, and the average price of a gallon/litre are also shown in this screen. Again, use the Menu key to see the facilities available. You will see that you can manipulate the history file itself in various ways, configure the scales of the graph, print the history out, and switch between vehicles (the right/left arrow keys also do this). As usual, Control-Menu will switch the Status screen on and off. There is also a 'Statistics' screen to show you the overall figures. Finally, the History details can be exported in a delimited format which can be imported in the built-in Sheet application. To use this option, press , and just specify the location of the output file (it normally defaults to \WRD\FUEL.TXT). Now load that file into the Word application, highlight it all and then use the Bring function from within a spreadsheet to import the information. Once you register the program and enter the code, you can Add vehicles and if required, subsequently delete them , and have more than 10 entries for each vehicle. Although the program initially generates a directory \FUEL\ on the Internal drive, it can, in fact, run just as well with the data on the A: or B: drives. All you need to do is transfer the contents of the \FUEL\ directory on the Internal Drive to a \FUEL\ directory onto a RAM SDD (Do not do this with a Flash SSD) and then delete the directory on the Internal Drive. The program will automatically sense the new location. Registering the Program ----------------------- If you wish to register the program, please send a cheque for 7 UK pounds or US$10 (or the equivalent in your actual currency - Sterling or US dollar cheques only please) to either of the following addresses: F A Richey F A Richey C/O SONAS 6001 Natick Court Calgary Burke, VA 22015 Tobermory USA Isle of Mull Argyle PA75 6QT SCOTLAND The quickest way to register, if you have access to CompuServe, is to use GO SWREG and use Registration ID - 5070 In each case, I (or my agent) will then send you a personalised registration code to enter (using ) to remove the 'nag' screen and allow full use of the program. Note that you will NOT need a new copy of the program, all the functionality is already there but needs 'unlocking' by the registration code. I will also ensure that this code remains forward compatible for future versions of the program so, unlike other programs, I will not be asking for a further fee for an upgrade. Also, if you like the look of this program, why not have a look at my other programs. A full list is as follows: S3ADRAWx.ZIP : A Drawing/Icon Viewer/Editor. S3ACOLLx.ZIP : A Collection (books/records/etc) Manager. S3ATASKx.ZIP : An Extended Task (ToDo) Manager. S3ABANKx.ZIP : A Personal Accounts package that includes all of the following smaller programs as optional modules. S3AINVx.ZIP : An Investment Performance Tracker. S3AFUELx.ZIP : A Fuel Consumption Monitor. (This program) S3APLANx.ZIP : A Budget Planner based on the Quicken Financial Planner. S3AHOMEx.ZIP : A Home Inventory program based on the Quicken version. S3AEXPx.ZIP : An Expense Account Monitor. ('x' denotes a version number) These are all available on my home page (See Contact details above) and all the usual on-line areas. If you cannot get them from there, send a disc and a Stamped, Self-Addressed, Envelope to either of the addresses and we will send you the latest copies of all the programs. Cheers Al