***1
Introduction --

Collect! is the premier software available
for intelligently managing collections of
any sort. This version follows the same
format as our popular DOS VGA version, which
was nominated for a 1993 Shareware Industry
Award. Not only is Collect! flexible, it is
blindingly fast and simple to use. You'll be
surprised just how much you don't know what
you own until you've worked with it.

Collect! works with collections so that you
can not only properly catalogue and manage
the data, you can also use the financial
capabilities for insurance reports and to
determine which items you own that deserve
special attention. You can also use it as
an aid in planning your collection, and it
has been used for estate planning.

***2
Uses of Collect! --

Collect! works with ANYTHING that you can
collect. Our DOS version users have used
it for everything from cataloguing
dinosaur bones to museum collections to
estate planning to managing collections
we never imagined that people have. This
is accomplished by using templates that
you create to tailor Collect! to work
with a particular collection. You can
create and use as many templates as you
like.

Collect! doesn't have to be used strictly
for collections, either. You can also use
it for maintaining mailing lists and
employee records. You can also use it for
inventory management. The registered
version also allows Windows 3.1 WAV file
management to add sound bites to the data
records -- have you imagined being able
to catalogue record collections and have
a short 5 second recording to help you
locate that one sound? With Collect! you
can do it!

***3

Multiple Copies --

Collect! uses the Windows environment to
the maximum, supporting graphics, sound,
and text. The registered version supports
drag and drop techniques. Supported in
all versions is the ability to run more
than one copy at the same time. Do you
run a small business? With Collect! you
can put a copy on screen with customer
names, a copy of used inventory, a copy
of new inventory -- and so on... And
with Collect! being lightning fast you
never have to wait to find things. No
doubt you'll find uses for Collect! we
didn't think of, just like our DOS users
have.

***4
Financial Orientation --

Collect! isn't really a database, and it
really isn't a spreadsheet (Hey, it sure
doesn't LOOK like one!) but it does have
attributes of both. When you look at the
main screen you'll see some RED labels.
These are for data fields that are always
there -- you cannot change or remove
them, and they're meant mostly for the
recording of financial data. Look at the
graph button. This allows access to some
basic statistics, and you'll find that
the statistics shown are NOT on data that
you entered. Likewise, if you SEARCH for
data you can look for INFERRED data
relationships. Collect! looks at the data
you have entered and manipulates it such
that you can look for appreciation or
change in value -- and these are items
that are inferred from what you entered.
As a result Collect! can tell you quickly
what items you own that have gone up in
value the most, thus helping determine
which items may need more insurance
coverage, which items you may want to buy
to add to your collection (if you want to
make money from it) and...

***5
Recommendations --

For music collections, the text addenda
is an excellent way to record the times.
See the example MUSIC data file for some
ideas. You can also use the Win clipboard
to copy data out and paste into a label
program to make J-cards for cassettes, or
to make videocassette labels. For sports
card collections can can also use the
text addenda for recording player stats.

The graphics/picture addenda doesn't have
to hold pictures -- if you have a scanner
you can use it for a variety of purposes.
For instance, you can scan in images of
receipts, drawings, or closeup photos of
special markings.

***6
Specifications --

Number of data files -- unlimited
Number of Templates -- unlimited
Number of User Defined Fields -- 8
Number of User Defined Lists -- 2
Field Definitions -- TEXT or NUMERIC
Number of instances -- Defined by Win3
Number of records / file -- 5000
Graphics data types -- *.WMF, *.BMP
Graphics supported colors -- 256
Text Addenda Size Limit -- 30k
Pick List data entries -- 5000
Export Format -- comma delimited *.CSV

***7
What's a template? --

A template allows you to tailor the data
you work with for a particular purpose.
Data fields that are required for a Stamp
collection are virtually useless for
videotapes, for instance. Even Military
collectors have varying needs as well --
insignia collectors work with data that
medal collectors don't need...

Each template has a series of fields that
are user defined: you can set each one to
accept text or numeric data and give it a
meaningful name, such as "YEAR BOUGHT."
In any given collection there is also at
least one categorisation that is used
above all others. In antiques or art it
is the STYLE; in movies it is the GENRE,
such as "Western" or "Romance." You also
have a pick list that you can set up to
use for a category definition as a part
of the template. The pick list allows you
to create a built in list so that it is
not necessary to type in redundant data
(such as "western") for each field.

***8
Editing or Creating a Template --

To edit a template, choose the OPTIONS
menu item and then CREATE a new one or
EDIT an existing one. You may wish to
EDIT first so that you can see how we
created some of the Collect! examples.
Essentially, the text boxes for each of
the user-defined fields allow you to name
the field, and the option buttons allow
you to specify the type of data for the
field. To edit the main category pick
list, enter text in the box above the
list and click the ADD button. Clicking
the DELETE button deletes the item seen
in the dropdown list window. You may name
any field a name that is up to 35
characters. If you choose to SAVE the
template and a data field is over 35
characters in length, you will be warned
that you have an invalid field name. Any
field that does not have a name will not
be seen on the main screen or be part of
the data set for that type of collection.

***9
The Condition File --

The condition file is global meaning that
it is used by ALL templates. When working
with ANY collection, you will need to
specify the condition or class of a given
item. "Condition" depends on the types of
collection data you're working with. For
instance, "Mint" or "No Gum" might be
useful to a stamp collector but useless
for a videophile. Videophiles might want
to use the Condition as a way to rate the
movies in their collection, and this can
range from 1 - 5 stars or Poor/Fair/Good
and so on. You can always add new data
to the condition file as you start to
collect other things... So you'll need to
think about what your long term plans are
before you do any wholesale changes to
the condition file. In either case, the
idea is the same as the user defined pick
list used in the template -- a convenient
and reliable method of data entry.

***10
Editing the Condition File

Choose OPTIONS | EDIT CONDITION FILE from
the menu. When you enter data in the text
box above the condition list, choosing
the ADD button will add the text to the
BOTTOM of the list. Choosing DELETE will
remove the currently shown item in the
list window from the list. Clicking the
Cancel Button will negate any changes and
remove the editing window.

***11
Choosing Fields --

Each valid field for the current template
will have a checkbox next to it. Checking
the checkbox will cause a data entry
window to appear. If the data field is
numeric, you can choose the relationship
you want to search for: Matching, Less
Than, Greater Than, or Range. Just enter
the criteria in the appropriate box(es)
and choose OK. For instance, if you want
to look for all items that cost over $55
you would check the PRICE PAID checkbox,
choose GREATER THAN, and enter 55 in the
text box. Text data fields are searched
as MATCH only, and you can check the CASE
IGNORE box to avoid problems with not
remembering if you capitalised letters in
each data field you're searching in.
Choosing a checkbox that has already been
checked will uncheck it and clear it.

***12
Deciding How to Search --

Remember that in Collect! all searches
use an inferred AND. For instance, if you
have a stamp collection, you can search
for seemingly impossible criteria: you
can specify RED from the "color" field,
AIRMAIL from the "type" field, GREATER
THAN 55 CENTS from the "demonination"
field, and a range of 1927 TO 1966 from
the "date issued" field. This would yield
all RED AIRMAIL stamps greater than 55
cents that were issued from 1927-1966.

***13
Inferred Data --

Collect! can work with data that is made
from relatonships. This is data that you
did not enter, but it is quite useful in
a collection. The inferred data is best
used when you want to determine items in
your collection that have grown in value
very fast, and you want to ensure that
these items are adequately covered with
your insurance policy. For instance, if
you update your current values on a
regular basis, you can search for
APPRECIATION or CHANGE in price. This
allows you to locate items quickly that
you would spend a great deal of time
finding without a computer's aid...

***14
Why Text is Match Only --

When a text search is intiated, Collect!
checks for the existence of the specified
text at any place in the field that is
being searched, not just at the beginning
of the field. For instance, if you were
looking for LABS in a field that had
ALSTON SOFTWARE LABS in it, it would be
deemed as a match. This is a very clean
and efficient way to search through text,
and is especially useful when you cannot
remember remember ALL of the text that
you placed in EACH data field. Searching
for LESS THAN or GREATER THAN would not
produce usable results, therefore text is
searched as a match only.

***15
Clear Button --

When you choose this, any checked data
fields are unchecked, all data that has
been accumulated to do a search with is
also cleared (i.e. you'd need to re-enter
any search parameters), and the menu
items related to search-found data are
disabled. Basically, you are removing any
references to data you have already found
or were about to look for.

***16
Done Button --

This selection simply hides the Search
Window and removes it from view. If you
choose to open the window again from the
main menu, it will appear in the same
state as when you saw it last. You can
also minimize the search window and put
it on your desktop.

***17
Search Button --

This button is what actually initiates a
search. Each data field is tested to see
if it is checked and contains valid data
to search for. When the search finishes,
the scroll bar is enabled and the number
of records found is shown. If no records
are found, the scroll bar is disabled and
you'll see "None" listed where it shows
how many records were found. Assuming
that there were found records, the scroll
bar can be manipulated and the found
records are presented in the main window.
The main window scroll bar also changes
with each record. You have the option of
switching between the two windows to do
any work you need. It's best to overlay
the two windows so that the data fields
are uncovered; you can watch the chnages
this way. Certain Menu items (mostly in
the FIND menu) are also enabled for file
level manipulation of the found data.

***18
File Management Overview --

Not only are Collect! searches flexible,
there are a number of options you have as
to what to do with the data. One thing
that happens with growing collections is
that it grows too much, and working with
it can be unwieldy. Also, interests can
change -- it is common to see people take
special interest in part of a collection
after some time. To this end Collect! is
equipped to handle most any need. Once
you have found data by searching, you can
take it out of the present file and put
it into a completely separate file in
order to better isolate it. You can also
append the data to other more applicable
files.

Be aware that when you move data into
other files, Collect! will assume that
you know what you are doing -- it does
not check to see if the template you're
copying data from is the same as the
template you're copying into. If you're
in any way unsure, the answer is very
simple: start another copy of Collect!
running, read in the data file, and look
at the TEMPLATE label.

***19
Exporting --

Collect! search data can be copied out to
disk in a format readable by spreadsheets
or other database products. The data will
remain in your Collect! data file, but a
copy of the found recors is placed on the
disk in a comma delimited ASCII format.
You will be asked to provide a file name,
and Collect! will append a .CSV extension
so that other products can read it.

***20
Copy --

Search data can be copied out to other
Collect! data files. If you choose COPY
TO EXISTING file, the records will be
appended to the chosen file. If you
choose COPY TO NEW file, you'll be asked
for a file name to place the copy in. The
original data is still in your current
data file; all you did was make a copy of
the records.

***21
Move --

When data is MOVED, it is removed from
the current data file and into the file
specified. The affected records, as far
as Collect! is concerned, are deleted.
See SEARCHING | COPY for more information
concerning EXISTING and NEW data files.

***22
Use of the Mask --

The print mask is used as an easy way to
define what gets printed when printing
the file data. Essentially, the mask lets
you tell Collect! what to NOT print. This
is useful, for instance, if you want to
create a catalogue of items but do not
wish to list the PRICE PAID for items. It
is also useful to disable or enable the
printing of pictures of items. In short,
it provides a way for you to customise
printouts easily.

***23
Selecting Fields --

When you bring up the PRINT MASK window,
you will see a list of fields that can
be printed next to check boxes. When the
box is checked, the data and the field
name will not be printed. You can also
select boxes that are already checked and
de-select them.

***24
Default Button --

When this button is selected, all fields
that have been checked are cleared, and
three default fields are selected for
you: TEXT ADDENDA, GRAPHICS PICTURE and
PRICE PAID.

***25
Clear Button --

This button clears all checked fields,
thus allowing all fields to be printed
or reselected.

***26
Done Button --

This button closes the PRINT MASK window
and accepts the selected fields.

***27
Picture Considerations --

It takes a great deal of time to print a
picture, so when you decide to print an
entire file, bear this in mind. You are
probably better off to print pictures as
the result of searches -- i.e. on demand
or when you need them. Also, pictures are
printed about 1/6th page size 2/3rds of
the way up and centered horizontally, and
this means that when you are printing
data with pictures you will use a lot
more paper, because the PRINT PICTURE
algorithm used will kick out the current
page so that a fresh page will be used to
get the picture in the desired position.

***28
Picture Button --

This button will allow you to view / edit
a picture. The picture's name is defined
by the ADDENDA NAME field (and Collect!
will append the proper extension to this
name.) Therefore, if you do not have text
in the ADDENDA NAME field, nothing will
happen. If there is a valid name in the
field, Collect! will look for a picture
file with that name. If one is found, the
appropriate picture will be displayed. If
not, a vlank window will be shown, but it
is possible to import a picture via the
menu. Up to 256-color picture formats are
supported.

***29
Writing Button --

This button will allow you to view / edit
any text notes that you want attached to
the current data record. Notes can be up
to 30k bytes in length. Refer to the
PICTURE BUTTON discussion for information
on how filenames are determined.

***30
Graph Button --

This button brings up a window showing
statistics concerning the opened file in
memory, and how the current record
relates to the rest of the records. In
the registered Collect! version you can
also create and print graphs based on the
data. Statistical data is referenced to
the financial fields: PRICE PAID, CURRENT
VALUE and so on.

***31
Clipboard Button --

This accesses the Collect! internal clip-
board, where you can copy a record's
contents and paste it into any other
record. Refer to The Internal Clipboard
discussion.

***32
The Internal Clipboard --

The Collect! clipboard is internal to
Collect! and not to be confused with the
Windows system clipboard. It's used for
filling data records with data that is
similar to another record without having
to retype the entire record contents. It
is best used when adding records that are
similar to a current record. To see how
it works, open up a sample data file and
go to any record. Click the GRAPH BUTTON
to get the clipboard, and click the COPY
RECORD button. Click the GRAPH BUTTON
once more to see the clipboard data, and
click the JUST LOOKING button to close
the window. Click the ADD RECORD button,
and your data file will increment to an
empty record. Click the GRAPH BUTTON one
more time, and click the PASTE RECORD
button. The data that had been saved on
the clipboard will be filled into the
empty record.

***33
Add Button --

The Add Button is used to Add a record to
the current data file. When it is pressed
the counter for the NUMBER OF RECORDS is
incremented, and the current record (and
the scroll bar position) is set to the
new empty record. You can then enter data
in or paste it from the Collect! INTERNAL
CLIPBOARD. See DELETE BUTTON.

***34
Delete Button --

The Delete Button is used to delete the
CURRENT record, which is shown on screen.
The deletion takes the form of simply
making the record EMPTY, and all of the
data fields will have nothing in them.
When you SAVE the data file, any empty
records are ignored; when you open the
same file again the record will not
appear and you will have an empty record.

***35
The Scroll Bar --

The scroll bar is used to sequence thru
the data in the file. As the bar moves to
the left, records numbers get smaller.
Organization is arranged from left to
right, record 1 through the last record
in the file. Clicking along the bar and
not the < or > buttons causes the scroll
action to change by 10% of the total
number of records. If you are using the
SEARCH facility: when you manipulate the
the search window scroll bar, the main
screen scroll bar changes as well so that
you can control your position in the file
using either scroll bar. Also note that
a data record is not saved until the bar
is moved. If you enter data into an empty
record and try to print it, you will not
see any data. You need to move the bar
once to make sure it is saved.

***36
Statistics --

Collect! statistics are finance oriented
and give you a quick thumbnail sketch of
what value your collection has. In the
registered version, graphs can be made
and printed that show relationships of
the various data.

***37
Entering Data --

Entering data is as simple as typing in
what you want each field. Any field that
is set up as TEXT will save up to the
first 35 characters. Fields that are set
up as NUMERIC will accept text data but
can work in unexpected ways during search
operations. In general, it's best to have
field names be as descriptive as possible
to discourage entry of invalid data.

***38
Text Edit Menu --

The EDIT menu is only active when a text
or graphics addenda window is open. It is
divided with a separator bar; the upper
portion is used for editing text. All of
the operations work in the standard
windows fashion except for IMPORT TEXT
and SAVE TEXT. IMPORT TEXT allows you to
read in a text file and add it to the
text window. SAVE TEXT will write the
window contents to the file specified in
the ADDENDA NAME field; it will have the
extension .TXT added to it automatically.

***39
Graphic Edit Menu --

The last three entries of the EDIT menu
are for working with graphics images, and
will only be active when the graphic
window is opened. The IMPORT GRAPHIC item
will allow you to bring in an image from
a file. Valid Formats are .BMP and .WMF.

***40
The Text Window --

This is used for adding text notes to any
given data record. The type of data that
is put in is up to you. It can include
notes, copies of letters, statistics such
as player stats in a collection of sports
cards, instructions for building things,
and so on. There really isn't a limit to
what sort of information you record, but
it must be in an ASCII text format if you
are reading it in, and you are limited to
30k bytes of notes per record.

***41
The Graphics Window --

You can see from our sample data on the
distribution disk (the PROGRAMS file) one
possible use of this. However, you can
use the picture recording capability in
a number of other ways. If you have a
scanner, you can store images of receipts
or passages or artwork from books. You
can also use it to store photos, such as
photos of employees or art objects. You
can also use it in conjunction with
photos to store close up details of items
like close-ups of special markings or
other details not seen in a normal photo.

***42
Deciding What to Add --

Remember that storage on your hard drive
is finite and that image files can soon
grow to take a great deal of space. Text
files are not much problem, but images
require a lot of room. As a rule, you
should store images that are required to
show something in particular. It's easy
to get carried away with a scanner and a
stamp collection, but it's not likely
that you need an image of EVERY stamp. It
is better to be conservative with space
and record those stamps that are unique
in some way easily seen in a printout.

***43
Using the Clipboard --

Whenever the text window is being used,
you have access to the Windows system
clipboard. Note that if there is valid
text in the windows system clipboard, the
PASTE menu item is active. This allows
you to COPY or CUT data from one text
file and PASTE it into any other. This is
particularly useful for adding redundant
data to all text files. For example, if
you were working with a sports card
collection, you may want to create a stat
sheet in each text file. Using the clip-
board you can make ONE master, COPY it to
the system clipboard, and PASTE it into
the other text files as needed.

***44
File Overwrite Checking --

All major files are overwrite protected,
and this prevents you from copying a file
over another using the same name. Addenda
files can be selectively tested for this
by checking this OPTIONS menu item. By
default it is ON.

***45
File Backups Made --

As a safeguard you can make a backup copy
of your data file when it is written to
the disk. It is saved as FILENAME.BAK and
it is in the exact same format. If the
original is lost, you would need to do
little more than rename the backup file
to FILENAME.CWF. By default this option
is OFF.
 
***46
Registration Benefits! --

When you register Collect! for Windows,
you will receive an enhanced version that 
contains added features. Here's a list:

1) Sound Files -- add WAV format files to 
your data. This allows you to add voice
annotation, short music recordings... the
uses are limited only by imagination.
2) Windows Help File -- This help file 
that you are reading is used ONLY because
it keeps the distribution size down.
3) Enhanced Statistics Manipulation --
you can create graphs and print them,
based on file or search-derived data.
4) Drag and Drop -- allows you to delete
selected fields or records QUICKLY.
5) Maskable Clipboard -- allows you to
select which data fields get dropped into
a record.
6) Printing Enhancements -- allow you to
mask field names as well as field data.
7) Text Editor Enhancements -- allow you
to change the displayed font size in the 
text editor to get better readability.
8) Directory Control -- Use directories
other than the default directory for 
data storage
9) File Sort Utility -- add-on utility 
to sort data files by ANY criteria in
ascending or descending order.

You'll also receive a Printed Manual,
more sample files, and a discount on
other Alston Software Labs products.

Users of the DOS versions of Collect!
will receive a file format conversion
utility to make the old DOS versions
compatible with the Windows version.

There's other enhancements that we're
working on, so there may also be new
goodies not already on the list!
 
***47
