






                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                                       CONTENTS



          I.    DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1

          II.   COPYRIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1

          III.  LICENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1

          IV.   TECHNICAL SUPPORT (HOW TO REACH ME) . . . . . . . . . .   2
                Official Distribution Bulletin Boards . . . . . . . . .   2

          V.    ORDERING METHODS AND REGISTRATION FEES  . . . . . . . .   3
                A. Benefits of Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
                B. How To Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
                C. Pricing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4

          VI.   WHAT DOES THIS SOFTWARE DO? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

          VII.  SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
                A. Storage Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
                B. Using on a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
                C. Using with Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

          VIII. FILES WHICH MAKE UP THE PACKAGE . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

          IX.   RUNNING What Vehicle History? FOR THE FIRST TIME  . . .   9
                A. Quick Start  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
                B. Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
                C. Using the Menus  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9

          X.    MANAGING FILES  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    10
                A. Making Back-up Copies of Your Files  . . . . . . .    10
                B. Restoring Files from a Back-up Copy  . . . . . . .    10
                C. Formatting Floppy Disks  . . . . . . . . . . . . .    11
                D. Re-Indexing Files  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    11
                E. Packing Files  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    11

          XI.   DATA ENTRY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    12
                A. Service Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    12
                B. Departments, Mechanics, Service Types, and
                   Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    13

          XII.  REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    14



                                         -i-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          XIII. PREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    14
                A. Operating Choices  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    15
                   1.  Back-up & Restore Method (15)
                       ________________________
                   2.  Country setting (15)
                       _______________
                   3.  Directory Display Format (15)
                       ________________________
                   4.  Alert Tone (15)
                       __________
                B. Defining your Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    15
                   1.  Laser Printer Soft Fonts (16)
                       ________________________
                   2.  Scalable Fonts (16)
                       ______________
                   3.  Lines per Page (16)
                       ______________
                   4.  Left Margin (17)
                       ___________
                C. Sales Tax Rate and Labour Rate Entry . . . . . . .    17

          XIV.  HELP  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    18

          XV.   ERROR MESSAGES  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    18
































                                         -ii-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          I.    DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

                By using this software and documentation ("WVH") you must
          accept this disclaimer of warranty:

                WVH is provided "as is" without any warranties or
          c2onditions, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to,
          those concerning merchantability and fitness for a particular
          purpose.  By using WVH, you are expressly releasing the author,
          Angel Babudro, from any liability resulting from the use of this
          software and documentation.  You must assume the entire risk of
          using WVH.  Please test and supervise WVH thoroughly before
          relying on it.


          II.   COPYRIGHT

                WVH is owned and copyright (c) 1991-1994 by Angel Babudro,
          all rights reserved.  You may only use and/or distribute WVH
          under the License terms below.


          III.  LICENSE

                1. WVH is being distributed as Shareware; it is not free. 
          You are granted a limited license to use WVH for an evaluation
          period of up to 60 days, to determine if it suits your needs. 
          Any other use of WVH or use past this period requires
          registration.

                2. You are granted a limited license to copy WVH only for
          the purpose of allowing others to try it, subject to the above
          restrictions as well as these:  WVH must be distributed in
          complete & unmodified form, including all programme,
          documentation, and other files; WVH may not be included with any
          other product for any reason whatsoever without a license from
          Angel Babudro; no charge or payment may be levied or accepted for
          WVH except for a fee of not more than US$6 for the disk and/or
          service of distribution; the file CONFIG.WVH is not to be
          duplicated except for back-up purposes.

                3. Bulletin Board system operators may post WVH on their
          BBS for downloading by their users without written permission
          only if the conditions in (2) are met, and only if no special fee
          is necessary to access the WVH files (a general fee to access the
          BBS is okay).


                                         -1-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                4. You may keep as many backup copies of WVH as you wish. 
          The Registered Edition is limited to simultaneous use on the
          number of computers indicated on your license and opening screen.


          IV.   TECHNICAL SUPPORT (HOW TO REACH ME)

                If you have questions or need help, just send a note to me
          through the mail or a BBS listed below.  Registered users (or
          those in the process of registering), vendors, and sysops may
          contact me via telephone as well.  Sysops and shareware vendors
          please see VENDOR.DOC for distribution information.

                Mail        Angel Babudro, "Organic Computer Wizardry",
                            PO Box 132, Paonia, CO 81428 USA
                Phone       (303) 527-6756 Tue-Fri 10am-6pm Mountain Time

                If I'm not home try reaching me at (303) 527-4866 (KVNF-
          FM).  I cannot return long distance calls - I've tried and it
          rapidly costs way more than I make from this shareware.  So if
          I'm not at KVNF and you get my answering machine at home, please
          try again later.  Thank you!

                Official Distribution Bulletin Boards

                   My software packages are "free" downloads on the BBSs
          listed below - you need not subscribe to download my shareware
          (although other files or functions may require subscription).  I
          use the first name "Angelo" on BBSs since it avoids gender
          confusion (I'm used to both names anyway).  Scan for the file
          name WML*.* to locate the latest version.

          East Coast   Excalibur (Central NY) (315) 736-3792.  USR DS
                       modem.  FREQ (File REQuest) from this board via RBBS
                       address A:954/401, FIDO address 1:26501, or ICN
                       address 91:315/101.

                       WhiTech BBS (NC) (910) 944-1165.  Zyxel 14.4 V32b
                       V.42b modem.  FREQ via Fido 1:3636/2.

          Midwest      Rusty 'n Edie's BBS (Ohio), six phone numbers:
                              (216) 726-1804  HST 16.8
                              (216) 726-3642 Hayes 28.8
                              (216) 726-3610 Hayes V-series
                              (216) 726-2620 2400/V32/ZyXEL 19.2
                              (216) 726-3628 HST Turbo 21
                              (216) 726-3584 CompuCom Speed

                                         -2-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          West Coast   Researcher's BBS (CA) (805) 949-8151.  USR DS modem. 
                       Enter "J;136" to join the OrganicSftwr conference
                       before downloading, browsing for topics of interest,
                       or leaving messages to me.

                       Western Slope (CO) (303) 241-1966 USR DS modem. 
                       This is my local BBS, so it's a good place to leave
                       messages for me.  It's run by a computer club & they
                       allow 17 minutes per day to non-club-members so
                       you'll need a high speed modem to grab the latest
                       version.


          V.       ORDERING METHODS AND REGISTRATION FEES

                   Years of effort have gone into this software in the
          hopes that many people will be willing to pay for a small part of
          the development.  Kindly remember that if you use this software
          past the 60-day trial period you are honour-bound to pay the
          registration fee.

                A. Benefits of Registration

                Here are some practical reasons to register:

                -  The shareware license & pause at start-up will go away.
                -  You get the latest version direct from the author.
                -  You may order a printed and 3-ring-bound manual.
                -  Updates are free (get them from a local BBS or vendor)
                   so there's no reason to wait.
                -  You can subscribe to receive updates automatically
                   through the mail as they are released.
                -  You can talk to a real person who is fully knowledgeable
                   about WVH and can help you right away (for example, I
                   have fixed problems the same day and uploaded the new
                   version to my customer via modem).  I am committed to
                   making my software work well for you.
                -  It's the right thing to do.

                B. How To Order

                Please send cash, check, or money order in U.S. funds
          (Canadian customers may send Canadian funds, although money
          orders in U.S. dollars are the easiest to handle and greatly
          appreciated).  If you send cash use a "security" no-see-through
          envelope and you may want to send it via Registered mail, too. 


                                         -3-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          Purchase Orders only accepted from Fortune 1000 companies and
          only for $200 or more.

                C. Pricing

                When you register, please fill in the Invoice (below)
          completely.  Please include the name you see at the top of your
          screen so I can send the person who distributed your copy a free
          update.

          Registration with Disk -- $95.  You will receive the latest
                Registered Edition of What Vehicle History? with automated
                                      _____________________
                installation, the latest version of this documentation on
                disk, and notification of major updates.  See below for
                printed manuals.

          Multiple Copies -- If you would like to resell What Vehicle
                                                         ____________
                History? or have multiple locations at which you want to
                ________
                use WVH, you may receive a discount as follows:
                -  2-4 copies on the same order                         40%
                -  5 or more copies on the same order                   50%
                Resellers may receive a 40% discount on quantity one: just
                include your resale certificate number with your order.

          Site License -- use WVH on as many computers or network stations
                as necessary at a single location of a single business. 
                Pay for your registration & disk (see above) and add the
                appropriate site license fee below to accommodate as many
                computers as you need:
                   Up to 4 computers/network stations       $30.00 per site
                   Up to 10 computers/network stations      $70.00 per site
                   Up to 20 computers/network stations     $125.00 per site
                   Any number of computers                 $400.00 per site

          Manuals -- $12 each.  Printed on my laser printer and bound in a
                3-ring binder, these manuals contain pictures & detailed
                descriptions of each screen, some basic computer & data
                base lingo, and an index.  I am very concerned about
                deforestation, so please order a manual only if you need
                more details than are presented in this document.

          Updates Through The Mail -- An update disk with the latest
                versions of all my shareware costs $7.00 (add shipping
                outside the continental U.S.).  I release one to five minor
                updates every month and a major update every six to eight
                months.  If you discover a problem, please let me know


                                         -4-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                about it (be as thorough and specific as you can) and I
                will fix it and send you an update.

          Update Subscription -- You can subscribe to receive updates
                automatically through the mail.  I will send major updates
                as they are released (problem "fixes" or significant
                enhancements).  In return you will be expected to send $7
                plus foreign shipping, if any, to me within ten (10) days
                or return the disk to cancel this service.


                Offers are subject to withdrawal or change at any time
          without notice.  Prices are subject to change without notice. 
          Vendors and sysops please see VENDOR.DOC; BBS sysops look at
          SYSOP.DOC too.



                     Angel Babudro   "Organic Computer Wizardry"
                           PO Box 132, Paonia, CO 81428 USA
                    (303) 527-6756 Tue-Fri 10am-6pm Mountain Time



                           Register the Shareware you keep.























                                         -5-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                             INVOICE & REGISTRATION FORM
          REMIT TO:                                                   FROM:

                                            Name___________________________
            Angel Babudro
            "Organic Computer Wizardry"     Company________________________
            PO Box 132
            Paonia, CO    81428             Address________________________
            USA
                                            _______________________________

                                            Phone__________________________

          Registration     License & disk:       Qty ____ x $95 = $_______ 

          Multiple Disks   2-4 disks: 40% disc, 5+: 50% disc.     (_______)

          Site License     Up to 4 CPUs add $30; Up to 10 add $70
          (single disk)    Up to 20 add $125; Unlimited add $400   _______ 

          Printed Manuals  3-ring bound           Qty ____ x $12 = _______ 

          Shipping         Canada, AK, HI, VI, PR add $3
           Expense         Other countries add $9 per copy         _______ 

                                                   ** T O T A L  = _______ 

                    Send new updates about every  other month and
                    bill me $7 plus foreign  shipping, if any.  I
                    will  send payment within  ten days or return
                    the disk to cancel this service.       Initials_______ 

          Disk size & quantity [__] 5"                [__] 3"
          Drive density        [__] Low (DD) required  [__] High (HD) okay
          FDFORMAT/FDREAD      [__] FDFORMAT extended densities okay

          Printer make(s) & model(s)______________________________________
          Which version are you using now?________________________________
          I got it from ________________BBS ________________Vendor __Other
          I saw a review in_______________________________________________

                    WVH  has been  delivered to  and accepted  by customer.
          Upon receipt of  this paid invoice the  latest Registered Edition
          disk with bonus shareware, license, and  any options chosen above
          will  be sent.   Remit cash,  check, money  order in  U.S. funds;
          Canadians  may send Cdn$.  Allow 1-4 weeks for the latest version
          to reach your door.  Thank you for your order!

                                         -6-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          VI.   WHAT DOES THIS SOFTWARE DO?

                What  Vehicle History?  (WVH)  was  originally designed  in
                ______________________
          October  1991 to  track construction  equipment service,  and has
          been expanded  to track  the  service history  of any  mechanical
          devices -  cars, trucks,  tractors, motorcycles, big  rigs, power
          generators, or anything else  that is tracked by miles  or hours.
          Each "vehicle"  has an owner, division,  or department identified
          with  it,  which makes  WVH perfect  for  companies who  own many
          vehicles or for shops maintaining other people's vehicles.

                WVH will  track parts,  labour, and comments  pertaining to
          each  service incident for a vehicle.  In addition, you may enter
          your  parts inventory and WVH  will track stock  levels and sales
          history (including profit margin) on parts.


          VII.  SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

                You will need:

                *   An 8088 or faster PC (a 286 or faster is recommended)
                *   At least  one disk  drive  with at  least 720k  storage
                    capacity (a hard disk is recommended)
                *   MS/PC-DOS 3.3 or higher
                *   At least 350k free RAM
                *   A  dot matrix  or laser  printer if  you wish  to print
                    reports

                A.  Storage Requirements

                Although  the system  is capable  of handling  5.5 millions
          entries per file, you would need a supercomputer or a lot of time
          to manage it.  Here are some practical guidelines:

                PC/XT (8088 or 8086) - perhaps 20 vehicles
                80386 - 20-50 vehicles
                80486 - Over 50 vehicles

                These  are just recommendations,  though.  You  can track a
          thousand vehicles  on a 4MHz XT  if you want to;  it'll just make
          molasses look fast...

                B.  Using on a Network

                With version 2.2 of WVH I have installed network file locks
          for networks that use the DOS  SHARE.EXE file sharing method.   I

                                         -7-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          only have one computer so I  am unable to test how WVH will  work
          on a network, so if you have a network please give me your input.
          I will gladly send a free update for any help I can get in making
          WVH function well on a network.

                C.  Using with Windows

                WVH  can  be run  as a  DOS  application under  Windows 3.1
          although it is not a Windows application (in other words, it runs
          the same in DOS or Windows).  If you don't use Windows or  use it
          only occasionally (as I do), then use WVH from DOS  since it will
          work  faster without  Windows' overhead.   If  you normally  have
          Windows loaded,  however, then go  ahead and set  up an icon  for
          WVH.  To do this, highlight or create a group,  then use File/New
          to  create a  program item  and define  it as  C:\WVH\WVH.EXE (or
          whatever directory you are  using) and set the data  directory to
          C:\WVH or some other, as you desire.


          VIII. FILES WHICH MAKE UP THE PACKAGE

                What Vehicle History? consists of the following files:
                _____________________

                WVH.EXE       The executable file
                WVH.HLP       The help file
                WVH.TXT       The ASCII text file of this document [*]
                WVH.WP        The WordPerfect file of this document (so you
                              can format it for your printer) [*]
                READ.ME       A file containing late-breaking news [*]
                ORDER.FRM     Order form for all of my software
                PRINTER.DAT   Printer definitions

                These are the files which  make up WVH.  If you  distribute
          evaluation copies to  friends and bulletin boards  please be sure
          to  include all of these files.  Additional files will be created
          in the same directory as you  use the software.  The files marked
          with [*] can  be deleted if  disk space is  a premium, but  I ask
          that you please keep  ORDER.FRM on disk until you  decide whether
          or not to register.

                Registered users -- please keep the file CONFIG.WVH only for
          yourself as  it contains  your registration  stamp.   Share  only
          those files listed above.  Thank you for your help!





                                         -8-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          IX.   RUNNING What Vehicle History? FOR THE FIRST TIME

                A.  Quick Start

                Type  "WVH" from  the  DOS  prompt  and  set  each  of  the
          Preferences screens.

                B.  Installation

                Before you  can use WVH you will have to install it on your
          hard disk  or  create a  working floppy  disk.   Since almost  no
          business  uses dual floppy disk systems anymore I won't bother to
          explain the procedure here.  Contact me if would like my input on
          this.

                If you received your  copy of WVH on floppy disk  it should
          have come with an INSTALL programme.  If INSTALL.EXE or any other
          of the  files which  make up  the software are  not on  your disk
          please contact me so I  can make sure the distributor you  got it
          from is aware that their copies are missing files.

                Go to the DOS prompt (usually "C:\>" or some such variant),
          and type "d:INSTALL" where "d:" is the letter of the  floppy disk
          drive with the WVH disk (e.g., "A:INSTALL" to install from floppy
          A:).   You will  be asked  to supply  the  destination drive  and
          directory.   If you have an  existing version of the  software on
          disk you  will be informed that  it will be updated  with the new
          disk.

                After  INSTALL  is  finished  you  will  see  some  helpful
          information for setting up your computer well,  and directions on
          how to run WVH.   A batch file called WVH.BAT is created  in your
          root  directory  if  you  so  permit,  and  your  CONFIG.SYS  and
          AUTOEXEC.BAT files are not touched at all, not one little bit -- I
          wouldn't invade your system that way.

                While  in the root directory  you just type  "WVH" to start
          the  programme.  WVH is a batch  file which merely changes to the
          proper drive & directory then runs WVH.  You can delete this file
          if  you  are  using a  menu  or would  rather  type  the commands
          yourself.

                C.  Using the Menus

                WVH  uses the familiar pull-down menus  which are common to
          QuickBASIC,  Windows,  and  Macintosh  applications.   Basically,
          there is a horizontal menu of  choices -- File, Data Entry,  etc.

                                         -9-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          Under  each  of the  horizontal choices  is  a menu  of functions
          pertaining to that item -- it is a two-dimensional menu, in other
          words.

                There are two ways to select an item from the main menu:

                1.  Press  the letter  which is  highlighted in  the option
                    description
                2.  Use  the  Up/Down/Right/Left  arrows to  highlight  the
                    option you want then press ENTER (a.k.a. RETURN or CR).

                Some menus do not have highlighted options.  On these menus
          you must use the  arrow keys to highlight your  choice then press
          ENTER.

                If you want to cancel an operation you selected, just press
          the Esc ("Escape") key.


          X.    MANAGING FILES

                The choices under the File menu have to do with your system
          set-up, file management, and ending the programme.

                A.  Making Back-up Copies of Your Files

                File/Back-up protects your  information by allowing  you to
          copy  it  to another  disk.    Version 2.1  of  WVH  will have  a
          Preferences menu, under which you will be able to choose how  you
          want to perform  a back-up -- using the DOS  COPY command or ARJ,
          LHARC,  or PKZIP compressors.   After you select  this option you
          will see a summary  of the files  to be backed-up.   If you  have
          more than one floppy disk drive  you will be asked to select one.
          All WVH data files will then be backed-up to the floppy disk.

                B.  Restoring Files from a Back-up Copy

                If you ever need  to recover data files from a  floppy disk
          you made using the Back-up command (above), just place the floppy
          disk in its drive and select File/Restore.  If you have more than
          one  floppy disk drive you will be  asked to select one, then the
          data files will  be copied  from the floppy  disk onto your  hard
          disk.





                                         -10-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                C.  Formatting Floppy Disks

                This option is  for those  times when you  have decided  to
          make a  back-up copy of your data but don't have a formatted disk
          handy.  File/Format  Floppies lets  you format a  floppy disk  to
          your  computer's standard  density without  exiting WVH.   If you
          have a high density drive you can only format high density  disks
          (in other words, WVH doesn't pass any parameters to DOS FORMAT).

                If  you  have  What   Floppy  Format?  (WFF.EXE)  available
          somewhere in your  search path WVH  will automatically access  it
          for  formatting floppy disks (so  you can do  whatever you want).
          You  will receive a complimentary  copy of the  latest version of
          WFF with your WVH registration.

                D.  Re-Indexing Files

                If  you ever notice that information  is missing or appears
          in any way wrong, it is probably because something has damaged an
          index  file.   WVH will  automatically catch  and fix  most index
          problems (like if power goes out in the middle of the programme),
          but there are times when only you will know that the file indices
          need to be re-built.

                One  common example would be  if you restored  files from a
          back-up  disk.  When you make a back-up (using WVH's File/Back-up
          option) you are only storing the data files.  This saves space on
          your back-up  disk.  However, it means that if you restore from a
          back-up the index files may be mis-matched to the files.   So you
          would use the File/Re-Index option.

                If you have large  files (thousands of records) re-indexing
          can  take a minute or  more, depending on  your computer's speed.
          Aside from  that, though, it is harmless  to re-index as often as
          you like.

                E.  Packing Files

                Whenever you  delete information  from the files  WVH marks
          the "slot" (record) in the files as being "available" so that the
          next new piece of information will use that slot.   If you delete
          a  lot of information (for example, if  you delete a vehicle that
          had a  lot of service history & parts information) there may be a
          lot  of disk space being used to  store old information.  This is
          where pack comes in handy.



                                         -11-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                Packing makes a  new copy of  all of your files  which does
          not include deleted  records.  For  every deleted record  between
          128 and 512 bytes of disk space will be freed.


          XI.   DATA ENTRY

                This menu of What Vehicle History? lets you enter vehicles,
                             _____________________
          mechanics and other  information into  the data base.   The  Data
          Entry menu is split into three sections:

                1. Regular data entry for vehicle service information

                2.   One-time   data   entry   for   vehicles,   mechanics,
          departments, and service codes

                3. Rarely needed data  entry (schedule next maintenance) --
          this  function is run automatically after you enter service for a
          vehicle,  so you would normally  not need to  access the function
          directly.  This option is not yet completed.

                All data entry screens use the same method of asking you to
          choose  a  code (vehicle,  service type,  etc.).   There  are two
          windows  on the screen: the  left-hand one showing  the codes and
          the right-hand one showing the details.

                As  you move through the codes in the left-hand window, WVH
          shows you  the details for  the code which  is highlighted.   You
          move with the arrow keys, PgUp and PgDn keys, or  by pressing the
          letter  or number of a  code.  For example,  if you press the "G"
          key  WVH will jump  to codes beginning  with the letter  "G".  If
          there are  no codes that begin  with "G" the next  code after "G"
          will be highlighted.

                You can back-up one step (cancel  an operation) by pressing
          the  Esc key.   Otherwise,  just press  ENTER to select  the code
          which is highlighted and continue with an operation.

                A.  Service Information

                This is  normally the most used function in WVH.  After you
          have set up your  vehicles, owners, etc. you can enter the actual
          service information.

                Once  you select  this  option you  will  see the  menu  of
          vehicle  choices.   To  quit just  press  the Esc  (Escape)  key,
          otherwise highlight a vehicle and press ENTER.

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                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                Next  you will  see the menu  of service  types.   Choose a
          service type  which describes  the information  you are going  to
          enter and press the ENTER key.

                If  there  is already  some  service  information for  that
          vehicle then you will see a menu of dates.  The first item in the
          menu is "New date."  Highlight your choice and press ENTER.

                Finally you are  on the  service entry screen.   There  are
          three windows here:  One for parts, one for comments, and one for
          everything else.  You can  jump between the windows using the  F6
          (Jump) key.   Within a window use the arrow  keys to move around.
          When  you are finished entering  information press the  F7 key to
          save it.

                When  you exit  the  service screen  you  are back  at  the
          vehicle menu  (as above) and  the cycle starts over.   Just press
          the Esc key to stop entering service information.

                B.  Departments, Mechanics, Service Types, and Vehicles

                These  data entry windows all work similarly.  You will see
          two  windows:  One  on the left  which has codes, and  one on the
          right which has the details about the highlighted code.

                Highlight a code and  press ENTER to edit  it's information
          (in the  right-hand window).  To  enter a new code  press the Ins
          (insert) key.   To delete  (erase) a code press  the Del (delete)
          key.

                The  codes  you  define  can contain  up  to  five letters,
          numbers, or symbols.   Only upper-case letters are used.   "AG-5"
          and "AG05" are both valid  codes, though "AG05" has room for  100
          variations while "AG-5" has room for 10 variations.  It's  a good
          idea to give some  thought to your coding system  before entering
          all of your data!

                WVH sorts codes in typical ASCII fashion.  One character at
          a time is compared, going left to right.  For example,  here is a
          list of codes in ASCII order:

                1A
                A001          It is best to pad your numbers
                A002          with zeroes (like these three examples)
                A015          so they come out in order.
                A1
                A100

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                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                A1000
                A2
                B001


                Service  Types examples:  Use  whatever works for  you.  If
          you  have  an existing  system, just  use  those same  numbers or
          letters.  Perhaps  you have  abbreviations you  use on  invoices.
          You can use  "BR" for  "Brakes", or you  might just have  service
          type "1" for all types  of service if you don't care  to separate
          the service history by service types.  Avoid getting too detailed
          because you will have to enter a separate service record for each
          type of service you want to track.  This might mean splitting one
          service  into two entries -  perhaps you replaced  a radiator and
          replaced brake pads  at the same  time.  If you  want to print  a
          report  in the  future  which  shows  just  the  brake  work  (or
          whatever), then make a service type for it.


          XII.  REPORTS

                Highlight the  report you want and  follow the instructions
          on the screen.  For reports which ask for  dates - enter the date
          in month-day-year order, entering just the numbers and using a 4-
          digit year.

                You can choose  to print a  report on  the screen, on  your
          printer, or to  a disk file.   If your print  to a disk file  you
          will be  asked for a file  name (which may include  the drive and
          path, if  necessary) and the file will be created using the codes
          for your printer.  If you want a "raw" ASCII file without printer
          codes  then define  your  printer to  be a  "Generic/Daisy-wheel"
          printer.


          XIII. PREFERENCES

                The  Preferences  menu  contains  options  which  help  you
          customize the operation of WVH and set necessary parameters, such
          as the type of printer you have.

                Please check each Preferences screen before making full use
          of WVH,  otherwise something might  seem wrong with  the software
          whereas it is  due to the  set of conditions  under which WVH  is
          operating.



                                         -14-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                A.  Operating Choices

                    1.  Back-up & Restore Method
                        ________________________

                    Under the  File menu  are  options which  allow you  to
                back-up  and  restore your  data  to/from  other disks  for
                safety.   These operations  will use  the DOS  COPY command
                unless you use this option to change it.

                    You will see  a menu of four choices of  methods to use
                when  backing-up and  restoring:   DOS COPY  (the default),
                ARJ, LHARC, or PKZIP.  In order to use ARJ, LHARC, or PKZIP
                compression   software  you   must  have   the  compression
                programme  available in  your DOS PATH.   In  addition, you
                will also need enough free memory (RAM) to run both WVH and
                the compression software.

                    2.  Country setting
                        _______________

                    This  setting is not currently used.   I plan to use it
                in the future to determine whether to use english or metric
                measurements.

                    3.  Directory Display Format
                        ________________________

                    This option is not yet used and can be set to anything.
                For  now, it is included  to maintain a  standard "look and
                feel" of my packages.

                    4.  Alert Tone
                        __________

                    When some type of error or warning message is displayed
                on the screen, you reach the  end of a field, press a wrong
                letter in a menu, etc., WVH can alert you with one of three
                sounds or you may select "No sound" for silent operation.

                B.  Defining your Printers

                WVH lets  you use a  laser or dot  matrix printer,  but you
          must first  define it and the fonts you want to use for printing.
          Until you  define your printer and fonts there will be a flashing
          message at the  bottom of the screen and you will  not be able to
          print anything.

                The Preferences/Printer window  shows the current settings.
          Use the arrow keys to move around, and press the F3 key to change
          anything.  For example, to set your Title Font move the cursor to

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                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          that  line  then press  F3  and a  menu  of choices  will appear.
          Highlight  a  font  to use  and  press  <Enter>.   When  you  are
          finished,   highlight  the   "Ok"  button   and  press   <Enter>.
          Alternately, you can use a  mouse (click on "Ok") or press  F7 to
          save the screen and exit.

                    1.  Laser Printer Soft Fonts
                        ________________________

                    You  will need portrait (SFP) fonts  for reports.  Once
                you  define  your font  choices  on  this  screen WVH  will
                automatically use them for all reports.

                    Example: Highlight the "Titles Font" line and press the
                <F3> key - a window of font choices will appear.1   You may
                choose any  of the built-in fonts  or a soft font.   If you
                choose  "Select a  soft font,"  a window  will pop  open in
                which  you may enter a drive and/or path which contains the
                soft  font  files  (whatever  you enter  here  becomes  the
                default response  for next time).  Next you will be shown a
                list of the soft font files (*.SFP) in that directory.  Use
                the arrow keys and PgUp/PgDn keys to move around, highlight
                the  one you want,  and press <Enter>.   The soft font file
                name will now be shown on the screen.

                    2.  Scalable Fonts
                        ______________

                    A  scalable font  is  a single  font  (e.g., CG  Times,
                Univers,  etc.) which  can  be printed  in practically  any
                size.  PCL 5 printers like the H-P LaserJet III and IV have
                scalable fonts  built in.  This  means you can  pick a font
                and print in practically any size you want.

                    When you select a scalable font WVH will prompt you for
                the  pitch (cpi) or the point size, depending on whether it
                is a fixed-pitch or proportionally-spaced font.  In general
                numbers between 8  and 14 work best.  My favourite font for
                both my laser and  dot matrix is a Helvetica-Univers-Swiss-
                etc. (sans serif) font at 12cpi or 12 points.

                    3.  Lines per Page
                        ______________

                    Enter the number  of lines  which may be  printed on  a
                page in your printer.  Most of the time you will be working
                with  66 lines total (11-inches of paper printed at 6 lines
                              
          ____________________

               1 You must define the printer before you can set any fonts.

                                         -16-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




                per inch).  On laser printers the total number of  lines of
                often 60 due to half-inch top & bottom margins.

                    I recommend that  you set this to 55 lines,  which is a
                common setting leaving an  inch margin at the top  & bottom
                of each page.

                    4.  Left Margin
                        ___________

                    This  setting  is  the  same  as  it  would  be  for  a
                typewriter  - it is the  distance from the  left margin, in
                inches, at which printing will begin.  If you would like to
                leave space at  the left  edge (e.g., to  3-hole punch  the
                pages) then set this as you wish.  If you use a 10 cpi font
                (or 12 points for lasers) there will  be no room for a left
                margin on most  reports.  However, a  12 cpi (or 10  point)
                font,  such as Prestige Elite, will  give you room to set a
                one-inch  margin or so.  Experiment to find what works best
                for you.

                C.  Sales Tax Rate and Labour Rate Entry

                    This window  lets you  set  two important  items:   The
                sales tax rate for your area and whether or not you want to
                enter the labour hourly rate  on the Maintenance Data Entry
                screen.

                    If you do not need to track sales tax,  just enter zero
                for  this.   Otherwise,  enter your  sales  tax rate  as  a
                percentage (i.e., 7.50 for 7.5%).

                    When you are entering service information for a vehicle
                you  are asked to indicate the mechanic or place of service
                which, in turn, indicates  the hourly rate for labour.   If
                you  wish you can enter the labour rate on the service data
                entry screen,  which allows you  to over-ride the  rate set
                for the mechanic or place of service.  This can be handy if
                you  don't want to track  mechanics, only the service done.
                In  this case you could set  up a single mechanic and enter
                the hourly rate as it pertains to each incident of service.








                                         -17-














                                What Vehicle History?
                                _____________________




          XIV.  HELP

                The Help menu has two options:  About and Index.

                Help/About gives some information about the programme, free
          memory, and file usage.

                Help/Index presents  a menu of help topics.  Use the up and
          down  arrow keys  to highlight  a topic  then press  ENTER  and a
          window of  information about that  topic will  pop open.   It's a
          handy (albeit brief) on-line manual.


          XV.   ERROR MESSAGES

                WVH has three types of errors which you may experience:

                1.  Logical  error - this is a minor problem, not really an
                    error at all.  An  example of this type of error  is if
                    you  try  to enter  a  duplicate vehicle  code.   These
                    "errors" will  appear in a  window and, once  you press
                    ENTER or click on "Ok" WVH will continue its operation.

                2.  File error  - these problems  cause an error  screen to
                    appear  which  suggests  a  possible  solution  to  the
                    problem  and, if you can't fix it, my address and phone
                    number is shown  so you can mail  me the error or  call
                    me.   A common reason  for this error is  that an index
                    file  contains  a bad  entry  (perhaps due  to  a power
                    outage).  The most common solution to these problems is
                    to re-index your files (File/re-Index).

                3.  Programme  error - this is  a mistake of  mine and will
                    cause  the programme  to abruptly  end with  a one-line
                    error  message  and a  message like  "Press any  key to
                    return to  system."  Report  these errors  to me  right
                    away, please.  WVH  is thousands of lines long,  so the
                    bigger it gets  the more likely it  is that a few  bugs
                    will creep  in there somewhere.   These errors  get top
                    priority  and  are  usually  fixed and  a  new  version
                    released within a day.

                If anything  happens that you  don't understand, or  if you
          can't  get WVH to  do what you  want, I  would appreciate knowing
          about this so I can fix the software or update  the documentation
          as necessary.  Thank you for your help and support!  :)


                                         -18-







