| ★ APPLICATIONS ★ BUREAUTIQUE ★ INFO-SCRIPT 6128 ★ |
Info-Script 6128 (CPC Computing) | INFO-SCRIPT (Amstrad Computer User) |
Silent partners Pat Winstanley finds a three pronged package that will save the small businessman time and money SMALL businesses and clubs often need continual access to both a word processor and a database, with the facility to transfer information from the database to the word processor. Brunning Software has designed Info-Script for just this purpose. BrunWord, BrunSpell and Info-Script have been integrated into one package so that the different sections may be accessed from each other without the bother of having to load another program. If a 256k expansion is fitted, all three programs can be available in RAM simultaneously. It is also possible to hold around six pages of text in BrunWord at the same time. Each record can contain a maximum of 23 fields of up to 30 characters. The manual suggests that sons be used as archive records, like full cards in a manual system which are put in the back of the drawer when a new card is prepared. The full records can be viewed with a couple of key strokes from the current record but are not listed on the current record summaries. Although only one data file can be held in memory at a time, it may be split into sections by the use of record markers. Up to four sections of the file can be defined, either exclusively or overlapping. Thus a club list could be split into full members, defaulting members, local members and out-of-town members. Each group may be viewed, printed or saved to disc. If you want to change the layout of the address label, perhaps to add a customer number at the top, the relevant template is loaded from the RAM store, adjusted, then saved back again before use. In addition to address labels, templates for a simple letter and invoice are included in the package. Brunning may release a disc later with a wider variety of templates for those users who either can't or don't wish to prepare their own. Real power Having organised the database, the real power of the system is ready for use. Most small businesses and clubs use a fairly constant layout for letters and invoices with only names, addresses and balances varying from one customer or member to another. BrunWord knows where and what to insert by the use of a different set of markers embedded in the text. Figure la shows a simple payment demand template with insert markers at appropriate points. This is what you would type into the word processor. Figure lb shows the resulting letter after a member's details have been inserted and the letter printed out. The marker &11 tells BrunWord to print the details held in field 11 of the current record. Developing the idea further, Figure lla shows an invoice pattern and Figure lib the resulting invoice. Here the insert markers are a little more complex, reflecting the need for calculations to take place on some of the data - such as working out VAT. The marker &Z%12*4 tells the system to work out a percentage, the rate being held in field 4 of the current record and the value to be worked on being held in field 12. The VAT for each item on the invoice is stored in a running total, while the marker itself is replaced during printing with a figure representing the VAT rate. This feature could also be used to calculate discounts for prompt settlement or perhaps show the balance on a savings scheme or credit account. The next level of complexity is conditional printing, where a small file is prepared which checks for the presence of a label in a particular field of the current record then decides which text file should be loaded for merging. Thus new customers might have a letter advising of a lower credit limit than that sent to more established customers. Another application could be tagging records according to their purpose, for instance invoices and receipts. Info-Script will automatically load the correct template for the data, which could itself hold more conditional markers, and so on. Data from more than one record can be printed on the same template by using a repeat marker which keeps going until all the data is used up or BrunWord runs out of memory. This would be handy for listing different items on an invoice or perhaps printing stock sheets for different groups of items. Conclusions The manual isn't the best example of its kind - it can be downright hard work at times - but all the information is there -if you dig hard enough. Getting started in the simpler concepts is very easy, with key by key examples to take you through the basic features. A sample data file is included for you to inspect, containing most of the features available both for simple and advanced use. But it isn't enough for a program to be supplied with demonstration files if those files are not clearly explained. I found that the only way to make sense of Info-Script was to persevere until, after a great deal of trial and error, and lots of wasted paper, I finally figured out what was going on. Although well over 40 pages long, the manual's organisation means plenty of skipping back and forth to gather all the available information on a subject. Filing and Insert markers are referred to similarly in the manual, which can be very confusing at first, and, as so often happens, no index has been included. ACU #8807 |
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