DCLFuel v1.2
By Dave Lee
FREEWARE


DESCRIPTION

Small (9k) and efficient fuel monitoring program for Psion 3a. Gives details of each fill and five different graphs. Allows data entry and display in UK, US and European units in any combination (e.g. you could enter miles and litres when you fill up and display km and MPG, etc.). 


DISTRIBUTION

DCLFuel is FREEWARE. You may distribute it to anyone you like. The more people there are that use this program, the more suggestions and bug reports there will, this means better versions in the future which is good for everyone.

I wrote this program for my own use because the other offerings were either too large or too inflexible for my needs, so I don't want your money but I would like your feedback.

This is a first version (and also my first OPL program) so there could be some bugs. If you find a bug, let me know and I'll do my best to find time to fix it and send you an updated version.

I plan to continue to develop this software in the future and I'd appreciate any comments, suggestions and criticisms in order to make a better job of the next version. 

Enjoy!


REGISTRATION

I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY!!  THIS IS FREEWARE - DON'T PANIC!!

I wrote this program for my own use because the other offerings were either too large or too inflexible for my needs, so I don't want your money but I would like your feedback.

I'd like to keep track of who is using it so that I can send out information of updates as I have no web site through which to distribute it. Don't worry, you won't receive bulky programs in e-mail every other day, I'll send you a brief notification and you can mail me if you want the new version sending.

 Please cooperate by sending me your E-mail address, in return I will send you the registration key. 

THE PROGRAM WORKS WITHOUT THE KEY but will display a nag screen on start-up until you get it.

Apologies for this system, it's really not my intention to be a pain in the neck but I think it's not too much trouble to send a quick e-mail to request the key.


INSTALLATION

Copy DCLFUEL.OPA to the \APP\ directory on any drive. Create a directory M:\DCLFUEL\ on your internal drive. Optionally copy EXAMPLE.ODB into the M:\DCLFUEL\ directory, this is an example file that should get you familiar with what the program does.

Once you've copied all the necessary files, install DCLFUEL.OPA from the system screen as usual.


OPERATING THE PROGRAM

I've tried to make this program as simple and intuitive as possible, so I didn't see much point in including a help system.

File Menu
New	Creates a new file (one for each vehicle)
Open	Opens an existing file
Exit	Exits the program (saving preferences is automatic)
	
Transaction Menu
Fill Up		Displays the Fill Up dialogue where you enter the following:
		- station name (Esso, Shell, Jet, etc.)
		- Odometer reading (km or m depending on preferences)
		- Amount of fuel (l, UKG or USG depending on preferences)
		- Total fuel cost
		- Date
Update Last	Displays the Update Last dialogue where you can modify
		the last entry. This is basically the same as the Fill Up
		dialogue and is provided in case you make a mistake
		entering the Fill Up information.
Remove Last	Removes the last Fill Up information from the database
		(irreversible)

Special Menu
Entry Preferences	Change units used when you fill up:
			- Distance (km, miles)
			- Fuel (l, UK Gals, US Gals)
Display Preferences	Change units used for display:
			- Distance (km, miles)
			- Fuel (l, UK Gals, US Gals)
			- Economy (l/100km, UK MPG, US MPG)
Information		Program info and my E-mail address

You can change preferences at any time without affecting the program, so If you feel like displaying your economy in MPG rather than l/100km one day you can. Preferences are saved automatically with the file, this means that if you have a British car (miles) and a European car (km) you don't have to mess with the entry preferences for each one.

The diamond key is used to change between the following graph views:
	
Economy			(l/100km, UKMPG, USMPG)
Distance/Day		(km, M)
Fuel Cost
Cost/Unit Distance	(cost/100km, cost/100M)
Cost/Day

Use the left and right arrow keys to step through the transactions (fill ups) and see the details in the text display. A grey vertical line shows the position in the graph that the text display refers to. The diamond position is saved in the preferences.

The status window is sizable as usual and it's size is saved in the preferences.

IMPORTANT
due to the nature of the program, information cannot be displayed until you have filled your car up two or three times. Until you've done this you will see a message saying that there is insufficient data for display, Don't worry about this just keep filling up your car and all will be well.


KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

You can't fill up twice on the same day. This is because the program calculates distance and cost per day. I'm going to have to give this one some thought, watch out for a fix later.


HISTORY

1.2	fixed 'directory does not exist' bug when creating a new file from
	inside the program. Thanks John Machar for spotting this one
1.1	fixed divide by zero error occurring when filling twice in the same day
	(see above). Thanks to Geert De Haes for pointing this one out
1.0	first release

CONTACTING THE AUTHOR

If you want to contact me for any reason, mail me at: dave@rtsfin.fi

I can't promise great support because I'm very busy, but I will do my best to help in any way I can.


DISCLAIMER

The author shall not be responsible for any loss or damage of any kind due to the use or misuse of this program. This means (amongst other things) that I won't accept responsibility for your broken Psion when you drop it in the garage forecourt ;-)
