HOME INVENTORY V1.5 (S3A Only)
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Following the success of my Home Accounts  program S3ABANK,  a number of people have  suggested that I issue some of the optional modules as standalone programs.  This is the third of these modules (the others are the Investment Tracker S3AINVx.ZIP, the Fuel Consumption monitor S3AFUELx.ZIP, the Expense Account Monitor S3AEXPx.ZIP and the Financial Planner, S3APLANx.ZIP.   

(Where the 'x' is the version number)  

This program allows you to keep track of the contents of your home, for insurance purposes.

To Install the program,

1.   Put S3AHOME5.APP in your \APP\ directory

2.   If you want to use the optional On-Line Help (Highly recommended) put the file S3AHOMEH.OVL into an \APP\S3AHOME\ directory.

3.   If you want to use the optional Print option put the file S3AHOMEP.OVL into the \APP\S3AHOME\ directory and the file S3APRINT.DYL into an \OPD\ directory.  Note that this file is common to all my programs, so if you have more than one of them you only need one copy of this file.

4.   Install (PSION-I)

Now go into the program.  You can either use the default file Home, or use <PSION-N> to start one of a different name.  The 'nag' screens can be removed by registering the program, which will also allow you full access to the program, i.e. 23 Rooms and 23 Categories.  The unregistered version allows you just 5 rooms and 5 categories, to enable you to see the capabilities of the program. For now use anything you like as the House title, it can be changed later.

The new Help system is very extensive and should describe the program's capabilities in full.

Working through the MENU commands will show you the capabilities of the program.  You can have unlimited numbers of houses, and the  File  menu gives you the usual handling commands for these houses (If you want to delete a house, use this menu option. If you delete it from the System screen not all the appropriate files will be deleted). 

In each  of the three screens (accessed via the diamond key, the menu or appropriate 'hot keys') the Edit menu allows you Enter, Update and Delete entries, and for Rooms and Categories, the option to Move them in the list.  Again, for Rooms and Categories, the Enter and Update dialogs give you the option of excluding a room or category from the total value (shown by an "x" in the list rather than a number). There is an  Update Items  Value option which allows you to uprate (or deflate) every Item (or by Category) for inflation. (As you will see later, Items can be excluded from this by setting a flag as  Purchase Price  only). Also on this menu is an Amend Title option to change the name of the House, and an 'Edit Memo' feature, similar to that used in the Agenda, so that you can also keep track of insurance policy numbers or other details you may wish to record. 

The Print menu gives you the usual print options.

The 'Special' menu allows you to add a Password, find an Item, switch between font sizes, and exit the program.  it also has an 'Export' option to export the details.  If you use this option, it will produce a <Tab> delimited Text file which can be read by the WORD application.  If you then highlight all the text and open up the SHEET application, the <PSION-B> bring function will import the information into the spreadsheet.

Finally, the 'Set Preferences' option allows you to configure the font type, date format, the currency separator (12,345.00), the number of decimal places, setup the printer and specify if you wish to stay in the Preferences menu while setting up the program. As usual, CTRL-Menu will toggle the Status screen.   

In the Item screen, there is also an additional option to allow sorting of the Items.

To see how the program is used, use the Menu or <Psion-I> to add an Item. You will be asked for a purchase date, and all the usual details.  Leave the flag as  New for Old  if you want the Item to be taken into account when the Update All option is used (Note that a date of 01/01/70 will be interpreted as 'Unknown'). Now use the diamond key to cycle between the 3 screens to see the full capability of the program.

Note that when you enter the  Item  display from the Rooms  screen, you will be shown the Items in that room, but if you enter from the  Category  screen it shows the Items in that category.  In this screen, using the right/left arrows will cycle through the rooms/categories or you can go directly to a Room or Category by using <Psion-S>.  (In the Rooms and Categories screens, the arrows move you between houses)

If the Item list gets rather long, there is now a 'Find' option to quickly jump to an Item.  If you have more than one Item with the same description, repeated use of the Find option will move through the list.

Finally, in the Item screen you have the facility to Move or Copy Items between Houses, if you are running with more than one House.

If you find the program useful and wish to register it, please see the file REGISTER.TXT for up-to-date instructions on how to register.  Apart from giving you a 'warm' feeling, allowing  you  23 rooms and categories, and getting rid of the 'nag' screens, registering will give you access to full support and notification of  regular, free, updates.   If anyone has any useful suggestions for improvements, I will always try and include them in the next version.

Al Richey
