NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS: Maintosh Operating System Upgrade

. - JUNE 1987 VoLUME 8 NuMBER 8 • CONTENTS • NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Maintosh Operating System Upgrade ...... 69 • MACINTOSH OPERATING SYSTEM UPGRADE IBM XT ..................................................... 75 Apple has released new versions of its system software for the Macin tosh. The new version (Finder 5.5) supports the new Mac II and SE. If REVIEWS: you use a Mac II, SE, or Plus, Apple recommends that you use this new PFS Professional File ............................... 70 software. Because the new software takes up more memory, if you have Write Now .................................................. 71 a 512K or enhanced 512K Mac, Apple recommends you continue to use Finder 3.3 and only upgrade your printer drivers. (If you have a SERVICES 128K Mac you should use these older versions: System 2.0, Finder I ACSS Contract Services Group ............... 73 4.1.) If you don't have the new software, you can make a free copy at SPCS Site Licenses ................................. 73 the Micro HelpLine. You only need to bring two 800K floppy disks: 1 one for the system files and one for the utilities. You can speed things MICROCOMPUTER SHORT COURSES up by initializing your disks before you come to the HelpLine. Since Summer 1987 ........................................... 75 different versions of the Mac require different versions of the operating I system files, in the table below we divided the Macs into two groups. The table includes version numbers and the amount of disk space the files need. The size of your System me may differ from ours since we The Microcomputer Newslener is published monthly by removed most fonts from System 4.1 and 3.2. For the table we removed the Microcomputer Systems Group, a part of the all fonts except Chicago 12, Monaco 9, Geneva 9 and 12. Univers~y of Minnesota's Academic Computing Services and Systems department (ACSS). RECOMMENDED SOFTWARE VERSIONS The Microcomputer Newslener was produced on an Macintosh II, SE, Plus 512s Apple Macintosh SE running MacWr~e. MS Word, File Version Size Version Size Spellswell, Full Paint, MacDraw, and PageMaker 2.0 software; additional pictures by Mac-the-Knife. Installer 2.4 32K 2.2* 29K Camera-ready newsletter copy was produced on a Hard Disk 20 na 1.1* 32K Mac II and an Apple LaserWriter Plus. System 4.1 210K 3.2 101K Chooser 3.1 2.3 The Univers~y of Minnesota adheres to the principle Control Panel 3.1 2.0 that all persons should have equal opportunity and Find File 1.1 na access to facilities in any phase of University activity Finder 5.5 79K 5.3 56K without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national General 3.1 13K na origin, handicap, age, or veteran status. Apple HD SC Setup 1.3 26K na Direct comments and subscription cancellations, Font/DA Mover 3.5 35K 3.2 34K changes, and add~ions to the ed~ors at the address on Disk First Aid 1.2 38K na the dosing page. Subscriptions are free. Permission Easy Access 1.0 4K na to copy for noncommercial purposes is granted, HDBackup 1.0 24K na provided proper acknowledgment is given; the ed~ors request a copy of the document or record in which our lmagewriter 2.6 36K 2.6 36K material appears. AppleTalk lmagewriter 2.6 41K 2.6 41K Laser Prep 4.0 25K 4.0 25K @1987 University of Minnesota LaserWriter 4.0 50K 4.0 50K I News and Announcements continued on Page 74 ------- j REVIEW: PFS PROFESSIONALFILE is that you must plan ahead if you want to print mailing labels because fields will print only in the order they appear in the form. If you want a last-name field for searches and sorting, but PFS: Professional File version 1.0 by Software Pub want a full name in the right order for mailing labels, you must lishing is a database package which runs on IBMs and have a full-name field in addition to your other fields. compatibles. Professional File is a flat-me database, which means that it can work with only one me at a time. In Other features found in Professional File but not found in comparison, a relational database, such as dBASE or Rbase, al dBASE are the ability to include calculated fields and "attach lows you to work with several mes simultaneously. (See the ment pages." Calculated fields are fields whose value is deter dBASE review in our March 1985 newsletter.) A drawback to mined by other fields. For example, the "price" field could Professional File is that it does not allow you to write custom automatically be filled with the product of the "cost" field and programs. Unlike dBASE and Rbase, Professional File does not the "markup" field. Professional File's attachment pages allow come with its own programming language; this means all Profes you to "attach" notes to a record. You use these notes only when sional File commands must be entered at the keyboard by you want them. If you have a hard disk, you can have copious someone who knows the program. Within these limitations, Pro notes because the maximum file size Professional File allows is fessional File is a well-designed and flexible package which will four megabytes. serve many peoples' needs. Data Entry Professional File is a menu-driven rather than a command-driven Data entry is as simple as filling in a form; you just provide the program. You are led through a series of simple and clear menus information asked for. If you are entering dollar figures, you can to perform any of Professional File's functions. If at any point format the amount any way you want, such as $3,150,000. Pro you are unsure of which option to select, pressing the <Fl> fessional File considers only the digits and ignores the other function key will give you on-line help. symbols when it performs calculations, but it will preserve your formatting for printing reports. There are some handy automated Database Design features which help in data entry, such as "D (i.e., the <Ctrl> Professional File provides a great deal of flexibility for design and <D> keys) to automatically insert the system date, "E to ing data entry screens. Other packages limit your field designa erase a field, "F to copy the field from the previous record. tors, for example only allowing a list of 10-character names to designate fields. File allows you to design a screen like a form to be filled in. You can make your field designators any length you Data Retrieval, Update, and Deletion want; you can even incorporate a full description of what to type Retrieving data is fastest if you use the first field as a key field. in the field designator. A field designator is any string of charac However, you can retrieve records based on the contents of any ters followed by a colon, such as, field. You can specify an exact match, a partial match, or a range Please enter your name here. Put your last name match, on either character or numeric data. Once you have lo first, followed by a comma, your first name, and cated a record, you can change any information on the screen. If lastly your middle initial: you want, you can automatically change information throughout When you enter information into the database, the information the entire database. For example, you could change the percent can be any length, as long as it doesn't run into the next field of markup in each record in an inventory system. You can delete designator. If the information does, Professional File will ignore records individually or automatically throughout the entire data the rest of the response. You are allowed 100 fields per screen base based on some criterion, such as all records dated before and 32 screens per record for a maximum of 3,200 fields per January 1, 1987. record (compared to dBASE III's 128). You can position these fields anywhere on the screen and can change and rearrange Reports fields at will, even after you have entered data. Report writing is one of Professional File's strengths. You can print cross tabulations or summary reports, columnar lists, la As with any database package, careful design of the structure of bels, or print records as they appear on the screen. Once you the database in the beginning can make things easier later on. have created a format, you can preview your report on the Professional File has several idiosyncrasies which you should be screen, print it, save it to disk, or save just the format for future aware of before you begin your design. One idiosyncrasy is that use. In each report you can select which fields and records you Professional File automatically indexes the first field of each want printed and select the order in which you want the fields record, and the first field is the only field which can be indexed. printed. Your data can be sorted in all columns, and you can This means that if you want to retrieve records using last names, delete duplicate column entries. If your field designators are you must make sure the last name is your first field. This scheme inappropriate, you can create new column headings. You can put allows very fast searches; Professional File claims to find an headers and footers on each page, include incremental page exact match in this field in less than two seconds, regardless of numbers, and set page length and width. Crosstabs are a little the size of your database.

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