Application Notes for Running AutoPart(tm) by

                 	Princeton Economics, Inc.
			P.O. Box 400
			Princeton, MA  01541.  
			Phone: 508-464-5474  (9-4 EST)

BOTH THIS DOCUMENT AND THE SOFTWARE SUPPLIED ARE COPYRIGHTED BY PRINCETON ECONOMICS, INC.  (c), 1992.  The shareware version of 
this code may be distributed and copied free of charge or 
penalties.  Princeton Economics retains all additional 
copyright protection as provided by the U.S. Patent and trademark office.


FEATURES:

Thank you for evaluating AutoPart(tm), a comprehensive 
inventory control and retail sale management system geared 
towards automotive needs for auto part shops and auto 
dealership service departments.

AutoPart has the following key features:


	1.  Unlimited number of parts may be stored (only limited by
		your disk drive capacity).

	2.  Parts may be placed in up to eight distinct categories such
		as manufacturer, usage, etc.

	3.  All parts in inventory may be printed by category with
		complete inventory totals (dollar amounts).

	4.  AutoPart will print itemized customer invoices on plain
		paper.

	5.  AutoPart can easily be set up to tell you when inventory
		levels drop below a preset number.

	6.  AutoPart can easily be set up to tell you when a certain
		part has sold more than a given number in any 30-day
		period.  We call this our "Stock Alert".  Stock Alert
		may be used to advise you of "hot" items which you can
		then re-order before you run out.

	7.  AutoPart will tell you which parts haven't sold in a 90
		day period so you can return them to the vendor.

	8.  AutoPart easily handles special order items.

	9.  AutoPart is compatible with bar code readers.

	10. AutoPart may be set up for password protection for 
		critical functions.

	11. Registered users may purchase a NETWORK version of
		AutoPart which will support up to 50 workstations
		and is compatible with all major network systems
		(Novell, 3Com, DCA/Tiara, PC-Lan and many more).

	12. AutoPart also allows up to three, sixty character
		lines to appear on the customers receipt (invoice)
		to be used for promotional announcements, etc.

What do I get if I register?

	Registration costs only $39.00 and will get you the 
	following:

		1.  Free, unlimited phone support.
		2.  We will mail you the latest version WITHOUT
			the initial message which asks you to 
			register.
		3.  You will receive complete documentation.
		4.  You will receive special utility programs
			which will help you maintain your 
			database and recover any corrupted or
			lost files.
		5.  You will receive notification of new releases.

		6.  You will receive a heartfelt <Thank You> for
			your support of shareware.  We need your
			support to continue with program updates
			and support.



HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:

	AutoPart(tm) requires DOS 3.0 or higher, one floppy drive 
and a printer.  WE RECOMMEND a color monitor and hard disk
drive.  AutoPart requires at least 512K of RAM.  WE RECOMMEND
at least 640k of RAM.

OPERATION:

	To start the AutoPart(tm) program, simply type the word
AUTOPART at the DOS prompt where you installed (copied) your
program files.  You will receive the AutoPart "Main Menu".  

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

	We will always use the "END" key on your keyboard to 
signify that you want to continue with a function or operation
and the "ESC" key as a panic button to indicate that you want to 
abort the current function and back-up.  Also, the bottom of
every screen contains from one to four lines of "help" information
which will change for each data entry point.  Please read the 
help lines for instructions and the meaning of data entry fields
and operations.

	REMEMBER, "ESC", "END" and help on the bottom of the screen
and you've mastered 75% of the program!


The Main Menu:

	The selections on the main menu may be activated by using 
the up/down arrow keys or by typing the first letter.  The former
message will cause the help lines to change at the bottom of the
screen.

ADDING/EDITING parts:

	Add or Edit parts by typing "A" from the main menu.  You 
will see the Add/Edit entry screen appear.  You must first type
in the part number.  All part numbers must begin with a prefix code.
The prefix code is nothing more than a "1-" a "2-", etc up to 
"8-".  The prefix code is used to define the category of parts.
For example, you might decide that prefix 1- is to be used for
all Mopar parts, 2- for all Delco parts, etc.  If you forget to
include the prefix, a "pop-up" menu will appear with all listed
prefix codes requesting that you select one.  (See the section
below on the "Miscellaneous" function for information on how
to assign your own categories.)

	After you have assigned the part number, you should fill
in all remaining fields.  
IMPORTANT NOTE:  THE DESCRIPTION FIELD SHOULD BE ORGANIZED IN
A "MILITARY" FASHION TO ALLOW FOR SEARCHING WHILE RETRIEVING
PARTS.  FOR EXAMPLE, an "Oil Filter Wrench" should be entered
as "WRENCH, OIL FILTER.  An Air Filter should be entered as
"FILTER, AIR", etc.  You may of course choose any method you 
desire, however, if you use our method it makes it easy to 
display ALL "filters" by simply entering the word "Filter" in 
the search screen; all "filters" will then be displayed.

The Stock Alert and Reorder Quantity fields should be set to 
"-1" to turn off the features or a value entered to enable the
features.  The STOCK ALERT will alert you when that particular
part has sold more than the number you enter in any thirty day
period.  the "REORDER QUANTITY" will alert you when the 
inventory level for that part has fallen below the value you
enter.


The MISCELLANEOUS function:

	The MISCELLANEOUS function is used to define your
company name and address for the customers receipt, to set
the state sales tax for your area, to assign part categories
and to assign any promotional announcements to be printed on
the receipt.

NOTE: Categories should be assigned sequentially, without
any gaps.  


The SEARCH function (producing bills/receipts)

	To produce customer bill/statements/invoices, select
"S" from the main menu.

	The part may be retrieved in one of the following
fashions:

	1.  Enter the full part number preceded by the prefix 
		code for the manufacturer.  For example, if the
		prefix for Mopar is "2-" and you want a Mopar
		spark plug with a part number of 98733, you would
		enter 2-98733.  Don't worry if you forget the
		prefix, a pop-up menu will appear if you omit
		it.  Push the "END" key when the part number
		field is completed.

	2.  Enter a partial part number preceded by the prefix
		code and push the "END" key.  A partial number
		will cause our "Browse" menu to appear which will
		display all parts with the leading characters.
		For example: If you entered "2-12" and pushed
		END, you would see a screen displaying all
		parts beginning with "2-12....".  You would
		select the part and push the "END" key a
		second time to transfer the information to
		the previous screen.

	3.  SKIP the part number field by pushing the down
		arrow or Enter keys and enter a full or 
		partial description.  For example, if you
		enter the word "FILTER" in the description 
		field and pushed the "END" key, you would
		see a pop-up browse screen with all items
		beginning with the word "FILTER" in them.
		You would select the item of interest and
		push the "END" key to automatically transfer
		the data to the previous screen.

SPECIAL ORDER ITEMS:

	If you enter a part number of description which is not
on file, you will see the pop-up browse screen appear. (The 
computer doesn't know if the part is a special order or if
you are simply trying to do a match on the first few characters.)
When the browse screen appears, push "S" for special order, you
will be returned to the previous screen and asked to enter the
special order description before the bill prints.

	After the inventory item has been retrieved, the cursor
will move to the quantity field.  Enter the quantity being
removed from inventory.  IF an item is being returned to inventory,
enter the number with a minus (-) sign in front. (eg "-5" to 
return 5 items).

	The cursor will next move to the "Price" field.  You 
may enter the price manual or simply enter "W", "R" or "C" to
assign the "W"holesale, "R"etail, or "C"ost prices which were
previously entered when you added the item to inventory.

	You may also elect to include a discount in the final
field.  The discount will default to the value you entered when
you added the item or it may be changed if you so desire.

	When you have completed the entry screen for the part, push
the "END" key.  You will be asked if you want to add MORE parts,
CANCEL this part or PROCESS all parts for billing.

	CAUTION: pushing the "ESC" key in the Search mode will
cause ALL items to be canceled.  Selecting CANCEL after a part
has been completed will only cancel that one part.

	When you are done entering parts, select "P" for process.
The "main menu" will appear allowing you to push F5 to print
the invoice or F8 to cancel the print.  

NOTE:  We have supplied the enclosed program with a small database of
       several parts as an example.  If you would like to delete all
       of our parts and start adding your own, proceed as follows:

              1.  Select "Q" from the main menu to return to
                  DOS.

              2.  From the DOS prompt type -  "DEL *.DAT" and push
                  the Enter key (do not type the quotes (")).

              3.  Restart the program, you will be asked if you
                  want to create new data files, answer "Y" for
                  yes.

              4.  You now have an empty database.