Welcome to the VMSYS (vee' -em sys) PLUS shareware program. This system will help you maintain your vehicle(s). This version will work with MILES & GALLONS as well as KILOMETERS & LITERS. If you are running DOS 3.x and above the program will also print currency using the style and symbols set for the country. Make sure that the COUNTRY=xxx is set if you are running the system outside of the United States. Version 2.6 adds better readings for Kilometres and Litres following standards of Systeme Internationale (S.I.). Version 2.5 adds the capability of editing prior fuel receipts and data entry errors via the FUEL MAINTENANCE MENU. Also, data entry of fuel receipts is much easier with this version. Version 2.4 incorporates the mouse and will take advantage of EGA/VGA monitors when printing a report on the screen. To start using GALLONS and MILES, start the system with the following command: C> v To use the S.I. version, change the SYSTEM SETUP from the SYSTEM PARAMETER MENU. All references to MILES will be changed to KILOMETERS and references to GALLONS will be changed to LITERS. The program will change only the labels. It will not actually convert any mileage data to kilometers and vice-versa. START UP All of the data files (gas, repair, etc.) must be present in the current directory for the system to start. After the banner is displayed press ENTER, you will then be presented with a popup calendar. Simply press ENTER to continue and view the sample data. To insure that the fuel receipts that you enter are correct, you should enter the following minimum and maximum figures for your vehicles: o Minimum/maximum litres/gallons per fillup o Minimum/maximum kilom/miles traveled per fillup o Minimum/maximum cost per tank per fillup It is important that you enter these figures before entering information into the system so VMSYS PLUS can catch your data entry mistakes as you make them. These figures can be set from the SYSTEM PARAMETER MENU. FUEL RECEIPT ENTRY Included with these files are the forms GAS.FRM and VEHICLE.FRM. Both of these forms should be printed and kept in your vehicle(s). Fill them in as you enter new fuel receipts. To print the GAS.FRM and VEHICLE.FRM files use the DOS PRINT command: PRINT GAS.FRM PRINT VEHICLE.FRM You MUST enter all fuel receipts for a month before proceeding to a new month. This is because VMSYS PLUS needs to compute miles traveled per day, MPG, miles traveled since last fillup, etc. It needs to maintain tight control over the data entry process. To prevent data entry errors from occurring, you will want to set the MIN/MAX vehicle defaults as described above under START UP. Each time you fillup, all you need is the following four items: o Odometer reading at time of fillup o Date of fillup o Cost of fuel o Number of gallons/litres purchased Keep these on a piece of paper in your vehicle so that once a month or so you can enter the new fuel receipts. IMPORTANT! You MUST fill the tank everytime you purchase gas for accurate MPG readings. REPAIR DATA ENTRY Only the fuel receipts are subject to strict chronological data entry. You can enter repairs for any date in the past at any time, although it is wise to enter the repair tickets as they occur so that the mileage figures will make sense. From the REPAIR MENU, press "A" to add a new repair. You will be prompted for the "ID" of the vehicle. The vehicle MUST be already added to the system from the VEHICLE MENU before proceeding. Enter the ODOMETER reading at the time of the repair, the DATE of the repair, the MECHANIC doing the repair and a miscellaneous MEMO. There are 8 line items in the REPAIR SCREEN including QUANTITY, DESCRIPTION and COST. The COST is multiplied by the QUANTITY to arrive at a TOTAL COST for the line item. SAMPLE DATA The system comes with sample data dated as of October 1989. You may view and change the sample data. The sample data was entered in miles and gallons. Delete the sample vehicle, advance the month to the desired month then add your own vehicles. To advance the month, you must use the NEW MONTH ENTRY menu repeatedly until the current month (as displayed on the UPPER RIGHT corner of the screen) is set. If you wish to set the calendar BACKWARDS: 1) First delete all sample vehicles from the database. 2) Exit the VMSYS PLUS system. 3) From the DOS prompt enter : V -SM You will be presented with a NEW STARTING MONTH MENU. You can then backdate the system to any date after 1950. You can then enter your vehicles with old fuel ticket information. Enter the fuel tickets and repairs as they occur. You will find that you need to change the date of the SYSTEM in the ALTER THE DATE MENU to match the date of the fillup. Make it a practice to enter your fuel tickets at least once a month ... you will get the best information that way. Plan on pressing the F1 key when first running the system. A help screen will help you understand the system. BACKUPS It is important that you make regular backups of your data. At the end of each session, answer "Y" when prompted to backup. The batch file VBACKUP.BAT will be run. It uses the PKZIP program from PKWARE to compress the datafiles into one file - VMSYS.ZIP. The file VMSYS.ZIP is then copied to drive A. If you don't wish to make a backup on drive A you can modify the batch file to backup to drive B. To restore the backup file, simply run the VRESTORE.BAT batch file. It is the counterpart to VBACKUP in that it uses the PKUNZIP command from PKWARE to uncompress the database. The batch file VRESTORE.BAT also can be modified to suit your needs. REGISTRATION This version is restricted to 2 (two) vehicles that may be maintained. This should give you enough capacity to fully evaluate whether or not you can actually use VMSYS PLUS to help you maintain your vehicle(s). We have provided a file INVOICE.DOC that you can print and fill out to make your order easier. The price for the registered version is $50 plus shipping. Print the INVOICE.DOC file and fill it out. You will receive a printed manual and an update disk which contains a capacity for up to 4 vehicles. Call or write if you want prices on larger capacities or are ordering from outside of the United States. The registered version also includes a utility that will dump all information to DBASE III format, thus allowing you to create your own customized reports if you have access to DBASE III or a DBASE compatible program. Call or write to: Contact Plus Corporation PO Box 372577 Satellite Beach, FL 32937-0577 (407) 779-4900 (407) 779-4422 (24 hour 9600/2400/1200 baud BBS system) (407) 779-3311 Fax We also provide several other software solutions for business including: ZeppeLAN (Novell Netware Popup Printer utility) Hours/Expenses/Mileage tracking system Personal Inventory System Phone Message TSR Contact Plus - Contact management system called : BEST SHAREWARE 1990 - PC World Magazine (Oct 90) BEST BUY OF THE YEAR - Business Marketing Magazine (Jan 89)