Perm-Check Plus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright 1991/92 by Paul Morley All rights reserved User's Notes 15-6-92 - Perm-Check Plus ******************************************* * I M P O R T A N T: Please Read First * ******************************************* There are several important changes in this version of Perm-Check which users should be aware of. 1] Perm-Check Plus uses a different file format from previous versions of Perm-Check. To use your existing plan files they must be converted to the new file format by clicking on the convert button. A more detailed explanation of how this works can be found under the relevant section heading. When converted you should find that your plan files load much faster. 2] Perm-Check Plus is now SHAREWARE. The un-registered version of Perm-Check Plus, although fully functional, is designed to allow you to evaluate the program before registering. During use of the un-registered version you will regurlarly encounter the registration reminder screen. To leave this screen you must either click on the "OK" button ( Predict module ) or tap a key ( Perm-Check module ). If you use Perm-Check Plus on a regular basis then please register. THE REGISTRATION REMINDER SCREEN DOES NOT APPEAR IN REGISTERED VERSIONS OF PERM-CHECK PLUS. Please read the section marked Registration for further details on the benefits of registering. DISTRIBUTION: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perm-Check may be freely distributed. It is permissible to release Perm-Check as part of a public domain collection, or on a telecommunication service. If you do distribute Perm-Check please leave all files intact. Perm-Check may not be distributed in any commercial product, shareware product, or commercial publication without permission. NOTE TO DISTRIBUTORS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perm-Check Plus must be distributed on its own disk as originally supplied, with all files intact. This file must be included on the disk. DISCLAIMER: -------------------------------------------------------------------- In no way can the author be held responsible for any damages, loss of anticipated profits, or any other perceived loss related to using this program. The user assumes the entire risk, and responsibility when using this program. User's Manual 15-6-92 - Perm-Check Plus CONTENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Section 1 ................ Introduction Section 2 ................ History Section 3 ................ Starting Perm-Check Section 3.1 ................ System Requirements Section 4 ................ Perm-Check Controls Section 4.1 ................ File Section 4.1.1 ................ Alert Section 4.2 ................ Check Section 4.2.1 ................ Results Menu Section 4.2.2 ................ Search Menu Section 4.2.3 ................ Lines Found Section 4.3 ................ Convert Section 4.4 ................ Quit Section 4.5 ................ Creating plan files Section 4.5.1 ................ Sample Session Section 4.6 ................ Quick Start Section 4.7 ................ Limits Section 5 ................ Predict Controls Section 5.1 ................ File Section 5.1.1 ................ Alert Section 5.2 ................ Predict Section 5.2.1 ................ Prediction Menu Section 5.3 ................ Standing entry Section 5.3.1 ................ Standing entry control panel Section 5.4 ................ Editor Section 5.4.1 ................ Editor control panel Section 5.5 ................ Perm-Check (QUIT) Section 5.6 ................ Using the Search Requester Section 5.7 ................ Using the Default Requester Section 5.8 ................ Full Requester Section 5.9 ................ The Database Section 5.10 ................ Specifications Section 5.11 ................ Quick Start Section 6 ................ Common Problems Section 7 ................ Registration details Section 7.1 ................ Registration form Section 8 ................ Comments Section 1 INTRODUCTION ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perm-Check Plus is designed to take the chore out of checking your plans for winning lines. It is fast, accurate, and very useful for checking plans with many lines, especially if you have to check the same plan against different numbers. Perm-Check Plus also gives summary information on lines found, so you can now tell at a glance how well your plan is performing. An additional feature of Perm-Check Plus is that it now includes a prediction facility. This is quick, simple to use, and does not require the user to feed in vast amounts of information each week. Perm-Check Plus makes a prediction using numbers theory and searches it's database for patterns of numbers. This often yields good results. To get the best from Perm-Check Plus please read the instructions carefully. I have attempted to write these instructions in as much detail as possible so that novice Amiga Users will be able to use the program. If you are a more experienced user please bear with me. This program was coded in AMOS Basic. Section 2 HISTORY ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7/11/91 Perm-Check V. 01 released. 7/4/92 Perm-Check V. 1.2 released. The HELP facility is no longer available. Menus redesigned. Improved reporting on lines found. 15/6/92 Perm-Check Plus released. Perm-Check is now shareware. New File format introduced. Prediction facility included. Menus improved. Improved reporting on lines found (again). Section 3 STARTING PERM-CHECK ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perm-Check will auto-boot. Insert the disk into drive DF0: and switch on the machine. After a short while you will be presented with the master menu. Pressing F1 will load Perm-Check whilst pressing F2 will load the Prediction module. Pressing F3, as you're probably aware, will load these instructions. Section 3.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perm-Check Plus requires 1Mb of memory to run. Section 4 PERM-CHECK CONTROLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On loading, Perm-Check Plus will present you with the main menu. All menu items are accessed by clicking on the relevant buttons. The main menu has the following options: File ............See Section 4.1 Check ............See Section 4.2 Convert ............See Section 4.3 Quit ............See Section 4.4 Clicking on "QUIT" will produce a requester asking you to confirm your decision. If you click on the "YES" button Perm-Check will exit and return you to the master menu. Section 4.1 FILE ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clicking on this button will access the File requester and allow you to load in a new plan. The default extender used by Perm-Check Plus is ".PLNF". To load a plan simply high-light the plan of your choice and double click the left mouse button, or press return. If you wish to change the directory press the right mouse button, high-light the directory required and press return. Section 4.1.1 FILE-ALERT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you attempt to load a file which is incompatible with Perm-Check a requestor will appear to warn you of the mistake. To cancel this requestor click on the "OK" button. Section 4.2 CHECK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clicking on this button will allow you to check the plan currently in memory. If there is no plan in the memory then a file requester will appear. For details on how to use this requester please read section 4.1. Once a plan file has been loaded the results menu will appear. ( See Section 4.2.1 ). Section 4.2.1 RESULTS MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here you must enter the results of the selections your plan covers. To do this simply click on the appropriate buttons. If you are unsure of the result of any particular selection then click on the button marked "?". This will award 0 points for that selection. When you have entered points for all of your selections the search menu will appear. ( See Section 4.2.2 ). Section 4.2.2 SEARCH MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The search menu allows you to set the search criteria and can be any of the following: Points, Draws, Homes or aways. For instance, if you are doing the away pools you will only be interested in those matches which resulted in away wins and should click on the button marked "AWAYS". Clicking on the button marked "MENU" will take you back to the main menu. Once you have selected the search criteria Perm-Check will check the plan file. A progress bar will be displayed to show you how far Perm-Check has searched through the plan. Even in the case of large plans this process usually only takes seconds to complete. Summary information on the lines found will now be displayed. ( See section 4.2.3 ) Section 4.2.3 LINES FOUND ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perm-Check will now display how many lines contain x number of points, or whatever you selected as the search criteria. An example could be as below; 12 Lines = 21 points 3 Lines = 23 points 2 Lines = 24 points To examine these lines in greater detail click on the line you wish to examine. Perm-Check will now list the individual plan lines. Using the above example let us suppose you wish to examine those lines which contain 24 points. Click on the line " 2 Lines = 24 points ". Perm-Check will now list those 2 lines and the numbers which make up the line. The display will look something like the following; LINE 8 1 3 4 8 12 16 17 18 = 24 points LINE 10 1 2 4 8 11 16 17 18 = 24 points If the search criteria was aways, homes or draws those selections which match the search criteria will be highlighted in yellow. The best way to find out how to check a plan is to load one of the supplied plan files and experiment. Section 4.3 CONVERT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This function converts your plan files into a format which Perm-Check Plus can work with. Please read section 4.5 for more details on creating plan files. Once you have clicked on the "CONVERT" button a file requester will appear. Details on how to use this requester appear in section 4.1. The default extender is ".PLN". Once you have selected a plan Perm-Check Plus will convert the file and save it in a new format. Your original file will not be erased as the convert function adds the extender ".PLNF" to the file it saves. For example "SUNPLN_40.PLN" would be saved as "SUNPLN_40.PLNF". This means that you can still edit your original file should the need arise. Section 4.4 QUIT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clicking on "QUIT" will produce a requester asking you to confirm your decision. Clicking on the "YES" button will exit Perm-Check Plus and return you to the master menu. Section 4.5 CREATING PLANS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At the moment plan files must be created on a wordprocessor and must adhere to the following format. All lines must begin with a comma, and all numbers in a line must be seperated with a comma. The last line of any plan file must be a single comma. The first line of your plan file must include the following information. The number of lines in a plan, the number of selections in the plan and the number of matches covered. I hope the following example will make things a little clearer. This example is for Sunplan 40. The first line will be as follows: ,600,8,17 The 600 refers to the number of lines in the plan. In this case Sunplan 40 has 600 lines. The 8 refers to the number of selections, Sunplan 40 has 8 selections. The last number is the number of matches covered, in this case 17. The next 600 lines will be the lines which make up Sunplan 40. The next line in your plan file will therefore look like this: ,1,2,7,8,9,10,11,12 You will then have to type the other 599 lines. The last two lines in the plan file should look like this: ,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 , Please note the single comma. All plans must end with this. If you are still unsure, load one of the plans included on this disk into your wordprocessor, and study it. Once you have created your plan file name it with the extender ".PLN" ( For example, Sunplan 40 should be saved with the filename Sunplan_40.PLN ). The final step is to load Perm-Check Plus and use the convert function. More details on the convert function can be found in section 4.3 Section 4.5.1 SAMPLE SESSION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although entering a large number of plan lines may sound daunting there are a few short-cuts which can be used. I'll use the fictional Morley Plan 1 as an example. Morley Plan 1 is a 3 by 5 block perm arranged as follows. 1 X - - 2 X - - 3 - X - 4 - X - 5 - - X 6 - - X 7 X X - X X 8 X X X X X 9 X - X X X 10 X X X - X 11 X X X X - 12 X X X X X 13 - X X X X The first task is to carefully enter the five lines which comprise the lower half of the block. Start each line with a + character. Once you have typed these lines, enter a row of - characters. This serves to seperate the blocks. Your plan file should look like figure 1. FIGURE 1 +7,8,9,10,11,12 +7,8,10,11,12,13 +8,9,10,11,12,13 +7,8,9,11,12,13 +7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ Using the edit functions of your word processor copy this block three times. Your plan will now look as figure 2. FIGURE 2 +7,8,9,10,11,12 +7,8,10,11,12,13 +8,9,10,11,12,13 +7,8,9,11,12,13 +7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ +7,8,9,10,11,12 +7,8,10,11,12,13 +8,9,10,11,12,13 +7,8,9,11,12,13 +7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ +7,8,9,10,11,12 +7,8,10,11,12,13 +8,9,10,11,12,13 +7,8,9,11,12,13 +7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ You must now use the search and replace function. Enter the search string as + and the replace string as the first line from the upper block. SEARCH STRING = + REPLACE STRING = ,1,2, Search and replace the first five lines. You plan file should look like figure 3. FIGURE 3 ,1,2,7,8,9,10,11,12 ,1,2,7,8,10,11,12,13 ,1,2,8,9,10,11,12,13 ,1,2,7,8,9,11,12,13 ,1,2,7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ +7,8,9,10,11,12 +7,8,10,11,12,13 +8,9,10,11,12,13 +7,8,9,11,12,13 +7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ +7,8,9,10,11,12 +7,8,10,11,12,13 +8,9,10,11,12,13 +7,8,9,11,12,13 +7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ Repeat this process for the next two lines from the upper block. Your plan file will then look as figure 4. FIGURE 4 ,1,2,7,8,9,10,11,12 ,1,2,7,8,10,11,12,13 ,1,2,8,9,10,11,12,13 ,1,2,7,8,9,11,12,13 ,1,2,7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ ,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12 ,3,4,7,8,10,11,12,13 ,3,4,8,9,10,11,12,13 ,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,13 ,3,4,7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ ,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 ,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13 ,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13 ,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,13 ,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13 ------------------ The last step is to delete the characters which seperate your blocks. Your finished plan file will then look as figure 5. FIGURE 5 ,15,8,13 ,1,2,7,8,9,10,11,12 ,1,2,7,8,10,11,12,13 ,1,2,8,9,10,11,12,13 ,1,2,7,8,9,11,12,13 ,1,2,7,8,9,10,12,13 ,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12 ,3,4,7,8,10,11,12,13 ,3,4,8,9,10,11,12,13 ,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,13 ,3,4,7,8,9,10,12,13 ,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 ,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13 ,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13 ,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,13 ,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13 , Although this process may seem complex, it will save you much time with larger plans. For instance, the first 198 lines of Sunplan 40 are set out as a 3 by 66 block. Please note that Morley Plan 1 is fictional and not recognized by any Pools company. Section 4.6 QUICK START ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you use the same plan each week then checking can be made even quicker by changing the name of your plan to DEF.PLNF When Perm-Check Plus first loads it will search the disk for a file named DEF.PLNF. If found it will load this plan into memory and then go direct to the Results Menu. Section 4.7 LIMITS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perm-Check will not work with plans which have more than 1000 lines. The maximum number of selections that a plan can cover is 32. Under certain conditions you may be able to go over these limits but it is not to be recommended. Section 5 PREDICT CONTROLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On loading, the Perm-Check Plus Prediction module will present you with the main menu. All menu items are accessed by clicking on the relevant buttons. The main menu has the following options: File ............See Section 5.1 Predict ............See Section 5.2 Standing Entry ............See Section 5.3 Editor ............See Section 5.4 Perm-Check ............See Section 5.5 Clicking on "PERM-CHECK" will produce a requester asking you to confirm your decision. If you click on the "YES" button the Predict module will exit and return you to the master menu. Section 5.1 FILE ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clicking on this button will access the File requester and allow you to load in the database you wish to use for your predictions. The default extender used by PREDICT is ".PRED". To load a database simply high-light the database of your choice and double click click the left mouse button, or press return. If you wish to change the directory press the right mouse button, high-light the directory required and press return. Section 5.1.1 FILE-ALERT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you attempt to load a file which is incompatible with PREDICT a requestor will appear to warn you of the mistake. To cancel this requestor click on the "OK" button. Section 5.2 PREDICT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clicking on this button will give you access to the Prediction menu. A more detailed explanation follows in section 5.2.1. Section 5.2.1 PREDICTION MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Prediction Menu has the following options. To use any of these options click on the relevant button. RANDOM: Clicking on this button will produce a random set of numbers totally irrespective of the database. To use this function you do not need a database in memory. The amount of numbers supplied is set from the Default Requester. Please read section 5.7 for details on how to use this requester. ALL: This button will use the entire database to produce a forecast. If there is no database currently loaded then the file requester will appear to prompt you to load one. The amount of numbers supplied by this function is set from the Default Requester. Please read section 5.7 for details on how to use this requester. FIRST: Clicking on this button will tell the program to use only the beginning of the database for the prediction. The actual number of weeks used is set by the Default Requester. If there is no database currently loaded then the file requester will appear to prompt you to load one. LAST: This is as the above function except that it uses end of the database to make a prediction. It is useful when you wish to take into account the difference between the English and Australian Pools. For example, if for the last six weeks the pools had been Australian, and you wished to take this into account, you could just use the last six weeks of the database for a prediction. DEFAULT: Clicking on this button will produce the default requester. From here you can set the amount of numbers supplied and the number of weeks used by the FIRST and LAST functions. Please read section 5.7 for more details on how to use this requester. MENU: This will return you to the main menu. Section 5.3 STANDING ENTRY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This function allows you to check the performance of any standing entry that you may have, or to see how well any new standing entry would have performed in weeks gone by. It is accessed by clicking on the button marked "STANDING ENTRY". A more detailed explanation follows in section 5.3.1. Please note that if there is no database currently loaded then the file requester will appear to prompt you to load one. Section 5.3.1 STANDING ENTRY MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arranged across the top of the screen is the following information: Current Record Number Shows current record number. Number of entries Shows how many score draws occured that week. Number Correct Shows the number of score draws that your standing entry correctly forecast that week. Week Displays date information. In the centre of the screen are the numbers one to fifty eight. These numbers correspond to coupon numbers. Score draws are shown as a vertical red bars above these numbers, so you can tell at a glance which numbers resulted in score draws. The numbers which make up your standing entry are shown as shorter yellow bars. Across the bottom of the screen is the control panel. To access any of its functions click on the relevant button. The controls are as follows: << Clicking on this button will take you to record number 1. < Clicking on this button will take you to the previous record. > Clicking on this button will take you to the next record. >> Clicking on this button will take you to the last record. MENU This button will quit the standing entry section and go to the main menu. GOTO Clicking on this button will access the search requester. Further details on this can be found in section 5.6. CHECK This button allows you to check the performance of a standing entry. When clicked on you will be asked to enter the numbers which make up your standing entry. To enter a number type the number and then press return. When you have finished entering all the numbers that make up your standing entry press return twice. For example, if you wished to enter the numbers 2, 10 and 43 as your standing entry you would type 2 < RETURN > 10 < RETURN > 43 < RETURN > < RETURN > < RETURN >. The maximum amount of numbers you can enter into the check line is 27. The program will now search the database and after a short while will display the highest number of draws that the standing entry produced. Section 5.4 EDITOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The editor allows you to maintain the database. To access the editor click on the "EDIT" button. More details appear in section 5.4.1. Section 5.4.1 EDITOR MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To use any of the editor functions click on the relevant button. The buttons and their functions are listed below. WEEK The white box next to the word "week" contains the title you have given to that record. In practice this is usually the date, though you can enter any information you wish into this box. The maximum number of characters allowed is 19. Clicking anywhere in this box will allow you to enter new information. Press return when you have finished. Please note that if you click on this box any information already displayed in the box will be cleared. RECORD No. Displays the current record number. DRAWS The long white box next to the word "draws" contains the score draws for that week. Clicking inside this box will allow you to enter the score draws for that week. Numbers are entered by typing the number and pressing return. When you have entered all your numbers press return twice. For example, if you wished to enter the numbers 2, 23, 42 and 58 you would type 2 < RETURN > 23 < RETURN > 42 < RETURN > 58 < RETURN > < RETURN > < RETURN >. The maximum number of draws allowed is 24. The program will not allow you to enter the same number twice, or any number above 58. Please note that if you click on this box any information already displayed in the box will be cleared. << Clicking on this button will take you to record number 1. < Clicking on this button will take you to the previous record. > Clicking on this button will take you to the next record. >> Clicking on this button will take you to the last record. GOTO Clicking on this button will access the search requester. Further details on this can be found in section 5.6. ADD Click on this button to add another week to the database. The record number will advance and the input cursor appear in the "week" box ready for input. When you have entered the date etc. the cursor will jump to the "Draws" box. You must now enter the draws for that week. This button will not work if you have not entered any draws for the current record. If the current record is 208 then the full requester will appear. More details on this can be found in section 5.8. LOAD This will load a new database into memory ready for editing. For details on how to use the file requester please see section 5.1. SAVE This will save the current database to disk. Please note that the default extender used by the PREDICT module is ".PRED". For reasons given in section 5.12 it is best to save your database with the name "DEF.PRED" CLEAR Clicking on the clear button will erase the current database from memory. Before proceeding a requester will appear to confirm your decison and give you the option to change your mind. MENU This button will take you back to the main menu. Any database you were working on will remain in memory. Section 5.5 PERM-CHECK (QUIT) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clicking on "PERM-CHECK" will produce a requester asking you to confirm your decision. If you click on the "YES" button the Predict module will exit and return you to the master menu. Section 5.6 USING THE SEARCH REQUESTER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The search requester allows you to jump to a specific record and works in one of two ways; 1] Search to Record ( Default ). If not already selected click on the button marked "RECORD". Click in the white box at the top of the requester and a cursor will appear. Type in the number of the record you wish to jump to and press return. Providing that the record exists the program will now jump to that record number. 2] Search to Week. Click on the button marked "WEEK". Click in the white box at the top of the requester and a cursor will appear. Type in the string you wish to search for and press return. The program will search the database for a match, and if found, jump to that record. For example, if when creating your database you entered "4/5/92" in the week box of record number ten, and you now wish to jump to that record using the search requester, then you would do the following. Call up the search requester and press on the "WEEK" box, then click in the white box at the top of the requester. Type "4/5" and press return. The program will now jump to record number ten. Note that the above example shows that you do not always need to enter the full string you are searching for. When in the "Search to Week" mode it is important to note that the program will search forward from the current position. Therefore attempting to search when you are already at the last record will not have much effect. It is always best to go to record number one before using the "Search to Week" function. Section 5.7 USING THE DEFAULT REQUESTER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The default requester allows you to alter the amount of numbers predicted, and the number of weeks used by the First and Last functions. These settings can be saved to disk and are automatically recalled when the program loads. The requester is used in the following manner. NUMBER REQUIRED Click in the white box next to the words "Number required" and the input cursor will appear. You must now type the amount of numbers you require the predict function to return. Type the number and press return. The maximum amount of numbers returned by the predict function is thirty, you cannot enter a number greater than this. FIRST/LAST Click in the white box next to the words "First/Last" and the input cursor will appear. You must now type the number of weeks you wish the first/last function to use. Type the number and press return. You cannot enter a figure greater than the number of weeks in the database. OK When you are satisfied with the current settings click on the "OK" button to exit. SAVE Clicking on the "SAVE" button will save the current settings to disk in a file called "DEFSET". These settings will then be used when ever the program loads. If the program cannot find a file called "DEFSET" then it will revert to its own internal default setting. This is 17 for the number required and 25 for the First/Last function. Section 5.8 FULL REQUESTER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The full requester appears when you attempt to add a record above the number of 208. This figure represents four years of results. When this requester appears the database will be reconfigured and you must take the following action. Click on the "OK" button to clear the requester. A file requester will now appear to give you the chance to save the current database. It is advisable to save the database with a different file name to its previous one. The program will now take the last 53 weeks of data and make this data the first 53 weeks of data in the new database. The database will now only be 53 weeks long and you can continue to add data to it. You can now save this database as your default database. The program works in this way so that when you have to start a new database there will always be enough information in it to make predictions. As an example let us suppose you have a database named "DEF.PRED" which is 208 weeks long. You click on the "ADD" button to add another record and the Full Requester appears. Click on the "OK" button to cancel this requester and a save requester appears. Save your database with a different file name, for example, "1990/94.PRED". The database will be saved. The database will now be reconfigured and you can now continue to add data. When you save the database save it with your original file name i.e. "DEF.PRED". Section 5.9 THE DATABASE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The database is the most important element of the Predict module and it is vital to ensure that you don't corrupt it. In practice this means you must always enter the correct results each week and every week. Any gaps between weeks in the database will seriously impair the efficiency of the program. There are only two rare occasions when you may miss a week - when no score draws occur, or when there are more than twenty four score draws. It only takes a few minutes each week to maintain the database. You need at least seven weeks of results in the database before the program can start to make a valid prediction. To counter the problem of having to start a database from scratch, and to allow you to start making predictions straight away, any person registering this version of Perm-Check Plus will be sent an up to date database. For further details on Registering this program please read section 7. Section 5.10 SPECIFICATIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Database ....... Maximum = 208 Weeks Number of Draws per week ....... Maximum = 24 Draws Amount of numbers returned by predict function ....... Maximum = 30 Standing entry check ( Check Function ) ....... Maximum = 27 Section 5.11 QUICK START ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the Predict module first loads it searches the disk for a database named "DEF.PRED", and if found, loads it into memory. For speed of use it is advisable to name your current database "DEF.PRED". Section 6 COMMON PROBLEMS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In previous versions of Perm-Check some people commented that they were having problems with plan files. If you find that you cannot get a plan file to work check that there are no blank lines or special control characters in your file, as this was always nearly the problem. If the predict function does not return the amount of numbers you requested it is because there are not enough weeks in the database. If the search to week function fails to find the string you are after then you are probably already past that record. Remember that the program searches forward from its current position. Goto record 1 and try again. Occasionally the program will boot up with a smaller than usual 200 line screen. This sometimes happens when you do a warm reset. To cure this problem make sure you switch the machine off before booting Perm-Check Plus. The Registration reminder screen appears twice in a row. This is not a bug and will occasionally happen. The only solution to this problem is to register. Section 7 REGISTRATION DETAILS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perm-Check has grown a great deal since the first version appeared in November 91. Since then a great many hours have been spent developing Perm-Check to bring the version you have before you. In light of this I have decided to make Perm-Check Plus SHAREWARE. This means that if you find this program useful, or you use it on a regular basis, then please pay the registration fee of £5. The benefits of registering are as follows: 1) You will be sent a registered copy of Perm-Check Plus and will not have to suffer the annoying registration reminder screen anymore. 2) You will also receive an up to date database for the Predict module. This database was started on 28/3/92. 3) You will be supporting the Shareware system. 4) This registration covers any future versions of Perm-Check which may be produced - you only have to register once. All registrations should be sent to: Paul Morley, 103 Micklefield Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP13 7EX ************************************************************************* * * * If you wish you can print out and use the registration form from * * section 7.1. This contains more specific information on registering * * * ************************************************************************* Section 7.1 REGISTRATION FORM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please register me as a user of Perm-Check Plus. I enclose the registration fee of £5 NAME: __________________________________ ( BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE) ADDRESS: __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ I enclose a cheque/P.O. made payable to Paul Morley. Please do not send cash. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery, although I will endeavour to send your disk much sooner than this. Thankyou. All registrations should be sent to: Paul Morley, 103 Micklefield Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP13 7EX SECTION 8 COMMENTS ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ If you have any views about Perm-Check Plus ( good or bad ), or you find any bugs you wish to inform me of, then please write to me at the above address. Your views will allow me to develop and improve my products to suit the needs of the user. Good luck with your coupons! Paul Morley, June 15th, 1992