APPENDIX

D:

Hard disk installation This appendix describes installing BPS on your computer's hard disk. If you purchased the entire system from BBL, you do not need to install the system (It is already installed.). However, if you purchased only the software, use this appendix to install it. If you are installing BPS on a computer running Windows 9x, BBL Systems recommends installing BPS through a MS-DOS prompt, following the instructions below. Then continue with the “Special setup for Windows 9x and NT users” section at the end of this appendix. Please also note that some of the following instructions assume a familiarity with DOS and/or Windows 9x commands. If you have any doubt as to any of the instructions listed, consult your DOS or Windows 9x manual, or BBL Systems’ technical support line.

System Requirements The BPS program consists of approximately 130 files that require approximately 3 MB of disk space. Of these files, 25 are data files with the .DBF extension. These data files require regular backups to protect the bridal data stored in them. You should install a tape drive backup system on your computer. BBL SYSTEMS STRONGLY SUGGESTS PERFORMING A COMPLETE BACKUP OF ALL SYSTEM FILES TO TAPE ON A DAILY BASIS! See the section “An important note on backing up data” at the end of this appendix. BPS requires an IBM or compatible computer with at lease a 386, 486, Pentium or Pentium Pro microprocessor. It must have a minimum of 4 megabytes of RAM, and it must be running MS-DOS version 5.0 or

above. BPS will also run on Windows 9x or above and Windows NT 3.5 or above.

Pre-installation setup Each computer's CONFIG.SYS file must have the command statement "FILES=150". This number may be set as high as 250, but MUST be at least 150. This file is found in the root directory of your hard disk drive (usually C:\>). You may use the DOS “EDIT” program , the Windows 9x “SYSEDIT” command, or any ASCII text editor to edit the CONFIG.SYS file. If the file needs to be edited, make sure to reboot (restart) your computer after saving the change in order for the change to take effect. A special note for Multi-User BPS users: BPS has the ability to track which transactions are performed at which stations (computers) in your shop. This is an optional feature, but BBL Systems highly recommends the use of these station numbers. Stations numbers provide a good audit trail and help with system performance. To set a station number, enter the following line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, which is found in the root directory of your computer’s hard disk drive (usually C:\>) of EACH computer in your shop: SET STANUM=# Where # is the number you wish to assign to that computer. For example, on the computer that will function as the server, enter the line SET STANUM=1 in the server’s AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You may use the DOS “EDIT” program, the Windows 9x “SYSEDIT” command, or any ASCII text editor to edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Be sure to use a different number for each computer in your shop; do NOT set the same station number on more than one computer. When BPS is up and running, the station number will be displayed at the upper-right corner of the BPS main menu. There are other optional setting that can be set up in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. These options will be explained in the upcoming section entitled: Optional Installation procedures.

Installing BPS

Directories and subdirectories in BPS q

Create a BPS subdirectory We recommend that you create a BPS subdirectory one level below the system's main directory, or "root" directory. In this subdirectory, all BPS files will be installed. To create a BPS subdirectory, type at the C: prompt: md bps

[ENTER]

This will make a directory called BPS. To copy the files, insert the BPS System & Data Files diskette into your computer’s floppy disk drive, then type the following command at the DOS prompt: copy a:*.* c:\bps

[ENTER]

This will copy all of the contents of the installation disk in your A: drive to the BPS subdirectory on your C drive. If you are using different drives, or if you have given your subdirectory a name other than BPS, substitute it instead. Once all files are copied, change to the BPS subdirectory by typing at the DOS prompt: cd \bps q

[ENTER]

File Names The installation disk will contain the following files and they are copied onto your computer's hard disk: q EXE.EXE q UTIL.EXE q NEW.EXE Create the program and data files by typing the following Installation file names at the DOS prompt.

q

EXE

[ENTER]

UTIL

[ENTER]

NEW

[ENTER]

Delete Installation files Once the file installation is completed, delete the files no longer required. del NEW.EXE

[ENTER]

del EXE.EXE

[ENTER]

del UTIL.EXE

[ENTER] NOTE:

Be careful in using the DEL command. Be sure to type it exactly as shown here, to avoid erasing files you want to keep. Once files are erased, they cannot be retrieved. It is a good idea to set the ATTRIBUTE on the BPS.EXE file to read only. Do this by using the DOS ATTRIB command. ATTRIB +R BPS.EXE

[ENTER]

Optional Installation procedures There are optional customization commands you can add to your computer’s AUTOEXEC.BAT file in setting up your computer for BPS. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file is found in the root directory of your computer’s hard disk drive (usually C:\>). You may use the DOS “EDIT” program, the Windows 9x “SYSEDIT” command, or any ASCII text editor to edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Typically these “DOS Variable Settings” options will be used in Multi- user network environments.

q Set the default PRINTER port for the Computer BPS supports two printer destinations. These are defined within the Company setup file in Housekeeping. Once defined, the user can select which printer to send the output to. Unless specified differently, BPS will always default to the definition for Printer #1. To have BPS default to the Printer #2 definition, enter the following DOS variable into the AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET DEF_PRNTER=2

q Set the CASH DRAWER port for the computer BPS supports electronic cash drawers by sending a series of 7 CTRL+A (HEX code 01) codes to either a parallel or a serial port on the computer, depending on the type of cash drawer used. The default port is parallel port LPT1. However, cash drawers may connect to a parallel port (LPT1, LPT2, LPT3) OR a serial port (COM1 or COM2). Simply set a DOS variable to tell BPS the correct port to use. The command is: SET CSH_DRAWER=XXXX Where XXXX is the port name you desire to use (LPT1, COM1, etc.) Please feel free to contact BBL System’s technical support line for assistance in configuring BPS for use with a cash drawer.

NOTE: This concludes the DOS installation procedures. At this point, users of Windows 9x should skip ahead to the section entitled: “Special setup for Windows 9x and NT users”. DOS users may continue below.

Starting BPS To start the program simple enter BPS at the DOS prompt. BPS

[ENTER]

BPS will ask some initial start- up questions about your accounting method the first time it is started. For an explanation of the two accounting choices, see Chapter 1, section “Starting the system for the first time”. After the BPS main menu is shown, go to the Housekeeping menu by selecting the Housekeeping Functions section. Next, choose the Rebuild Data files selection. Finally, select Restore ALL files (#1) from the Rebuild menu. NOTE: BBL Systems recommends you perform these steps (re-indexing) at least once a day. Many shops choose to re-index the files every morning before their shop opens. At this point, if you have not already done so, you should begin reviewing Chapters 1 & 2 of this manual.

q

Training copy of BPS A suggestion for practice and training would be to copy ALL of the files from the BPS directory into a DEMO directory which would provide an area to experiment with BPS without the concern of inserting unwanted data into the files eventually used to run the shop. Please contact BBL Systems for assistance in setting up this training copy of BPS.

Special setup for Windows 9x users Once the DOS installation of BPS is complete, you can now set up an icon directly on your Windows 9x desktop to start up the BPS program. The BPS installation disk includes a special icon for this purpose. NOTE: Throughout these instructions, unless otherwise noted, use the LEFT mouse button for clicking on the described gadgets and screen buttons. To setup an icon on your desktop: 1. Point to an open space on your desktop (not over any icon or taskbar) and click your RIGHT mouse button. 2. From the pop- up menu that appears, select “New”, then “Shortcut”. The “New Shortcut” window appears. 3. In the box labeled “Command line”, type “C:\ BPS\BPS.EXE”. Then click “Next”. NOTE: If you are creating this icon on a workstation computer, you must enter the path to your server’s hard drive. Substitute the mapped drive’s letter for the letter C:. 4. Next, the “Select a title for the program” window appears. In this box, type “Bridal Profit System” and click “Next”. 5. The “Select an Icon” window appears next. There should only be one icon shown in this window and it should already be highlighted. Click on “Finish”. When the window closes, you should have a new icon on your desktop with the stylized outline of a bride and the name “Bridal Profit System” under it. See below.

Now, we must edit some of the properties on this icon. Continue with the steps below:

1. Point on the BPS icon and click your RIGHT mouse button. From the pop-up menu, choose “Properties”. The “Bridal Profit System Properties” window appears. 2. Click on the tab at the top of the window labeled “Program”. Now look near the bottom and you will see a small square next to the words “Close on exit”. Click in this box and a check mark will appear in it. If a check mark is already there, proceed to step 3. 3. Click on the tab at the top of the window labeled “Screen”. Look in the area at the top of the window labeled “Usage” and click in the little circle labeled “Full-screen”. 4. Now click on the tab at the top of the windows labeled “Misc”. Locate the area at the top of the window labeled “Foreground”. Look at the little square next to the words “Allow screen saver”. We do NOT want the check mark to appear here, so if a check mark is in that box, simply click on it and it will disappear. Click on “OK”. The “Bridal Profit System Properties” window will close. This concludes the icon setup procedure. Double-clicking on this icon will now start BPS. BPS will ask some initial start- up questions about your accounting method the first time it is started. For an explanation of the two accounting choices, see Chapter 1, section “Starting the system for the first time”. After the BPS main menu is shown, go to the Housekeeping menu by selecting that option from the Main Menu and then choose the Rebuild Data files selection from the Housekeeping menu. Finally, select Restore ALL files (#1) from the Rebuild menu. At this point begin reviewing Chapters 1 & 2 of this manual.

Special issues running BPS on Windows 9x During this discussion, the term “Windows 9x” refers to Windows 95 AND Windows 98. BPS runs equally as well on a Windows 9x machine as on a DOS machine. However, there are some issues specific to Windows 9x users that are worth noting. Because Windows 9x is a “multi- tasking” operating system, it is possible to run more than one “copy” of BPS at

the same time on the same computer. For this reason, it is important to understand the concept of the “Task bar” in Windows 9x. The task bar is the bar that runs across the bottom of the desktop screen, as shown in the picture below.

On the left- hand end of the task bar is the “Start” button and on the right- hand side is the “tool tray” and clock. The area between is called the “Task Bar” and shows any and all programs (Windows and/or DOS) that are currently running. Whenever you want to run BPS (if it is not already on the screen), you should first look at the task bar to see if a copy of BPS is already running. If you see a rectangle on the task bar with the letters “BPS” on it, this means that BPS is ALREADY RUNNING, and has been “Minimized”. See below.

Simply click on this rectangle and BPS will be restored, full-screen, to the screen. If you do not see BPS on the task bar, double-click on the “Bridal Profit System” icon and the program will start. If you have multiple copies of BPS running at the same time, each “copy” will be represented on the task bar. For example, if you’re running 3 copies of BPS, there will be 3 rectangles labeled “BPS” on the task bar, as shown below.

If you ever receive the “Record is in use at another terminal, please wait” message at the top of the screen, and if BPS is not running on any other computers in your shop at that moment, look at your task bar and check to see if more than one copy is running. One of the copies could have the record that you’re trying to work with through another copy open. Hint: to “minimize” the BPS program and return to the Windows 9x desktop, hold down the ALT key while pressing the ESC key. A final note of importance using Windows 9x: Whenever you wish to turn off a computer running Windows 9x, it is EXTREAMLY IMPORTANT that yo u properly “shut down” Windows 9x first. You MUST click on the “Start” button, choose “Shut Down”, click on “Shut down the computer” and then click “yes”. When you see the

message “It is now safe to turn off your computer”, then it is safe to turn the computer off. NEVER TURN THE COMPUTER OFF WITHOUT “SHUTTING DOWN” WINDOWS 9x FIRST! The reason for this is because Windows 9x temporarily stores data in memory before writing the information to the hard drive (a process called “Disk Caching”). If there is any data stored in memory that needs to be written to the hard drive, and if the computer is simply shut off, this data will never get written to the hard drive, and data will be LOST. Properly shutting down Windows 9x makes sure any data in memory will be written to the hard drive first.

An important note on backing up data The most important job of working with a computer is to back-up it's data on a daily basis. Computers are mechanical and thus can break ANYTIME! This is usually not a problem because they can be repaired quickly and easily. However, a breakdown can cause data loss. Data CANNOT be replace quickly and easily. For this reason you must BACKUP the data on the computer every day. Computers can be equipped with TAPE drives that will quickly back the data to a TAPE cartridge. This the preferred method of backing up since it's fast and requires almost no involvement from an operator. However, if a TAPE drive is not present then you may back up to floppies using one of the DOS backup programs (consult your DOS owner's manual for more information on BACKUP or MSBACKUP). The proper routine is to have a separate TAPE cartridge (or floppies) for each day of the week that you are open. Then every day back- up to that day’s cartridge, i.e.: every Monday backup to the Monday cartridge, Tuesday to Tuesday cartridge ..etc. Place the cartridges in a safe place like a fireproof safe or take them home. This method provides plenty of protection and security. REMEMBER: Don’t take chances with your shop’s precious customer and inventory information. Back up your system EVERY DAY!