grumpydragonsoft

Travel Expenses or TE is an application used to store expenses incurred when out of the office. I had created TE when I was working as an Integration Engineer and travel quite a bit around the U.S. I found that when I returned, there were some items I didn’t write down, no matter the cost amount. This, in the end, added up over time. I decided to use a spreadsheet, but the sheet was too small to see on the hand held, and I didn’t always want to open my laptop at the hotel.

I began creating TE, and over the course of a few months, I had weeded out most unwanted features and added just what I wanted it to do. At one time I had tied TE other applications (project Report and calculator) , but this wasn’t feasible since most people were just looking for an easy to use expense report.

I had even created an MDB file which I created using Microsoft Access. I disconnected this also because most people wanted to export the expense file out of their hand held device and into a spreadsheet on the desktop for further modification.

There is one person I MUST give credit to: Tippy, a great person who has taken TE on the road and essentially used it. His comments and suggestions were detrimental to the success of this application. Thank you Tippy!

There are two versions, the freeware version v1.2.6 and the registered version, v1.3.4. For this post, I will be covering the registered version, in the hopes of educating you on some of things the application is capable of.

When first run the splash image is shown. Selecting anywhere on the display starts TE.

When TE opens, the database will show the last record entered. This first display is what I call the Read-Only mode. This mode is to protect the user from accidently overwriting a record. You will see I have done this to many of the grumpydragonsoft applications.

From this display, you can see an entire entry except for one item: Notes. I have included a notes section that is easily viewed by selecting Record | Expense Notes. This is a  quick button feature where an icon appears at the top right of the screen in the event text is entered in the notes section.

Selecting this button and the notes box will appear.

TE provides you with two main filters:  Today and Sum.

The Today screen lists all the expenses incurred for the date shown. By selecting the date field, the user can choose a specific date. You will see the subtotal is listed on the bottom right and only adds costs for that date.

A list of all expenses entered for that specific date will be displayed and each listing shows the category and the amount billed. To go to a record, just highlight and double-click.

The Sum screen is similar, but it filters according to the Category Type. The dropdown here will only list those categories that are used so if you only created a breakfast record, then that will be the only category available to you.

Again, you will see the subtotal is listed on the bottom right and only adds costs for that category.

A list of all expenses entered under that category will be displayed. Each listing shows the date and the amount billed. To view a specific record, just highlight the one of interest and double-click.

To edit a particular record, select Edit|Edit Current Record. The screen changes to a display allowing modification of any field. Selecting the + button on the main screen will also bring you here, but the record shown would be empty.

Selecting the date field will prompt a calendar to appear, allowing you to select a specific date, great if you forget to add an expense on a previous day.

Category lists all the standard categories used when traveling: breakfast, lunch dinner, hotel car rental, flight costs, baggage costs, etc. If you do not find what you need, simply type it in the dropdown field and that item will be stored to be used with later entries.

Selecting Category: Mileage will change the cost field to a mileage field. This function works in conjunction with the Settings found under the Misc. menu.

Payment lists all standard types of payment such as cash, American Express, Master Card, Visa, Diners Club Card etc. There is also a category called No Payment. This is used when entering items such as mileage costs, but you just charge your mileage.

Expenditure Type is used to differentiate between business and pleasure expenses. An example would be that room movie you purchased that cost $11.99 but you can’t exactly add it to the final expense sheet.

Remember To Save Receipt is used to display a reminder that you must keep an actual receipt somewhere for turning in to the company.

The last item I want to talk about is the exporting feature of TE. This is found by selecting Option|Export Records. The Export feature is only available in v1.3.4 and is worth worth mentioning.

The From and To fields will display a calendar when selected. Select the dates you would like to either display filter on, or export. To

Selecting the List button will bring up a list of all records between those dates. Double clicking any record will display that record in Edit mode and a small green filter button will be displayed on the top left of the screen to alert you that you are in a filter mode and are only able to edit those records. selecting the filter button will remove the filter and all records will once again be available.

By selecting Filter, you cause TE to filter only those records to prepare for exporting. You will see a reading Records to be Exported. This also allows you to go to the main screen and move through these filtered records to be sure you entered what you wanted. A small green filter button will be displayed on the top left of the screen to alert you that you are in a filter mode and are not seeing all the records.

The Filename field is where you type the name you want the exported file to be called. if you leave it blank then the application will automatically store it as Travel Expenses.txt and will be stored in the Travel Expenses folder.

If you want the file to have a specific name and be a text file, select the field and a save as dialog box will appear. Be sure to add .txt after the filename.

if you would rather export at an XML file, select the field and a save as dialog box will appear. Be sure to add .xml after the filename.

Prescriptions seems to be very popular among many people. This is due to the great use of the product. Prescriptions is a program used to store data about the medications taken.

Basically, a user enters each prescribed medication as separate records. For instance, if you are taking five different medications, you enter each medication separate. Information is added as to what the doctor prescribed the medication to YOU, not what it normally treats.

It is sad to think of the massive amount of people taking many different types of medication everyday and not knowing half of what the medication is doing to them.

We all know that just because a doctor prescribes a particular medicine, this medicine could be used to treat all sorts of other ailments. This means that even though the doctor prescribed it to you for infection, it may be prescribed for a totally different purpose for someone else.

Prescriptions was created to make an attempt at the user to learn and understand what medication they are taking and if by taking this medication, could it have an impact or have adverse effects when combined with other medications.

Prescriptions is made up of four (4) forms, each an application in itself, yet a powerful database when combined. The purpose of this post is to introduce you to the many screen of prescriptions and give you a better idea on how to best us the application.

Prescriptions works in conjunction with the following forms and each form will be covered on a different post:

• Doctors: Stores all doctors or medical professional you visit. This is like a little doctor directory, complete with where that doctor works, their telephone number and what medication they are prescribing to you.
• Pharmacy: Store all the locations that provide your medication. For instance, the hospital may be a place where you get some of your medication, only because the medicine is easier to get there. But you also use the local CVS Pharmacy because of the $4.00 prescription costs. This become two separate records containing information solely about that location.
• Journal: The journal is like a little diary. This is where a user enters information as to the effects the medication is having on them. We all know the combination of different medicine combine with different foods, etc. can change how a person feels. The Journal is where this information is added. This little journal comes in handy when you visit the doctor because you now have a log and you can better explain your symptoms to the doctor.

I have provided a very simplistic explanation of each of these forms, yet the forms are by far simplistic as you shall see. Let’s go on to the main page of prescriptions.

When opened, Prescription immediately displays the last record entered. You will note I have made the display easy to read and to display the most pertinent information.

Prescriptions takes advantage of the touch screen, and even though non-touch devices may be able to install the application, navigation and modification of records may be a problem.

The main display is broken into three (3) major sections that display the information about the prescription. The top portion lists the current record, who prescribed it, and when the medicine expires.

The red area actually changes information depending if you marked the medication as being used or not. In this case you are not using the medication, therefore you see the red bar. If you are using the medication, then you will see how many refills you are authorized and when the next date to re-order is.

The third area shows the location that you normally go to purchase or get your medication.You will note that there are several bits of useful information here: the address of this location, the telephone number, and the RX number of the medication.

The lower part of the screen provides the functional buttons. For the most part, these buttons play the same role on all forms of Prescriptions. This makes it easy so that when you see the green plus button, it means add on every form.

The clock looking button is the alarm. pressing this button and Prescriptions will either show you the current alarm set for that prescription or it will ask if you would like to set the alarm. Selecting yes will display the alarm screen where the user can enter a date and time to be alerted.

It is very simple to set an alarm. A user selects the date field and a calendar appears where the date and time is chosen. The user can either select the Clear button to end the alarm or remove the setting or press Set to activate the alarm and store the new settings.

As depicted on this screen when the alarm is activated, there are three options.Selecting View will take you to that particular record, no matter where you are in the application. Selecting cancel does just that. The alarm is cancelled and is no longer active. Selecting Defer and prescriptions will alert you again in an hour. This is like hitting the snooze button. This is NOT settable.

Note: This alarm activates at a user determined date only if the application prescriptions is running. The user does not have to be using Prescriptions, merely, the program has to be open and can just be in the background.

As I had mentioned earlier, Prescriptions is meant to assist the user understand  and know why they are taking a particular medication. To vie this screen, just select the books like button. This screen is broken into three sections and provides the user a location to add specifics about the medicine.

The first field, Purpose Of Taking Medication is the reason YOU are taking the medication. NOT what it is normally prescribed for. It is important to know why you are prescribed this medication. You can also list what other uses it has, but i would enter this AFTER the reason.

How To take The medicine is straight forward. Every medication prescribed should have a label or the doctor should have provided you with how to take the medication. I believe you enter this as you would understand. For instance, you medicine is labeled: Two every 8 hours. You can enter as simplistic or as elaborate as you want:

Take two Singulair tablets ever eight hours
2ea. every 8hrs.
Take 2 each every 8 hours

Entering side effects is important. You want to know what know what to expect, and this could be used later in your journal when you visit the doctor.

As the database grows larger, Prescriptions allows you to display medications prescribed by a particular doctor.

The dropdown box contains every doctor you have added in the database. By selcting a doctor, a list of all medication tied to that doctor will appear.

Another cool feature is if you double-click any one of those medicines displayed, Prescriptions will move and display that record.

DTL or Digital Tools List is a form or database used to collect and store all your tools scattered around the house, shed, garage, or outside. The purpose of DTL is to assist by storing information about your tools, part numbers, and associated information such a warranty information.

This post will provide you with guidance on what the different fields are and what they normally are used for.

When DTL is opened, a screen, much like the one shown on the left is displayed. There are several text fields, including dropdowns, that are used to provide different bits of information.

You will also note that there is a grid called Parts List. In this screen, the Parts List is showing parts that make up the Tool: Table Saw

Below that is a Warranty option button that depicts whether or not a warranty still exists on your product.

There are nine (9) function buttons, each providing either navigation to another part of the form or some specific function.

New PN: All you to add a new part to the parts list for this tool.
More: Displays the power type information of the tool.
Show All: Displays a list of all the tools in the database.
Notes: Display notes section. This is where information about you tool is entered such as the next scheduled maintenance, where to buy parts for it, etc.
<<<: Move to previous record or tool.
+: Add new record or tool.
-: Delete current record or tool.
>>>: Move to next record or tool.
Exit: Exit program.

If you were to select the dropdown for Type:, a list will appear, displaying several types of power for the tool entered.

By selecting any one of these entries, you will be provided with different results. For instance, if you selected Electric, an option would appear asking if the saw is 120vac or 220vac. If you select cordless, a message would appear asking if you knew the make and model of the charger. When Gas is selected, a message will ask whether the unit is gas only, oil mixed, etc.

The next dropdown called make provides a list of a few models. if you find that your model does not exists, simply type the new model and the database will add that to the list of already provided makes.

Selecting Buttons

By selecting different buttons, you can quickly jump to different areas of the for. or instance, if you select the More button, you can see that there is an option group depicting what the power type, whether it is voltage or fuel. There is also a section on the right that provides standard battery voltages, a field to enter the models for the charger and the battery used.When the Show All button is selected, a list of all the tools will appear with the current record highlighted.

If the Notes button is selected, a field appears allowing you to add notes about the saw. When Warranty is selected, a display appears providing you fields to enter everything about the warranty for your tool.

In this post I will be covering Customers, one of  six forms of the Digital Pocket Sales (DPS) application. DPS utilizes the touch screen of the hand held, so we will be covering only that segment of DPS.

DPS or Digital Pocket sales is a robust and comprehensive application. DPS is mainly used to help create sales while away from the office or business.

Once DPS is loaded onto your hand held, the Main Menu will appear. The DPS Main Menu provides buttons that will take you to other parts of the database and makes it easy to go where you need to be. As depicted by the image, there are several areas of the application the user can be directed to:

Customers: Customer or potential client database.

Client Types: Professions or job types.

Products: Database or inventory of all products sold.

Product Categories: Groups or categories of products in database.

Orders: Customer order records.

Details: Details of each customer orders; specific products.

Exit Program: Exits the DPS application.

On the bottom left you will also note the version of the software being used. You will note that DPS utilizes the touch screen, therefore, if your model does not have a touch screen, you will not be able to navigate.

When Customers is selected, the application will display a customer record. The Customer database stores information pertaining to a customer or a potential client. The main customer display has fields for name, address and their profession such as in this example, Gardner. Not all fields are required to be filled out, but it is best to fill out as many as possible.

There are also buttons on the bottom of the display that follow the same functionality for all pages of DPS:

Orders: Directs users to the orders page.

Notes: Allows user to enter notes about customer or potential client listed.

Details: Allows user to enter more information about customer or potential client.

Main Menu: Directs user to the Main Menu of DPS.

+: Add a new user or potential client.

-: Delete a new user or potential client.

<<: Display previous user or potential client listed in database.

>>: Display Next user or potential client listed in database.

On the bottom are four menus that I will cover later in this post.

Note: On a side note, The state field has a drop down arrow to the right that allows quick entry of states, however, the list is not compete for good reason: Why enter more data than you need? As the need occurs for a new state initials, simply type the two letters and DPS will store that entry and it now becomes part of the drop down. The state initials will remain in the dropdown until there are no customers using that state

Also, the GARDNER is a dropdown that lists several different types of professions, but obviously, the list may not be complete. If you find you need a specific client type and it is not listed in the drop down, the Main Menu has a button called Client Types that will allow you to enter new types (Covered in a later post).

To add more details, select the Details button and another page will appear. From this page you can enter more information about the customer. Here you can add phone numbers, spouse and children names, if any. You can also enter a birth date, anniversary, and set a date so the application will alert you.

Creating an alert can be done by entering a date in the field that says Remind Me and then selecting SET. This anniversary alert is an addition after a recommendation from a user. When the alarm occurs, a message will appear providing three conditions:

View: Brings up the associated customer record.

Cancel: Dismisses the alert.

Defer: Snooze for 1 hour then repeat the alert.

A field for the customer’s email address has also been provided. Two arrows have been provided to allow you to move forward and backwards through the customer records.

By selecting the Main Page button then NOTES, a large field will appear allowing to you enter just about anything you want about this customer.

In this post I will be covering Products, one of  six forms of the Digital Pocket Sales (DPS) application. DPS utilizes the touch screen of the hand held, so we will be covering only that segment of DPS.

From the DPS Main Menu, select the Products button. The Products form will be displayed There are 8 fields to enter data for each of your products:

Product Category
Product Description
Wholesale Price
Wholesale Stock
Wholesale Min
Retail Price
Retail Stock
Retail Min

As with many of the entries you will find within the grumpydragonsoft applications, the more information and data provided, the more information you will have at hand when making a sale.

The first entry is  a dropdown for Product Category. By selecting the Product Category field, you may see several categories to select from. This helps you basically ‘group’ like items in your inventory. Product Categories be modified by doing either the following:

1. Entering the category directly into the Product Category entry field

2. Going to the Product Category and entering  the category.

The first method will store the category as long as there is a product tied to it, whereas the second method will store the category indefinitely, or until you manually delete it.

To add new category to the dropdown simply enter the name into the field. If you do add a category and decide to no longer use it, then remove or modify any product record or records that may use it.

To enter the category into the category list:

1. Select the Main Menu button
2. Select the Product category button

The current Product_category listed is the last category entered. You can change this name by overwriting or by selecting the add button depicted by the green +.

Double clicking any category will load that category into the entry field to allow you to modify or delete. If there are too many categories to display all at once, a horizontal scroll bar is provided.

You will note that the function buttons are the same and therefore work the same for all forms. For example, if you were to select the Add button on any screen, a record, item or category would be depending where you are at within the form.

Once you have added any new categories into the database,

1. Select the Main Menu button
2. Select the Product button

This will return you to the Product form. Select the Product category dropdown, and the added or modified category will now appear in the dropdown.

Wholesale and Retail Price, Stock, and Min entries.

Wholesale Price: If you buy the products wholesale, you may want to pass the savings down to return customers.

Wholesale Stock: Wholesale Stock refers to how many units or the inventory quantity of that product you have available at the wholesale price.

Wholesale Min Price: Min refers to the minimum quantity of products in the inventory for that product before you may have to reorder . This number should obviously be less than the number entered for the Wholesale Stock.

Retail Price: This is the standard price you charge for the item.

Retail Stock: Retail Stock refers to how many units or the inventory quantity of that product you have available at the retail price.

Retail Min Price: Refers to the minimum quantity of products in the inventory for that product before you may have to reorder . This number should obviously be less than the number entered for the Retail Stock.

Take note that when looking at the inventory of what you have, you add BOTH Wholesale and Retail Stock to get a total inventory. For instance, there are five product items in the Wholesale inventory and five product items in the Retail inventory which means you have a total of 10 Woman Fragrance products.

Hidden Functions

There are four hidden menu functions, each with sub categories pertaining to specific items of the database. Figures 3 through 6 are used to illustrate this.

(Figure 3): The Record menu is for to the record itself, the common functions such as:

• Record|Search List: Search for a particular product by name. This allows you to quickly jump to a particular product.
• Record|Save: Save the currently displayed product.
• Record|Delete Product: delete the currently displayed product.
• Record|Close: Close Products and exit the DPS application.

(Figure 4): The Edit menu is for to the text editing and beaming the current record. The functions are:

• Edit|Modify Data: Currently not used at the time of this post.
• Edit|Undo: Undo the last text entry.
• Edit|Cut: Cut selected text from record.
• Edit|Copy: Copy select text from record.
• Edit|Paste: Paste text either cut or copied from record.
• Edit|IR Beam: Send current to other handheld that has form and receives IR signals.
• Edit|IR Beam All: Send all product records to hand held that has form and receives IR signals.
• Edit|Receive IR Beam: Turn IR receive signaling on or off.

(Figure 5): The Option menu is for importing, exporting, and filtering.. The functions are:

• Option|Export Products: When selected, the records, all or filtered, will be exported to a file called Products.txt. This file is in a comma delimited format and can be modified on your desktop if required.
• Option|Import Products: If exists, the Product.txt file will be imported. If you do NOT clear the product list first, the product records will be appended to your current list. You must take care when you import, otherwise you will end up with two of everything.
• Option|Clear: When selected, a dialog box appears to ask if you are sure you want the Product database to be cleared. If you say yes, all Product records will be irrevocably erased. Always be sure to export the Product list before using this feature.
• Option|Filter Off : This will remove any filter you may have initiated.
• Option|Filter Custom: The custom filter allow you to filter on just about anything on your products. To better understand this feature, see the post about Custom Filters.
• Option|Jump To Product Categories: This option takes you to categories, as long as you have chosen a category that exists in the list. Categories entered on line as depicted above will cause a ‘Record not Found’ error since no category exists.

(Figure 6): The Misc. menu essentially for functions that do not fit under the other menus:

• Misc|List: When selected, the filtered records will be listed. If no filter is initiated, all records will be listed.
• Misc|List All Products: Removes any filter and lists all products in the database (Figure 9).
• Misc|Show ReOrder List: When selected, all records having a stock quantity less than the Min quantity will be displayed (Figure 7). Double clicking on any product will take you to that record. You will also note, because this is a filtered list, the FILTER button is green to indicate you are not looking at all the products in the database (Figure 8). You will also note the Total products is less than the total product records.

By selecting the FILTER button, all records will once again be available for display. You can verify this by selecting Misc|List (Figure 9) and also by noting the Total Products number and the grayed out FILTER button.

• Misc|Reload Products Form: This functions just reloads the Products form.