Chapter 04: Installing The Software

IMPORTANT

To install Marketeer yourself, you should know how to install PC expansion boards and be familiar with DOS and printer control codes. If you are installing Marketeer on a network, you should also be familiar with the appropriate network operating system. It is assumed that the necessary equipment for running MARKETEER has been set up as described in the previous chapter.

The modem used by Marketeer is a Dacom ADM10 internal expansion card modem. Alternatively, you may use an external version, the DSL2123H connected to the COM2 serial port. Currently [DECEMBER 1988] the DSL2123H is required for PS/2 Models 40 and above.

INSTALLING THE MODEM

Unplug the computer and its peripheral devices from the mains. Unscrew the five large bolts on the back of the PC and slide the cover forwards to remove it, taking care not to snag any internal cables. Find a spare expansion slot for the modem and remove the dummy metal strip in the back panel of the PC relating to the spare slot. Do this by removing the retaining bolt at the top of the strip and sliding the strip upwards.

It may be necessary to leave another empty slot next to the one where the modem is installed because the cover of the modem's line termination circuits may be in danger of touching the solder side of an expansion board in the next slot. It is illegal to remove the modem's line termination circuits cover.

Pass the modem's telephone line cord from inside the PC through the new opening in the PC back panel and then insert the modem into the spare slot taking care to locate the modem's bottom edge connector correctly into the slot on the PC mother board. The metal strip on the back edge of the modem will then line up to form part of the PC back panel. Bolt the modem in place with the bolt used to retain the original piece of back panel. Replace the PC's cover and secure it with its five bolts.

NOTE: In a network of PC's each PC used to run Marketeer must have a Marketeer modem installed in order for the software to work.

Connect the modem's line cord in parallel with your desk telephone. You will need a line splitter if your line socket is not a double one. Your telephone should be of the type designed for use on extension circuits otherwise its bell will tinkle when the modem autodialler is dialling a call.

LOADING THE SOFTWARE

Your dealer has probably set up DOS and other system & utility software on your fixed disk (Drive C) prior to delivery. Please switch on the computer and wait for it to complete its self-test procedure. If the system software has been installed already on the fixed disk, then on completion of the self-test procedure, a DOS software copyright and version notice will appear on the screen. At the end you will see the drive letter, C, followed by the DOS prompt character and the cursor. If you do not see this, please consult your dealer or refer to the DOS manual on how to install DOS on your fixed disk. For network installations, consult the network oper­ating system manual also.

Assuming DOS has been installed and is working, and the C: prompt is displayed, make sure you are in the root directory (or the directory containing DOS if differ­ent). Then enter and execute the DOS command:

\RESTORE A: C:\ /S

Feed in the disks in numbered order as requested by the DOS Restore utility. Then copy the file MKT1.BAT from the directory MKT1 to your root directory. This will allow you to start Marketeer by entering the command MKT1 from the root direct­ory. You may also copy it into the AUTOEXEC.BAT file if you want MARKETEER to start auto­matically when the computer is switched on.

Marketeer now resides in a multi-tier directory structure which was automatically created on your fixed disk by the Restore utility. Enter the DOS command

CD \MKTR

then display the contents of the MKTR directory by entering a DIR command. You will see that this top-level directory contains three other directories: EXE, FIXED and MANUAL containing the executable programs, the fixed data and the user manual text respectively.

Now enter the DOS command:

CD \MKT1 followed by a

DIR command.

These are the directories which contain your data on prospects etc. The last sub-directory herein is called USER01. If you are installing MARKETEER on a network server for multi-user working then you must replicate the contents of the USER01 directory for as many users as you require, calling the new directories USER02, USER03 and so on up to a maximum of USER40. If you attempt to log on as a user for whom a USER?? directory has not been created, Marketeer will return control to DOS. The network software must conform to DOS 3.3 or above file locking.

Whether you have a single-user or multi-user MARKETEER, you must run the DOS utility 'SHARE' before running MARKETEER. MARKETEER also requires more than the default numbers of buffers and files allocated by DOS. Therefore, please add the following commands to the CONFIG.SYS file in the root directory:

BUFFERS=20
FILES=20

(assuming these are not there already.) If these commands are already there with values => 20, then leave them as they are.

If it is not already there, add the following command to the file AUTOEXEC.BAT in the root:

SHARE

Also if you have installed Marketeer on a network, you should set file attributes as follows: All files in the EXE and FIXED directories can be set as read-only to all users but this is not essential. Files in all other directories must be read-write for all users. NOTE: The NAMCODE and POSTCODE files in the PUBLIC directory are the only files which are locked and unlocked from time to time by MARKETEER'S software using the DOS 3.3 file locking conventions. Individual records within files are never locked separately.

STARTING UP MARKETEER

Please ensure that you are in the root directory. Then start MARKETEER by typing in the command MKTR. [Always hit the carriage return key after typing in a DOS command.] After a short initialization delay, MARKETEER'S main menu appears on the screen. Below the menu is a box in which you are asked to enter your pass­word.

PASSWORD

A 15-character field is provided for you to type-in your password with the cursor flashing over the first character position. [The cursor is the flashing line which appears on the screen whenever the computer is waiting for you to type in some­thing. It marks the position at which whatever you type in will appear.]

The purpose of the pass word is to stop all but those people authorised to use MARKETEER from gaining access to the information and facilities within it. A pass word acts as a kind of 'ignition' key. You may set MARKETEER'S password to what­ever you like later on.

However, upon delivery, as an example, it has been set up initially as 'PASSWORD'. So please type in the word 'PASSWORD'. If what you enter here is not a recognised password, a message appears telling you that you have been refused access. You may then attempt to enter your password again from the beginning.

Please notice that as you type in your pass word, the characters you are actually typing do not appear on the screen in place of the underscore characters. Asterisks appear instead. This is so that any unauthorised person looking at the screen cannot see what your pass word is while you are typing it in. If, while typing in your password, you think you have made a mistake, you may press the left-arrow key, the backspace key or the 'Home' key to clear the password field so you can start again. You must type-in your password correctly all in one go in order to gain access to MARKETEER.

MARKETEER now picks up the current date and time automatically from DOS which it displays at the top right of the screen. The correct System Time is maintained in this top right screen position while you are in MARKETEER.

THE MAIN MENU

The password entry box is now replaced by an invitation to select one of the items from the main menu list. The main menu is the central point from which all MARKETEER activities start. It is a display of the list of all the things that MARKETEER does. From it you may select the one you want. You have two ways of doing this. Firstly you may hit the key on the top row of the keyboard bearing the number of the item you want to select.

Alternatively, you may scan down or up the menu by pressing the downward or upward pointing cursor control keys (arrow keys). Each time you press one of these, the next item down (or up) is highlighted and a half screen of text explaining what that item does appears on the right of the screen.

CONFIGURATION

Please scan to Option 9 by pressing the up-arrow once. Read the explanatory text on the right of the screen. You will now set up your passwords, printer ports and printer control codes. Hit the carriage return (also called the ENTER key). The Con­figuration Menu now appears on the screen. Use the down-arrow key to highlight each of the menu items in turn and read the explanatory text for each.

1. Password

   Now return to Option 1 and hit the carriage return key. The text on the right is now replaced by a box together with instructions on how to enter passwords. The word 'PASSWORD' appears in the first position in the box. This is the password you have just used to gain access to MARKETEER. Replace this with the password you wish to use in future.

   If you are installing MARKETEER on a network, then you must set up a sepa­rate password for each user. The first password (the one you enter in place of PASSWORD) is the supervisor's password. It alone can gain its user access to this password entry and editing facility (and to certain other facilities to be discussed in later chapters). Please allocate a password to each of the users on the network.

   It is assumed here that you are the supervisor. The password used to 'log on' to MARKETEER determines whose private data directory MARKETEER will refer to for target information; mail, telephone & telexshot lists; sales letter texts; electronic mail subscriber data; printer information and incoming telex & electronic mail libraries.

2. Printer Ports

   Please scan to Option 2 and re-read its explanatory text. Then select Option 2 by hitting the carriage return key. MARKETEER normally uses a draft quality printer for reports, and a high quality printer for letters. Each requires an input/output (I/O) port. You can use a dual quality printer for both jobs such as a Hewlett-Packard DeskJet PLUS, in which case you still need to set up both ports which will be identical. The method of setting up the two ports is the same.

   Some printers have V24 (RS232) serial interfaces and others have parallel (Centronics) interfaces. The parallel interfaces are simpler and cheaper, but if you want your printer to be usable directly with a modem as well as with the computer, then you must have a serial printer as these are the only kind that can handle communications procedures.

   Your computer can have up to 2 serial ports (called COM1 and COM2) and up to 3 parallel ports (LPT1, LPT2 & LPT3). A parallel port is easy to set up. Simply type in LPT1:, LPT2: or LPT3: (don't forget the colon at the end) according to which port you wish to connect your printer. MARKETEER allows you to add the letters LF after the colon to cause a line feed character to be sent to your printer immediately after each carriage return character.

   Serial ports are more difficult to set up since you have to specify the trans­mission speed, parity, number of data bits and stop bits, and possibly which control signals to ignore. The printer itself must be set up to exactly the same specification as the computer's I/O port.

   A full explanation of how to set up a COM port is given in the computer's own BASIC manual under the OPEN COM statement and in the appendix on com­munications. (Please note that the default parity setting given in the manual was found not to work at the time of writing. You need to specify the 'E'; eg COM1:600,E,7,1.). For a serial printer please also refer to the printer manual for setting up the speed etc to match that of the computer interface.

   A speed of 600 bps is normally suitable for a printer. However, if your printer has a buffer memory, you can set the speed at 1200 bps. This will allow MARKETEER to transfer a letter or report quickly into the printer's buffer and then be free to get on with something else while the printer carries on with the printing.

   Please type-in the port specifications you need (if the one already shown is not suitable) according to the instructions given on the screen.

3. Printer Control Strings

   Please scan to Option 3 using the appropriate arrow key and re-read the ex­planatory text. Then hit the carriage return key to select Option 3. MARKETEER requires its printer to be able to print in 3 different type-sizes and 2 different print qualities.

   While most modern printers cater for this, the codes which MARKETEER must send to them to make them change the current type size varies with the make & model of printer. This Option allows you to set up the strings of characters which effect the necessary changes in type size.

   The ones currently set up as shown on the screen may or may not suit your printer. Each control character within each control string is shown and entered as a group of 3 digits; eg the 'escape' character is entered as '027'. All you have to do is over-type what is already shown with the equivalent codes for your printer (assuming they are different).

   If you are using a dual-quality printer, all the type-size codes must be pre­ceded by the appropriate quality switching code. In fact, the first four type-size codes are always preceded by the code which sets the printer into draft mode, while the fifth one (which is always set to 10 chrs/inch) is always pre­ceded by the code which sets the printer into letter quality mode.

4. Database Reconstruction

   This option is not strictly part of the configuration options. It is provided in case MARKETEER'S data becomes corrupted due to such things as electrical trans­ients on the mains supply and equipment malfunction. It provides a means (which should work in most cases) of reconstructing corrupted data files from data in other files which escaped corruption.